Well, the last time I wrote, I think I said I was having reservation troubles. I did have a reservation in Honingsvag, gateway to Nordkap. But they only had a room free for the nite I arrived. It seems all hotels, both of them, were full. I did investigate a room in a pseudo-boarding house dorm, but decided against it. More on that later.
Back to Inari, with no double i, one of the few Finnish words with no double letters. I exaggerate. I think I mentioned a reindeer farm and rain. I decided to go anyway. Might as well do all the exciting things I can, right. Forgive me, this Norwegian keyboard has me baffled trying to get most punctuation, so no question marks, double quotes, etc. later on, I found that spell-check corrects for me. They used a reindeer mobile phone to call the reindeer for feeding time. Banging a club on a tree. Everyone got the chance to feed them by hand. Yipee..
They gave a pretty good explanation on reindeer herding, how the Sami people use them, etc. They use cuts on the ears to brand them. There are some 20 specific marks, and they are used in combination to make up a tremendous number of different brands. I looked at samples, and I couldn’t tell them apart, but I guess if it’s your reindeer and mark, you’d know. While they wander the country freely, it seems that they all belong to somebody. Every calf gets marks before maturing. They wander freely, though. Autos are listed as reindeer predators.
After returning to Inari, I went to the Siida, a Sámi cultural museum. I think Siida means Sámi community, but I’m not sure. Fair amount on their culture and history, and tribal affiliations. Even better rundown on the seasons up here, and their affect on nature. Seems that, with such a short growing season, things such as tire ruts in the wilderness, anything that disturbs the earth, takes years to correct. There are still remnants of tank and truck tracks from WWII in the far north.
The next day was my last in Inari. I had a choice of bumming around town until 2 PM, then taking a 2 hour cruise, or going to the Wilderness Church, a 15-16 KM hike in the woods. Knowing what happened to Gilligan, and wanting to get back for a lot of reasons, I chose the hike. And hike it was. My waterproof hiking shoes aren’t. Nice trek through the Finnish wilderness. Didn’t meet anyone on the way out, but several hardy souls on the way back. Nice trip, the Wilderness Church was just that, a church with nothing anywhere near it. I don’t know if it’s still in use or not. Linda, can I get you to forge my name on some of the BVS hikes, with the idea of earning a shirt. I’m logging a lot of Ks.
Back in time to catch the bus for Honningsvag, a 5+ hour trip. Really glad I had a room for at least that nite. Not many choices there, let me tell you. And no buses to the next town either.
So the next day, I tried several options for a room, and none worked. I’ll fill you in on the solution later. Took the bus to Nordkap, to see the northern end of the European continent. Nordkap and Honningsvag are actually on an Island, linked to the mainland by a 6700 metre tunnel. How far away does an island have to be before it no longer qualifies as part of the continent? I dint see too much of what Id hoped to see. Tehachapi, you’ve never had fog this thick, at least in my memory. I exaggerate again, but not by much. I couldn’t see down to the ocean. From the visitor center, I couldn’t see the monument, less than 50 metres away. But at least I can say I’ve been there, which in itself pleases me, if no one else.
The bus driver is a tour guide when he’s not driving, and did a really bang up job of filling me in on the area. He spoke such good English, I though maybe he was from the UK. Turns out he was born locally, and loves it there. Lived in Oslo for a time, but couldn’t take the city life and its pressure.
Back to how I solved the problem of where to stay. Ever hear of the Hurtigruten. That’s where I’m at. Look it up on the net, I’m not telling you, but you may get an idea from the following. The only surface transportation out of Honningsvag left before I get back to town. So I caught the Hurtigruten to Kirkenes, Norway. Arrived there today and decided that I’d change my itinerary. I’ll be on the M/S Richard With until July 4th, where I’ll disembark in Trondheim. On the way, I’ll have several stopovers for short periods at places I’d planned on visiting, but will miss a couple.
Figured out what it is yet. Sure you have. It’s the ship that runs from Bergen to Kirkenes and back, over about a two week period, stopping at many of the coastal villages. For years, it was the most reliable means of transportation for many of them, and still is for some. One of the family of ships leaves Bergen heading north every day of the year, so they are constantly covering the run.
So the next few days will be a cruising among the fjords holiday for me. Ill see a lot, as I’m still far enough north to have 24 hours of daylite. More on the Hurtigruten later, and look it up. You may find out something I don’t know about it. I’m sure you will. That’s enough for now.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Photos from Fredricksborg Castle, Denmark, Stockholm and Kalmar Castle
Kalmar Castle
More of Kalmar
Stockholm, the high rent district
Stockholm's Gamla Stan
Fredricksborg Castle, Denmark
Inside Fredricksborg
Another view of Fredricksborg
And a couple who entertained me in HillerodWednesday, June 27, 2007
Rovaniemi, the Arctic Circle and Inarii
Yep, I did the Arctic Circle today. In this area, it's a real tourist attraction. Santa has his home at the Arctic Circle, or so they would have you believe. You can even have your photo taken with him. For a price. Can't use your own camera, you have to pay for them to do it. Of course. Unfortunately for me, Santa was on his break when I was there, so i had to forgo the opportunity. Darn!! That area is really just one big tourist stop. Many souvenir shops, a post office to mail with the official Santa Claus postmark, or some such.
I did get my photo taken, with my own camera, standing on the Arctic Circle. I didn't write down the exact latitude, but it's stated as 66 degrees, 32 minutes and 35 seconds at the line. Or in one local publication 66 degrees 33 minutes and 07 seconds. So who knows? In any case, it's further north (or south) than I've ever been, and I'm going further tomorrow. And I thought it was something when I was in New Zealand and they touted the 45Th parallel. That is until I found it was about as far south as Portland is north.
There is one bit of trivia. Eleanor Roosevelt visited Finland in 1950. The local Finns built a cabin in her honor. It apparently was a rush lob. The saying is that the carpenter rushed out the back door as she came in the front. I'm not certain that this cabin is the original, or a reproduction, but it's a bit of history.
I then went back to Rovaniemi to return to the Arktikum. It was worth paying another admission to see the rest of it. I learned a lot about the arctic, the Sami people, the Roma who live in Finland, and the climate in general of the arctic regions. I'll forget most of it by tomorrow, but what the heck, it was really interesting. Seriously, this was one of the better museums I've been to. It's really worth spending a good bit of time there. Even a video of the northern lites.
And it cleared up one historical point for me. When I got here, I read that Rovaniemi had been burned nearly to the ground by the Germans during WWII. I thought the Finns were fighting Russia then, and usually, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, so why would the Germans burn Finnish towns? Because, it turns out, the Finns signed a separate peace treaty with Russia near the end of the war, and one of the conditions was to get the Germans out of Finland. So when the Germans left, they decided to leave with a scorched earth policy.
The town was rebuilt after that, to a design of a noted Finnish architect, ?? Aalto. He laid out the streets, it says, to look like reindeer antlers, if viewed on a map or from the air. If that's the case, I wouldn't recognize a reindeer if one came up and bit me, 'cause I've looked at the map a lot since I've been here, and I can't see any antlers. That's your history lesson for today. No, one more bit of trivia. Rovaniemi is the largest city in area in Europe, more than 8000 square KM. Lots of forest in the city limits.
And I topped of a drizzly day with an excellent meal at, of all places, the Santa Claus Hotel. It really is the best hotel in town, and the restaurant was very good. I felt adventurous, so I had the Finnish sampler plate. Elk, reindeer prepared two ways, Finnish cheese, Arctic char, and salmon, again prepared in two ways. Everything was delicious. You could have fooled me with the char. If i hadn't been told different, I'd have thought I had three varieties of salmon. Some gourmet!
Tomorrow I head for Inarii, my last stop in Finland. From there, it's a long bus ride to Nordkapp, or North Cape, the northernmost inhabited point in Europe. Don't know how Internet service is up there, so you may not get this, or any updates until sometime in July. But then, my cell phone has worked better here than it usually does in the states. On the topic of phones, I tried to buy a phone card, but was told not to by the salesperson. He said I wouldn't be able to find any pay phones to use it with in Finland, as everyone has cells. And so far, he's been right. I haven't seen a pay phone since I left Helsinki.
I'm going to put this in the drafts folder for now, and see if I can upload some more photos to the blog.
And now I'm well past the Arctic circle, in Inarii, the heart of Lapland. And it's raining Reindeer by the dozen today, so I won't see too much of it. A visit to a reindeer ranch in the rain, or a 4 + KM walk to the old wooden church aren't too appealing right now.
Bus ride up here was uneventful, except when we stopped for a break, and I saw the bus pulling out. Turned out, after my heart palpitations stopped, that he was just repositioning it. Another compassionate driver, too. He slowed down for two grazing reindeer on the highway.
Not much to report, as we didn't arrive until nearly 5 PM. With the long (24 hr) days, I did get a chance to saunter around the lake a bit. Tried to find the aforementioned church, but took the wrong path. Dinner was a very pleasant surprise. In a restaurant with chairs with Formica seats, you don't expect too much in the way of gourmet cuisine. But the dinner I had, whitefish and Salmon, with a reindeer salad, was excellent.
One more nite here, then on to Nordkapp. I'll close now, send this, and post it.
I did get my photo taken, with my own camera, standing on the Arctic Circle. I didn't write down the exact latitude, but it's stated as 66 degrees, 32 minutes and 35 seconds at the line. Or in one local publication 66 degrees 33 minutes and 07 seconds. So who knows? In any case, it's further north (or south) than I've ever been, and I'm going further tomorrow. And I thought it was something when I was in New Zealand and they touted the 45Th parallel. That is until I found it was about as far south as Portland is north.
There is one bit of trivia. Eleanor Roosevelt visited Finland in 1950. The local Finns built a cabin in her honor. It apparently was a rush lob. The saying is that the carpenter rushed out the back door as she came in the front. I'm not certain that this cabin is the original, or a reproduction, but it's a bit of history.
I then went back to Rovaniemi to return to the Arktikum. It was worth paying another admission to see the rest of it. I learned a lot about the arctic, the Sami people, the Roma who live in Finland, and the climate in general of the arctic regions. I'll forget most of it by tomorrow, but what the heck, it was really interesting. Seriously, this was one of the better museums I've been to. It's really worth spending a good bit of time there. Even a video of the northern lites.
And it cleared up one historical point for me. When I got here, I read that Rovaniemi had been burned nearly to the ground by the Germans during WWII. I thought the Finns were fighting Russia then, and usually, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, so why would the Germans burn Finnish towns? Because, it turns out, the Finns signed a separate peace treaty with Russia near the end of the war, and one of the conditions was to get the Germans out of Finland. So when the Germans left, they decided to leave with a scorched earth policy.
The town was rebuilt after that, to a design of a noted Finnish architect, ?? Aalto. He laid out the streets, it says, to look like reindeer antlers, if viewed on a map or from the air. If that's the case, I wouldn't recognize a reindeer if one came up and bit me, 'cause I've looked at the map a lot since I've been here, and I can't see any antlers. That's your history lesson for today. No, one more bit of trivia. Rovaniemi is the largest city in area in Europe, more than 8000 square KM. Lots of forest in the city limits.
And I topped of a drizzly day with an excellent meal at, of all places, the Santa Claus Hotel. It really is the best hotel in town, and the restaurant was very good. I felt adventurous, so I had the Finnish sampler plate. Elk, reindeer prepared two ways, Finnish cheese, Arctic char, and salmon, again prepared in two ways. Everything was delicious. You could have fooled me with the char. If i hadn't been told different, I'd have thought I had three varieties of salmon. Some gourmet!
Tomorrow I head for Inarii, my last stop in Finland. From there, it's a long bus ride to Nordkapp, or North Cape, the northernmost inhabited point in Europe. Don't know how Internet service is up there, so you may not get this, or any updates until sometime in July. But then, my cell phone has worked better here than it usually does in the states. On the topic of phones, I tried to buy a phone card, but was told not to by the salesperson. He said I wouldn't be able to find any pay phones to use it with in Finland, as everyone has cells. And so far, he's been right. I haven't seen a pay phone since I left Helsinki.
I'm going to put this in the drafts folder for now, and see if I can upload some more photos to the blog.
And now I'm well past the Arctic circle, in Inarii, the heart of Lapland. And it's raining Reindeer by the dozen today, so I won't see too much of it. A visit to a reindeer ranch in the rain, or a 4 + KM walk to the old wooden church aren't too appealing right now.
Bus ride up here was uneventful, except when we stopped for a break, and I saw the bus pulling out. Turned out, after my heart palpitations stopped, that he was just repositioning it. Another compassionate driver, too. He slowed down for two grazing reindeer on the highway.
Not much to report, as we didn't arrive until nearly 5 PM. With the long (24 hr) days, I did get a chance to saunter around the lake a bit. Tried to find the aforementioned church, but took the wrong path. Dinner was a very pleasant surprise. In a restaurant with chairs with Formica seats, you don't expect too much in the way of gourmet cuisine. But the dinner I had, whitefish and Salmon, with a reindeer salad, was excellent.
One more nite here, then on to Nordkapp. I'll close now, send this, and post it.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Scenes from Vienna, and Sopron
View at the top of Schoenbrun Palace.
Sopron, Hungary.
Your's truely, with Shoenbrun in the background.
St. Stepan's Vienna.Sunday, June 24, 2007
Helsinki, Savonlinna and Kuopio in living color
Savonlinna Castle
Tower and Ski Jump at Kuopio
On the water road to Kuopio from Savonlinna
Kuopio from the water road
Cathedral in Helsinki
Bridge and Church tower on Suovenlinna Island, Helsinki harborAnd here I am in Rovaniemi
Last report was at the beginning of my visit to Oulu. And now I'm in Rovaniemi, a few minutes below the Arctic Circle. And the length of the days show it. Long Fellows. Seems I heard a joke with that punch line before. Oh Well. While I'm in a joking mood, I'll get it over with. Visiting Oulu is similar to visiting Toledo. I spent a week there one day. It has a population of about 125,000, and I counted 17 people. Traffic was so lite I couldn't have been hit by a car if I'd tried. Fortunate you, I'm done with the jokes(?), and none too soon, right?
I forgot one really nice thing I found in Kuopio, Clas Ohlson. It's a store that combines nearly all the good features of K-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears and Wal-Mart. Although I didn't find any lumber, I found everything else.
Oulu isn't quite as quiet as I made it out to be. There really wasn't much traffic. I took photos of some of the streets to prove it to myself later on. It seems everyone was congregating at the harbor/marketplace, and everything else was closed. Just a lot of milling around, and sitting in cafes drinking beer and people watching. I did saunter (thanks, PB, MvbF) around the park for a good hour or more. A very nice park it was, too. Lots of paths, streams, white bridges, a fish ladder that looks like a real stream for most of its course, fountains spouting out of the lake. Seems croquet is a popular pastime here. They were playing it in both Oulu and here in Rovaniemi in the parks. Had a really nice outdoor dinner in a restaurant in the marketplace. Really something to be sitting in bright sunlite, sun well above the horizon, and realize its after 9:00 PM.
Went back to the hotel, thinking I'd try the sauna. I did in Savonlinna, but wasn't particularly impressed. Figured it was worth another try. But the sauna was only open from 8:00 to 9:00 PM for men. My room, however, had it's own steam bath, so I soaked in that for a while. I don't think I'll rush to install either when I get home.
On Saturday, I thought it might be a good idea to go out to the botanical gardens, since everything else, literally, was closed. I asked the hotel clerk how to catch a bus, and she said they weren't running because of the holiday (Midsummer Festival, remember?). She said it would be a nice bike ride, 6KM, but that all the bike rental places were closed as well. So I decided that another hike was in order. The map laid out the way on walking trails pretty well, and I didn't get too lost. The gardens were nice, but the most interesting and exotic plants were in the huge hothouses which were..... You guessed it, closed for the holiday. Nice walk anyway.
After arriving here and checking it, I strolled the 500 or so metres to downtown to look around. Decided on some home cooking for meals today, so I had an ice cream cone, then a Subway sandwich for lunch, and then McD's for supper. McD's even has a drive thru here. But still no Starbucks.
I did go to the Arktikum, the local museum. And a very good one it was. I can usually cover a museum in 2 hours, so I figured I'd rush and do this in the 1.5 hours before it closed. Wrong! An excellent museum, and I'm going to have to go back tomorrow, because there's a lot I missed. You may have guessed from the name that its a museum about the Arctic. Roveniemi being where it is is probably the inspiration for having it here.
Travel pointer, if you're a senior traveling here, make sure they know it. I bought my ticket to Oulu on the train, and the conductor charged me much more than I was told it would be when I asked the day before at the station. He wouldn't budge when I told him, so I paid. When I bought the ticket today for Rovaniemi, she asked if I was a pensioner (the key word for seniors) and I said yes. got me a 50% discount. So I asked her about the other ticket. She took it to a supervisor, came back and gave me 50% back. No forms to fill out or anything. She said the conductor should have asked me If I was a a pensioner. I guess I should feel flattered that he didn't.
I think that's about enough of my ramblings for one nite. So here it goes.
Just as a reminder, all these are posted on the blog, if you ever want to go back to one, and didn't save the e-mail. The blog address is
dick-scandinavia.blogspot.com
I forgot one really nice thing I found in Kuopio, Clas Ohlson. It's a store that combines nearly all the good features of K-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears and Wal-Mart. Although I didn't find any lumber, I found everything else.
Oulu isn't quite as quiet as I made it out to be. There really wasn't much traffic. I took photos of some of the streets to prove it to myself later on. It seems everyone was congregating at the harbor/marketplace, and everything else was closed. Just a lot of milling around, and sitting in cafes drinking beer and people watching. I did saunter (thanks, PB, MvbF) around the park for a good hour or more. A very nice park it was, too. Lots of paths, streams, white bridges, a fish ladder that looks like a real stream for most of its course, fountains spouting out of the lake. Seems croquet is a popular pastime here. They were playing it in both Oulu and here in Rovaniemi in the parks. Had a really nice outdoor dinner in a restaurant in the marketplace. Really something to be sitting in bright sunlite, sun well above the horizon, and realize its after 9:00 PM.
Went back to the hotel, thinking I'd try the sauna. I did in Savonlinna, but wasn't particularly impressed. Figured it was worth another try. But the sauna was only open from 8:00 to 9:00 PM for men. My room, however, had it's own steam bath, so I soaked in that for a while. I don't think I'll rush to install either when I get home.
On Saturday, I thought it might be a good idea to go out to the botanical gardens, since everything else, literally, was closed. I asked the hotel clerk how to catch a bus, and she said they weren't running because of the holiday (Midsummer Festival, remember?). She said it would be a nice bike ride, 6KM, but that all the bike rental places were closed as well. So I decided that another hike was in order. The map laid out the way on walking trails pretty well, and I didn't get too lost. The gardens were nice, but the most interesting and exotic plants were in the huge hothouses which were..... You guessed it, closed for the holiday. Nice walk anyway.
After arriving here and checking it, I strolled the 500 or so metres to downtown to look around. Decided on some home cooking for meals today, so I had an ice cream cone, then a Subway sandwich for lunch, and then McD's for supper. McD's even has a drive thru here. But still no Starbucks.
I did go to the Arktikum, the local museum. And a very good one it was. I can usually cover a museum in 2 hours, so I figured I'd rush and do this in the 1.5 hours before it closed. Wrong! An excellent museum, and I'm going to have to go back tomorrow, because there's a lot I missed. You may have guessed from the name that its a museum about the Arctic. Roveniemi being where it is is probably the inspiration for having it here.
Travel pointer, if you're a senior traveling here, make sure they know it. I bought my ticket to Oulu on the train, and the conductor charged me much more than I was told it would be when I asked the day before at the station. He wouldn't budge when I told him, so I paid. When I bought the ticket today for Rovaniemi, she asked if I was a pensioner (the key word for seniors) and I said yes. got me a 50% discount. So I asked her about the other ticket. She took it to a supervisor, came back and gave me 50% back. No forms to fill out or anything. She said the conductor should have asked me If I was a a pensioner. I guess I should feel flattered that he didn't.
I think that's about enough of my ramblings for one nite. So here it goes.
Just as a reminder, all these are posted on the blog, if you ever want to go back to one, and didn't save the e-mail. The blog address is
dick-scandinavia.blogspot.com
Friday, June 22, 2007
Savonlinna and Kuopio are history, now for Oulu
Well, I made it to Kuopio by boat. A 10+ hour trip through a really scenic area. I never imagined being on a boat for that long, with such interesting scenery. Not that it varied much. Many, many small islands, some fairly large ones, and on occasion another boat, but not nearly as many as I thought we'd see. We went through several locks, but never went up or down by more than 2 or 3 metres at the most. I guess a cruise down the Mississippi (there are as many double letters in that as there are in many Finnish words) or Nile, or Rhine, or Danube, or Yellow or Yangtze might do it. I'll have to try one or all of those some day. Anyone want to come along?
Back to Savonlinna for a moment. I think I said the castle was on a small island, right next to the city, on another island. Even as cold as it gets here in winter, and I guess that's mighty cold, the water never freezes. The flow between the islands is sufficient to prevent freezing. I guess that's the case for all the narrows between these lakes. But the lakes themselves freeze over. The boat run I took to Kuopio just started running the Monday of this week.
I had a relatively short stay in Kuopio. Not really a lot to do there, but it was a nice, relaxing place. Stayed in a hostel about 2+ KM from town, so I took a taxi up there. Glad I did, as it was nearly all uphill. Not with a backpack and
suitcase in tow, thank you. Room was pretty nice. I wanted to stay another day, but they were filled up. Rather than try for another hotel for one nite, I headed on to Oulu.
One of the highlights of Kuopio was the museum, which I rather liked, as they had a handout for those of us not fluent in Finnish. A good bit of the area history , as well as a good bit on the Finnish wildlife. The museum was celebrating it's 100th anniversary, so there was also a special section on it's growth. The reason I wanted to stay another day was to see their "Historic Old Town". I didn't have time on Thursday. A reason to go back. Please note I've finally found the double quote key on these Scandinavian keyboards" "
The other highlite of Kuopio was the observation tower right next to my hostel. 75 metres high, with a rotating restaurant. Yes, I ate there, and made sure the meal lasted long enough for a full one hour rotation. Before the meal, one deck above, was the open air observation tower. Windy, but some fantastic views. And next to the tower was a huge ski jump. How long and tall, I forget, but nearly as high as the tower, and went down the hill a lot farther. I was told that in summer they run water on it, and skiers practice on that. No Thanks! But I would have liked to see someone try it--- and survive.
This AM when I looked for the breakfast, included with the room, I found they didn't serve it, as today is a national holiday, Midsummer Festival, or first day of summer to us ordinary folk. The instructions were to go to another hotel, which turned out to be down the hill, and up another. No thanks, as I was leaving and there was that luggage to contend with. And, due to the holiday, nothing was open in town either, other than a few mobile coffee stands. So breakfast was coffee and a Finnish version of a Danish.
Took the train to Oulu, just over 4 hours. Trains aren't much for scenery in Finland, unless you love seeing trees flash by. At least on the bus, the trees are cleared back a way from the road. On the train, they are right there. An occasional glimpse of a lake or farm, but not many. I think (you won't believe this) that I enjoyed the trip across the Nullarbor Plain in AU better. The view sure wasn't obstructed there.
And on the topic of AU; I met two on the boat from Savonlinna, and one more at the hostel. You Aussies are the easiest folks on earth to talk to.
That's about it for now. Nearly everything here is closed as well. Found a burger stand for lunch, and then, of course, found where all the action for the festival was. I'll head there for dinner tonite, right after I get this off. Which I think will be right now.
Back to Savonlinna for a moment. I think I said the castle was on a small island, right next to the city, on another island. Even as cold as it gets here in winter, and I guess that's mighty cold, the water never freezes. The flow between the islands is sufficient to prevent freezing. I guess that's the case for all the narrows between these lakes. But the lakes themselves freeze over. The boat run I took to Kuopio just started running the Monday of this week.
I had a relatively short stay in Kuopio. Not really a lot to do there, but it was a nice, relaxing place. Stayed in a hostel about 2+ KM from town, so I took a taxi up there. Glad I did, as it was nearly all uphill. Not with a backpack and
suitcase in tow, thank you. Room was pretty nice. I wanted to stay another day, but they were filled up. Rather than try for another hotel for one nite, I headed on to Oulu.
One of the highlights of Kuopio was the museum, which I rather liked, as they had a handout for those of us not fluent in Finnish. A good bit of the area history , as well as a good bit on the Finnish wildlife. The museum was celebrating it's 100th anniversary, so there was also a special section on it's growth. The reason I wanted to stay another day was to see their "Historic Old Town". I didn't have time on Thursday. A reason to go back. Please note I've finally found the double quote key on these Scandinavian keyboards" "
The other highlite of Kuopio was the observation tower right next to my hostel. 75 metres high, with a rotating restaurant. Yes, I ate there, and made sure the meal lasted long enough for a full one hour rotation. Before the meal, one deck above, was the open air observation tower. Windy, but some fantastic views. And next to the tower was a huge ski jump. How long and tall, I forget, but nearly as high as the tower, and went down the hill a lot farther. I was told that in summer they run water on it, and skiers practice on that. No Thanks! But I would have liked to see someone try it--- and survive.
This AM when I looked for the breakfast, included with the room, I found they didn't serve it, as today is a national holiday, Midsummer Festival, or first day of summer to us ordinary folk. The instructions were to go to another hotel, which turned out to be down the hill, and up another. No thanks, as I was leaving and there was that luggage to contend with. And, due to the holiday, nothing was open in town either, other than a few mobile coffee stands. So breakfast was coffee and a Finnish version of a Danish.
Took the train to Oulu, just over 4 hours. Trains aren't much for scenery in Finland, unless you love seeing trees flash by. At least on the bus, the trees are cleared back a way from the road. On the train, they are right there. An occasional glimpse of a lake or farm, but not many. I think (you won't believe this) that I enjoyed the trip across the Nullarbor Plain in AU better. The view sure wasn't obstructed there.
And on the topic of AU; I met two on the boat from Savonlinna, and one more at the hostel. You Aussies are the easiest folks on earth to talk to.
That's about it for now. Nearly everything here is closed as well. Found a burger stand for lunch, and then, of course, found where all the action for the festival was. I'll head there for dinner tonite, right after I get this off. Which I think will be right now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
