Finland Entries Long Time Coming G Saturday, 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 grea... Hanging Out With the Hannus Family G Friday, 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 cro... Working in Jakobstad PG Thursday, 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, unintellig... To Matias and Mia's G Wednesday, 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 ho... Wallet Update G Tuesday, 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 ar... Christmas in July G Monday, 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. Napapiiri Arctic Circle At first we were pretty di... Coastal Drive to Norway G Friday, 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 restaur... Saami Museum G Thursday, 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 redeeme... Sick in Lapland PG Wednesday, 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 afte... Amethyst Mining G Wednesday, 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, ... Roadside Oddities G Tuesday, 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 ... Up at the Cabin G Monday, 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. T... Lake Hopping G Sunday, 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 ... Sandcastles and Lakes G Saturday, 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, Ty... Picnic by the Lake G Friday, 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 b... Back in Business G Thursday, 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 ...