SUOMI (Finland)

Tallinn, Estonia

2008-08-13T23:34:19Z

Wednesday morning the weather was not so bad, but again we slept the whole passage, so tired were we after our late night. Tallinn was definitely a highlight. Very cute little town, with a little Russian influence, including borscht for lunch. The only drawback is that it's completely overrun by cruise ship tourists. We're getting accustomed to hitting all the must-see sights in 6 hours. We separated from our travel companion, Nick, when it was time to board the Silja cruse ship to Stockholm. The passage was much like the San Juan ferries, plying the narrow waterways between chains of tiny islands. We didn't partake of the all night buffet or disco, choosing instead to catch up on sleep and recharge for Stockholm, but this is famous for being a party ship. Sure enough, as we disembarked, nearly every passenger had their limit of 4 cases of duty free beer, even bringing their own handcarts!

Tallinn, Estonia remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Helsinki, Finland

2008-08-13T23:31:40Z

We left Jyväskäla early Tuesday morning with the Danish couple to catch the am train to Helsinki. Although the views were expansive, I'll be honest, we were so tired we slept the whole way. What a difference the city is after being in the countryside! We had to stow our luggage at the rail station so we could explore the city, awaiting check-in time at our hotel, but had to haul one of the rolling bags all over the cobblestone streets. We saw the famous churches in Helsinki, the Lutheran (white one) and Cathedral (red one), and also Temmpeliokirkko, the church excavated into the rock. It was kind of like Holland library at WSU, with only the dome visible above ground. We got market lunch of paella, then caught a ferry out to Suommenlinna, a fortress island in Helsinki Harbor, but it was a bit underwhelming. No major fortifications or armaments, and the 'open prison' is now an artist's colony. Also the weather turned stormy, but we persisted. Finally we came back to town, to rest and regroup over Kebabs. After dinner we went out to the Helsinki 'Ice Bar' (walk in freezer in the basement of a Mexican restaurant - skip it) and the Hotel Torni rooftop bar, with a view over the city. Serendipitously, we got talking to another couple who mentioned that boats to Tallinn were cancelled due to the storm, so we had to go to the rail station at 1am to rearrange our passage plans to ensure we made our connection to Stockholm.

Helsinki, Finland remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Jyvaskyla, Finland

2008-08-13T23:32:28Z

Since leaving Jarno's hometown of Somero, we traveled north 3 hrs to the university town of Jyväskälä, where Jarno & Henna go to school. We arrived in the afternoon and didn't have much to do, so walked to downtown on the bike path by the lake. It was about 6km (4 mi) so just as we arrived downtown it was closing time and we got turned out of the very first shop we tried. But we had been invited to a Finnish baseball game by one of Henna's friends at the wedding, so we went to that. Let me just say that Finnish Baseball is the most confusing and inscrutable sport. First, the pitcher is also the catcher, and pitches from home 'nest', throwing vertically like a kid throwing to himself. Second, the batter has several chances to choose whether to run on his hit so he can take a chance on getting a better run. Third, the bases are not in diamond shape, but zig-zag. That's about all I was able to glean from the game, but if you ever get a chance to watch Finnish baseball, do!

Jyvaskyla, Finland remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Stockholm, Sweden

2008-08-13T23:35:57Z

Our last day, and our trip feels as abbreviated as this entry! Seeing cities in one day leave little time for rest, let alone sleep. We typically rise at 6, travel for a few hours, then upon arrival in a city, walk non-stop to see the sights, until dinner at 6, and hit a nightspot to meet denizens of that city.
At last we arrive at today, which began inauspiciously with a long hike from the terminal to the Tunnelbana, dragging along our rolling luggage, but we made it to our hostel, got our bearings, and headed out for our requisite 6 hours in Stockholm. For the first time this trip, I felt like one day was not enough. Although we managed to see old town, catch the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, and see City Hall where the Nobel Prize is awarded, we could have spent more time to see the market, Skansen park, and VasaMuseum. We did, however, end our Scandinavian adventure with a nice dinner atop Katerina Hissen overlooking all of Stockholm, and met a very nice couple. And now we're back at the hostel, ready for another early morning taking the train to the airport for am departure. We've gotten up before 6am too many times to call this a vacation, and won't even come home with a tan to show for it!

Stockholm, Sweden remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Finnish Wedding

2008-08-03T18:42:18Z

They're married! Turns out a Finnish wedding is very much like an American wedding. The bride wears white, they play 'Here Comes the Bride', and there's plenty of food and dancing at the reception. The ceremony was at a beautiful brick church at 5:00. Then the bride and groom were driven away in a Jaguar as church bells pealed and the guests moved on to the reception hall. The biggest difference was how long the reception goes on. First awaiting the arrival of the couple in the parking lot before entering the hall. Then the receiving line, 150 guests, one at a time. Then the photo slide show, narrated one picture at a time. Then dismissal one table at a time to the buffet line (Great Finnish food, prepared by Henna's mom, a cafe owner/caterer). Then a music performance, etc. etc, all the usual wedding stuff, but with 20-40 minute breaks between each activity. At an American wedding, the guests would drift away with every downtime, certainly after a couple of hours. But here everyone stayed until 1:30 in the morning, even danced every dance. And the most glaring difference was the competitiveness to catch the garter toss - they actually want it! Nick was about tackled in the stampede to catch it! So alas not the next to get married. But it's a definite glimpse into authentic Finnish culture. The people have been absolutely wonderful, and we exchanged email addresses with all our new friends in hopes of visiting the U.S. someday. Especially Jarno's parents have welcomed us like family. It's so neat to be included in such a special occasion.

Finnish Wedding remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Hyvää Huommenen

2008-08-14T23:55:42Z

This morning started with a run and swim in the river with the bridegroom. I can see why Finns are in such good shape. We go swimming and in the sauna every day. Jarno is variously a semi-pro hockey player, JiuJitsu champion, and ultimate fighter. His bride is a triathlete and marathoner. We also met the neighbor lady while picking wildflowers, who is 80 years old and bikes down to the river every day for a swim. And yesterday while all the victims of jet-lag were napping, I took Jarno's 7 year old cousin, Arttu, for a walk. We wandered down to the river where I was taking pictures, and before I knew it he had stripped down and jumped into the river, leaving me standing on the bank feeling like a pervert with my camera and a naked 7 year old boy! It brought up interesting conversation with our international friends about cultural norms. Wedding traditions are also a rich topic. Mostly like ours, but all the decorations and food are homemade. His mom is something of a Finn Martha Stewart. And a saint, for having a houseful of international guests before hosting a wedding for 150. We have some downtime today before the wedding, so I will report again and upload pictures after.

Hyvää Huommenen remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Tervetuloa Suomi!

2008-08-01T12:37:42Z

We made it! The flight was uneventful (with the exception of the girl behind us puking all the way from London to Helsinki - nothing contagious I hope), but we were nearly late for our connection at Heathrow, arriving just as they began boarding, then spent over an hour waiting on the tarmac for a dead plane to be towed off the runway. Arrived in Helsinki only an hour late (6:30pm), and Jarno picked us up at the airport and took us to his fiance's grandparents mökki (cabin) on a lake deep in the woods (both of which Finland has plenty of, as seen from the plane!). We enjoyed a campfire cookout, dip in the lake, and traditional Finnish sauna, in the waning dusk from 8:30 - 11pm. Fell asleep propmtly in the car for the ride to his parents farm, and then happily fell into bed once here.

Today we are exploring the farm and helping with wedding preparations. We picked wildflowers from the field, berries from the orchard, folded napkins, tied ribbons, etc with Jarno, his parents, fiance Henna, and a couple other guests from Germany who were also international students at WSU. It is so special to be included in such a neat and intimate cultural experience as a wedding! Janelle has also made fast friends with Jarno's 7 year old nephew, Arttu, teaching each other vocabulary words. We even got to watch a solar eclipse, reminiscent of the first night Jarno spent with our family watching a meteor shower in the driveway Can't wait for the wedding tomorrow, will write a full report then. Näkemiin!

Tervetuloa Suomi! remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Trip notes from our host

2008-07-28T16:19:45Z

"We are planning on taking you to Henna's grandparents summer cabin for the first night and have a relaxing evening and get some sleep. Spend a day as typical finnish holiday in a summer cabin (it is not that different of yours). I thought that it would be nice if you´d have time to come and visit Jyväskylä (city where we live ) right after the wedding and see our home. Jyväskylä is a nice small university city in mid Finland. (a lot bigger than somero) And there is train connection to Helsinki as well.

What is comes to the survival kit you need in Mökki and your stay while visiting.. Unless you are able to find "polar bear scaring apparatus" do not take anything or maybe the latest edition of penguin catch would be appreciated as well!

We provide you sleeping bags/blankets and you do not need mosquito net or anything. I think you´ll be fine..or at least alive.. When providing place to overnight for more than 10 people I can´t guarantee luxury every night but I´m sure you´ll be fine and everyone will have a place to stay. No need for you to carry unneccesary stuff that we can provide! but we´re short of the polar bears scaring devices..

The mökki my parents is in Somero and Henna´s grandparents mökki is located between Helsinki and Somero. We are planning that all international guests would stay the night 31st-1st there and enjoy finnish summer (sauna etc.)( swimming suit might be a good idea) and barbeque. On friday the 1st we might have plenty of preparations and if you do not mind you might be able to help us with it. Now the globalization is the word of the day I promised ´cheap foreign labor if needed...

Hey, Do you know how to do line dance?? hahaha. I had this great idea that Alisa and Janelle could teach a country line dance to the wedding guests. How does that sound?" ~ Jarno Purtsi

Trip notes from our host remains copyright of the author nat-ali, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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