Blogs from Finland, Europe - page 99

That's right!!! Winter is gone, summer is here, I've got 20ish days left in the Navy and things are starting to look good. Our training is all but finished, only some classroom sessions left to go. On one day last week I watched 3 episodes of LOST, which I have been waiting to catch up on since I finished at camp last year, so we haven't exactly been busy. But I'm not complaining about being bored at all, it gives me a chance to get things organised for when I get out of here. Two weekends ago (19st-21st) was Juhannus, basically a huge mid-summer holiday that they celebrate in the typical Finnish fashion. We went to Raumanmeren Juhannus, otherwise known as RMJ 2006 which is the biggest summer music festival here in Finland. I went with ... read more

Hello everyone, The first thing we learned about Finland is that they do not consider themselves to be part of Scandinavia. They do not have mountains and their language is completely different. They draw closer parallels to the Irish temperment. For example, they share an animosity toward authority--especially the police. They are suspicious of anyone trying to be better--people who wear a jacket and tie. The Finns are also suspicious of anyone who speaks Swedish. They learn Swedish in school, but then forget it as quickly as they can. Finland is a full member of the European Union--they also use euros. The group most affected by this union is the Finnish farmer. They lost their subsidies and as a result half have disappeared. By the way, Norway is still not a member of the EU, Sweden ... read more

Day 22: Week 4: Sunday 28th. May 2006: Clear and sunny - lovely: Bussed to Oulu and staying in a self contained (great kitchen) cabin in the delightful camping ground at Nallikari. We look forward to doing our own cooking again and having a decent meal, though we only had a snack tonight. We are a stone's throw from the water (Bothia Sea) and beach. Bus stop at the end of driveway takes us into town. Fantastic storm tonight, thunder and lightning. Day 23: 29th. May 2006: Raining: Into town by bus and had a walk around. Very pretty, interesting place with many beautiful buildings, parks and gardens. Home for lunch then a walk into town in the pouring rain across a long bridge, but I was determined to take some video here. so we ... read more

Day 20: Raining on- off: Our hostel was at a ski resort, by a bus stop and easy to find + brekky included. Went into town for a walk around then up the hill to the Jyvaskyla ridge and observation tower. Our meals for breakfast, lunch and tea was rolls, cheese and meat - oh dear! At least the weather was not as cold as Helsinki. Day 21: Cloudy, cool and not raining yet: We were told to go and look at the gardens - we went on Bus 15 - the gardens were lovely but just like Waldecks. Back to town we walked around the harbour then onto Naissaari Island of beautiful wooden houses, an Old Power Station as well as a beach for swimming (Oh Yeah!). A signposted path circles the island. Back ... read more

Day 19: Clear, sunny and cold: A train journey to Lahti, check into our hotel - hostel and a walk into town. Again the weather was cold, so we thought something hot to eat would be nice. Down by the lake are lots of eating places. We chose one where we queued up, cut off a chunk of bread and a slab of butter from the pat and then were given a bowl of home made pea soup with chunks of bacon in it, then a nice fresh doughnut. We sat outside at bench seats and table which overlooked the lake that goes up to Jyvaskyla (not the lake in the photos). Check out the "little bit of Australia" in one of the photos. ... read more