Tour Finland

I have been experiencing a little bit of Finnish summer this month, and its not easy. I am not sure how many of these summers I can survive, and it has nothing to do with the sun keeping me up, but more to do with the fact that there is just so-much-to-do. Sleep is just too boring.

Where to start.

Well, for almost two weeks my brother and mother visited and together we went on a small road trip to east Finland. The destination was a summer cottage on peruajärvi (reindeer lake). Most Fins have their summer cottage close to where they live, and I now understand why. The 8 hour drive across Finland really isn't all that exciting. The roads here tend to stay away from lakes and coast line and even city centers, so the view is mainly trees and country side, which is nice but does tend to get a little tiring after the 134th field goes by. But we did manage to visit some nice sites along the way, including Häme Castle and Olavinlinna. The summer cottage was perfect - simple yet comfortable with a nice wood sauna (sauna that is heated with fire). The sauna was a hit with the whole family, though Pat almost passed out a few times. That might have been my fault, as I was in charge of the löyly. We went out in the row boat and did some hikes around the area. If you are interested, I posted some pictures.

The other highlight of their trip was the day in Helsinki. We took the ferry out to Suomenlinna where Pat and I explored the tunnels of the old fort while mom got her self lost exploring the walls. And I also learned that I hate sea gulls, as we both like ice cream. But where I pay of my ice cream, the sea gulls steal theirs right out of my hand and throw it in the water to share with their friends.

After the family left I had one night in my own bed before heading up to Siikajoki for a 3 night camping trip on very small island called SimppuSäikkä (Another 8 hour drive). There were three of us, and we all work together. A manager and his two team mates. We had a great time building shelters, chasing the unwelcome cattle, walking 1 mile out in the shallow sea to sit on a rock, cursing the sea gulls who dive bombed us .... the Climax must have been early Sunday morning when for some reason (re: beer) the two Nokia employees decided to attempt to throw their manager to the river. What followed was a Lord of the Flies chase all over the forested island, which lasted until the two pursuers figured that it was much nicer to sit by the fire and drink then continue to stand in the water waiting for their manager to return in the boat which had used as an escape vehicle. This is called "Team building" in Finland.

Tomorrow my dad will be arriving for a visit, and we will be going on a northern Scandinavia excursion, so I will have more pictures and maybe a story to post then.