Friday 31 August 2012

Kuopio, Finland

Monday, Aug. 20/12

Up and at the Oulu train station by 9am. I was off to Kuopio, Finland, another 4 hour train. My host, Nana, was waiting for me at the station when I arrived.

Nana is originally from Ghana, Africa. He has been living and studying in Finland for 4 years now.

Nana took me around the city centre. We had a cup of tea at a cute little cafe and went to the shop for some groceries.

Nana cooked me chicken and potatoes for dinner. Then we went back to the centre, where we had a couple beers, played some pool and watched some football (soccer).







Tuesday Aug. 21/12

Nana was up early for school. I slept in a bit and left the house around 1030-11am. I walked to the Puijo tower and hill.



When I got there, I thought there was a lift that takes you to the top.. But when I asked, the guy was like, "it's easy, just walk straight up those steps". So 75 meters of steps later I reached the top of Puijo hill.

Looking down at the stairs I climbed.








Finally at the top of the tower; the view from above.
This tower was built in 1963 and it is the 3rd one built in this spot.




I had a snack and enjoyed the views.

Then met up with Nana in the city.

He helped me find a place where I could get a pedicure. I wanted to get one for myself for my birthday. It was awesome!! Happy Birthday to me!! So shiny and soft!



Nana made a delicious stew for dinner.




Then we headed to the jätkänkämppa sauna for the evening.

A big sauna situated right beside a beautiful lake - looks like this picture could have been taken in Saskatchewan.

We enjoyed the heat and sweat, followed by jumping in the cool refreshing lake. We went back and forth 5 or 6 times. It was so good, fun and relaxing.





Wednesday Aug.22 /12

I ended up staying an extra day. Didn't do too much; it was rainy outside. Just lazed until Nana was home from school then we went to the centre and tried to go to a museum, but it was closed already.

 We headed to the harbour and saw the seaside and boats.

We bought some groceries for dinner.

After we ate, we just stayed in. Played some poker and listened to some good tunes.



Wednesday 29 August 2012

Oulu, Finland

Saturday Aug. 18/12

I slept in and headed to the Rovaniemi train station around noon. 4 hour train to Oulu, Finland.

I arrived and walked to my host, Mikko's place. After I found my way, I just got settled and hung out on his beautiful deck facing the sea.

Mikko is an entrepreneur, currently setting up different football (soccer) teams and leagues in Finland. He works with many different people and countries around the world.


He me told some people were coming over for to have a grill dinner.

All of a sudden it was me and an entire football team, consisting of 13 guys.
(They are all in towels because Mikko has a sauna in his bathroom).

2 girls from Switzerland (also couch surfers) joined us as well.

We enjoyed the grill, which Mikko created from some flower pots he had on the deck.


After many beers and some food, we headed into the city. We stopped at 4 different bars. Having more drinks and more fun. It was a blast.










Needless to say, Sunday, Aug. 19/12, I slept in.

Eventually I got up and went with the Switzerland girls to the city centre for some food. After, I parted with the girls and just walked around the city, taking in some of the architecture and beauty.



The City Hall.



I then met Mikko at his office, where we had an intense foosball tournament.  There were 4 teams, 8 people. My team came in third. Mikko's team (playing in yellow shirts) won the tournament.
It was fun.




Mikko and I met up with a different couch surfer from Italy and the 3 of us went to a local, live, football (soccer) game. It was exciting, and the Oulu team won.

The girl from Italy and I went out for some pizza after and went to bed early.

Rovaniemi, Finland Day 2

Friday Aug. 17/12

My birthday :)

Sebastian took me to see the real Santa Claus in the Santa Claus village.

Santa Claus receives millions of letters from people from 198 different countries around the world.
This is what he has collected so far this year.





So to get to Santa, I had to walk through this little exhibit part.

 It explained that Santa Claus is not magic but just a genius. He built a machine that access's the earth core to slow down the time and this is how he gets the presents out to everyone each year.

So I met Santa Claus. We had a chat about my trip, he seemed jolly. He looked real. I don't have a picture with him because they only allow you to buy the professional one for 25 euros.



This is also where the Arctic Circle marker is located.

Each year Rovaniemi has a day with 24 hours of continuous sun and a day with 24 hours of continuous darkness.



After touring around the Santa Claus Village, Sebastian dropped me off at a famous museum called, Arktikum.

There was a lot of information in this museum.
I got the most out of reading about the northern lights.
The Northern Lights occur when electrically charged particles arriving from space bombard the atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere.The particles come from the solar wind and arrive on the shadow side of the earth. They are guided by the magnetic field of the Earth to enter only the polar regions. The colours in the northern  lights are created by the excitation of oxygen and nitrogen.

The museum had many other exhibits as well. It had information about the life of the Sami people, which I have talked a little about previously.













Back at the apartment, Satu and Sebastian cooked me a great supper and birthday cake!





We ate too much and had some beers.




Then, we went on a little hike, where I could enjoy the views of Rovaniemi.

A great way to spend my birthday :)

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Rovaniemi, Finland


Thursday Aug. 16/12

Up very early. Niklas had breakfast for me at 630am. I caught my bus for 710am (another 4 hours).

I got off the bus in Pello Sweden and I walked across the border to Pello Finland. It was kind of funny to just walk across the border into a new country.

3 hours later I caught the next bus from Pello to Rovaniemi, Finland (this one just 1.5 hours).  My host, Sebastian was waiting for me at the bus station when I arrived.
Satu & Sebastian

We walked back to his apartment to drop my bag off, then we went out to the grocery store to buy food for supper. I met his girlfriend Satu. They are a very friendly couple. Sebastian is actually from Germany and Satu is from Finland.. they met in Hungary over 3 years ago now.

They cooked me supper then we walked across the bridge to the beach to enjoy the last hours of the beautiful sun.
We ate cloud berry ice cream and drank some beers.

Back at the apartment, they have a sauna in their bathroom (so cool)! Which I guess is very common here in Finland. They started it up and we just sat and enjoyed the heat and the sweat. In for a bit then we would cool off on their balcony and go back in, etc.. reminded me of Tromso but minus the sea. Still very relaxing and enjoyable.

Sunday 26 August 2012

Kiruna, Sweden

Wednesday Aug.14/12

I started a little later in the morning with the Sami Museum. It only had some English pages and there was literally no one else in the museum. So I read and learned what I could.
As early as the 9th Century, Sami people had hunting techniques for wild reindeer.  They used domesticated reindeer as a lure. They also used pits, where they would dig a hole and cover it to look like the rest of the ground.  During the 16th and 17th centuries the supply of reindeer decreased dramatically and the Samis found other means for survival, such as farming and fishing. The Sami people were exploited and often subjected to racism and enmity. In 1993 a Sami Parliament was established in Sweden, which served to protect the rights of the Samis to land and water.





Next, I went to the Kiruna iron mining exhibit. In Kiruna, the ore body consists of a giant tilted disk of magnetite that slopes under the city centre. "Without the mining, Kiruna would not have existed, and without Kiruna, we would not be able to mine the ore." They city and the company are dependant on each other and have been since 1890 when LKAB (the iron-ore mine company) began.
LKAB currently produces 28 million tonnes of iron-ore products annually and it's the largest underground iron-ore mine in the world.  It accounts for 90% of the total iron production in the European Union. The ore is extracted using sub-level caving, so when it is blasted, the ore falls to underlying levels. I can expand on this is someone is interested.
Anyway, Kiruna grew up as a result of mining activities and now, as mining continues the city must be moved. Over the next 20 years an estimated 3000 buildings will be affected and moved to another location. When I was there, they were already building new schools to replace the schools they are going to have to destroy due to the mining.


I walked around the town and enjoyed the day.

I saw the town hall.



The Kiruna church, which was built from 1909 - 1912 in the form of a Lapp Cottage.

The bell tower was constructed first in 1906.











I then caught the bus to the ice hotel, which is currently melted but the area was still gorgeous. I just took a bit of time there to learn about how it's built and maintained.

Several hundred tons of ice is borrowed from the Torne River. As soon as the river freezes up, the section to be harvested is marked and kept clear of snow throughout the winter.  Harvesting takes place from mid-March to April when the ice is about 80 cm thick. It's the depth of the ice that creates the crystal - clear ice form. The ice field is divided into a grid pattern and very carefully using machines blocks of ice, weighing 2 tonnes per piece, is sawed and lifted out of the river.
The blocks are stored at -5 degrees Celsius until the following autumn when they start constructing the new ice hotel. The ice hotel opens in December while construction is still in progress and it not usually completed until January. NIBE ground source heat pumps are used to heat the hotel while maintaining the ice form (I can't explain this farther).  It's kind of neat. It would have been nice if it was winter and I could actually see and explore the hotel.. maybe someday :)


Back into town I met up with the host, Niklas.


He cooked me dinner then took me up a hill to get a great city view!
We had a beer and chatted then to sleep early.

Tromsø, Norway Day 4 & Last

Monday Aug.12 /12

Gottfried's boss (and owner of the ship) was back in town and woke us up around 930am. They sat in the office and did some paper work stuff while I also caught up on emails and what not.
I walked around the town a bit.. Tromsø is such a cute, small little community.

We had a 4 hour tour at 7pm. This tour was a group of 12 Brazilian reporters and journalists (mostly for cooking magazines etc.). They were doing a news film piece and taking many photos... so the boat had to look extra clean and sparkling.


The company who set up the tour, didn't tell the guests to bring their bathing suits though.. so it kind of defeated the purpose of the spa boat. I ended up lending my 2 bikini's out and Gottfried had some shorts that were previously donated (forgot) on the boat. The ladies just all took turns with my bathing suits.. some of them went in the hot tub with just their underwear.. Only a few of the jumped in the sea. But they all seemed to have fun.

Gottfried cooked up the cod we caught the night before and it was so freakin good. Then he made another little appetiser and fish soup for the main dish. Many photos taken, and the news reporter lady said that my bikini would be famous.

They all thought I was Norwegian and figured I had been working on the boat for a long time because "I knew my way around so well."
They were quite surprised when I told them I was from Canada and had only been on the boat for 3 days.

<-- this is the dinner table

We docked again at 11pm.

Another chef that works on the ship sometimes was waiting for us to return. We ended up having some beers and hanging out with him. They ended up jamming with their guitars.. played me all sorts of songs.
They were impressively good.

Tuesday Aug. 13/12

Up early. The skip was at the ship by 8am to take it for re-fueling. I made the guys coffee, showered and what not. By the time the ship was docked again.. it was time for me to catch my bus.  I said a sad goodbye to Gottfried and the crew. I will always remember my experience on the Vulkana. I had so much fun!

My bus was 4 hours to Narvik, Norway then another bus, 3 hours to Kiruna Sweden. Both went by pretty fast - as you can see, it was a scenic ride.

The host that I had lined up texted saying that he couldn't host me for my first night in Kiruna, so I ended up getting a hostel. No wifi. And the whole town was shut down by 7pm.
Pretty uneventful.

Saturday 25 August 2012

Tromsø, Norway Day 3

Sunday Aug. 11/12

Our day off!

We didn't get moving until the afternoon, but Gottfried took me to do everything I came to Tromsø to do.

First thing was the polar museum. This museum tells the stories about the risky Arctic trapping and courageous Polar expeditions of the 1800's. The museum opened in 1978 and is attributed to the men, women, ships and equipment that was essential for life on the sea in the Arctic.



Next we walked over the bridge to the Arctic Cathedral.


Built in 1965, the cathedral is a unique piece of architecture, made of aluminium and concrete. Some call it the opera house, because of it's acoustic structure.













Gottfried took me to a small shop, that serves the best milkshakes.. very rich and tasty.
Then, we went up the fjellheisen (cable car), which took us 421 meters up Mount Storsteinen.


A spectacular view of Tromsø from the top.
We hiked further up to get a good mountain view as well. It was beautiful.


You can see the Vulkana in this picture. It is front of the red and yellow buildings. The red building is the storage house.


There was snow still in some areas which was kind of funny to have the green grass right beside patches of snow.

We spent some time just hanging out and enjoying the air and the view.








Back at the boat, Gottfried cooked me up the most amazing supper. Halibut, cooked perfectly with potatoes and carrots. I have never liked or eaten much fish before, but I have definitely eaten a lot on the Vulkana and it has been soo good!


After we stuffed ourselves full, a friend of Gottfried's, Ellen, joined us.


Thomas and his girlfriend Jimmy (who I met at the poker night) picked us all up and took us to Gottfried's fishing boat.

We did some night sea fishing.. a first for me! The rods were very large and a bit difficult for me to handle. I caught one little cod and everyone else caught huge cod, and plenty of them.

Back at the ship, Ellen, Gottfried and I enjoy the hammam! We sit and sweat and then jump in the sea, sit and sweat and then jump in the sea.. it's such a great feeling. I loved it.

Monday 20 August 2012

Tromsø, Norway

Friday Aug. 9/12
I left early to get to the airport. The plane was quite small and very loud.  An older woman sat beside me and she was so scared.. I was worried she was going to have a heart attack and I'd have to give CPR on the plane! She made it just fine though.


I arrived in Tromsø and took the bus into the center. The bus goes under part of the city through tunnels and in the tunnels there are round abouts and it's multi-directional with intersections.. it was a bit odd. Bergen had tunnels too but it was just straight 2 way traffic.
After the bus stopped in the city, I walked to the building I was told to go to and I called my host, Gottfried. He was on the boat in front of the building. We shook hands and then he explained that he was down a waiter and asked me if I wanted to work tonight.. I was like "uhh sure."


I then learned that Gottfried works and lives on a spa boat. A ship called the Vulkana. It was originally built in 1957, designed as a fishing boat. In 2009, it was redesigned for spa tours;  it can host tour groups up to 12 people (sometimes more).

I put my bag in the building across the boat, which is a large storage area and Gottfried gave me the tour.

I was in charge of keeping the hot tub fire going, the sauna fire going and also the fire place in the basement of the boat, which is called the Zen Lounge. I chopped wood, cleaned the windows and mirrors and stocked the bath robes.

Gottfried was busy preparing the meal.

The guests were arriving at 8pm for a 4 hour, 3 course dinner tour. They were celebrating a stag night. I set the table for 7 men.


I was a bit nervous as I have never served or hosted in my life.

They arrived and boat left it's docking port. Gottfried gave them the tour,  while I ran around ensuring all the fires were stoked. They started their spa experience in the hot tub. I served them beers and they tried to convince me to join them in the hot tub.. luckily I had the excuse that I was working.

The skip - who I was told to call Father, stops the ship in the middle of the arctic sea so the guests can jump in and do some swimming. The water is freezing cold.. but with the hot tub and sauna to warm up in, it's not so bad.
Gottfried cooked an amazing appetiser, meal and dessert. I got to taste and enjoy it all!! I ate reindeer for the first time and it was sooo delicious.. followed by orgasmic chocolate mousse.


I served wine and the food; I cleared the dishes and put them all through the dishwasher.
They were a fun group of men (I would guess 40-45 years old). They got drunk and had a great time. Gottfried and I got tipped, so after they left and we finished cleaning, we went out for some beers.
Then back at the boat, Gottfried and I enjoyed the Turkish hammam - which is like a steam room. It felt so good to relax in. Steam all around then a small cold water bath in the middle to help cool you down. We also jumped into the arctic sea .. which was freezing but refreshing.. and then back to the hammam. It was fabulous!


Saturday Aug. 10/12

Every Saturday there is 2 hour tour for anyone who wants to come try it out. It goes from noon to 2pm and Gottfried cooks gourmet fish soup and makes home made bread.
Same routine though.. keep the fires going, make sure everyone has everything they need. They do the hot tub, the sea swim and sauna, then gather around the table for the meal. It was a bit easier because I didn't have to pre-set the table or anything.. the pot just goes in the middle and everyone digs in. I think there were 14 people on this tour.
After the boat docked and the guests left, we only had 1.5 hours to re-group for another tour. The fires were already going so it was just the cleaning.

The second tour was from 330pm - 6pm. A 2.5 hour tour, also with fish soup and homemade bread.
It was another stag, this time with 11 men. This group a bit younger then the ones on Friday. Maybe in their 30's.
Again ..another drunken good time. One of them got a bit too drunk and as the group was leaving and paying.. he fell down the stairs to where the Zen Lounge and hammam is.. and they are pretty steep steps. Luckily he wasn't hurt at all, just embarrassed. But broke a wine glass on his way .. which I had to clean up after.





After work, Gottfried made us spaghetti carbanara and we had a poker night set up with some of his friends. We played 2 games of poker in the storage building. Neither Gottfried or I won either game though. We went out for a couple beers after and enjoyed the buzzing nightlife of tromso.