Finland 2016 Part I
July 23, 2016
We are off again bright and early. Most of the flights will be part of another “space available” adventure.The first leg of the journey is to Seattle with departure time of 6:50 out of Boise. We made first class on that flight. For those short flights it means you get better snacks and bigger seats. Both of those are good.
We had three chances to get to JFK with the first one looking the best. We only had about thirty minutes to get across the airport but we made it just in time to board the plane. Surprisingly our luggage made it too. No first class this time and the flight is over four hours. We have plenty of time to get the gate this time with about six hour layover at JFK.
Oh we got lucky again. We got three seats for the two of us. So we are on an eight hour flight to Copenhagen. Now we know this is Denmark not Finland but that flight had the best odds of getting on and was
somewhat close to Finland.
July 24, 2016
We arrived in Copenhagen about 12:30 pm local time. Immigration and customs was very easy. Waiting to get our bags was long. We waited over 30 minutes for the first bags from the flight to show up. The benches in the luggage area should have been a sign.
Next item on the agenda was to book seats on a flight to Helsinki. Wifi in the airport is fast, free and unlimited. Seats in the arrival hall are virtually nonexistent. We did get seats on an SAS flight for later that evening. So next you go to one of many kiosks to print boarding passes and bag tags. The process is totally self service. After you attach the bag tags you take the luggage to a station to weigh the bags and scan
the tags before sending the bags onto the plane. No SAS employees involved.
Now we have roughly a six hour wait. Off through security and the wait on the other side. Unlike the US, the trays for your personal items are returned automatically. We commented to one of the ladies who said it was an old system. Sure seems more efficient than what we have. The security folks here are also much more friendly.
We have now virtually walked into a mall. All kinds of shops are everywhere. The only chairs are in the handful of eateries. The prices are very high compared to the US. A small individual size pizza with
very little on it costs about $15. A small coke is $3 as is bottled water. After wandering around a bit we learned that the most seats can be found in the area for folks needing assistance.
While waiting we talked quite sometime with a lady from England who was waiting for a
flight to Latvia or Lithuania not sure which. She had interesting comments about the
vote to withdraw from the EU. Two main things. It was a vote against the status quo and
a vote where people thought their vote counted.
The gate for our flight finally came up on the board so we headed off. We sampled Danish hot dogs on the way to the gate. About $4 gets you a foot long hot dog in a six inch bun. You do get choices of six sauces to put on them.
At the gate were a few seats but not many. This flight was out of gate 19. Interestingly gates 17 and 18 are no where to be seen. We arrived in Helsinki about 11:00 pm local time. While waiting for the luggage we talked with a Swedish gentleman who trains medical service dogs. He had a pair of the cutest corgi dogs.
We booked a room at the Holiday Inn near the airport. They had a free shuttle that runs almost 24 hours. After a little trouble finding the pick up
point, we were on our way. Seems everyone on the bus was going there also. We had to wait a bit to check in. Then when we did get to the counter the clerk was so excited to be a tour guide we had to remind him to check others in first. Eventually we got to our room. Very clean and very small.
July 25, 2016
Breakfast was quite a spread. No reason to go away hungry from here. We decided to go to Porvoo and save Helsinki for the return. The best way is to return to the airport and catch a bus from there. The bus was scheduled to depart an hour from when we arrived. For the most part transportation runs very timely. Sure enough here came the bus. He took us as far as a bus stop on the freeway. In a few minutes another bus arrived and we got on that one. Just another bus transfer on a freeway. Ho hum.
Along the roadside there are lots of tall thin evergreen trees with tall thin white birch mixed in. The under growth is not too thick. Occasionally a break in the forest appears and fields of grass or grain spread out. The grass is baled in big white plastic rolls. The farm house and barns sit back further from the road. The dark red with white trim is by far the majority. We don’t see any livestock but by the size of the barns they are most likely inside.
Shortly we arrived in town. This is Sunday and things are quiet. We used Pocket Earth Pro to locate the hotel. It was right in the middle of the old town. Now we know where everyone is. The shops here are open and people are wandering all over. The weather today is unusually warm and everyone is out for a Sunday stroll.
The old town is brightly painted wooden structures. They have burned and been rebuilt several times. Our hotel is very nice. It only has 10 rooms.
After leaving the bags we walked around the area and up the hill to the church. Then we walked down to the river. We didn’t find any mosquitos but there were lots of bees.
The roads in the old town are cobblestone. Cars are rare but bicycles are numerous. Occasionally a motorcycle goes by. We had dinner out front at one of the restaurants. Rob had lemon chicken pasta and I had a pizza with smoked reindeer meat, garlic, pine nuts and rosemary. The crust is like
a cracker and the sauce is very thin. I think there might have been some cheese too.
The waitress was very friendly and spoke good English. Most everyone we have encountered speaks some English. Good thing because the Finnish words are long and full of double and triple letters. English pronunciation guides don’t come close.
July 26, 2016
Breakfast here must be more traditional Finnish because many of these things don’t look familiar. Let’s start with barley porridge. It’s tan in color with lots of lumps that are undoubtedly the barley. Looks like very lumpy wallpaper paste. Before eating you add black current jam. Thank goodness because the paste doesn’t have much flavor. Next comes something they call meat pie. This is similar to bland meatloaf made with lots of rice, wrapped in pastry and baked. Next is a rice pastry which is an oval pastry with rice
pudding spread to within a half inch of the edges. The edges are brought up around the pudding but only a little ways. Then they are baked and cooled before eating. On top of this you spread a mixture of hard boiled eggs and butter. Now the fruit looks familiar and tastes the same. Coffee is very strong.
We packed up and head for the bus station. What a difference on a week day. A small market is opposite the station and the station is open. We bought tickets to Lappeenranta which is located on the shores of Finland’s largest lake. The countryside is much the same. Lots of trees, a few farms and small lakes.
The busses are nice and this one even has wifi. The Internet speed was better than at home. (Screaming!)
Today is very warm for the area with a high of about 80 degrees and lots of humidity. The sky is partly cloudy with huge white fluffy clouds. That is with exception of the dark one that dumped rain on us for a short distance. We figured out a city bus to take us near the hotel.
We stayed in a Cumulus Hotel which is a big chain here. The room was very warm and the air conditioning was one very small fan. A small window was open but that didn’t help much since it was so hot outside.
We decided to head for the lake and a fort. By Finnish standards we are very close. The clouds look more ominous now but we are prepared.
We went down a hill and up another to get to the fort. These are the only hills we have seen. The fort is surrounded by a nice park with benches and walking paths. The fort is a grouping of wooden and brick buildings that now house various museums and cafes. An Orthodox Church is also here. The area is well maintained. The road and sidewalk are cobblestone so walking is a little rough. Only a few cars drive on the road.
You must go down the hill to the lake but when you get there they have a small amusement park and eateries. But the real attraction here is the giant sand castle.
Every year sand castle builders from Finland and elsewhere gather to build a sand sculpture. Last year was a steam locomotive. This year is a medieval castle complete with fire breathing dragon, royal family, joker, and knight. Approximately 300 tons of sand are used. Hopefully not much rain falls to wash it all away. Concerts are given in the castle throughout the summer. Seating space inside is not great so we doubt the performances are by well known artists.
Docks line this part of the lake. All sizes shapes and kinds of water craft. Across the lake is a tree lined shore. The shoreline definitely wanders. The passengers on one of the moored boats is getting ready to fix dinner. The water must be okay because he just reached over the edge and scooped some up out of the lake. A few drops of rain started falling so we began the journey back. Luckily only a few drops fell so we made it back without getting wet. We even found an ice cream stand open. Finns do like ice cream.
These small stands are all over. The flavors vary but the price is anywhere from 3 to 4 euros for one scoop. That makes it $3.50-$5.25. Another constant in life, “The price of fun just keeps going up.
Enjoy,
Rob & Connie…
Spoffords Travel 