Day 9: Return to Lahti and a trip to an island!

Today we made the long journey back down to Lahti, where we arrived at 3.00pm in good time for the train that would take Anna's folks back to St Petersburg at 3.50pm. After a round of coffees and cakes, we gathered the luggage together on the platform and awaited the train, which arrived from Helsinki a few minutes early at 3.45pm.

We were visited by a family of ducks this morning!

At Lahti station, saying our goodbyes.

After saying our goodbyes, we then headed north west for 45 minutes where we travelled down some incredibly rural roads to meet up with our German friends Gabi and Carsten from Cologne, and their family, who we had first met at Mas Manyaques on the French-Spanish border in 2008. We've seen them since, in 2009 when they holidayed in Scotland, and last year when they were over at Durham staying with their daughter Alina who was studying there. Alina, as well as Jonas and youngest daughter Hannah were all there to meet and greet us, and to ferry us across the lake in two rowing boats to their cottage... on an island!

Saying hellos to Gabi and Carsten!

Olivia and Hannah hit the water!

The sauna in the late evening sunshine.

What a beautiful setting it was too! We ate, drank, had saunas and swam in the lake there, spending a great few hours with these super friends, before leaving at about 9.45pm to travel back up the road home. With a bit of luck, we will have our German friends up here one day next week too, as they are here in Finland until next weekend, before they travel home on a familiar route to us, via Stockhom, driving through Sweden to the bridge at Malmo that links Sweden and Denmark, across Denmark and on to Germany.