Finland
Finland was our first `proper` Scandinavian country visit (if you discount a booze-cruise to Gothenburg spending only about 4 hours in Sweden). I had been invited to judge a cavy show near Tampere and we decided to add a couple of extra days and after completing the judging catch a train down to Helsinki through the remaining snow. But first there was the cheap flight from Stansted to Tampere. We arrived at the airport, bought tickets on the shuttle for the 20 minute journey into town and the man checked our tickets, loaded our bag into the bus and off we set. After an hour I was getting alarmed at how long the journey was taking and checked with the driver only to discover that we were on the shuttle coach to Helsinki NOT Tampere! The driver dropped us in a bleak, cold, wet deserted central square in Hämeenlinna at about 11.30 and were promised that the late bus to Tampere would arrive at 2am. And after huddling in a doorway near the hamburger stand watching drunks lurch through the square for over 2 hours it DID!!! Meantime we had been desperately phoning home to get Jacky to call the show organiser to tell her that we WERE in the country and should be ready on time, all things going well. We got to the hotel at 3.30 and were slept and breakfasted by the time our car arrived to take us to the show! Phew. Tampere is an industrial town without a great deal of sightseeing so our Helsinki side trip proved a smart move. In the hotel we had reindeer steaks and also smoked reindeer soup which was to die for. If you get the chance do try it. Helsinki was snowy and with small kids on skating rinks in the centre. We wandered down to the waterfront and found ourselves a great coffee shop, market and boat heading out around the harbour islands.
Several years later we decided to return to Finland at our own pace and to visit a Nordic Championship event just as observers and at a warmer time of year (September). This time we opted for a direct flight to Helsinki and I had done much more online research so we had identified a good traditional hotel which was reasonably central to everything but not at a silly price. That first night we cheated somewhat as it was a bit late to find a restaurant for we settled for ham and cheese toasties and a drink in the hotel lobby bar. But we also knew of a traditional `ma and pa` restaurant serving traditional buffet self-service meals involving local specialities and headed there the next night. Loved it and went back again the following night where they remembered us and gave us a free `repeat` dessert which you can see in the picture gallery. We also retraced our steps down to the harbour area with it`s sights, sounds, street market and `iron clad` cafe/coffee shop.
The Nordic Championship was about an hour out of Helsinki by train. Buying tickets and catching the right train was a bit scary as was getting to the show venue out of town by taxi but when we arrived the setting was fabulous. In a sports and leisure complex on the side of a beautiful wooded lake. The swallows were gathering on the TV aerials getting ready for the southerly migration. The show was great and the English judges got a huge shock as they were only expecting to see Scandinavians! The train service on both visits was very good. Fast, clean and on time. Neither visit had the right weather to even have a slight prospect of viewing the aurora borealis unfortunately so we may well have to have another visit to the north to try to see that
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Browse through the picture galleries below relating to this page and you will get a much better idea than just reading my words! Each page has it`s own set of relevant images - where possible taken by us.