Blogs from Tampere, Pirkanmaa, Finland, Europe - page 3

Moro Tampereelta, Micha hat mich gebeten ein bisschen was über Tampere, meiner Heimat in Finnland zu schreiben.Tampere ist die größte skandinavische Stadt, welche sich im Land befindet. Alle anderen großen skandinavischen Städte liegen stets an der Küste. Tampere, auch "Manse" genannt (Anlehnung an Manchester in England. Tampere und Manchester sollen sich wegen der vielen aus Ziegel gebauten Industriegebäude ähneln), hat ca. 200000 Einwohner und liegt zwischen den beiden großen Seen "Näsijärvi" und "Pyhäjärvi". Obwohl Tampere eine Binnenstadt ist, findet man überall Möglichkeiten zum Baden, denn Tampere ist von sehr vielen Seen umgeben. Ich fühle mich in Tampere sehr wohl, denn trotz der Größe und Einwohnerzahl Tampere's, hat man nie das Gefühl in einer größeren Stadt zu wohnen. Wenn ich z. B. Langlauffahren gehen will, muss ich nur 200 m laufen und schon befinde ich mich ... read more

The day has finally come for the much anticipated sauna party. Work went well and let out early as Dave, myself and several compatriots boarded the Himos-bound bus. Arriving at the ski resort we immediately made the tricky walk down the icy road to the sauna building. This building housed a regular sauna plus a lounge. The girls had gone to the savusauna (smoke sauna) first so the guys took advantage of the lounge, the snacks and of course the booze. Finally, savusauna time came. The savusauna is a very traditional type of sauna; it's lack of a chimney makes it special. Heat is provided by a wood fire set beneath the kiuas (bed of rocks) and the smoke is allowed to fill the sauna. When the sauna is hot enough the fire is left to ... read more

I predict this to be the first of many lame blogs coming up as I've begun to work on my taxes. Pretty much the night consisted of staring at my computer until I couldn't stand it anymore and then heading to Celtic House for some fried food and beer. That'll cure the tax blues ;)... read more

Needless to say I wasn't up for much today after the fun weekend in Helsinki. A bonus of checking out for the weekend though was that an executive room with a private sauna became available. So I upgraded to that when checking back in last night. My monday night consisted of unpacking and settling in. I had dinner at the hotel and then enjoyed the sauna before bed. Attached are a few more pictures from Helsinki to make up for my lack of writing.... read more

It was a good day as Dave and I were still high from our moose sighting. We drove to and from work with a renewed vigor for moose spotting. Alas, no moose were to be seen today. The evening was equally uneventful as I stayed in to do some planning for my weekend. I intend to go to Helsinki and see some sights. Dinner was at the hotel. Red waited on me, she's great company and the food was great as usual. I chose a caesar salad with prawns, paired with an Italian white wine and then a chicken pasta with pesto and sun dried tomatoes paired with an Italian red. Sorry I don't recall the varietals, but both wines proved good choices. After dinner I talked to my sister, Liz, on the phone for a ... read more