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.

Read more...

Day 8: Morning in Jyväskylä

As today was the last full day for Anna's folks here, before we take them down to Lahti for their train back to St Petersburg tomorrow, I took them into the centre of Jyväskylä this morning and dropped them off to do some shopping. Meanwhile, Anna, along with Sandy, Olivia, Keith and Arnold and I headed over towards the harbour area to wander about, have ice-creams and relax in the warm sunshine.

By the harbour.

Fiddlers entertain customers at the cafe.

Meanwhile, we enjoy our ice creams.

Keith on the crazy golf course.

Sandy and I watch the goings on.

This is a floating sauna-boat! 

By chance, we came across some mini-golf at the far end of the harbour and so we all enjoyed a game together. That filled the time quite nicely, after which we walked back around to the car park and watched the boats and a guy on a sort of James Bond style backpack that propelled himself up out of the water to a height of at least 50 feet into the air - that was quite something!

This guy with the jet pack went really high in the air around the harbour- see below too!

When we met back up with the shoppers, we headed back home via the S-Market at Vaajakoski and it was interesting for me to observe the things Anna's mum was buying up in great quantities. For example, she bought 10 large 500g packets of filter coffee, for just under 4 euros each. When I asked, she told me the same coffee in St Petersburg is more than 8 euros a packet! It was the same story for salami and various types of bread, as well as even for things such as tomatoes and potatoes, which are nearly 4 times as much in Russia! I knew the Russian prices had rocketed in the past year - inflation is almost 20% there - but I hadn't imagined prices in Finland would be so much cheaper.

Back home for the afternoon, the weather deteriorated a bit, with some showers, but we still swam and enjoyed the sauna, with Keith deciding to head out again this evening for some last laps of the area around the jetty!

Late afternoon swimming and relaxing.

Read more...

Day 7: A trip back in time?

Diving into the lake today

When we left this sensational place in July 2014, we had just completed our third annual holiday here, and in perhaps the best weather we had ever experienced. For the past near 12 months, I've been waiting to be back, to enjoy the same fabulous weather and to wonder at the multitude of moods that this lake, Palvajarvi produces even in the space of a single day. This year, it's been different, with very unsettled and cool (by the last few years' standards) conditions, but today, all that changed, and we had a quite fantastic day of beautiful warm sunshine, and exquisite conditions in the lake itself!

Olga, taken by Anna, on their early morning walk.

A couple of perch caught by Sandy this morning.

Sandy with Arnold.

This character has some significance to Anna- ask her!

Early in the morning, Sandy was busy fishing again; he's become quite the fisherman lately and it didn't take him long to hook a few perch using the lure he bought the other day in town. While he was enjoying that, and while Anna and Olga went for a walk, I nipped along to the ABC at Vaajakoski to get some more of the tasty pork that we barbequed on our first night here. While there I was pondering some of the prices that ABC was charging. Bearing in mind that it's open 24 hours, and therefore is a bit more expensive than the other supermarkets such as S-Market and K-Market, I found the prices of what I was buying nonetheless very reasonable. More than 1kg of local Finnish tomatoes cost €1.30, just less than £1, which compares pretty favourably against Asda Dunbar's £0.79 for 250g of Dutch tomatoes, and more for UK versions. I also bought nearly 2kg of new Finnish potatoes for €1.55, again much cheaper than new potatoes ever are in the UK. The marinated pork itself was €5.99 for 1kg, again much less than I'd expect to pay in Scotland. OK, I admit that some other things such as alcohol are certainly more expensive here, but maybe that's no bad thing.

The Three Sisters, according to Anna!

Looking skywards!

Looking to the wood shed and darts board.

No wonder Olivia is happy!

Back home, it was time for an early lunch as the sun was showing signs of warming things up really nicely, so we ate quickly and I lit the sauna once more. By 1.10pm, Keith was in the lake swimming and proclaiming loudly that the water was wonderful! Believe it or not, he spent the entire afternoon from then until nearly 5.45pm either swimming or relaxing in the sauna and clearly had great fun. But it wasn't just him, as we all had repeated sessions in both the water and the lake, which was indeed noticeably warmer today than in previous days.

While I am keeping an online blog, Anna's writing her diary!

Keith heading on another circuit!

Olivia and Sandy by the jetty.

Quick break for Olivia to perform for 5 minutes on the trampoline.

Keith exiting the sauna, ready to hit the water again.

The moods change here so quickly. For a few minutes, all became calm and the reflections were stunning!

By the house, wonderful scene behind us.

Sandy back fishing as the reflections continue.

While Keith continued swimming, I got to work getting the pork ready with Anna's help, and we ate at about 6pm, keeping the sauna going as we all intended heading straight back there after dinner. With the weather so good today, and with such uncertain conditions ahead over the next week, we need to enjoy these amazing days in the best way possible!

Looking back to the house from the barbeque area. 

From behind the sauna.

Barbeque area, waiting for the pork to cook!

Cousins Arnold and Olivia.

Looking to the house from the side.

Read more...

Day 6: Showers and Sunshine

Waking up this morning, I was hoping for sunshine, which was what the forecast had predicted. Instead, when I listened from bed, it became obvious that it was raining. Hard. When I came downstairs and peeked out of the windows at the front of the cottage, it was more of a monsoon than I had thought possible.

By the time we had all got up and had breakfast though, things were improving. The sun was shining and we mucked around in the garden for a while, relaxing down by the jetty. But the showers were never far away, and we had to take cover a few times. Nonetheless, we swam and leaped into the lake for most of the afternoon and so overall, the day was more satisfying than I had thought it might have been at 7.30am!

Olivia and Arnold playing this morning.

Keith and me on the swings in the sun.

That's Olivia somersaulting into the lake.

On the steps.

This evening, we drove to the harbour area in Jyvaskyla for some ice-creams and relaxed as we people watched for half an hour or so. When we got back home, Sandy continued fishing in the sun and caught some perch, which pleased him as he had bought a special lure in town yesterday. 

Read more...

Day 5: Petäjävesi Old Church

Last year, we visited the wooden church at Petäjävesi and as Anna's folks didn't visit, and wanted to, we decided to return there today. From here, it's about 40 minutes away and it was easy to get to as the road was quiet - aren't almost all roads here in Finland?

Olivia and Arnold watching a film this morning.

Just before leaving for our run to Petäjävesi.

Keith with Anna's mum and dad outside the church.

Another one outside the church.

I did manage to capture this butterfly in the damp conditions.

With the weather misbehaving again for the second day, it was the only real thing we did, although we had our obligatory sauna and swimming session in the lake this evening, in pouring rain! Looking ahead at the weather for the next seven days, I think it's going to be challenging to keep up producing decent photos each day, but I'll do my best! We have certainly been very lucky over the past few years with amazing sunny and hot weather that has often been settled for the entire period of our stays and beyond, but this next week isn't looking much good at all. Still, if the sun shines, I will definitely make sure I get as many decent photos as possible.

Tomorrow's forecast shows sunny periods and thunderstorms, so let's see what happens...

Read more...

Day 4: Fifty Shades of Grey

We've been coming to Finland for nearly 10 years now each July, and I suppose many Finns might say we've been lucky to have such wonderful weather over the vast majority of our visits. We've hardly ever seen much rain, apart from the odd thunder storm set off by the high temperatures. I'd prefer to look it another way and say that today, we were unlucky, as it was raining from the early hours, and all morning, as well as most of the afternoon too! Well, I knew it would, having been checking the forecast carefully, so after an early lunch, we set off for Jyvaskyla to have a good look around the shops there.

With Anna in central Jyvaskyla.

The three brothers! Keith, Anna's dad and me, after we all bought similar shirts from H&M. 

It never ceases to amaze me how enthusiastically Anna's mum and sister spend hours looking at things to buy, but I guess it's just a matter of the sexes! Anyway, they seemed happy with their purchases - I think prices here compare very favourably to those in Russia right now - so all was well that ended well.

Keith with Sandy, pre-swim this evening.

Anna enjoying the water

About to head back to the sauna.

Back at the cottage, the rain had finally stopped in late afternoon, and so when I asked Keith if he wanted to have a swim, he replied immediately,"Of course! Sauna too!" So, it was an evening session in the water after dinner, along with a few trips into the sauna. With the water temperature being warmer than the air temperature today, the water didn't feel cold at all, and we all had fun. Anna's dad spent some time binding together birch leaves to create the necessary tool for us to beat each other in the sauna, which was hugely enjoyed by Keith in particular! He couldn't stop laughing when he was beaten.

Oh yes, we loved being beaten!

As well as the sauna and swimming, Anna chose this evening to show off some of her yoga moves... see the pictures!

Yoga in action!

And, as we were coming in for supper, it was great to see the sun returning over the lake. There are so many moods here, depending on the weather. From deep grey, to lighter shades, it's all there, in the space of a few minutes. I couldn't help but try to capture the light in some of the photos shown. It's so beautiful here!

Beautiful, no matter what the weather!

Read more...