Leaving on a jet plane...

23th March, Friday:

(Travel Plan: Spend a day in Tampere, and take an evening flight back to Liverpool...)

The night train ride itself was kinda happening. The train actually sounded the horn and did an E-brake about half an hour after we left Rovaniemi. Everyone (Not much people in the cabin as usual) in the cabin stood and walk around to find out what exactly happened. And looking out of the window, I saw some animal tracks on the snow across the railway line. Perhaps, a reindeer was standing in the way of the train or something...We were deep in some forest anyway...

Next, at one of the train stations, 2 security officers came to my cabin to bring a drunken man out of the train...Was literally carrying him out as he couldn’t even walk by himself. Apparently he was so drunk that he sat beside a girl unknowingly and slept there, throwing his bottles on other seats...

Tampere Train Station: Reached Tampere train station at about 6am. It is the third largest city in Finland and the largest inland centre in the Nordic countries.

As it was still dark out there, I actually slept on one of the benches in the station till it was about 8am, and wash up in one of its toilets (Cost 1€ to use the toilet...wtf man...). Typical backpacker style =)

I thought I was going the right way the minute I stepped out of the train station, as I had briefly studied the map the night before. But when I reached University of Tampere unknowingly, only then I realize I was walking in a totally opposite direction from the beginning...bleah...Taking it as a blessing in disguise...’cos the university was not on my places-to-visit list...

Anyway, that was how the journey in this city started...

Orthodox Church: Built in the Neo Byzantine style, located on Sorinaukio Square...Didn’t go in...Was quite sick of all the places of worship from all my trips back in England...need a cooling down period =P

Tammerkoski Rapid: Solemn stone guards on the Hämeendilta Bridge (Left pic.). And a dam was built right in the middle of the city to utilize the rapids (Right pic)...Don’t really like this idea as it is like an industrialize structure in the middle of a beautiful city. It just seem out of the place to me...bleah...

Keskutori Central Square: The heart of life of the city. There was actually a make-shift market there selling all sort of local products and food...Kind of like our “pasa malam” back home, just that I was during the day time...

Laukontori Quay: Nothing much when I got there, perhaps it wasn’t a tourism season...hmmm...Singapore River is nicer (at least to me…bleah) =P

That was about it. The other places were typical city shopping areas. It was an urban city after all...and I am not a shopping person...hah...

Tampere Terminal 2: The “ulu” airport I landed on on the first day...

The view on the plane was once again magnificent. As the time in Finland is 2hrs before England, so for the entire journey, it was like we were flying towards the sun set...Woohoo...pretty la =P

Liverpool John Lennon Airport: Back in England...Above us, only sky...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may say I'm a dreamer...
But I'm not the only one...
I hope someday you'll join us...
And the world will live as one...