Sunday, January 11, 2009

Trip to Finland, part 1

I have been now two weeks in Finland. I spent the Christmas with my dear boyfriend, and then got here. I did finish my knitted presents before Christmas eve, by the way. You'll get the pictures of them when I go back home.

My tour here started in Tampere, the city where I grew up (and which is probably the best city in Finland). Then I got here to Lahti to meet more family and spend some time at my father's cottage. Only Helsinki left to go before I return to Mexico.

I have mainly read, knitted, met family and friends, enjoyed going to sauna as much as I can (I can easily spent couple of hours in sauna too) and of course made long walks to all my favorite places, like an old dog in his territory. I just love to walk in the forest and lake shores! I did some thesis-related stuff in the first days, too, but then I decided it's better to just enjoy the vacations.

I'm so happy that this time the global warming hasn't spoiled my little winter trip and at least in Tampere and Lahti there has been snow. I've missed it a lot, I haven't seen a proper winter in two years. I just love the sound of the snow under my feet, the humming of the wind in the snowy trees and the song of the lake under the ice.

I tried to put some pictures to prove that there really is snow, but Dad's computer doesn't want to cooperate, so next time...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So I'm the first of your blog readers to officially wish you a happy new year in Finland. It's terrific to be home for the holidays and visit your favorite places. I've been to Finland once and was in Helsinki and a few other places including above the arctic circle for mid-summer night, very different from winter I suppose during which you must see very little sunlight. I would think that is very difficult to deal with.

I'd love to see your holiday gift projects and also hope that you will get to my turtle picture soon because I am very excited to see it.

Jonna said...

Lucky you! Suomessa, talvella...ja hei, yliopisto ilmoittaa myöhässä koska muutenhan sinulla voisi olla jopa aikaa valmistella tärkeitä asioita ; )

purple-power said...

Sounds like you're having a wonderful trip. We'd love to see some photos.

ColibriDreams said...

Rachel O: Thanks, and Happy New Year too! How nice that you have had the chance to visit Finland and see the white nights! My trip was so short that seeing sunlight only for about 6-7 hours didn't bother me that much. But when you have to deal with the lack of light whole winter, it can be a bit depressing sometimes. And you need a lot more sleep.

I'll get to your picture as soon as I can, now that I'm back to Mexico!

Jonna: Oli tosiaan ihanaa olla vaihteeksi talvella Suomessa, varsinkin kun oli lunta! Ja tuo yliopistojutt on ihan totta, on paljon jännempää, kun mitään ei tiedä etukäteen! ;-)

Purple-power, yes, the trip was lovely! I'll post pics soon.

Jaana said...

Saan aikaiseksi kommentoida ensimmäisen kerran.. Suomen loma kuulostaa erinomaiselta. Joko olet palannut Meksikoon? Terkkuja Romaniasta, blogissani on sinulle pieni haaste ;)