Lost Posts: TdS day 6 & 7

Kirkkovene / Church boat at Sulkava - photo by konna.

Something I forgot to mention earlier (and as she hasn't even read, let alone posted to, the blog recently she didn't notice until now) all the photos during our 'Tour de Saimaa' (TdS) cycling trip were taken by Konna and not by me as I didn't take my 'big' camera - and even though they are on my Picasa album rather than hers (well if I had waited for her to do it... said the pot of the kettle). Anyway, moving on...
 

Lost Posts: TdS day 5

If you use enough sauce you can't see the fishes looking at you

Viides päivä: perjantai 5. heinäkuu, Savonlinnasta Sulkavaan (noin 44+ kilsa)

Day 5 of our summer Tour de Saimaa, in which we...

• Get immediately lost on leaving the campsite by trying to find a postbox
• Have novelty of clouds and showers (but still 27°!)
• Encounter the odd mosquito as we enter the forest... and some trickier gravel roads
• Roads and amount of bugs get worse; Konna is struggling on the short but sharp hills - I am unsure if she is flapping her arms to get up them or get rid of the insects that seem to prefer her to me

Lost Posts: TdS day 4

The view of Olavinlinna being spoilt by some cyclist: Kesä10 - Lost Postcards

  

Neljas Päivää: Savonlinnassa (vielä 16km pyöräily)

Day 4 (a so-called 'rest day') in which we:

Saimaa steamboat

• Washed some clothes and left them to dry in the blazing sun
• Freewheeled down the hill into town
• Had an icecream
• Took a tour of Olavinlinna (Olaf's Castle) where the opera festival is held (and heard singers practicing as we go)
• Almost broke my neck trying to walk up/down uneven stone spiral staircases in cycling shoes
• Had a fancy lunch on a shady terrace and another icecream
• Sat in the park while eating an icecream
• Took a steamboat cruise

Lost Posts: TdS Day 3

What is that stupid piece of plastic for anyway?

I'm guessing that reading all these overlong Lost Posts of summer / cycling tour blogs is almost as hard work as writing them, so in the interests of speeding things up (so there is a chance they are done with before next summer) I'm changing to a more abridged and less windy style. You hope...
___

Kolmas päivä: keskiviiko 7. heinä: Kerimaan Camping:sta Savonlinnaan (noin 35km pyöräillä)

Lost post 6: Tour de saimaa day 2

Kerimäki kirkko - big in metric and imperial dimensions

Lusto (in a less sunny 2008)

So to continue from last time in our 'lost summer blogs' series...

Next morning was another scorcher, and as we had a short leg and a whole day we started off with a detour back to the Lusto suomen metsämuseo forestry museum which has a loop of the cycle route around it's arboretum.  As we had visited before (well worthwhile by the way considering the importance of forestry to Finland and to understand the hardships people went through in the past working the forests) we only stopped for postikortit, kahvia ja pullaa. 

lost post 5: tour de saimaa (day 1)

Postcard from Punkaharju via 

  

As you may have gathered by now, we (by which I mean I) am doing a catch-up series of 'lost' posts about what we did last summer. A very late back to school essay if you like.  Anyway in the last episode our heroes were about to embark on an epic trip around Finland... well, a bit of cycling and camping around the north-west corner of Saimaa anyway...

1. päivä: maanantai 5. heinä: Helsingista Parikkalaan (junalla) / Parikkalasta Punkaharjuun (pyöräillä)

Lost Post 3: Pesis

Pesäpallo: From Kesä10 - lost postcards

What is the national sport of Finland?

First thoughts go to ice hockey, followed shortly by jääpallo (ice hockey with a ball), mäkihyppy (ski jumping), and rally driving (although maybe that's just a mode of transport to the match).

But apparently some claim it is pesäpallo or pesis. Well maybe in the summer. If you live in what Konna disparagingly refers to as 'middle-finland' - Helsinki doesn't even have a pesäpallo stadium these days...

Lost Post 1: Rock on

Uudessa eteisessa: From Kesä10 - lost postcards

To make the point that I really could maybe have, probably, at a stretch, if I really wanted to, have found a thing or two to scrape together, to fabricate (in the very best way) the merest hint of a few lines of a post, over the last, oh let's say, six months, I'm going to have to own up to the fact that we bought, decorated and moved home back in kesäkuu (that's June for anyone who hasn't changed their date and time settings to Suomi on their computer).

Of course one advantage loss you do have of course is missing out on the excruciating exciting ... kävin K-Rautassa taas ostamaan valkoista maalata ... type blog posts.

Click click click

Click the links for Emmdee throwing his winter fur coat away after paddling in his red 'Ferrari', hoisting sails on Linden and visiting the past... Also view some Turku Tall Ship Race weekend photos by clicking Konnan picasa web album... which has now been finally set up (as Emmdee's camera is kaput).

Eli klikkaa ylläolevia linkkejä, niin näet mitä ollaan viime aikoina puuhailtu - Ahvenanmaalla sekä Turussa. Lisää Ahvenanmaan pyöräretkestä tuonnenpana (kunhan 'koululainen' ehtii kiireiltään)...

Day trip to...

...Merikeskus Vellamo in Kotka on Sunday was pleasant. Maritime Centre Vellamo is a museum building in Kotka harbour (approx. 2h from Helsinki towards East) and was opened to the public on June last year. The building was designed by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects. Building's exterior is mainly steel & glass - interior uses timber. Our second visit to this location had a better weather than last time - but still windy.

2 kysymystä

Kysymys 1: Mikä ei kuulu joukkoon?
Q 1: What does not belong in this picture?


Kysymys 2: Kuka on lavalla
Q 2: Who's on stage?

Some clues: both berries are red & Kaapelitehdas on 27 June 09 gig.
Kiitos kakusta Mari!Oli hyvää :)

sun is out - I'm not...

No need for 'kumisaappaat' (=wellingtons)

If Juhannus had a rainy & cloudy weather, there's no need for umbrella today as the sun is out now - big time... and I'm confined inside the four walls finalising the competition design report... you may wonder why I'm not doing it right at this second, but writing the blog and the reason is that I'm spooling the document... and with our stone age machinery this process can take ages... in the meantime you can view some images below from the Juhannus cottage weekend (the only sunny patch during the weekend is seen in these images!).

'Kaivo' - the source of drinking water, steps to our quarters, the pier to cold lake & our loyal companion 'MEZE' who always takes us around Finland...

The serious tone re: sun & hot weather was on today's Hesari. It noted in a small article that the heat ruins everything... By this the writer meant that the heat forces more children to be taken into custody (moms & dads go drinking...), people lose their sleep (too hot & sunny during the night), people get fat (drink too many sugary drinks over hot periods of time) and people get sun burn (should stay in shade instead)... And above all, this information & article was published after 3-4 days of sunny weather in Finland! So go out & enjoy the summer where ever you are - unless it's sunny!

Hauskalta juhannukselta mökiltä

NnneeiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeEEEEE - [WHACK!]

...whawaszat...?
Just another mosquito. Go back to sleep.

Worm-ÖÖÖÖÖ

Otherwise know as Vormö Island (near Kirkkonummi & Degerby in southern Finland)

Sun, sea, summer & friends