Showing posts with label Finland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finland. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Snowmobiling in Finland
Signage very similar to ours
Crossing signs near border with Norway
Finnish trail markers
Give way?
Warming hut? (no sauna?)
We enjoyed watching the sun bounce along the horizon...but then
it sank beneath the trees...oh well, too far south already
On to Finland
July 20, we awoke atop the North Cape amid a gale and white-out, the camper rocking and rolling in wind. (It's a full size campground up here, the parking lot, that is; no hook-ups though). We had to stick around till 11 to return Vicki's T-shirt at the gift shop.
We then drove south off the blustery and cloudy Cape to increasingly mild and sunny weather, first off the coastline, then the barren uplands, then a beautiful valley and large creek, then into Alta, where we re-fueled and re-provisioned. Then we headed inland on route 93, forsaking our old friends E6, and E10 and E69, up a long beautiful canyon and creeks, then into an upland lakes country, and the finally onto the vast northern Scandinavian plain. The hills are rolling, the trees are almost entirely scrubby aspen, and there are lakes everywhere. We had dinner overlooking one of ythese and then headed on, into Finland, about 6PM. We camped at a nice Finnish rest area, in the midst of serious snowmobile country: signs and trails everywhere. We had read that the reindeer head to the coastal areas in the summer, but we saw three big ones by the side of the road just into Finland, near Hetta, south of which we are camped. And then more.
Watched the sun, alas, set, although at midnight it was still full above the horizon. A hill-line in the distance spoiled our view.
We then drove south off the blustery and cloudy Cape to increasingly mild and sunny weather, first off the coastline, then the barren uplands, then a beautiful valley and large creek, then into Alta, where we re-fueled and re-provisioned. Then we headed inland on route 93, forsaking our old friends E6, and E10 and E69, up a long beautiful canyon and creeks, then into an upland lakes country, and the finally onto the vast northern Scandinavian plain. The hills are rolling, the trees are almost entirely scrubby aspen, and there are lakes everywhere. We had dinner overlooking one of ythese and then headed on, into Finland, about 6PM. We camped at a nice Finnish rest area, in the midst of serious snowmobile country: signs and trails everywhere. We had read that the reindeer head to the coastal areas in the summer, but we saw three big ones by the side of the road just into Finland, near Hetta, south of which we are camped. And then more.
Watched the sun, alas, set, although at midnight it was still full above the horizon. A hill-line in the distance spoiled our view.
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| Among the hazards of driving up north |
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| Reindeer husbandry in Finland (what about wifery? Vicki asks) |
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| It's our road, he seems to be saying |
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| Rack |
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| We eventually nudged them to one side; they're not exactly terrified of people
or vehicles
|
Vicki adds:
Hetta, Finland-- July 20, 2009
We just left Norway an hour ago, headed south to Paris. We loved Norway and could have spent another 3 weeks easily. We decided to go north to the Lofoten Islands which have to be one of the most gorgeous places in the world—see Mark's blog for pictures and details. Then when we found out my cousin wasn't going to be in Brussels for us to visit, we decided—what the hay—let's go to the North Cape. A place we had never heard of before 2 weeks ago, but it is the furthest northern point in Europe and a very popular destination for Europeans. (Be sure to look on an atlas and see how amazingly far north this is!) It was a mere 600 miles round trip out of the way, but then we knew we would never get this close again. It also allowed us to stop at another Unesco World Heritage Site—the rock carvings in Alta. Both were really cool, and tonight we are wild camping again and staying up till midnight to see the midnight sun. At the Cape last night, we could only see the midnight sun reflection due to the constant cloud bank over the Arctic Ocean. But given that it was the Arctic Ocean that is to be expected.
For those of you interested in the practical, we have wild camped the last 10 nights, staying for free at roadside pullouts and parks. Usually there are several other campers and even tenters, but not always. This is a huge wilderness area and very sparsely populated mostly by the Sami (Lapplander) people. Staying for free has been especially important as it costs about $150 for every fill up—or $ .30 a mile for diesel. We haven't had much in admission prices but that has been balanced out by the cost of the ferry boats. The Arctic Menu featured here of reindeer stew, cod, salmon also hasn't been that attractive—we haven't eaten out at all basically since the smorgasbord on the ship to Helsinki. Dinner for two would be at least $100 for a very basic meal. At the ESSO station they are having a special—two hot dogs and a small coke for only 49 kroners--$7.50.
I did have lunch at Burger King a few days ago—double cheeseburger, med. fry and small coke for $10. I asked the counter girl what she made-- $20 an hour. To start a person would make no less than $15. So that puts the prices into perspective. Basically a minimum wage worker in the US would have to work about 50 minutes to pay for that meal in the US and have no health benefits and probably no paid vacation or sick leave. In Scandinavia they would only have to work 40 minutes and get free health care and a month's paid vacation plus sick leave. That is why they have such an overall high standard of living and very little crime or poverty. Of course, they probably don't have the percentage of really high incomes that the US does because taxes are so high to pay for all the benefits. So basically the “socialism” that many in the US are so afraid of just means that the rich have a little less so that there isn't any poverty and all who work have the dignity of a living wage. Awful isn't it? I will get off my soapbox now.
It is 2200 miles from the North Cape to Paris where we pick up Rebecca on July 29 so we have to hustle.
Hetta, Finland-- July 20, 2009
We just left Norway an hour ago, headed south to Paris. We loved Norway and could have spent another 3 weeks easily. We decided to go north to the Lofoten Islands which have to be one of the most gorgeous places in the world—see Mark's blog for pictures and details. Then when we found out my cousin wasn't going to be in Brussels for us to visit, we decided—what the hay—let's go to the North Cape. A place we had never heard of before 2 weeks ago, but it is the furthest northern point in Europe and a very popular destination for Europeans. (Be sure to look on an atlas and see how amazingly far north this is!) It was a mere 600 miles round trip out of the way, but then we knew we would never get this close again. It also allowed us to stop at another Unesco World Heritage Site—the rock carvings in Alta. Both were really cool, and tonight we are wild camping again and staying up till midnight to see the midnight sun. At the Cape last night, we could only see the midnight sun reflection due to the constant cloud bank over the Arctic Ocean. But given that it was the Arctic Ocean that is to be expected.
For those of you interested in the practical, we have wild camped the last 10 nights, staying for free at roadside pullouts and parks. Usually there are several other campers and even tenters, but not always. This is a huge wilderness area and very sparsely populated mostly by the Sami (Lapplander) people. Staying for free has been especially important as it costs about $150 for every fill up—or $ .30 a mile for diesel. We haven't had much in admission prices but that has been balanced out by the cost of the ferry boats. The Arctic Menu featured here of reindeer stew, cod, salmon also hasn't been that attractive—we haven't eaten out at all basically since the smorgasbord on the ship to Helsinki. Dinner for two would be at least $100 for a very basic meal. At the ESSO station they are having a special—two hot dogs and a small coke for only 49 kroners--$7.50.
I did have lunch at Burger King a few days ago—double cheeseburger, med. fry and small coke for $10. I asked the counter girl what she made-- $20 an hour. To start a person would make no less than $15. So that puts the prices into perspective. Basically a minimum wage worker in the US would have to work about 50 minutes to pay for that meal in the US and have no health benefits and probably no paid vacation or sick leave. In Scandinavia they would only have to work 40 minutes and get free health care and a month's paid vacation plus sick leave. That is why they have such an overall high standard of living and very little crime or poverty. Of course, they probably don't have the percentage of really high incomes that the US does because taxes are so high to pay for all the benefits. So basically the “socialism” that many in the US are so afraid of just means that the rich have a little less so that there isn't any poverty and all who work have the dignity of a living wage. Awful isn't it? I will get off my soapbox now.
It is 2200 miles from the North Cape to Paris where we pick up Rebecca on July 29 so we have to hustle.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Helsinki in (Less Than) a Day
We arrived in Helsinki about 10AM Friday, in more rain. We decided to forego the bus tours, etc., and just did it ourselves, buying a day-pass on the local public transportation, about 14 euros for the two of us. Helsinki's major sites are pretty close together; and, given a few more hours, we could have done it all on foot. By noon it had cleared, and we visited the harbor, the harbor produce market, the Senate area, all the neo-classical buildings, the Protestant Dom, lunch at Kapelli's, then the Parliament buildings, the music center Finlandia, the Church in the Rock, the Oopera (stet), the Sibelius monument, and then the Orthodox church, hopping on buses and trams when needed. The tram drivers spoke superb English and gave us helpful advice. In view of the holiday (see below), most everything commercial, except the market, was closed...a good thing for us.
It was an interesting place, almost exotically different, Russian, sort of, and we are pleased we made the trip. (We are not going to St. Petersburg, since the Ruskies seem not to really welcome independent tourists; visas are time-consuming, expensive, etc.). Helsinki was founded in the 17th century and, unlike most European sites, has no Medieval nor earlier past.
We are even more pleased that we didn't drive. It would have taken days and days and cost hundreds and hundreds.
We got back to the Gabriella in time get a window table for two for the buffet/smorgasbord, for which we had been preparing (fasting) all day. I am sure we have had better meals, but few more memorable. See illustration for the menu. I am sure I tried each and every seafood items and all the Scandinavian items, plus much more, the Mediterranean and Asian. And cheese. And desserts. I actually liked the herring, in all its varieties of preparation. There were four varieties of caviar. And free beer and wine. Only the cheese course was lacking in variety.
We spent the next few hours digesting. About 11 we went up to the band/dance area and spent a few hours there. All this was occurring on midsummer eve, a high Scandinavian holiday, and these people know how to party. The ship was all decked out in greenery, and at midnight there was a special live performance, American discotheque from the 70s. Sort of. But it was entertaining.
We were back in Stockholm by 10 the next morning, the rain ended, a beautiful mostly clear mid-summer day on which we simply lazed about the campground, reading, puttering, exploring the island of Langholmen, and planning our next travels.
It was an interesting place, almost exotically different, Russian, sort of, and we are pleased we made the trip. (We are not going to St. Petersburg, since the Ruskies seem not to really welcome independent tourists; visas are time-consuming, expensive, etc.). Helsinki was founded in the 17th century and, unlike most European sites, has no Medieval nor earlier past.
We are even more pleased that we didn't drive. It would have taken days and days and cost hundreds and hundreds.
We got back to the Gabriella in time get a window table for two for the buffet/smorgasbord, for which we had been preparing (fasting) all day. I am sure we have had better meals, but few more memorable. See illustration for the menu. I am sure I tried each and every seafood items and all the Scandinavian items, plus much more, the Mediterranean and Asian. And cheese. And desserts. I actually liked the herring, in all its varieties of preparation. There were four varieties of caviar. And free beer and wine. Only the cheese course was lacking in variety.
We spent the next few hours digesting. About 11 we went up to the band/dance area and spent a few hours there. All this was occurring on midsummer eve, a high Scandinavian holiday, and these people know how to party. The ship was all decked out in greenery, and at midnight there was a special live performance, American discotheque from the 70s. Sort of. But it was entertaining.
We were back in Stockholm by 10 the next morning, the rain ended, a beautiful mostly clear mid-summer day on which we simply lazed about the campground, reading, puttering, exploring the island of Langholmen, and planning our next travels.
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| Arriving in Helsinki harbor |
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| The (Protestant) Dom; the interior very sparse, except for statues of Luther, Melancthon, et al. |
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| The Senate Square statue of Czar Alexander II, who was nice to Finland (no statue of Stalin) |
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| The blue building in all the travel guides...city hall |
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| National art museum |
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| National theater |
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| Details from the 1931 Helsinki train station, said, by Michelin, to be of "National Romantic" style |
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| Just about everything was closed for Midsummer Eve, but, thank god, Kapelli's was open |
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| In Kapelli's, Rodin's very famous "Young Girl Dribbling an Imaginary Basketball" |
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| National history museum |
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| Parliament |
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| Finlandia Hall, part of the national music complex |
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| Interior of Church in the Rock; it would make a great Unitarian church |
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| ACeiling of Church in the Rock; 14 miles (or was it light-years?) of copper tubing |
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| Sibelius monument; he did play organ, right? |
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| The Russian Orthodox Dom |
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| Ditto |
Cruisin' the Baltic
Our ship, the Viking Lines' Gabriella, left Stockholm in rain about 5PM. Our stateroom, on deck 2, was actually fairly nice, for the price...larger than many guest-house rooms we stayed in in Nepal, with private bath, hot and cold water, heat, etc. Luxury for $26 a night, including the trip. Thanks, Vicki.
It's not exactly a cruise...the travelers are about 55% Finnish, shopping in Stockholm and duty-free, 40% Swedes, partying, gambling, and shopping duty-free, and 5% actual tourists like us. The ship stops briefly in the Aland islands, an “autonomous” province of Finland, and that makes it an international (as opposed to inter-EU) voyage. The duty-free prices were only a little better than Stockholm, IMHO.
The Stockholm archipelago runs for more than 100 miles and contains some 24,000 islands and skerries. All of them are glacially-polished metamorphic rock masses, most large enough to accommodate forests, most with summer and other homes, but few permanently inhabited. The cruise-ship/ferry route runs up through these islands, staying fairly close to the mainland for a couple hours. Then it enters open sea for a bit, and, then, the Aland islands, another archipelago, this time with even more islands. Fly-over in Google Earth and you will get some appreciation of the matter. I had no idea there was any topography on earth like this. Then some more open sea, and you enter the archipelago around Helsinki, more islands, more forests and red-painted houses and buildings. The cruise/ferry route is pretty well established and marked, and there is radar and GPS, etc. Some of the islands we passed were scarcely 100 feet away, really close for a 50,000 ton ship moving at 20 knots. It's hard to imagine doing this 100 years ago, or 200, or 1000. Little wonder the Vikings became such proficient sailors.
Our ship, the M/S Gabriella
A tall ship entering Stockholm harbor as we leave
In Helsinki old harbor
Skerries in the rain
More islands, now near Helsinki
The buffet menu (see next entry)
Midsummer's eve sunset
Us ringing in the new...wait a second...summer solstice
The Gabriella's midsummer's eve entertainment extravaganza
Midnight sun...well, not quite at this latitude...it just never gets very dark
It's not exactly a cruise...the travelers are about 55% Finnish, shopping in Stockholm and duty-free, 40% Swedes, partying, gambling, and shopping duty-free, and 5% actual tourists like us. The ship stops briefly in the Aland islands, an “autonomous” province of Finland, and that makes it an international (as opposed to inter-EU) voyage. The duty-free prices were only a little better than Stockholm, IMHO.
The Stockholm archipelago runs for more than 100 miles and contains some 24,000 islands and skerries. All of them are glacially-polished metamorphic rock masses, most large enough to accommodate forests, most with summer and other homes, but few permanently inhabited. The cruise-ship/ferry route runs up through these islands, staying fairly close to the mainland for a couple hours. Then it enters open sea for a bit, and, then, the Aland islands, another archipelago, this time with even more islands. Fly-over in Google Earth and you will get some appreciation of the matter. I had no idea there was any topography on earth like this. Then some more open sea, and you enter the archipelago around Helsinki, more islands, more forests and red-painted houses and buildings. The cruise/ferry route is pretty well established and marked, and there is radar and GPS, etc. Some of the islands we passed were scarcely 100 feet away, really close for a 50,000 ton ship moving at 20 knots. It's hard to imagine doing this 100 years ago, or 200, or 1000. Little wonder the Vikings became such proficient sailors.
Our ship, the M/S Gabriella
A tall ship entering Stockholm harbor as we leave
In Helsinki old harbor
Skerries in the rain
More islands, now near Helsinki
The buffet menu (see next entry)
Midsummer's eve sunset
Us ringing in the new...wait a second...summer solstice
The Gabriella's midsummer's eve entertainment extravaganza
Midnight sun...well, not quite at this latitude...it just never gets very dark
Thursday, June 18, 2009
To Helsinki, Briefly
It is Thursday, June 18, and we have been in Stockholm a couple days. (Free) internet connections are lacking, and this afternoon we are taking the over-night cruise to Helsinki, Finland, returning Saturday. I hope to post some blog entries by the weekend.
Update: Well, I did find an internet cafe for a while...but we'll be in Finland Friday, back to Stockholm Saturday.
Update: Well, I did find an internet cafe for a while...but we'll be in Finland Friday, back to Stockholm Saturday.
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