Tom and Jen bought a truck camper.
We booked sleeper cars on the night train from Turku to Oulu. They were kind of cool. The total trip was about 10 hrs. That was due to a 3 hr stop in Tampere. The train stopped at Tampere from 11:30pm to 2:30am to switch cars and engines. It was a great chance to get... Continue Reading →
Jen and I rushed out of Lappeenranta early heading to Helsinki to spend the day walking the city. Due to a missed flight connection at London Gatwick coming into Finland we missed a our full day in Helsinki. Kauppatori My focus was to get freshly cooked Muikku at Market Square (Kauppatori). We got it and... Continue Reading →
Kajaani-Paltamo We saw a moose on the road while we were traveling towards the lakes region. Unfortunately there isn't a photo. On the way to the Lakes Region eagle eye Jen spotted a road named Lahnala Road (Lahnalantie). We were not on the lookout for anything like this and I'm surprised she picked it out.... Continue Reading →
Update: Drove in Helsinki today. It was rush hour (1700 or 5pm), beautiful day sunny and 75F, cruise ship on town. It was nerve wracking. Cars, buses, taxis, pedestrians, bikes, and Jen doing the navigating. All the activity required the radar to be at full power. After spending two weeks in the Finland countryside driving... Continue Reading →
I've been having a lot of Finnish soup. The food here is really great. From the elegant restaurant to the fast food joint everything has been fresh and well prepared. Poronkäristys (sautéed Reindeer) Poronkäristys is reindeer served primarily with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. It is a traditional Finnish meal from Lapland. We have had reindeer... Continue Reading →
This lake is the second largest in Finland. It is raining on our dinner cruise. The cruise is very nice on the Suomen Suvi. The food is good.
A gift of a birch burl cup (kuksa) made in Finland for Father's Day. The "soup of the day" tastes a little woody.
Inari is a lot like Upper Michigan. It has rocky terrain, evergreen trees, berry bushes, water, and few people. This is the place for outdoor enthusiasts. There are many reindeer in the area. We are at the Inari Hotel. It doesn't seem like much from the outside. The inside is very nice with warm, comfortable,... Continue Reading →
Soup at Villa Hannala The salmon soup at Villa Hannala fabulous. If you visit Oulu this is a great lunch spot. Soup and bread is the meal. The old market is closed for renovations 🙁 so several of the vendors are set up outside. We ended up eating Pannukakku at pannukakkutalo (pancake restaurant). Pannukakku at... Continue Reading →
Sleeping on the night train from Turku to Oulu was fruitless. little sleeping was accomplished by all of us. We napped the next afternoon. I think it would have been better to take the day train. I think there is an express train. A bonus was we stopped in Tampere for 3 hrs and got... Continue Reading →
Arvitrekking 