At Nico’s place in Vaasa. Recharging our batteries and absing the washing machine. More soon.

Danger: Long post with no pictures.

Yes we’ve been a bit slack with posts. We have just had 2 fantastic days with Nico and his family in Vaasa and have just been too busy to post. I have uploaded photos – but only sorted some of them. Have a look under Gallery > Denmark and Norway. Will sort and tag the rest up to Finland asap. Was a mission to upload so in future we will try to choose the best shots and keep the numbers of boing snaps down.

Finland is flat and green with vast waterways and more trees than I have ever seen. It was great to spend time with some ‘locals’ and learn a bit about life there. 5 months of devastating winter sounds harsh (to -25C), but everything is built for it (cars are plugged in to an extension cord and timer to start warming before you get in). Sounds like the ultimate place to have kids with excellent state medical and education. How safe is Finland ? So safe you don’t need to lock your house and can leave your keys in your car!

Nico has an amazing house (that he finished / is finishing) himself. Wood everywhere. Open, warm and inviting. Tech specs: 24mbps Internet (yea please) and cable TV, LAN and video in every room (including the garage/workshop) oodles of decking with more on the way and of course a sauna. Nico has gone ballistic with the best new tech – I love it. The back garden is a forest. No fences just trees for miles. What an amazing place for his girls to grow up!

Sunday we went for a bit of a cruise with the VW’s around town and the island with short browse around an improv garage sale in the neighbourhood. Another public holiday LOL. Nico lives on the edge of an impact crater which just very cool to see from Google Earth and by driving around. His girls (apart from being little angles) are growing up speaking Finnish, Swedish (Finland’s 2nd official language), English & Afrikaans. My brain would pop.

Found Rudolph ! Not in the forest, but on my plate for sups along with some other local specialties. Real food again. I gouged myself. Monday Nico took us around town to do some shopping and show us his favorite toy shops. We have replaced V’s camera with an entry level Canon (IXUS 100 IS) anything is better than Nikon 😉 Also replaced our missing sunglasses with some cheapies and did some other shopping.
(BTW. Found V’s sunnies in my pack LOL ! So it’s 2-1 to V again).

Finished the afternoon off by driving past the Ski Slopes (about twice the size of Tiffindell and 400m from Nico’s back door) and taking a short spin in his boat (unfortunately the weather was not good enough to cruize the waterways.) They have to pull all the boats out of the water before winter sets in as the sea freezes. Apparently you were once able to drive to Sweden across the ice !

Our final experience was to test Nics sauna. After what seemed like an eternity (probably 20mins) of up to 70 deg heat I could feel my pulse in my eyeballs and my skin was leaking like a sieve. A quick cold shower and then to the deck outside and an ice cold cider. We declined beating ourselves with birch branches, assuming it is somthing the locals tell tourists to do, then laugh at them. I was lobster pink but survived about 5mins longer than V. Hard core… maybe not… the locals go up to 100C!

Thank you Nico and Jannika (and Liina and Viivi) for such a wonderful time – we’ll be back 🙂

– Posted from my iPhone

Ok. Maybe not EVERYTHING. But we had quite a day.

Up at 5am (we are really bad at early mornings) to catch the train from Vaasa. We got the ‘Pendolino’ – A pendulum train that goes 200km/h – Helsinki in 3.5 hrs. Slept most of the way though.

All in all we walked about 6km around Helsinki with our packs (9kgs feels like a lot more after 6hrs of sightseeing). It’s a vibrant city – we took in the sights and atmosphere (usual balance of oxygen and other gasses);
~ The Temple Church. An odd, almost subterranian modern (1969) church blasted out of the ground. Love the ‘No climbing’ signs on the rock walls. If they had bouldering comps after Sunday services I would consider joining the cult.
~ Helsinki Cathederal. More impressive from the outside than inside. I guess they ran out of budget for the interior decorator.
~ The Design District. Shops selling cool looking stuff from furniture to tools. Cashing in on Alvar Aalto’s legacy.
~ The Design Museum. Partially closed (unfortunately) and the first time we have not been allowed to take photos.
~ The National Museum. Excellent pre-history section.
~ Senate Square and surrounds (designed by some famous German architect – Engel – who was called in to make Helsinki look good).
~ Market area. Empty when we got there.
We also took an open top tour bus around town. The audio guide was good and commical – Finn with a strong Aussie accent. Chilled out in the park and watch the locals go by – perfect sunny day.

Found Chakalaka chips (world cup advertising) and headed to the EuroHostel. Biggest one we have been in and we had no problems – besides having to pay for wifi access. The tweeting bird sounds in the toilets are an odd touch.

We spent the evening repacking our gear and checking our security. Tomorrow we enter Russia and things become more interesting (difficult). I’m apprehensive.

We have managed Scandanavia on budget and on time. It has been a little rushed in some parts but that has helped keep the costs down. We are restricted with time by a fixed date in Moscow. After that it’s total freedom. We’ll be back – if only to visit Nico and Nordkapp.

P.S. My V turns the big ‘Three-Oh’ on the 29th. Will have to celebrate with a double portion of 2 minute noodles 😉

– Posted from my iPhone