Hotelli Urku Tampere

... though I had eaten them in jam and tea. We also picked enough wild blueberries for a tart. I enjoyed the sauna immensely and thought my skin felt extra clean afterwards. Having a beer and sitting outdoors in a slightly cool evening (warm to a finn), in only a towel, is quite refreshing and relaxing. Unfortunately, there is no lake next to the house, as jumping in a cool lake is the perfect complement to the sauna. We did go swimming in a beautiful turf lake close by and I ...

... people. I definitely liked the feel of the city more than Jyvaskyla, just because it was bigger and had some more interesting architecture. Or maybe I just got bored of Jyvaskyla becasue I was there for a month. We got there and just wandered the streets for a bit and grabbed some pizza for dinner before taking a bus to the Tampere-Pirkkala Airport to catch our flight to London.

... mix of people that I felt a bit sad that the conversation had to end as it was getting late. A rare thing for hostel where your room mates can be either too boisterious or guarded.

At midnight, the sky did not get dark. A blue hue hung in the sky to remind us that now in Finland, the summer sun never really sets. Heard that there will be a party on Friday night for Midsummer but unfortunately I will be gone then.

... We saw elk, lynx and squirrel footprints, but luckily no actual elks! We walked deep into the woods to where two streams have formed from the melting snow. Very beautiful and a great way to work off some the incredible food we've been eating. 15/04/09 We started this morning (after a small sleep in) at the Kangasalan Kokoushuone which is a Lutheran centre for the disadvantaged, where people are able to access assistance such as food, clothing and ...

... s eyesight and health. We enjoyed hearing about the intense R & D that this company is currently dedicating to new products targeting glaucoma, corneal disorders and retinal disorders. After restoring our energy levels with a substantial lunch we then set off to Regae. Riitta Suuronen - the Director of Regae delivered an extremely informative presentation about how she and a great team of administrative and ...

... and Marjo also shared some ideas for teaching exercise and correct movement methods for people with low back pain. The facilities are excellent, and located in an idyllic setting by a frozen lake. We were then picked up and taken to the meeting of the Rotary Club of Ylojarvi (and learnt how to correctly prounce the name of the club!). Our first presentation was well received ...

After Tallinn earlier in the week I had a football game in Tampere which is the second biggest Finnish city outside of the Helsinki area, and is about 3 hours north by bus of Helsinki. It was raining when I woke up, it raining the whole bus ride and it poured the entire game. The Tampere Saints are 0-9 but it was important we ddin't take them lightly and won well. Our passing attack wasn't faded by the rain and after the defense ...

... the food is?? Last night I did a traditional Finnish thing. A sauna. Which about 99% of people have in their houses. What usually happens in you spend 15 minutes in the sauna then go running outside into the freezing lake, dive in, or roll around in the snow. Then back into the sauna. Did I mention this is all done naked... Lucky for me, there is no snow so I had my 15 minutes, then sat on the balcony for 5 minutes, then back into the ...

... ll have to run a complete comparison and post it on a web site so I can sell some Google ads. So today my friends are out, at work and out with the kids (I haven't even seen Jaana and the kids yet, since I got in so late yesterday), and I have the option to take the bus into town, but it's raining so I may or may not do that. Catching up on sleep also sounds like a good idea; plus, I still need to sort out my Berlin accommodations (the place I tried to book never answered me).

... have to ask fees for entering to survive. For food we just made our own at the cottage, which was quite a change, too. One of the things I liked a lot is the fact that in Finish super markets you get canned tuna with a lot of different sauces, that are just delicious to spoon out of the can directly. The car proofed absolutely essential in that part of Finland to get around, we probably wouldn't have had a chance to get around without it.