Long Time ComingGSaturday, July 24th, 2010 This afternoon, we cleaned and packed the car while Matias and Mia and prepared the family for a wedding. Once everyone was in their Sunday best, we bid them farewell. Yet again, we've made some great new friends, and once more, we are leaving them...
Hanging Out With the Hannus FamilyGFriday, July 23rd, 2010 Our host Matias has a habit of signing up completely unprepared for long distance races. He isn't in them to win, just to prove to himself that he can do it! A year or two ago, it was a lengthy cross-country skiing event where he triumphantly too...
Working in JakobstadPGThursday, July 22nd, 2010 We spent most of the day distractedly working on journals and programming projects. It's a bit difficult to focus when you have a hilarious, heart-breakingly adorable child speaking cute, unintelligible (to us, anyway) Swedish at you, and vying fo...
To Matias and Mia'sGWednesday, July 21st, 2010 Two weeks ago, our our wallet was stolen in Estonia. In thinking about the experience now, I can't help but shake my head about the events which preceded it. Just a day prior, I had griped about how our adventure had become too easy! The crushin...
Wallet UpdateGTuesday, July 20th, 2010 Not much happened today, since we spent most of it sitting at Hesburger planning for Russia and working. We did get some exciting news though. Our driver's licenses, debit cards, and credit card are well on there way to meet us in Finland. Accor...
Christmas in JulyGMonday, July 19th, 2010 Santa's Village in Roveniemi, Finland was our big attraction for the day. Apparently, it rests right on the line where the Arctic circle begins. At first we were pretty disappointed, it was mostly shops selling cheap souvenirs and jewelery. ...
Coastal Drive to NorwayGFriday, July 16th, 2010 In an effort to duplicate Swedish Pancakes from one of my favorite breakfast places in Champaign, I made crepes this morning, served with Lingonberries. My results were much smaller than the restaurant's due to the size of our saucepan. They were...
Saami MuseumGThursday, July 15th, 2010 We stayed at our hotel late into the morning, sleeping restfully in the novel darkness afforded by closed curtains. When we finally roused ourselves around 10AM, our overpriced, stingy hotel redeemed itself somewhat by providing a multi-buffet fea...
Sick in LaplandPGWednesday, July 14th, 2010 It must have been the questionably old chicken I had on my sandwich. Or I suppose it could have been the sweet, tangy addition of lingonberry sauce (like cranberry sauce). Either way, not long after we left the Amethyst mine, I began to feel sick...
Amethyst MiningGWednesday, July 14th, 2010 We're falling into a nice routine with Finland. It goes something like this: swim in the morning, tear down camp, drive through beautiful pine forests, swim before lakeside lunch, enjoy said lunch, drive some more, set up camp, swim before dinner,...
Roadside OdditiesGTuesday, July 13th, 2010 Here we are, just drivin' through Finland, when we come to an abrupt halt because we've officially reached reindeer territory. There are loads of them, just milling about on the highway. Here they are, calmly oblivious to the incessant honking di...
Up at the CabinGMonday, July 12th, 2010 The sun is intense in Finland this time of year. The flaming orb never leaves the sky, even at night. At our current latitude, sunset sort of occurs around 12AM, but it never actually gets dark. Then, around 3AM, the murky pink skies brighten ag...
Lake HoppingGSunday, July 11th, 2010 Today, we are making ourselves at home in Finland. We've ditched the itineraries we found online, and are simply winging it as we head north towards the Arctic Circle. Feeling as free as we did on our bicycles, we poke along, likely to the annoya...
Sandcastles and LakesGSaturday, July 10th, 2010 Today, we left Helsinki and headed into the Finnish countryside. It was a relief to leave the expensive city behind, watching metallic cityscapes transition into woods and forest. For our route, Tyler found several driving itineraries from a Scan...
Picnic by the LakeGFriday, July 9th, 2010 We'd planned on spending some time exploring downtown Helsinki today. Mostly, we wanted to sift through the flea markets Tara had discovered during her research last night. We had no intention of buying anything, it just sounded like fun. So, th...
Back in BusinessGThursday, July 8th, 2010 …continued from Where is the Wallet!? By now, the worst is over. Thanks to all of our parents, what could have been a massive ordeal has become just a small bump in the road. We pack up our things, feeling relieved, and head out to the car. Th...
