Welcome to Hel

I arrived in Helsinki today. Being English I'm used to talkative taxi drivers, but the one from the airport today was pretty much silent and only spoke when encouraged, even though his English was great. Apparently this is a national characteristic of the Finns, they're supposed to be quiet and shy but also very straight-talking. I'm sure I'll find out if this is true over the next few days.

Helsinki (judging from the taxi journey), is nothing like how I imagined. I thought even in August it would be fairly cold and a rather miserable place, but it's extremely warm and looks incredibly vibrant. There are lots of young people and things going on in every street. Apparently it hasn't rained for 2 months!

Anyway I have to go exploring now, I have to be at Helsinki University tommorow morning for my language course. I wonder how hard the Finnish language will be...?