Lumimaa - Snowland Rovaniemi

This is our frist of many night trains accross Europe.<br>We Leave Helsinki on the 9th and get into Rovaniemi very early on the 10th<br><br>We should have a fun packed Day in Rovaniemi. looking to do some arctic rally driving. and other male bonding activities.<br>

... but it was a bit of a let down. It was a bit of a ghost town and very few people around. We did meet Santa which was pretty cool and he was very nice to us all. However, there really wasn't anything else to see just lots of tourist shops that weren't all that exciting. We did get some cool photos with the Arctic Circle line and wandered around.<br><br><br><br>

... Pakkaamisen jälkeen ongelmaksi muodostuikin sitten se, miten saada koko viimeinen yö ennen matkan alkua kulumaan. Nukkumistakin toki yritettiin. Onneksi juuri kysyinen yö sattui olemaan kesäaikaan siirtymisen vuoksi tunnin normaalia lyhyempi... Aamulla heti kahdeksan jälkeen Kasperi ja Antti juoksivat kesätamineissa kiireesti autotalliin ja lämpimään autoon. Ihan suuren maailman tyyliin meidänkin Amatsin Rake alkoi vauhdikkaalla pyrähdyksellä l ...

... and phoned the Bus Depot, where luckily my passport was being stored. So the driver diverts his bus route to go to the bus depot as he speeds through the windy roads, picked up my belongings and drops me back off at the train station before continuing his bus route 15 minutes late. So Santa if you are reading this I forfeit ...

... as I sit on my bed... and I almost start to cry with joy in the middle of the street, unable to suppress a smile, not feeling much desire to try. Yesterday I presented a paper on part of my thesis at a phd seminar and it went better than I could have dreamed. I was desperately nervous the last few days, not because I didn't think I was as prepared as I could be, but because this felt like a real step ...

... station so we could not get a town map, but luckily there was a big map stuck up, and the way to our hotel looked pretty easy. After checking in to our nice hotel we relaxed watching TV for a couple hours, then set off to explore the town. First stop was the Tourist Information to get a map and find out what there was to do, and work out our route out of here. We then ...

... atmosphere does not care if the relative output of emissions decreases - only absolute overall emissions matter when it comes to addressing climate change. Emissions must be capped. I am also very disappointed to hear Environment Minister Ambrose speaking of more consultations and delay, especially when Environment Commissioner Johanne Gelinas recently released an extensive report calling for short-term and long-term targets and a massive scale ...

We reported for duty first thing this morning and made the mile drive south back to Rovaniemi where we were due to return the hire car at 1100. The weather was pretty dismal a low cloud/distant fog seemed to be all around and the temperature at one point hit -1 degree C, which I think is a trip record. However, it didn't snow on the way down and the drive was so smooth that all of us, hopefully apart from Paul, drifted off to ...

some thoughts on this day that we stand balanced, equal light and dark, moving into the light, summer, spring fever in the air, finally water dripping off of rooftops and the sidewalks becoming skating rinks, sun warm on my back as i walk to school... we dance nimbly through this life, our toes springing off of a million different moments, making the links, joining the spaces. even when we feel like we are stumbling, or stuck ...

More pictures! I'll leave the descriptions mostly for the photos, but here are some random observations from finland... - grocery shopping takes on a new excitement in a country where orange juice is called appelsini, whipped cream comes in yoghurt containers and yoghurt comes in milk containers, and baking soda comes in small little cylindrical containers resembling salt shakers. i have yet to find tofu ...