Sunny Summer Sunday

Sunday, I had a list:  Finnish homework, history paper, grocery shopping, church at 4.  Finnish homework was done, lunch eaten, and I looked out the window.  The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight.  It was too pretty to stay inside, let alone worry about lists.

I put on a sundress- after all, I probably wouldn't be getting many more chances to wear one here in the cold north, and headed to the riverfront walking path, stopping to take photos as I went.

Summer's Last Wish

Opposite the cathedral, the walking path continues along the river through downtown Turku.  When I reached the public library, I made a detour inside.  Browsing their English section makes me happy- volumes of unknown friends, waiting to be discovered.  Saramago's Blindness checked out on their self-serve scanner, I headed back out to see what I could see.

Turku Cathedral

Beautiful architecture

 Such a perfect day deserved an ice cream cone, and besides, I needed to practice my Finnish.  The little things in life- like ordering in Finnish and having the cashier respond in Finnish- make my day.  It was almost time for church, so I went off in search of the building.  I found it 15 minutes earlier than the service began, and St. Michael's beckoned only a few blocks away.  I hurried over to snap a few photos while the sky was still a perfect blue, then headed back to the International Service.

Ice cream by the Aura River

St Michael's Church

I didn't realize how much I'd missed church until I was there, with my brothers and sisters, worshipping our Savior.  The Christian faith was meant to be lived in community, and until Sunday, I hadn't had that here, so to be reminded I'm not alone here was a blessing.  It was a little congregation- I don't think there were more than 20 of us, but everyone was so friendly and welcoming.  I love when you walk into a church and it feels like home.  I stayed and chatted after the service til nearly 7, when I gave my number to one of the women I'd been chatting with and saw I'd missed a text from a friend- they were meeting at 6, did I want to join them?  Oops!  I called him back, and fortunately they were only a few blocks away, having a picnic by the river.

As we caught the last rays of summer sunshine, a hot air balloon drifted overhead.  I don't think I'd ever seen one so low before.  We could hear the roar of the flame as they lifted higher and see them waving to us.  I just might have to add "ride in a hot air balloon" to my list of things to do while I'm here, and fortunately for me, I've got the website right here in the photo.

By nine o'clock it was a bit too chilly to stay outside, so we headed back to Nancy and Chisako's where the night would not have been complete without a multi-national singing of "Finlandia" accompanied by ukulele.

I couldn't have asked for a better day.