Cool People

Part two in a very sporadic series...

The guy in Estonia who pointed out to me that I left my Visa card in the ATM(/Bankomat/Cashpoint). Not one of my most lucid moments, but it was six o'clock in the morning and I'd spent a sleepless night on the bus. Unfortunately I was still in St Petersburg mode, so I thanked him profusely in Russian.

The Guard at the President's Palace in Helsinki who waved back to us when we went to visit. You won't find any of those Bearskins at Buckingham being so friendly. As mentioned in earlier posts, when it comes to Finland, everything is nice, even their gun wielding army personnel.

My Aunt Sophie, who is just like my grandmother, except more stubborn, more Swedish and, although it was thought to not be possible, more prone to constant chatter and constantly feeding people.If it were possible to kill with kindness then she would be a ruthless assassin indeed. She also lives in a very cool part of town.

Her apartment, where she has lived for 45 years, is in Sodermalm in Stockholm, an old working class area that has been invaded by students and hipsters (Melbournians, think of Brunswick but actually cool) so her neighbourhood is littered with excellent retro shopping, cool cafes and funky bars.