Blogs from Eastern Uusimaa, Finland, Europe

Ce 5 juillet, nous nous trouvons à Ribe au Danemark... Presque pile-poil à un jour près qu'il y a 49 ans... En effet aujourd'hui nous nous sommes mariés à Bruxelles en 1968, mais le Danemark était l'endroit de notre voyage de Noces... Ribe : la première nuit.. et depuis nous y sommes revenus 4 fois dont aujourd'hui... Mais revenons au cours de notre histoire et : Quitter Helsinki pour aller plus au Nord... et rejoindre la région des 1000 lacs... Nous nous arrêterons en premier lieu à Porvoo, à 50 km à l'Est d'Helsinki. Petites maisons de bois lotties entre colline et rivière, comme un conte de fées. La promenade dans la vieille ville est un enchantement. Reconstruite au XVIIIèm siècle selon le plan médiéval, après le dernier incendie, c'est un entrelacs de petites ruelles aux ... read more

Before arriving in Helinksi we debated where to take a tour in this city since we had already visited the city in 2003, however in the end we decided to take a tour. We arrived at the port around 6:00am. The port area and scene was pretty bland, not very exciting. The temperatures were in the high 50’s and partly cloudy. Weather wise, we should be in good shape. After breakfast we met our tour group and went ashore. No passport control today, thank goodness. Russia was the only country so far where we needed to show our passport so far. Our tour today is an all day tour and will visit several areas and a lunch. The stops include Senate Square, Temppeliauko Rock Church, Steam Train Ride, Porvoo, Sipoo Old Church, Sibelius Park and lunch ... read more

Lentokentalla se iski vastaan, tai oikeastaan kun astuttiin ulos ilmastoidusta lentokentta rakennuksesta. Nimittain kuumuus, kuin kavelisi pain kuumaa kosteaa seinaa... Hotelli on ollut aivan oiva, hengailuhuoneita internet yhteyksineen ja TV:ineen, useita terasseja eri tasoilla, istutuksia ja vesiaiheita, niin ja tietenkin kattoterassilla allas ja suihkuseina. Tarpeeksi pieni ollakseen kodikas. Puiston reunalla rauhallisella paikalla, mutta aivan keskustan tuntumassa. Ollaan kayty kavelemassa ja tutustumassa little indian vilskeeseen ja sekasortoon seka pahamaineiseen bugigksen kortteliin, mutta suurin kulttuuri shokki lapsille oli kun vaivalla loydetysta makkarista tuli lastenaterian mukana ranskisten tilalla keitettya maissia... Kyllahan tama on ollut tallainen pehmea lasku aasialaiseen kulttuuriin. Kaikki on siistia, turvallista ja toimivaa. Ja kaikki mahdolliset (ja mahdo... read more

Well I made it from Rovaniemi to Sotkamo where I spent one night with my Thomas and Suvi, the couple I met in Svalbard. Thomas and I walked their dogs, then got back and went for a sauna (almost every Finnish home has one). Then we had a BBQ and relaxed for the rest of the night. I hung out at their place on Friday, and then on Friday night Thomas and I hopped in his car and headed to his family cottage near Loviisa on the south coast on Finland. It was the first time on the trip that I didn't feel like I was travelling. It felt like it was just another roadtrip with a friend. After the 6 hour drive we arrived at the cottage at midnight and went to bed. I woke ... read more

I thought it'd be a great experience to take the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. Instead of being just a means of transportation, this ferry service has become a mini-vacation of sorts for many Europeans with many options for the traveller including bars, buffet restaurants and of course, shopping. Through this, I''ve managed to encounter a group of Europeans that I would not normally have encountered on the streets of the cities I've been visiting. The vacationers (mostly senior citizens or middle aged folk) stock up on duty-free booze like it was going out of style tomorrow. The duty free alcohol section took up about half the store and offered everything from wine to spirits to of course, vodka. Perhaps its like this on every cruise, but having never been on a north american one, ... read more