another look at Finland

I think this building in Helsinki is really quite imoressive.  It sits on a high hill with many steps leading up to it.  71 percent of the citizens of Finland are Lutheran and this is a Lutheran Cathedral.  

And speaking of Lutheran churches, this is a view of the pipe organ in another Lutheran church in Helsinki.  This building is unique because it was carved into a rock (small mountain) in downtown Helsinki.  I wasn't able to get a good outside view because it just looks like a rather simple smoothed wall and doorway leading into the church.  But well worth seeing inside.

While my back was turned...

I spent a little time out on my balcony today because it was warm enough to do that, and I discovered that, while I was traveling, the crew that had been working on the other side of the bridge clearing overgrowth along the riverbanks got to work on our side.  There is a big long swath of bare riverbank across the river from our building.  I don't really mind the freshly shaved look because I know that nature will pretty quickly supply new growth.  I am sorry that they couldn't wait a week so I could see how they did it. Ah well.  
On my side of the river, the trees are still in place which means that my plastic bag is still there also.  I will admit that it is beginning to look a little weather worn but it's still there (14 months and counting), and now, twelve trees east, there is another white bag caught in a tree. Who knows how long it will hang around.  
Have I mentioned that I'm easily entertained?

This is a view of one of the water front areas in Helsinki where condos sell for over a million dollars. Lots of interesting old buildings with water front view. Too bad it was a cloudy day.  One thing I really appreciated in Helsinki was a large grocery store right down town, less that a block from our hotel.  Maybe someday Fort Wayne will have something similar.  A person can dream.

In contrast, when we got to the far north the sun was shining.  This is a picture of the kind of log cabin we stayed in at Kakslauttanen (say that 10 times fast) Resort. They called these cabins Kilos and if you look closely you can see the glass half-dome room on the north end. This is where I slept and I loved being able to see the stars overhead as I fell asleep.  These cabins could sleep 4-6 and felt quite luxurious for two people. It seemed more luxurious to me when I found that a van would pick us up and take us to the big lodge where we ate all our meals.  I can walk a half mile on level ground with no problem but icy, snow covered, up and down hills in COLD weather is not my idea of a fun walk.  Much as I enjoyed this trip, I found myself thinking longingly of a previous trip to warm, sunny Spain. I will not be moving north of the Arctic Circle any time soon.

This is a copy of a map our guide shared with us, showing where our resort was.  The red line indicates the Arctic Circle so you can see we were quite far north.

Of course all we had to do was look around to know we were pretty far north. It was beautiful.  We had two clear nights and the stars were spectacular.  Too bad about the northern lights but lots of other natural beauty to enjoy.  

never say never

Well, finally, I figured it out.  Here is one view of a street scene in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.  Somd fun facts about Finland.  It was ruled by Russia (right next door) for over 100 years and before that by Sweden for many years.  Now they are very proud to be an independent country.  71 percent of the people in Finland are Lutheran and (this is just my personal observation) there are a lot of tall people in Finland..

a quest for pictures

The problem with taking only one major trip a year is that, after each trip I need to re-learn how to download pictures onto my computer.  You would think this would be a straightforward matter and sometimes it is.  But sometimes, like this evening, while I saw the little pictures show up on my computer screen, they have now disappeared.  I'm sorry, but you will just have to believe, at least for another day or so, that I really did go on a chilly but beautiful trip to the snowy north.  

Not long enough?

Fun fact - sauna is the only word of Finnish origin commonly used in English.  The cabin we stayed in came equiped with a sauna so my friend and I decided to try it.  I was underwhelmed.  It was pleasant enough for a little while but after 15 minutes or so I was ready to get out.  I think I probably didn't stay in long enough.  We did follow the heating directions and poured the ladles of water over the hot rocks producing plenty of steam, and it was good to breathe humid air for a little while but I did not feel any compulsion to run outside and roll in the snow.  When we were in Helsinki earlier in the trip we were driven by a public sauna where three young ladies were standing outside in bathing suits ready to jump in the very cold lake.  The air temperature was about 32 degrees.  They obviously had steamed long enough to really want to cool down. Personally, I get more pleasure from a long hot shower.  As another friend on the trip said "It was an interesting experience but not worth remodeling the house to put in a sauna."