I am still in Helsinki, but a combination of skating, exhaustion and generally feeling unwell has meant there hasn't been as much sightseeing as planned.

Today is Independence Day in Finland which means most of Helsinki is closed down, but we drag ourselves out of bed to see what we can. We're not looking forward to it as from inside we can see that much more snow has fallen and the wind has really picked up, but we pile on lots of layers and head out to brave the day.

The snow in Helsinki is incredible- I really cannot convey just how beautiful it really is. Of course, as they have weather like this for up to seven months of the year, Finland is geared up to cope with it which makes it much nicer than the slushy inch of snow we get in the UK which grinds us to a halt!

We began our day with a walk. We come across the Helsinki Cathedral where coincidentally we arrive just in time to see the President leaving, and then head off to the port. Next we take a ferry ride across the ice covered water to Suomenlinna,  a sea fortress built in the 18th century. I must admit that we spend most of our time here throwing each other in the snow and drinking hot chocolate to try and defrost ourselves!

Now we're fully frozen and tired, we head back to the hotel to lie in bed, eat Finnish delights and watch the Independence Day Reception on TV. We had been told about the reception and that it was just 3 hours of the President shaking hands- and we weren't disappointed! We spend the next few hours mesmerised by the variety of dresses, hairstyles and suits worn by the 2000 people who turn up to greet the President- we all agreed we wished this was on TV in England.

By 8pm we had planned to be in bed nursing our colds but our lovely Finnish hosts arrive to take us to a local karaoke bar for a quick sing and a drink. Needless to say it didn't turn out to be quite that way...