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Published: August 11th 2009
Hanna and Fred with the Vegemite and Corned Beef
The cans of beef were used up quite quickly - I think the vegemite lasted a lot longer.We spent our first night in a Hostel in Helsinki then took the train up to Kuopio the next day where we were met at the station by Hanna and Fred. It was so good to see them both again and we were taken some 40km out of town to her parents’ house for the evening - and that was some experience. The house is quite new and has a wood-fired boiler for central heating and hot water - there are plenty of trees around and one of the summer-time jobs is to top up the log supplies for next winter. There is a wood burning bread oven in the kitchen and a wood fired Sauna also in the house - we were introduced to the Sauna after dinner and I managed the rolling in the snow then back into the sauna a few times. Maybe it was the lowered level in the Cognac bottle which made it all seem like such a good idea! However, I was not persuaded to take the dip into the lake (through the hole cut into the ice!) - not even with the Cognac.
We spent a couple of days with Hanna and Fred
Hole in the ice
We cleared the hole but I never worked up enough courage to try it. and were shown around the local sights - the temp was around 6 or 8 below freezing and quite comfortable as there was little wind and it was not slippery to walk on the ice as it had not warmed enough to melt. We were taken to an Ice Hockey game (the local team lost but it was a good experience anyway) and we watched one leg of the qualifying round for the World Ski Jumping Champs. Standing in one place for an hour or so on the packed snow meant the cold crept into our shoes after a while. When we got back to the car the outside temp was - 9 deg C so we felt that our feet deserved to be a bit cold! It was nice staying in their apartment with them. While Hanna is vegetarian Fred is a big-time carnivore (a meal without meat is not a meal!!) and they often eat separately. Hanna was missing Vegemite so we had taken her a few jars - Fred could not get his favourite Corned Beef so we took a few tins of those too. Fred is taking Language Classes at the local school and Hanna is
Dad makes smoked salmon out in the snow
Hmmmm - YUM. I was so impressed with home smoked salmon that I designed and made my own smoker when I got back to England. Notice the beer on top of the smoker - if the beer gets warm the fire is too hot!! working shifts at an Old Folks Home (one week days, one week nights and one week off) so they are busy.
The highlight of the visit would have to have been the weekend at Koli National Park. We stayed in a cabin with an open fire (and Sauna of course) and it was up in the mountains close to the Russian Border - well maybe within 50km. The weather was just perfect and the views spectacular. We went on a snowshoe walk near one of the resorts and it was magical - just below zero, clear sky, no wind and we found the snowshoes a much more enjoyable experience than skiing. The trees all had their “coats” of snow and as the day warmed a little there would be an occasional flurry of snow sliding off the branches - and even more so when someone decided to hide under the tree and shake it just as someone else was walking underneath! The scenery was magnificent - mountains, trees and lakes. And lots of snow and ice so we took a lot of photos.
All too soon it was time to head back to England - we found the snow there
Mum bakes the bread
It was delicious - but I haven't made my own bread oven. had all disappeared a few days after we had left and so it was back to the usual dull winter weather while waiting for spring - and our next adventure.
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