Korkeasaari

Though I'm sad and in disbelief that I'll be leaving Finland in less than one week, this past weekend has definitely been one of the best so far.  (Fo sho!)  Perhaps it was because it started on Thursday night or because I primarily stayed in Helsinki.  Either way, it's been a wonderful weekend -- filled with choir concerts, sightseeing, walking down someone else's memory lane, laughing on beer boats, adventures in transportation, tasty hummus, successful shopping, free samples of chocolate, inventing bluebarb muffins (blueberries & rhubarb), polishing off a bottle of wine, impromptu sleepovers, wandering the streets of Helsinki sans contacts and eyeglasses, and a long awaited trip to the zoo.

I've wanted to go to Helsinki's zoo since I moved to Kulosaari for many reasons:
- because I like zoos & animals
- because I live within walking distance to the zoo and have been past it so many times without entering
- because I hoped there would be a nice view since the zoo is on Korkeasaari -- a separate island that faces Helsinki's city center
- and because I put it on my to do list

It was a bit too cloudy and windy at times, but the trip to Korkeasaari was really nice.  It felt like it was possible to get closer to the animals than you can in zoos in the US.  The zoo seemed to focus more on animals found in this region of the world and in going from one animal exhibit to another, I got a pretty tour of the island with nice views of the city.  And, I even learned a few things about the red wallaby.