We just got back from a week-long trip visiting some of the Nordic and Baltic countries. It was an awesome -- though pretty cold -- vacation, where we admired several beautiful cities and tried a bunch of new-to-me cuisines like reindeer, elk and bear. 

We unfortunately lost our first evening in Helsinki to a horrible first day of travel. Our flight out of Baltimore was delayed 2.5 hours, which caused us to miss our connection in London, and the next London to Helsinki flight wasn't for another four hours. So we arrived in Helsinki around 9 p.m. local time instead of the 3 p.m. arrival we initially planned. 

But after putting a bad travel day behind us, we woke up to a fairly sunny morning the next day, which was perfect for exploring the city on foot. 

Helsinki is pretty small, and we found it very easily walkable. 

We started our first day exploring some of the major sites. The beauty of visiting in the winter is that there weren't a million other tourists there at the same time so nothing was overly crowded. 

Our first stop was Senate Square, home to what is perhaps Helsinki's most famous landmark, this massive Lutheran Cathedral. 

It anchors the other buildings in the square, which include university buildings, the government palace and the national library, all of which were built by the same architect in a similar style in the 1800s. 

The art inside of the library was especially beautiful (and apparently some of the best non-ecclesiastic interior architecture in the country, per the one of the guidebooks I read).

From Senate Square we took a stroll over to Katajanokka, a quieter island neighborhood that's home to a large Russian Orthodox church as well as beautiful architecture along quaint streets. 

As we were walking over the bridge to the island, a friendly local man pegged us as tourists on a stroll and offered to show us around the neighborhood. He walked with us for probably 30 minutes, pointing out some of the different buildings and key landmarks. He also provided some colorful commentary on some of the historical and more recent changes in Finland. 

After we parted ways, we stopped in to visit the Russian Orthodox church and take in its ornate beauty. 

We finished our morning stroll looping past the archives and the national bank of Finland before heading to the Central Market along the water for lunch.

Our local friend highly recommended the salmon soup, which I'd also seen recommended on several Helsinki travel blogs. So after checking out the multiple market vendors, we settled in with a big bowl of delicious soup.

With some hearty fuel in our bellies we set out to explore Suomenlinna, an island fortress that's about a 15-minute ferry ride from Central Market. 

This fortress was originally built by the Swedes to protect against the Russians, but it eventually came under Russian control (like all of Finland), until Finnish independence in 1917. 

Now the island is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We spent the afternoon exploring the old fortifications, walking along the sea and checking out the bunkers placed throughout the island. 

Of course, while we were on the island, the wind really started to pick up and it got quite chilly despite the sun. 

Our day concluded with a visit to the sauna before heading out to Restaurant Savotta back at Senate Square for dinner. This might have been my favorite meal of the whole trip where we got to try a whole variety of traditional Finnish dishes. 

Our appetizer platter featured traditional food from land and sea. This is where we tried bear for the first time. Ben got the reindeer and I got the lamb for our entrees. I was surprised the reindeer wasn't nearly as gamey as I have found venison in the U.S. to be. 

On the way home, we picked up some Frazer chocolate for dessert to end our first day on a sweet note. 

I think I may have only read two books in the month of February. I felt like I blinked, and the month was over. But when I look back at my calendar, I'm trying to figure out what exactly I did.  Yes there was the Super Bowl, which the Eagles sadly lost, and we had an incredibly busy President's Day weekend, but beyond that, I think I was just largely uninspired by the books I had been reading, and only managed to find two this month that I actually enjoyed. 

And oddly enough, they were both witchy romances. I stumbled down this category books after a discussion at a past book club on how witchy books were really taking off. So I read two of them in February, and honestly found them both pretty enjoyable.

Four Stars

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Witches in Great Britain follow a certain set of rules to remain undetected by the regular population, most importantly, keeping their heads down and not mingling with other witches. But then Mika gets a job opportunity to train a group of young witches living in secret together on a far-flung farm. She takes the job because she needs the money, but is constantly worried about the repercussions. Over time she finds herself growing found of her charges. Throw in some surly normal people that live on the farm with the witches. Things get dicey as spells go off the rails and Mika has to navigate it all. This was another enjoyable and cozy read.

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute follow-up to the Ex Hex that I read back in the fall. Set in the same magical town, featuring a similar set of witches. One witch loses her magic when a newcomer arrives in town, but it's not immediately clear why. As she tries to figure it out, she's also faced with a pack of witches attempting to do some dark magic. Meanwhile, she finds herself falling for a sworn enemy. Definitely a fun and light read.

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January was a slow month of reading for me. I just felt like I was in a slump the whole time and didn't finish a lot of the books I picked up. To that end, I only finished the month with four books. They were at least all fairly decent though, and the last read of the month was just what I needed to get me excited about books again.

Five Stars

Her Sister's Death by K.L. Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was just the book I needed to drag me out of a major reading slump! It's a mystery set in Baltimore during two different time periods. In modern day, Val is trying to investigate her sister's mysterious death at a fancy Baltimore hotel. The police have ruled it a suicide, but Val doesn't buy it. Back in the 1920s, Bridget is getting ready to be married off to a wealthy man in the same hotel. She has some concerns, but goes through with the wedding anyway. I thought it was interesting the way the author wove these two very different storylines together, centering the hotel as a strange and mysterious place. I couldn't put this book down and tore through it in just a few days.

Four Stars

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not normally a book I'd pick up, but it was a book club selection for a virtual book club I'm in, and honestly it was better than I expected. Samuel Adams (who apparently NEVER went by Sam Adams) was a pretty pivotal figure in the founding of our country, but not much is written about him. This book explored his life and the role he played in the American Revolution. I definitely learned some stuff I didn't know and largely enjoyed reading this book.

The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the first from Mindy Kaling's book production studio with Amazon so I knew it had to be good. And it was. It tells the story of three generations of women, the push and pulls on their relationships, the way they support each other as they each dip their toes into the dating waters and some of the hi-jinx that ensue. It has funny moments, but it's also a touching story. Definitely a fast, feel-good read.

Three Stars

The Winners by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to the conclusion of the Beartown Trilogy, but this book was a bit of a slog for me to get through. I appreciated being reunited with some of my favorite characters from the series, and there were parts that definitely pulled at my heart strings, but overall, this book felt long and I didn't get swept up in it like I did the other Beartown books.

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