Finland 2016 Part I
July 23, 2016
We are off again bright and early. Most of the flights will be part of another “space
available” adventure.The first leg of the journey is to Seattle with departure time of 6:50
out of Boise. We made first class on that flight. For those short flights it means you get
better snacks and bigger seats. Both of those are good. We had three chances to get to
JFK with the first one looking the best. We only had about thirty minutes to get across
the airport but we made it just in time to board the plane. Surprisingly our luggage made
it too. No first class this time and the flight is over four hours. We have plenty of time to
get the gate this time with about six hour layover at JFK. Oh we got lucky again. We got
three seats for the two of us. So we are on an eight hour flight to Copenhagen. Now we
know this is Denmark not Finland but that flight had the best odds of getting on and was
somewhat close to Finland.
July 24, 2016
We arrived in Copenhagen about 12:30 pm local time. Immigration and customs was
very easy. Waiting to get our bags was long. We waited over 30 minutes for the first
bags from the flight to show up. The benches in the luggage area should have been a
sign. Next item on the agenda was to book seats on a flight to Helsinki. Wifi in the
airport is fast, free and unlimited. Seats in the arrival hall are virtually nonexistent. We
did get seats on an SAS flight for later that evening. So next you go to one of many
kiosks to print boarding passes and bag tags. The process is totally self service. After
you attach the bag tags you take the luggage to a station to weigh the bags and scan
the tags before sending the bags onto the plane. No SAS employees involved.
Now we have roughly a six hour wait. Off through security and the wait on the other
side. Unlike the US, the trays for your personal items are returned automatically. We
commented to one of the ladies who said it was an old system. Sure seems more
efficient than what we have. The security folks here are also much more friendly.
We have now virtually walked into a mall. All kinds of shops are everywhere. The only
chairs are in the handful of eateries. The prices are very high compared to the US. A
small individual size pizza with very little on it costs about $15. A small coke is $3 as is
bottled water. After wandering around a bit we learned that the most seats can be found
in the area for folks needing assistance.
While waiting we talked quite sometime with a lady from England who was waiting for a
flight to Latvia or Lithuania not sure which. She had interesting comments about the
vote to withdraw from the EU. Two main things. It was a vote against the status quo and
a vote where people thought their vote counted.
The gate for our flight finally came up on the board so we headed off. We sampled
Danish hot dogs on the way to the gate. About $4 gets you a foot long hot dog in a six
inch bun. You do get choices of six sauces to put on them. At the gate were a few seats
but not many. This flight was out of gate 19. Interestingly gates 17 and 18 are no where
to be seen. We arrived in Helsinki about 11:00 pm local time. While waiting for the
luggage we talked with a Swedish gentleman who trains medical service dogs. He had
a pair of the cutest corgi dogs. We booked a room at the Holiday Inn near the airport.
They had a free shuttle that runs almost 24 hours. After a little trouble finding the pick up
point, we were on our way. Seems everyone on the bus was going there also. We had
to wait a bit to check in. Then when we did get to the counter the clerk was so excited to
be a tour guide we had to remind him to check others in first. Eventually we got to our
room. Very clean and very small.
July 25, 2016
Breakfast was quite a spread. No reason to go away hungry from here. We decided to
go to Porvoo and save Helsinki for the return. The best way is to return to the airport
and catch a bus from there. The bus was scheduled to depart an hour from when we
arrived. For the most part transportation runs very timely. Sure enough here came the
bus. He took us as far as a bus stop on the freeway. In a few minutes another bus
arrived and we got on that one. Just another bus transfer on a freeway. Ho hum.
Along the roadside there are lots of tall thin evergreen trees with tall thin white birch
mixed in. The under growth is not too thick. Occasionally a break in the forest appears
and fields of grass or grain spread out. The grass is baled in big white plastic rolls. The
farm house and barns sit back further from the road. The dark red with white trim is by
far the majority. We don’t see any livestock but by the size of the barns they are most
likely inside.
Shortly we arrived in town. This is Sunday and things are quiet. We used Pocket Earth
Pro to locate the hotel. It was right in the middle of the old town. Now we know where
everyone is. The shops here are open and people are wandering all over. The weather
today is unusually warm and everyone is out for a Sunday stroll. The old town is brightly
painted wooden structures. They have burned and been rebuilt several times. Our hotel
is very nice. It only has 10 rooms.
After leaving the bags we walked around the area and up the hill to the church. Then we
walked down to the river. We didn’t find any mosquitos but there were lots of bees. The
roads in the old town are cobblestone. Cars are rare but bicycles are numerous.
Occasionally a motorcycle goes by.
We had dinner out front at one of the restaurants. Rob had lemon chicken pasta and I
had a pizza with smoked reindeer meat, garlic, pine nuts and rosemary. The crust is like
a cracker and the sauce is very thin. I think there might have been some cheese too.
The waitress was very friendly and spoke good English. Most everyone we have
encountered speaks some English. Good thing because the Finnish words are long and
full of double and triple letters. English pronunciation guides don’t come close.
July 26, 2016
Breakfast here must be more traditional Finnish because many of these things don’t
look familiar. Let’s start with barley porridge. It’s tan in color with lots of lumps that are
undoubtedly the barley. Looks like very lumpy wallpaper paste. Before eating you add
black current jam. Thank goodness because the paste doesn’t have much flavor. Next
comes something they call meat pie. This is similar to bland meatloaf made with lots of
rice, wrapped in pastry and baked. Next is a rice pastry which is an oval pastry with rice
pudding spread to within a half inch of the edges. The edges are brought up around the
pudding but only a little ways. Then they are baked and cooled before eating. On top of
this you spread a mixture of hard boiled eggs and butter. Now the fruit looks familiar and
tastes the same. Coffee is very strong.
We packed up and head for the bus station. What a difference on a week day. A small
market is opposite the station and the station is open. We bought tickets to
Lappeenranta which is located on the shores of Finland’s largest lake. The countryside
is much the same. Lots of trees, a few farms and small lakes. The busses are nice and
this one even has wifi. The Internet speed was better than at home. (Screaming!)
Today is very warm for the area with a high of about 80 degrees and lots of humidity.
The sky is partly cloudy with huge white fluffy clouds. That is with exception of the dark
one that dumped rain on us for a short distance. We figured out a city bus to take us
near the hotel. We stayed in a Cumulus Hotel which is a big chain here. The room was
very warm and the air conditioning was one very small fan. A small window was open
but that didn’t help much since it was so hot outside.
We decided to head for the lake and a fort. By Finnish standards we are very close. The
clouds look more ominous now but we are prepared. We went down a hill and up
another to get to the fort. These are the only hills we have seen. The fort is surrounded
by a nice park with benches and walking paths. The fort is a grouping of wooden and
brick buildings that now house various museums and cafes. An Orthodox Church is also
here. The area is well maintained. The road and sidewalk are cobblestone so walking is
a little rough. Only a few cars drive on the road.
You must go down the hill to the lake but when you get there they have a small
amusement park and eateries. But the real attraction here is the giant sand castle.
Every year sand castle builders from Finland and elsewhere gather to build a sand
sculpture. Last year was a steam locomotive. This year is a medieval castle complete
with fire breathing dragon, royal family, joker, and knight. Approximately 300 tons of
sand are used. Hopefully not much rain falls to wash it all away. Concerts are given in
the castle throughout the summer. Seating space inside is not great so we doubt the
performances are by well known artists.
Docks line this part of the lake. All sizes shapes and kinds of water craft. Across the lake
is a tree lined shore. The shoreline definitely wanders. The passengers on one of the
moored boats is getting ready to fix dinner. The water must be okay because he just
reached over the edge and scooped some up out of the lake. A few drops of rain started
falling so we began the journey back. Luckily only a few drops fell so we made it back
without getting wet. We even found an ice cream stand open. Finns do like ice cream.
These small stands are all over. The flavors vary but the price is anywhere from 3 to 4
euros for one scoop. That makes it $3.50-$5.25. Another constant in life, “The price of
fun just keeps going up.
Enjoy,
Rob & Connie…