Travel Diary

After another great breakfast, we drove north for a short while and found a small little museum that displayed agrarian equipment used a long time ago. There were even sleds and I could just imagine the joy of being pulled along the snow in the wintertime. The curators were volunteers and exceptionally friendly folks. Even leaving, we ran into another friendly gentleman who would be taking over the place and he was quite talkative and informative, sharing information for about 30 minutes with us. Finland is a friendly country. Does not take long to learn that fact. In general, smaller towns contain friendly folks, so when those two facts are combined ... an abundance of friendliness.

We then visited a small church and a lake. The lake had a pleasant view of what a quiet life would offer in a peaceful Finnish town. Several kids nearby had even put down their bikes and were playing around elsewhere. It was nice to see that people could just leave their bikes in places and not worry much about thieves. Time has been kind to this part of the world lately. (Not always, granted, but lately.)

We headed south again and found a hiking spot, though it was mainly wooden stairs. There wasn’t much at the top, except a nice view of the area--which contains trees and lakes, trees and lakes. It was peaceful, aside from the gentle drone of the cars on the road nearby. We took photos, had some snacks and drove south again.

Our final dinner would be a very nice one. Our friends had made reservations at a very fancy place. The food was exceptionally good and we had great wine as well. I made sure to try a reindeer dish and found the meat to be quite tasty. Now I can say I’ve eaten Rudolph the Reindeer. I had a fine fish entrée as well. It was all very grand--and our guests treated, a most kind gesture as it must have been pricey. I really wanted to find a way to obtain more of that wine, yet I feel that’s almost impossible to do once outside the country.

We took a nice walk around town afterwards. I got more photos of the sun setting over the town which provided very colorful lighting.

Our stops included seeing a military barracks and an old church. Returning, we headed to a charming wine bar. No drinks for me, though. I needed to be in top form for a long day of travel, beginning at 6am in the morning. Needed a clear head for that.

And then it was time to return. I said goodbye to our friends, for I would not see them again. I packed up everything and went to sleep.

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