In the soup

To me it seems that a good way to end our Nordic journey together is through a few foody thoughts. We enjoyed a bit of fish soup in the small market just near Helsinki fish market. Whilst it will be good to be eating at "home" soon, we have all managed what can sometimes be tricky negotiations on just where and when to eat each day. These basic human needs each day are an opportunity to discover new ideas and to gather ideas for both of our cooking journals as well as simply keeping the systems going.

We think that during the ferry voyage we may have added a kilo or two but things have settled down a bit, probably due to all the walking around towns we have done. For us, it takes about 2 days to establish a good feel for a new city and Helsinki has been in that category. Helsinki is an enjoyable city even though we think it has a harder edge to it compared to Oslo and Stockholm in particular. This probably comes from it's need to accommodate Russia over the years.

Helsinki and the end of another phase of discovery

Now we are at Helsinki and the end of this holiday. A fantastic experience and an eye opener for us onNordic countries. We have started a debate on whether we will come back as the lifestlye in these countries looks good, at least in summer. We have discovered new places including an eye popping day trip to Estonia and medieval Tallin. This travel from Helsinki is a huge business and looks to be quite profitable for all.

At times lately we have felt a bit tired but we think we have set a good pace with good variety. Time sight seeing, time for souvenir shopping and time for sampling the wares. From here we go through Geneva and into France and a chance to review our thoughts on this part of Europe. Whilst at times it would be good to meet up with family and friends, the show has goone onwithout a hitch and we are grateful for making the opportunity to learn new things.

Comparing shapes in Oulu

Rovaniemi seems to be a town almost totally reliant on Santa. Yvonne goes with the others to pay him a visit, which turns out to be not that interesting. Tourist numbers there are light and the elves struggle to get their photograph commissions for the day. Our other highlight here is the local Arctic museum where we enjoy several hours learning more about living up here. The range of outdoor sports in summer and winter is amazing. Further south on our way to Helsinki we have lunch and change trains at Oulu. This looks to be a pleasant seas side town with its rather imposing and intriguing fat man statue. Something to research later after RDK compares outline figures.

Heading South

We leave our small hotel in Inari by local bus which will deviate off the main road to pick us up. A nice country touch! Then it is off to Rovaniemi, back out of the Arctic Circle and heading south and the “finnish” of our venture.

Inari Museum open area

Apart from 500 souls waiting for the fish to bite or enjoying communal saunas, Inari has a terrific museum covering Sami indigenous culture and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. Maybe a tough life for these people whose lives are basically about reindeer herding across now three countries, Russia, Finland and Norway, but constraining their lives to fit national boundaries and so called modern western style living demands does raise quite complex issues. The southerners in Helsinki with their fast paced living and their demands for hydro-electricity continue to raise complex political issues, especially given climatic change issues about emissions. Like Australia, apparently, Finland is a large polluter on a per person basis and whilst they would like more hydro systems, it causes problems for the salmon and other fish environments.

38 years ago-celebrations

We enjoy a quiet anniversary dinner with friends George and Yvonne. George tried the reindeer whilst the other 3 had fish. The hotel has a great menu for such a small place with less than 500 souls. And so another day on this endeavor is completed in style.

Man versus nature in Lapland

Inari is fishing heaven, although over the two days we are there, we see no fish actually getting caught. It is a real male thing as the men show their ability to exist in the wild of northern Finland. There are great summer walking trails here and we take the time to at least make a start on several of them. Not too many shops to distract the ladies and we slowly regain our land legs in this quiet part of the world. What did distract the ladies however was the male sauna routine and I did wonder why the two Yvonnes placed themselves between the riverside sauna and the river where they bathed.