Day 11: Exploring the City: A Day of Unexpected Adventures and Sustainable Surprises

Today was an exhilarating day for us; we got to experience so much! The morning began with a beautiful, sunny sky, filling us with excitement to explore the city. We were eager to shop for some new clothes, so we decided to head to the mall. But first, we needed breakfast, so we walked to a nearby bakery and indulged in some cake and a warm cup of coffee—what better way to start the day? Even the walk to the bakery was an adventure, with the city's charming cobblestone streets adding to the unique experience.

We then met up with some friends and headed to the mall. Given the 50-minute walk and the warm weather, we decided to call an Uber instead. To our surprise, it was a Tesla! With the focus of our trip being sustainability, it was incredibly fitting to get a ride in an electric vehicle. Although the goal of electric vehicles is to reduce our dependance on fossil fuels, it still felt like a luxury car. Additionally, some of us had never been in a Tesla before, so we were excited to experience the ride. It was a smooth and enjoyable drive, and our driver was fantastic, getting us to the mall quickly.


The view from the backseat of our Tesla Uber

After arriving at the mall, we immediately went to the shoe store and found some amazing items! We browsed through shoes and explored a few other stores as well. We came across a small shop with very affordable and adorable clothes, which made the trip even more exciting. I found some nice, budget-friendly tops for the summer and even discovered some cheap baby clothes for my friend's niece. What a bargain! We found shirts made from recycled polyester, as well as jewelry made from recycled plastics and zinc. Almost every store we went to offered recycled and sustainable items, which is amazing seeing as recycling clothing and materials increases their lifecycle significantly and reduces landfill waste. Synthetic fabrics like polyester from the shirt last much longer than organic fibres.


One of the shirts made from 95% recycled polyester



Jewelry made from recycled plastics and zinc

After all that shopping, we were starving and decided to find a restaurant in the mall. We expected it to be like the typical food courts in Canada, but were pleasantly surprised to discover several upscale restaurants. We chose an Italian restaurant that made fresh, to-order pasta. It was absolutely delicious! I had the Carbonara, and Olga ordered the seafood pasta—hers looked even tastier than mine!



The seafood pasta that I think was the best meal!

After returning to the hotel room, we took some time to unwind before our hunger kicked in again and led us to Hesburger! It was an enjoyable experience; most of us opted for the beef burger and a salad and then some ice cream for dessert. What caught our attention was Hesburger's commitment to sustainability. They provided cups without lids and paper straws, and even offered wooden spoons for our ice cream. Additionally, we found it fascinating to see all of the staff members wearing shirts that said, "I used to be a bottle," which indicates that they are made from recycled plastics just like the ones at the mall. This further proved Finland's dedication to recycling and sustainability.



A Hesburger employee wearing a recycled shirt that reads "I used to be a bottle"


All in all, today proved to be a thrilling and enjoyable start to our brief yet incredible journey in Helsinki, Finland.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1: A Test of Endurance - Our Unforgettable Trek from Toronto to Joensuu

Image
When Travel Tests More Than Just Your Patience There's a wise saying among travellers: "The best way to test a relationship is to plan a trip together." It's a simple truth. Travel can stretch your patience, test your endurance, and deepen bonds in unexpected ways. It can bring out both the best and the worst in us. Our epic 27-hour journey from Toronto to Joensuu was the ultimate test. Between the 11 hours in the air, another 11 hours in limbo during our layovers, and a final 5-hour train ride, our adventure morphed into a gruelling test of both mental and physical endurance. Yet, through this experience, our team found new strengths and a surprising testament to our collective resilience. From Excitement to Exhaustion—And Back Again Watching our team's mood shift from excitement to exhaustion was like watching a slow-motion transformation. The journey started with laughter and smiles, but soon, as fatigue set in, those smiles gave way to weary sighs for rest. 
Read more

Day 2: Recovery from the Jet Lag Hangover & FREE TIME!!!

Image
  Awaking from a 12 Hour Slumber to the Beautiful Joensuu - After a very long 32 hours awake, I was absolutely exhausted. I slept for 12 hours and throughly enjoyed it. When I woke up I was greeted by Burhan, Zenia, and Maddy who were inviting me to have a brunch. After getting up and getting ready I was ready to take on the city of Joensuu. Off to Brunch we go!!!! A Sustainable Brunch Burger - While we walked around the city center of Joensuu, we found a big building that kind of looked like a Barn. This barn had many solar panels on top of it, which looked amazing and is very sustainable. When we got inside, we came across an amazing burger restaurant called "Friends & BRGRS". The meal was so good we all planned to go back. Besides that, I found some of the most interesting sustainable garbages and recyling, and even a very interesting sustainable fork. This was truly the highlight of the day!! Sleepy Time & HesBurger - After brunch, I was very tired again due to th
Read more

Day 4: Holy Koli!

Image
Part I -  Break Sokos Hotel Koli Kylä After having a (much needed) chance to sleep in a little bit, we've met up at the Wärtsilä campus of Karelia University with the group of the international and local Karelia students, and all loaded on to the bus that would take us to Koli National Park about 1-hour drive away. Our first stop was Break Sokos Hotel Koli Kylä . The hotel will be celebrating its 1-year anniversary in upcoming June and took about 1.5 years to build. It features traditional Scandinavian design with widespread use of Finnish wood (that was also left unfinished in many areas of the hotel), live greenery, and the design pieces from Finnish artists. Natural plants decorative wall Wooden bench decorated with live plants Green Key Certificate   Shelves with firewood for sale available to guests also serve as a decoration piece The hotel has received a Green Key certification even prior to the building construction stage back in 2022. Through its use of renewable energy (
Read more