Finland is a Nordic Country, but not Scandinavian. The Finnish language is in a totally different language group than Swedish or Norwegian. As a Finnish American, Finland had long been on my bucket list, and I finally got there in 2022. We took the overnight sleeper train from Helsinki to Lapland, and it was very nice and comfortable. Happy Birthday!
Continued… People were very welcoming. Very inexpensive. Also felt safe. Went on a small group tour with 11 others from US, Canada, UK, South Africa, and Lichtenstein. New museum in Cairo is amazing. Could have spent days there. Only museum where we were searched entering and exiting.
Happy Birthday, Kelly. I love following along on your adventures, even though I am much older and less adventurous than you two. I still get some ideas, however. I'm dying to go on a Christmas market cruise!
It would be cool if for your WW2 trip you could find some historical/ military/news photos of the areas you're going to that show how those areas/buildings looked during the War with the destruction it caused, and how they look now to see if they have been restored to their original condition from before the War or if they were completely changed by it and/or the "progress" to more modern styles of development. I saw a show on the History Channel where they did it, showing pictures and film taken by the military and reporters during the War of a city (I think London maybe) with military vehicles and soldiers in the shots, and then to what it looks like now by either slowly transitioning from the old footage to current, or with a split screen of both of them at once so it looked almost like some kind of time distortion in a Sci-fi movie that was connecting the different years together. Might be too much work to look up the War pics of the places you're going to but would be a neat, and informative video!
Traveled to Alexandria and Cairo in late November 2023 by cruise ship (not a big cruise ship fan but booked last minute and trip was an incredible bargain). Felt totally safe but we were escorted everywhere. Definitely want to go back and explore more of the country. Weather was great - sunny and in the mid 70s Fahrenheit. Heading to New Zealand and then to Australia tomorrow. Managed to redeem AAdvantage miles for business to Auckland from. DFW and first from SYD to LAX to DFW for a reasonable number of miles. Should consider Jordan as a travel destination. Went as soon as re-opened to tourists after Covid and Petra and other historic places was deserted. People were very
