Last day in Helsinki and of my fantastic vacation... For my last night in Europe, I was not as fortunate as I'd hoped in getting a good sleep - there was loud noise outside my window until very late. Even without getting a ton of rest, I was still awake in the Radisson BLU Plaza (Helsinki) at 0645. I spent time working on puzzles, reading and completing Duolingo exercises. Next, I repacked my bags and managed to get everything inside like I wanted (whew). I still had the issue of my duffel having some "sprung seams" but I planned to use that bag as a carryon. For “breakfast”, I ate snacks I'd collected over the previous few days. While getting ready to depart, I opened up the window shades to their maximum extent and found that I had a good view of the train station from my room - it was only visible on an angle, so I hadn’t noticed before. I guess the desk clerk had taken me seriously when I asked for a view... After checking in (online) for my Finnair Flight, I left my room (1010), checked out of the hotel and left two bags with the clerk so I could go exploring for a few hours. After making specific plans with Inka and her mother, I started walking to the Kiasma Museum (1015). Outside, it was overcast and sprinkling, with temps in the low 50s. I used the same route I'd needed during the previous evening (tunnel under the train tracks to the north of the Train Station). Along the way, I encountered lots of birds again. I arrived at the museum by 1030 and sat down to read some news stories - as a result, I didn't see Inka & Kirsten arrived soon afterwards. All together again, though, we toured the museum - there was a special exhibition about the Sami People (indigenous to Scandinavia and Arctic Russia). This was an extremely interesting and through provoking and Inka was great help in interpreting some of the displays (she often travels in their native territories). The museum was full of interesting history and unique pieces. Along the way, Inka responded to an incredulous question I had about reindeer-drawn-sleighs - "Yes, they are real - didn't you know that Santa Claus is from Finland?" That was a good moment! Before departing, we checked out some other Modern Art exhibits in the Kiasma (not quite as interesting as the Sami part) and then departed at 1200. Inka said she wanted me to try a genuine "Finnish Brunch" so we walked towards the southeast and (at 1215) arrived at Karl Fazer's Café (Kluuvikatu) and I was blown away by all of the Finnish cuisine options - most seemed very healthy. The food was served buffet style and I tried a little of most of the offerings. But then there were the plentiful chocolates and desserts - that was hard to resist and I sampled a few. I'm not 100% but, apparently, this was the place where the most famous Finnish chocolate debuted in the late Nineteenth Century. Meanwhile, we continued to have even more good conversation. Inka and Kirsten have been so generous with their time and gracious with their stories and experiences. One memorable topic today was on the Scandinavian practice of shopping for alcohol in neighboring countries "because things are cheaper there". No matter where you are living, apparently, the grass is always greener in the neighboring Euro Country... We finished our memorable meal at 1315 and exited the restaurant to sunny and warmer (17 C) conditions. Inka wanted to pick up some items before she departed so I followed her into a little “drug store” that seemed to be full of kids items. Inka herself was looking for a travel size toothpaste and was successful. Afterwards, we walked a bit longer until we got close to the train station. At that point, I said goodbye to Inka and her mom - they were so nice to me and it was hard to leave them! Then I went back to Radisson BLU Plaza to retrieve my bags before backtracking to the train station again. For some reason, it took me longer to locate an Airport-bound train but, once I'd bought a ticket from the little kiosk, I boarded one and then waited for it to depart. We were moving by 1408 and it was strange to look at all the landmarks we passed with new eyes - most of them had been on my tour itinerary at some point recently and I got several angles of things I'll always remember. The train arrived at the Airport Station at 1442 and I began the long walk to the terminal. When I tried to "self drop" my bag, I was told that I needed to be in a different queue (possibly because I was flying to USA) and ended up having to wait for an available Finnair clerk to help me. Even with trouble on checking the heaviest bag (14ish kg), I still was through first round of security by 1500. After walking about halfway through the terminal in search of my gate, I got stuck in a HUGE Border Control line. I had not experienced this before during my vacation (although I'd read about situations like this in Southern Europe) and it was a bit deflating to realize that I'd be stuck there for a LONG time. While patiently waiting, I witnessed many ore impatient folks (of all nationalities) who simply could not fathom that they were expected to comply with this onerous process. For my part, I tried to stay light hearted and, along the way, I met a nice lady from Shanghai and an older couple from Japan (Hokkaido Island). Every time one of the larger international flights would reach 45 minutes until departure, the Security folks would "reset" the line, allowing those passengers to depart the long queue and enter the "EU Passport Holders" line. This never happened to me but I eventually got through the checkpoint at 1605. After that, there was even more walking... Despite all these logistics, I was able to check into the Finnair waiting area at the gate and boarding began at 1645. Because of where I stood inside the waiting area, I was one of the first people (behind the Business Class) to board and was soon sitting in my seat. The aircraft was an A350 and I lucked out to have an empty middle seat for the long-haul flight. We started taxiing at 1715 and got in the air at 1720 - wow! I mostly passed the time by watching movies. In the first few hours, we got a dinner service and I chose a Sandals Premium Lager (4.7%) beer (“signature beer of Finnair”), some blueberry juice (“signature juice of Finnair”) and the inflight meal of BBQ pasta salad, sweet & sour chicken with egg fried rice and Asian veggies. Dessert was, appropriately, a chocolate bar from Fazer (I sent a photo to Inka). Along the way, we flew over the middle of Iceland and Cape Cod. During the last part of the flight, I got really invested in reading one of my books. Altogether, the flight seemed to be rather quick and, since we were flying west through the timezones, it was only 1810 (local time) when we landed at JFK. Back in the USA at last - it seemed strange. I was through Customs by 1835 and then learned that the Long Island Railroad Union had, as threatened, gone on strike. Fortunately, I met a helpful Finnair employee (local to NYC) in the baggage claim area who told me I could use the E train subway to reach Penn Station. Once I had all of my luggage, I made my way to the AirTrain Platform (1855) and headed to Jamaica. After arriving there (1905), I walked to Subway Station and entered (using my phone) the platform to wait for an E Train to Manhattan. The passenger ambiance was nothing like the LIRR experience and I was soon wondering if this alternate transportation was a good idea. Once I was onboard (1920), the train stopped at every station as it made its way west. Sadly, I never saw any indication (on the signage or internet) that it actually went to Penn Station. Not wanting to miss my chance to end up in a familiar area of Manhattan, I exited the Subway at 34th & Herald Square. Based on my (incorrect) choice of exits, I had to walk the rest of the way to the Moynihan Train Hall (arrived at 2010). Hoping to not have to carry my bags indefinitely, I walked around in Penn Station until I could find a place to sit down for a meal - I ended up in Kabooz’s Bar & Grille and got dinner (Gyro meal) at 2020. During this window, I continued trying to coordinate a meetup with Heidi V but, ultimately, was unsuccessful. At 2100, I moved into the formal Amtrak Waiting Area. A sign said that I could only be there for one hour but I didn't leave during the next few hours. Meanwhile, I watched surges of people, coming and going, as their own Amtrak trains departed. Later in the evening, a Bruce Springsteen Concert ended at Madison Square Garden and, just as I needed to start moving towards my own train, people started madly rushing to board New Jersey bound trains - yikes! Finally, just after 2300, Amtrak assigned a track number for the NE Regional Train (Number 65). It took a lot more walking (and being savvy) for me to find the "quiet car" but I was happily situated when the train departed (late) at 2327. Outside my window, I witnessed a young lady who apparently didn't have a ticket for the train, tearfully arguing with the conductors about how she just had to get onboard. She was unsuccessful and fell to the ground in anguish. My heart went out to her, in a way, but I was relieved that she was not my own daughter. The train moved quickly across the Hudson River and was soon traveling across New Jersey. We had just passed Newark when I decided to give sleeping a try - we were still rolling as the clock struck midnight...
