Greetings - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**verstehen** · 08-02-2003, 05:24 AM

After travelling a great deal with my family when I was young I had a long hiatus from the rest of the world staying in the middle of nowhere midwest USA.

I just finished college and have resumed my travels spending the summer here in Helsinki. Starting at the end of August I will be backpacking/eurailing in France, Germany, Lux., Netherlands, etc. In my research looking for good hostels, I came across these boards. It seems like you've got a neat group of folks here and seeing as I'm a bit rusty on globe-trotting, I figure I'd join in and see what others with more recent experience are saying.

Given that you all had a posting asking about pictures, I figured I'd toss mine in the mix.

I think I'll save the questions for the appropriate discussion forums, but in short: "Hi!"

:D

**travelpunk** · 08-02-2003, 06:29 AM

We certainly welcome to the boards Verstehen B) Good to meet you and thanks for posting your pic! It´s always good to put a face to the names in cyberspace.

You´re right, there is a great group of people on these boards, I must say. When I put this board up, I didn´t expect it to be such a lively and friendly community. I thought people would just post questions and answers and then exit stage left. Thank God I was wrong!

And now, we´ve got an official Helsinki representative

. How are things in Finland? Is it cheap to backpack through there?

**verstehen** · 08-02-2003, 06:55 AM

Actually, I'm part of a student exchange/work program here in Helsinki. (Through IAESTE if you know the org). As such, I'm living student housing and getting paid a small stipend.

As for backpacking, it's a nice city to visit, not too big, not too small, excellent public transport, very clean, and utterly safe. Since I have a place to stay here, I haven't been to any of the local hostels, but I can only imagine that they would be very professional and very clean.

Just about everyone here speaks English (which is good, because Finnish is pretty rough to learn) so you can get around with almost no prior knowledge. It's a really easy city to get around in. There's some neat architecture in the centrum, a few museums, some art galleries, and a pretty nice nightlife. The clubs are clean and safe, and even the bouncers are quite professional/courteous.

The only downside is that it's not exactly the cheapest place to live or get around. Oh, that and the alcohol is just insanely expensive. They also have a law here that mixed drinks can have a max of 4cl of alcohol.

If you want a proper mixed drink you have to ask for the drink, then purchase a second (or third) shot of the major ingredient.

If you're going to be visiting Helsinki I have a floor and a roof available about 10 minutes from the centrum by city bus.

I've got pics from Helsinki and the surrounds online here if anyone is interested:
Pics page

Thanks for the welcome, looking forward to participating.

**travelpunk** · 08-03-2003, 06:08 AM

verstehen, man you are just living the life! Fast cars, cute chicks, studying overseas, and traveling Europe! Geeezzzz.... Some people get all the fun

Thanks for the low down on Helsinki. It sound like a really nice city and backpacker friendly. But, that´s some jacked up shit on the alcohol!

You are definitely getting your moneys worth from that camera. BEAUTIFUL f#*king pictures of Stockholm, Helsinki, and St Petersburg! I especially liked #156 of the St Petersburg page. Great framing and centering! Is that a digital camera(If it is, I can put a link to it from my digital camera page)? Let me know.

Anyone looking for some great photos for inspiration, check out his link!

**verstehen** · 08-03-2003, 07:17 AM

No problem on the Helsinki low-down. My advice to anyone coming here, bring a bottle of vodka with you, and get started before going to the clubs, it'll save you quite a bit

Thanks for all the comments TP, I'd have to say that I'm enjoying my travels quite a bit.

For better or worse, all of the beautiful young women fall into the "just friends" category. (I won't get into the companionship vs. entanglement battle here

)

The auto racing is obviously on hold until I return and get a "real job". I was driving off of donations of spare parts and tires from the "real" racing guys that took pity on the poor kid trying to make his way in the big-boy's game, and that's when I had a decent student job. Oh, that and I was the IT and PR b-atch for the BMW and Sports Car Club chapters in my region.

As for the photos, thanks a ton for the comments, they're much appreciated. I have a bit of an advantage as my father is a professional photographer, and I almost went to art school before veering off for a CompSci/IT-management degree. (The pay was a bit better on the second option, and I was a bit more materialistic then

)

Yes, you can link to my pictures page if you like, hopefully it will convince people to "pull the trigger" as you say. For the record, all of the photos (except some of the ones from back in Missouri) were taken with a Cannon G3 4MP Camera. I'm very happy with it from a photography point of view. As a traveller it's a bit bulky, but I'm willing to lug it along for the feature set.

**Diorama** · 08-03-2003, 10:21 PM

hey verstehen,

sorry i haven't been around the last few days, but just wanted to say welcome! I'm sure your knowledge of finland and europe will be put to use! THat sucks about the pricey alchohal...what would i do!!!!

I'd have to drink rice wine or something.

damn booze laws...they ruin everything!

**verstehen** · 08-03-2003, 11:30 PM

Stupid alc laws ruin everything, and they don't do a damn bit of good either. I see 10 times more public drunk (and I mean REALLY, pissing yourself, drunk) people on the streets of Helsinki than I've ever seen in the states. People here get drunk beyond belief. I like to have enough to have some fun, but these people just get so blasted that they're hardly there anymore. I thought no one could beat the Irish in this regard, but DANG.

Oh, and did I mention that if the Alc is over 5%, it can only be sold by one government-controlled chain store? The ONLY place you can get hard alc around here (outside of a club) is in a shop called "Alko" which closes at 9pm, and has equally high prices around the country.

But the boat to Estonia isn't too expensive and if you're sneaky, you can pull in 4 or 5 litres of your favorite without getting caught by customs. Of course, if you go to Russia, a litre of cheap vodka can be cheaper than a bag of chips ("crisps" for Crio). I smuggled 5 litres through the border on my last trip.

Thanks for the welcome Dio. :D

**travelpunk** · 08-04-2003, 05:59 AM

9pm?! What kind of crap is that! Sounds like the boat to Estonia is the way to go. I read an article a while back about the clubs in Estonia. It said that they´ve got some awesome clubbing there. Can you verify that?

**verstehen** · 08-04-2003, 06:16 AM

Clubbing? Estonia? Eh, they're OK. Then again I wasn't looking t0o hard for clubs the on the overnight trips I've spent there. At night I've either been crashing in a flat in a scary neighborhood or walking through the old city singing Irish rebel/trad tunes at the top of my lungs with 3 dublinners at 5 in the morning.

"... and the ol' triangle... goes GINGLE JANGLE...."

**Canadian Dude** · 08-04-2003, 12:33 PM

I have been away verstehen, so sorry for the late welcome, but here it is....

WELCOME!!!

**verstehen** · 08-05-2003, 01:19 PM

Thanks for the welcome CD! Oh, at TP, I was wrong, the Alko's close at 8, not 9.