Day 12 (7 Dec) in Finland: Shopping at LV

They say that Finland's LV is cheap. I did some research and found that it was true.

I didn't intend to visit the boutique and didn't know what I could buy there. My youngest sister suggested buying a Neverfull since my first and only Neverfull Damier has become dysfunctional due to a snapped strap.

I decided to buy the Monogram version but couldn't decide on whether I should get the beige or red interior. 

The saleslady told me that the Neverfull Monogram's original came with the red interior so 'you're getting a piece of its history if you get the red one'.

As for the Damier version, it was first launched with the pink interior but seeing that the Monogram's red interior was very well-received, LV started making Damier Neverfull with red interior.

I was very intrigued by the mention of the pink interior so I requested to take a look at it. I fell in love with it straight away and decided to buy it as well.

My mother said,"Very nice." the moment I carried the Carryall and Nano Speedy. It was hard to resist.

After 1hour and 20 minutes, I walked out of the boutique with 4 bags and a coin purse. It was drizzling. They took the initiative to put plastic coverings over the paper bags.

You can only buy 3 bags and 2 other products or accessories with one credit card and a passport with the same name as what's on the card.  Fortunately, my third sister applied for a credit card for my mother so I was able to buy all.

Day 11 (6 Dec): Cruise to Tallinn, Eating Bear Stew and Tallinn's Christmas Market

Going to Tallinn, Estonia, was an optional tour. At the tour briefing in October, we were informed that usually everybody would opt for it.

It was the second last day of our tour.

It was a 2.5 hour cruise trip.

We were told that ang mohs are very kiasu and would queue up way before the gantry opening time.

On the cruise

We were asked to  book a table/seat and place our jackets on the seats before going off to tour around the vessel.

=

Moomin is a Finnish brand and product. The mascot is a hippo.

We went to the windy sundeck to get some pictures taken

Our guided tour by a local guide.

I asked our tour manager what this structure was but she didn't seem to know either.

Everybody was intrigued by that castle

An orthodox church

The guide launched into a lengthy talk about the orthodox church's history. It was interesting but much was forgotten.

A bird's eye view from the top of the town

The tour manager said this wall was vandalised due to some hatred and was worth taking. Not sure why but we were in a rush, so just take.

The streets of Tallinn

We were left at the Christmas Market at the Town Square and given three hours to shop around on our own before our meet-up with the tour manager down some unfamiliar street.

It was a rainy day. It was a good thing the tour manager forecasted the weather and asked us to bring an umbrella along. I borrowed an umbrella from the hotel reception before I boarded the coach.

It was cold. The Christmas Market had many stalls selling glogi of different kinds but we didn't want to drink that. I found a coffee stall that sold a cup of coffee at 5 euro. I immediately bought one cup. The guy hesitated before asking me,"Do you know about the cup system?"

I replied," No."

He explained to me that I would pay 2 euro for a cup and if I returned the cup at a green stall, I would get the 2 euro back. 

I found the green stall with a bit of effort by asking around.

Since it was rainy, I didn't want my mother to walk in the rain the whole day. I decided to find a cosy cafe to hide out.

I chanced upon this shop near the Christmas Market. I browsed the menu and found 'bear stew'.

I was disappointed by Nili's bear soup but wanted to give bear meat another shot.

The pretty waitress gave us a table for two and I placed an order for the stew.

Surprisingly, it was much better than the famous Nili Restaurant's fanfare.

Meat was more tender and stew was more flavourful.

We left two satisfied customers.

Then we went into a souvenir shop to check out the local handicrafts before leaving to meet the tour manager to leave Tallinn.

Port of Tallinn

Time in Tallinn was too short but it was enlightening to know about the small country of Estonia.

Day 10 (5 Dec) in Helsinki, Finland: Hello, Helsinki, The Rock Church, Music Tree and Christmas Market

 It was a snowy day when we left Rovaniemi for Helsinki. We had to take a domestic flight from Rovaniemi to Helsinki and the weight limit for check-in luggage was 23kg and cabin luggage, 7kg.

It was very stressful trying to keep to the weight limit. Most of my group tourmates didn't have such a problem as they didn't carry a DSLR-like camera, a flashlight and a tripod (damn me). The tripod alone was about 1.5kg. 

The night before we left for the airport, I left behind our bedroom slippers, a few tops, a pair of ski gloves and a tonne of heat packs at the hotel to lighten the load and make space for my potential purchases.

our Helsinki hotel

Our tour manager took us to their Orchard Road shopping belt to familiarise us with the area about 5 to 7 minutes' walk away from our hotel. I think that's a plus for Chan Brothers Travel. It only makes sense to put customers in areas where they can do some shopping on their own. My previous experience with another tour company was very poor. The hotels were always in some ulu places such that there was no way for us to shop on our own.

Stockmann is the equivalent of Paris' Gallery Lafayette. It is a shopping mall with branded boutiques in it. I read that the Louis Vuitton outlet was small compared to the standalone shop along the street so I didn't check it out.

We were taken to a restaurant near Stockmann for lunch. It's full of quaint and quirky decor.

Mushroom soup for a change. A bit sour though.

Salmon as the main course. Decent but forgettable. By then, we had had quite enough of the fish-chicken-pork rotation. The Indian tour mate's mother requested for something else which didn't suit her palate. In the end, she settled with a salad.

After lunch, we were given a highlight tour of Helsinki by a UK-Finnish tour guide.

The Rock Church

The tour manager kept telling us that we would be going to The Rock Church. It sounded very spectacular. I think most of us, if not all, was underwhelmed by its exterior.

"Huh? So it's a church that is made of some rocks?"

The tour guide said that the church is of a great significance to Helsinki: the architecture, the history, the faith, the light. When you sit at the top of the church, you will understand why people wait for years to get married in this church!

Wow, you wait for a venue to be available to get married! Must be something.

The church interior 

The soldiers were preparing for their Independence Day.

According to the guide, Finland's Independence Day is not celebrated with cheers (like the United States). It's a day that they remember as 'the day many people died for the sake of Independence'.

If I understand correctly, the church wall is made of granite. The beams above allow large amount of natural light to come in. 

We went up the second floor and it did look quite beautiful from the top. If there isn't a more beautiful church, yes, I can understand why people want to get married there. It's like how brides wait to get married at Chijmes.

After that, we were taken to a small park with this special tree sculpture in the middle of the park. It was conceptualised from a musical instrument.

I think most of us were fatigued by then. The park didn't look very special from the outside. It took some persuasion to get us down the coach. It's more like a 'come also come already. Just go lah' kind of resignation.

The tour guide told us that the best selfie is taken right under the tree, with the camera facing bottom-up.

 

I guess if your face is slim, it would look very nice. Mine wasn't.

Our last stop was a huge cathedral which we unfortunately was too late for the entry at 4.30pm.

Below the steps beneath the cathedral was the Christmas Market. It was getting chilly and we were tired. I was tempted to visit the Market but I wasn't sure how to get back to the hotel which was an eight-minute walk so I followed the tour guide back to the hotel.

It was about 5pm when we reached the hotel. The tour manager took me to the nearest K-Supermart to buy my blueberry juice I was craving. She also recommended me to try a Fazer drumstick ice-cream in which a chocolate stick hides within. Seeing that she so strongly recommended, I tried it.

It tasted like a normal chocolate Cornetto to me.

My mother was exhausted. I told her I would go to the Christmas Market since it's still early. I didn't want to waste the day. My mother wanted to follow but I felt that it was too tiring for her so she should rest. She fell asleep soon after.

I put on my down jacket and stuffed two hand warmers into the pockets and started my eight-minute walk with moderate confidence, trying to recall the bus route from the Christmas Market.

Then I walked past Louis Vuitton.

I decided to ask for an appointment for Sunday, the last day I would be in Helsinki.

It turned out that the store only started operating on Sunday recently so a booking on the website did not work.

I managed to book an appointment at 12pm, the opening hour.

When I walked out, I continued my journey to the Christmas Market.

At one point, I felt I was lost and I asked a resident for directions. She pointed me to the big Christmas Market while telling me that she was going to the small one as it was newly opened that night.

I shopped around the small one anyway and found that it was mainly foodstalls so I decided to move on to the big one, remembering the direction the resident pointed me in earlier on.

Tried this. They are some fudges in different flavours, but basically all sweet.

My takeaway was: It's an ang moh pasar malam.

I didn't buy anything from the Christmas Market and started my way back at 7pm.

We chatted a bit. When she knew I was from Singapore, she said she had been to Singapore twice. "It was too hot," she said. I replied, "And here is too cold!" She laughed and agreed.