It's all Here!

We finally posted our entire Finland trip and all our fabulous adventures. About halfway through, the uploading of the pictures stopped working. Sorry there aren't more pictures! Someday when I am rich and famous maybe I will also know how to run my computer. Enjoy!

Day 12

We left the Torni Hotel at 4:00 am, in a taxi. We flew from Helsinki to Amsterdam, where we had a 5-hour layover. We explored the airport and ate dinner. Our second plane took off at 1:00 pm, and landed in Minneapolis 9 hours later. Local time was 3:00 pm. What a wonderful trip!

Day 11

We ate our last breakfast at the Torni restaurant. I will miss the ready-made hot breakfasts every day! We took a walk along the coast, trying to find the American Embassy, but we never found it. We ate again at the outdoor market for lunch, and then did some last-minute shopping at Stockmann.

Niklas picked us up and we spent our final evening in Finland at his home with his family. They have been so hospitable. I even managed some primitive communication with 2-year-old Tessie, who knows Swedish and Finnish but not English.

Tanja served us mushroom quiche, coffee, and rolls for supper. We sat and talked for a few hours, and then Niklas brought us back to our hotel so we could pack.

Day 10

We spent the morning finding tourist T-shirts at the new mall (Simonkentta), Stockmann (a large department store), and the outdoor market. Dan bought me a wall hanging with real flowers (called Bee Flowers) pressed between glass, for Mother's Day. The flowers were found in Finland, and we bought the hanging at the outdoor market. We ate at the outdoor market for lunch - reindeer brats and fresh salmon with puella (rice and veggies).

We relaxed in the hotel all afternoon, and at supper at a bar-and-grill called the Iguana. The Finnish take on Mexican food was very good, and I had my first "foo-foo" drink: a strawberry daiquiri. Yum!

Day 9

Today after Dan went to work, Tanja picked up Alan and I, and took us sightseeing. First we saw the "rock church" which is basically a church carved into the underground rock. Next we went to an island that contained an outdoor museum. There were many old buildings such as houses and churches. The buildings had been moved there from various places in Finland. We walked through a house that was 200 years old. It was interesting to imagine who might have lived there (the tour guide said probably a wealthy farmer and his family and servants) and what the house looked like when it was new.

Then we went to lunch at a small, old-fashioned cafe. We were the only ones there, so we could nurse and change our babies in the middle of the place!

Next, Tanja took us to the Orthodox Church. It was beautiful and ornate with an extremely high ceiling and paintings of the saints. Then we walked around both the indoor and outdoor markets by the sea. Tanja bought Alan a little stuffed moose wearing a Finland sweater. The outdoor market had booths selling souvenirs, handmade items, and fresh food.

Later that afternoon, the men of Sparklike and their wives/girlfriends took us on a sightseeing dinner cruise. We saw the coastline and islands, including Fort Suomenlinna which we had visited earlier in the week. The food was amazing, including reindeer, fresh fish, and cheese covered in cloudberry sauce. Cloudberries are only found in Finland. I bought some cloudberry jam at the indoor market, which sells high quality fresh foods. We also bought some sweet dessert wine there.

Day 8

For some reason, I was exhausted when I woke up this morning. Maybe it takes this long for jet lag to catch up with us? Or maybe it's because the sun doesn't set until after 10:00 pm, so we stay up quite late every night. We had breakfast downstairs, and after Dan left for work, Alan and I both took a 2 hour nap! It felt great. For lunch, we walked to the Wayne's Coffee where all the mothers and babies gather. As usual, there were tons of them there.

I learned yesterday that Finland has two official languages: Swedish and Finnish. Especially along the coast (which is where Helsinki is) a lot of people speak Swedish. That is from when Sweden took over Finland, but only felt a need to inhabit and protect the coast. So the mothers at Wayne's Coffee may have been speaking Finnish or Swedish. I cannot tell the difference.

In Niklas and Tanja's home, Niklas speaks Swedish to the children and Tanja speaks Finnish. They know both, and in this way their children will also. They called themselves "bilingual" because of this . . . all the while speaking English fluently as well. They are actually "trilingual"! They can choose whether to send their children to a Swedish or Finnish school. (Niklas and Tanja plan to send Tessie and Robert to a Swedish school.)

It is also fun for me to watch MTV while Alan is taking his naps, because it seems they are playing songs that aren't big in the US yet. It could be that I am just out of touch with what's on MTV.

Tonight we went to Mats' house for dinner. He and his girlfriend, Mia, live in an apartment here in Helsinki. They have a balcony on both sides, looking out to the city. They served us a wonderful goat cheese "teaser" - I wish I knew how to make it! The meal was from the grill: stuffed mushrooms, corn on the cob, and pork sirloin.

Day 7

Today at breakfast Niklas joined us for a few minutes for a cup of coffee. Dan left for work, and Alan and I went out to compare prices on tourist T-shirts.

Mats and Dan picked us up for lunch at an "American" burger joint. It was not like America, though, because the meal came with vegetables and didn't taste all that greasy.

Alan and I took a short walk in the afternoon, but he wasn't all that interested, so we came back.

We spent the evening having dinner at Niklas's brand new house. We met his wife, Tanja, and hs children, Tessie and Robert. The food was amazing - orderves (okay I know that's not the correct spelling) of salmon, herring, potatoes, and salad; a main dish of sirloin steak; 3 cheeses; and brownies with ice cream and berries for dessert. Every course came with special wine - Niklas has a wine cellar with what looked like almost 100 bottles.

Dan fit right in with the guys from Sparklike as they discussed hunting, woodworking, and electronics. I enjoyed talking with Tanja. Robert is 2 and 1/2 months old, and we are both staying home with our babies.