And so we are going to take you along as we eat our way through Helsinki.

The very first thing we're going to try is korvapusti, which are Finnish cinnamon buns and they're made with lots and lots of ground cinnamon. They smell amazing and also I think the funniest part is that it directly translates to English as slapped ears, which I find so hilarious because it reminds me of those cartoons that kind of just have the swirl as the ear.

I'll insert a picture, but we're going to give these a taste as our first Finnish pastry.

It's a really, really good cinnamon roll. I think I actually like it without the tons and tons of frosting that they have it with in the U.S. It's very light and a lot less sweet than what I'm used to having. The next thing we got is the mustirapirikka, which is a yogurt pie made from bilberries, which are actually the Nordic cousin of the blueberry and apparently healthier. And also it is served with this vanilla milk.

Oh, it's so good.

Amazing. Wow. I could definitely eat this every single day. It's almost like a really good cake that's super moist, probably because it's made out of yogurt and then also because it's got all this delicious vanilla dressing all over it. But 10 out of 10.

Mmm. This is Chad. And to add to our little dessert feast, we also have some mint hot chocolate, which is the house specialty of the place that we're eating at. And then also we got this salmon rice pastry, which I believe has salmon rice and it's wrapped up in this puff pastry and it looks very good. They did heat it up for us, but I think it might be a little cold now.

So just around the corner of the eatery, there is a little sled that is manually done.

And I'm going to have Chad give me the sleigh ride of my life.

I also wanted to add that, first off, the food was incredible, well-needed, especially with the cold weather. One thing I do want to note is that one of my favorite things about Finland so far is the change in the seasons is obviously so present, but it's something that I haven't experienced being from the south because whenever it's wintertime there, you might get snow once a year, but having this intense change of seasons completely changes the activities you can do.

Where we are right now is like this bay and it's completely frozen over. You can walk out onto the water or I guess the frozen ice, and then they have this sled, which is just randomly here.

That is what I'm heading for. Wow, the snow is so deep. Oh, yes. Perfect.

All right. Thank you very much. Very nice. Yes, I'm ready.

I'm just sitting so peacefully, riding and gliding along in the snow, and then I see Chad over there laboring away. Go, Chad, go. Go, Chad, go.

This is so fun. I can't believe I'm on frozen water right now. This is so random.

All right, Chad. Do you want me to push you? If it ever snows in Atlanta,

I would love to build one of those. Good job, Chad. Good job. That was really fun.

It's honestly so fun, and that's such a good way to warm up.

Yeah. Unlike you, though. You're probably really cold. No, I'm warming up from cheer.

As you can see, it is dark outside because the sun actually sets at three o'clock in the afternoon here, and I do believe I found us a restaurant for tonight. It's a restaurant that serves traditional Finnish food, and we're walking there now.

Looks like we'll be having a very big feast tonight. This is way more food than I expected, but I don't mind because we'll have leftovers for tomorrow. The very first thing that we got is lohiketto, which is a rich and creamy salmon soup, and I believe there's some potato in there as well. This is really famous here, and I feel like everyone always has it when they come to

Finland. Pretty much a really good comfort food for sure. The next thing that we got is poronkiristis, and this is sauteed reindeer, which I've never had before, and it looks like it comes with some sugar lingonberries, mashed potatoes, and pickled cucumbers. Looks very hearty, and it smells very, very good. I've never had reindeer before, and I don't even think I've seen a reindeer before, so we're gonna have a lot of new experiences on this trip.

The texture reminds me very much of pulled pork. And the very last thing that we got is the jihapuot, which are Finnish meatballs, which is very similar to the Swedish meatballs, but it's made with curd cream, and it's made with less herbs and spices, and it looks like it's topped with some gravy, comes with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and then also some pickled cucumbers as well. This tastes exactly like what they served for like the Christmas or Thanksgiving holiday meals in elementary school, you know, when you'd invite your parents to come eat with you.

And to pair with all the wonderful food that we have here is ruisleppa, which is Finnish rye bread, and this is a huge staple in Finnish cuisine and also a big part of their cultural identity that has been a part of this country for thousands and thousands of years, and apparently when the Finns leave their country, this is actually the thing that they miss most, so must be some really good bread.

Oh no.

Oh, that was a crunchy bite. This is a crunchy slice. This bread is incredibly crunchy, reminds me very much of a crouton and less of a bread, but I do have a little fun fact for you guys about the rye bread. Apparently has three times more fiber than the regular bread, so it's very, very healthy, and I believe it's a super food as well. So I just took my first bite of rye bread. I have to say it is a lot more hearty than I expected, but I think I'm just really hungry because to me it tastes amazing. Like, I really love it. Chad really, really likes that rye bread. He ate the whole basket. I had like half of one and then he ate the other half of mine and then all the other pieces. Can you hear the crunch?

All of this cold weather is definitely making me sleepy because every time you go into a restaurant or a place, the lighting seems to be dim. I don't know if that's just been our experience. Yeah, but it's really good mood lighting. It's very true, but it also makes you so sleepy. Yeah,

Chad's been super, super sleepy ever since we got here. He took a nap today. I have to say not having sunlight for those extra hours in a day definitely makes you want to just hibernate.

Another thing that I'm kind of sad to admit is that I have two puffer jackets on, a sweater, three pairs of pants, and then I'm just walking around and I see all the locals in like jeans and just one jacket. Chad's wearing these overalls that you're supposed to be wearing when you go skiing or snowboarding. I think they're kind of cool, but that's because I never wear overalls.

It's probably very not cool here. So today we were able to check off a number of items on my Finnish foods to try list, but there are a couple more items I didn't get to try, which is really exciting because we're here in Finland for a couple more weeks, so we will have time to try all the things that I've listed out. And a few of my first impressions of the food today is it really reminded me of what I'd imagine my grandparents to have when they were growing up. It's like such a hearty meal and it makes me think of like wartime food, so it's very filling especially with the mashed potatoes and the reindeer. Overall I think it gives off a very festive holiday vibe, you know, from the cinnamon rolls to like the blueberry cake and also of course the reindeer and the meatballs.

Definitely just very Christmassy to me. So with that we're going to end the video here and if you would like to follow along on our adventure through Finland and beyond, hit subscribe. We love to have you guys along on the adventure and with that we will see you guys next time. Bye bye, or as the Finns say, moi moi.

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