A Lady in London

I didn’t think I would travel back to Helsinki so soon. I was there just two summers ago. In fact, I didn’t even plan to go to Helsinki; it was Beijing I was aiming for. Here’s how it happened: I recently realized that I racked up enough miles on my credit card to buy myself a long haul flight, and I ended up with a ticket from London to Beijing with a six hour layover in Helsinki.

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I am on a ferry plowing across the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki, where I just spent the last day and a half, is behind me. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and the gateway to the Baltics, lies a handful of nautical miles ahead of me.

Before I reach a point where I can see Tallinn off the bow of the ship I’ll take a few moments to look behind me to the country I just left.

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