Fun in Finland

Marshall and I had a really relaxing week in Finland, Chase on the other hand was worn out, bruised, but very happy by the time we left. We spent 8 days in Finland so that Chase could study with one of the world's foremost medieval sword fighters. He trained all day on two saturdays in workshops with other students, trained privately each mornng, then again at the sword school for about 4 hours in the evening. We stayed in a little cabin in a campground on the edge of Helsinki, which was pleasant. Marshall and I had plenty of time to do some more Marshally-type activities while Chase was training--we found a zoo and playgrounds, kicked a soccer ball around, played some mini-golf, did some archery practice, and discovered Finnish go-carting, which is now one of Marshalls favorite activities. The carts go about 40 miles an hour around a rather large track with many turns. You wear an official go-cart suit and helmet. He loved it, so we went almost every evening. Chase was thrilled with his training, which was intense. Of all the places we've been to this trip, Helsinki, although a beautiful city, has fewer tourist attractions than many of the other cities, so a week gave us plenty of time to leisurely check out the markets, churches and museums in the afternoons when Chase was off training. It also gave us time for afternoon naps, schoolwork time, or to relax in the Finnish sauna. Actually the most beautiful part of Helsinki is getting there and leaving it, as you travel by boat through the archipelego and see hundreds of beautiful little islands. Some are about as big as our yard at home and have a little house perched on them. On mothers day we took a fast ferry--about a 2 hour boat ride--across to Estonia. It was fascinating to see this former piece of the U.S.S.R. reveling in capitalism. It has become a major tourist magnet. The city of Talin was apparantly very run down 15 years ago, but now all the medieval buildings have been spruced up and there are restaurants and shops everywhere. It is quite beautiful. It was a nice Mothers Day as I realize on this trip what an amazing gift this experience is. With the boys getting older--Chase will be off to college in a couple of years--to spend all this time having an adventure together is amazing. We eat every meal together, talk, laugh....I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world. On that note...with the medieval sword training over we have headed back to do a whirlwind couple of weeks through the rest of Scandinavia before heading home in a few weeks. Mijke.

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