Singara Chennai - Fantastic Frankfurt - Heavenly Helsinki (Part 2)

Frankfurt.

My colleagues in office who had already travelled to Helsinki via Frankfurt had warned me the airport is so big and difficult to find you way through it. Lufthansa made things very easy for me. Even before landing at Frankfurt I had all the details of my connecting flight to Helsinki. In-flight display provided me the info of terminal and gate numbers to board the flight from, and the airport map clearly showed me how to navigate to the gate.

Though I had only one hour for the next flight, I casually walked across Frankfurt airport since I knew where I'm going, observing the airport's magnificence and gorgeousness. It was surprising to see lots of cyclists inside the airport terminal.

My colleagues had warned me that the immigration check in Frankfurt is very severe. The airport authorities disappointed me. All the security checks got over in less than a minute. I reached the boarding area for my flight to Helsinki well in advance.

I knew it shouldn't be difficult to kill time there.

It was time for my favorite hobby. I started observing the people around me. Not even a single Asian / African face. Only Europeans, especially people from the Nordic. For a moment I felt a bit of loneliness and uneasiness in me.

I told myself, 'Yes, I am in Europe!'

The already short flight of 150 minutes from Frankfurt to Helsinki became even shorter as I got my seat next to 2 European girls returning from their vacation.
Thanks to a family man who wanted to switch my actual seat for this one so that he could sit with his family. That man spoke to me in Finnish without even thinking I wouldn't understand his language. I somehow understood what he meant and changed the seat.

These girls were all the time smiling and laughing and talking in Finnish and only Finnish. When they spoke to me, I noticed how horrible their English was. At that time I didn't know it was only a trailer for the big picture which is waiting for me in Helsinki.

[If you think you can easily manage anywhere in the world or at least in the west, with your English, visit eastern Europe.

There are only 2 languages in Finland - Finnish and Swedish. Many people do speak English but they struggle a lot. Everywhere - name boards, information, instructions, newspapers, television channels, ingredients on food packs, everything in Finnish and Swedish. No English at all!]

Helsinki.

Upon disembarking form the flight and collecting my luggage I went to the airport taxi counter and showed the polite gentleman there my address. He looked at it and said '8 minutes, sir'. I didn't understand why he said that. I kept waiting, checking my watch. In exactly 8 minutes came my taxi. I got out of the airport and inhaled the sweet smell of Finland.

--S--