Flying off again

After years of no travel, it was extremely strange to now be flying so frequently again.

I had only been back from my holiday a couple of months when I found myself now traveling again for work.

This time, the airport felt far busier.  It was still nothing like what it once was, but there was a buzz that seemed to be slowly returning.  Sadly, the impact of the last few years was still being felt on the population as a whole, as a saw several large groups of families, all tearfully saying their goodbyes to their younger members who seemed to be leaving Hong Kong permanently.

I was heading to London, to save a bit of money for the company, I found myself a flight of Finnair that seemed to fit my schedule.  It was very pleasantly surprised when I was finally on board and seated.  These new Finnair seats don't "recline".  Instead, the reclining seat has been removed entirely and the old shell becomes a larger and more spacious lounge like chair.  When it was time to sleep, a pad was raised at leg level to complete the flat bed.  It was such a novel and different approach to seating and I found it very easy to sleep in.

The flight was long.  With Russian airspace closed off, the flight path went South and seemed to skirt around parts of India, before finally heading back up towards Helsinki.  It was a longer route to take, but I was thankfully very fortunate to have the more comfortable seating which made the whole journey quite easy.  We arrived in Helsinki Airport at 6:00am.  I was the very first person off the plane and walked through the eerily empty halls without a soul in front of me.

The airport was very quiet given how early it was.  I had a few hours before my next flight, so I went for a walk around.  It was a modern airport and quite beautiful.  The style was very Nordic, with clean finishes and lots of wood.  The middle of the airport had a relaxation area that was particularly lovely.  It was full of large leather couches for resting, but surrounded above by a ring of screens that played scenes of nature from around Finland.  As you stood in the middle of this quiet space, you could hear the sounds of the natural scene on the screen playing.

With the time I had, I went to the lounge to rest for a bit.  I found myself a shower room and had a quick wash.  The ability to shower between flights isn't something I ever thought would be so useful.  The refreshment it brings after the long flight is immense and I felt completely reenergised afterwards.  It seemed to help reset my brain as well.  I normally shower when I wake up, so this was almost like a trigger to my brain, telling it that the "day" was about to start.

The inside of the Finnair lounge was simple and elegant.  It was quite empty given the time, but it was still a good place to sit for a few hours as I waited.  The food on offer was simple and generous, but still nothing compared to the lounges in Hong Kong.  For a place to rest and wait, it was a beautiful location to be in.

When it came time to board my next flight, I made the short walk back to the gate.  The airport is small and nothing seems to be much more than a five minute walk.  Along the way, I saw the Moomin themed cafe.  I was definitely in Finland.  It seemed a bit of a shame that I couldn't stay longer and go out into the city.  Maybe the next stopover would need to be longer.