About 10 years ago at primary school (year 2 maybe) there was a girl from Finland, called Anna in my class at school. Well she went back home a few years later but i thought since i was here it would a good chance to see her.
So on the 4Th of April i went up to Pori to see her. It's about a 3 hour drive northwest(ish) on the and it sits on the beautiful west coast. When i got there, after a nice long catch-up chat we went for a look around town. Pori is about twice the size of my town but still not overly big. The city however is very beautiful and i got the full tour of it. We did most of the sightseeing by car though because the weather was terrible. This included doing what is apparently a common passtime in Pori, the 'neste round'. Well neste is a brand of petrol station and neste round, you guessed it, consists of driving around the petrol station (slowly of course).
After that we took a short drive to the frozen beach of Pori. Frozen and beach, not two words you often hear in the same sentence. It was an amazing thing to see because it looked almost like an Australian beach except for the snow and ice all along the shore where the waves should be lapping in. From there we went further along the coast to see a lighthouse and a nice spot on the rocks.
That night we went into the centre of town to check out some places. Pori has a big market square right in the centre of town so it is easy to take in a lot without much walking.
It was great to see Anna again, she is just as awesome as i remember her.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Tytyri Mine
Well I'm sure when it's on in Australia but in this season of 'The Amazing Race' they go not only to Finland but to my little town (it has about 50,000 people). The episode was just on TV in Finland last week. In the show they came to Helsinki and then had to drive to Lohja and find Tytyri mine to complete a challenge.
The Tytyri mine museum is situated in the original site of the mine which opened in 1956 and still in operation. At the moment about 20 men work, 350 metres down mining limestone.
We needed a group to go so i went with my parents, my brother Teemu and his girlfriend Jenni, Mamma (my grandmother) and her boyfriend Eikka. When we got there we donned hard hats and got into a van for an exciting (and slightly scary) drive down a steep and winding road to where the mine is, 110 metres below see level. In the museum there is a display of many mining vehicles and machines as well as a huge open cavern about 100 metres wide and deep.
The Tytyri mine museum is situated in the original site of the mine which opened in 1956 and still in operation. At the moment about 20 men work, 350 metres down mining limestone.
We needed a group to go so i went with my parents, my brother Teemu and his girlfriend Jenni, Mamma (my grandmother) and her boyfriend Eikka. When we got there we donned hard hats and got into a van for an exciting (and slightly scary) drive down a steep and winding road to where the mine is, 110 metres below see level. In the museum there is a display of many mining vehicles and machines as well as a huge open cavern about 100 metres wide and deep.
Tallinn - Just a Ferry Away
On the 21st of march a man from rotary, Simo Laurila, his wife and two of there grandsons, Miika and Santeri took me over to Estonia on the ferry.
It took only 3 hours to get there, which i thought was pretty amazing because to get to another country from Perth takes about 5 hours in a plane!
So before i knew it (partly because i slept for most of the journey) we were there and after working our way through their 'honesty system' customs... ie. a sign that said exit we headed for the 'old town'.
The old town is where old buildings have been left to stand, mostly from the Russian empire in the 18th century but some of the oldest have been there since the 16th century. It is an amazing place to see, with so many old and historical buildings in one place. When Simo's wife saw me taking a picture of the amazing Russian Orthodox church there she told me that i shouldn't and quickly led me to an equally as impressive 'non-Russian' church up the road (a lot of Finns aren't so keen on the Russians). We spent most of the day looking around the old town and visiting old churches and buildings. For lunch we went to a little cafe in an alley of the old town and there i got this awwwesome hot chocolate which was basically just melted chocolate.
After that we left the old town and went to check out some markets. Simo had told me to be careful about my wallet because there are many pick-pockets in the markets. Luckily i still had it when we left.
At about 5 in the afternoon it was time to head back to the ferry. Once we were on the boat we took advantage of the duty free shop to buy some energy drinks and candy (because we're so cool :P).
I really liked Estonia which is a good thing because i'll be back there in a couple of weeks with my host parents :D
It took only 3 hours to get there, which i thought was pretty amazing because to get to another country from Perth takes about 5 hours in a plane!
So before i knew it (partly because i slept for most of the journey) we were there and after working our way through their 'honesty system' customs... ie. a sign that said exit we headed for the 'old town'.
The old town is where old buildings have been left to stand, mostly from the Russian empire in the 18th century but some of the oldest have been there since the 16th century. It is an amazing place to see, with so many old and historical buildings in one place. When Simo's wife saw me taking a picture of the amazing Russian Orthodox church there she told me that i shouldn't and quickly led me to an equally as impressive 'non-Russian' church up the road (a lot of Finns aren't so keen on the Russians). We spent most of the day looking around the old town and visiting old churches and buildings. For lunch we went to a little cafe in an alley of the old town and there i got this awwwesome hot chocolate which was basically just melted chocolate.
After that we left the old town and went to check out some markets. Simo had told me to be careful about my wallet because there are many pick-pockets in the markets. Luckily i still had it when we left.
At about 5 in the afternoon it was time to head back to the ferry. Once we were on the boat we took advantage of the duty free shop to buy some energy drinks and candy (because we're so cool :P).
I really liked Estonia which is a good thing because i'll be back there in a couple of weeks with my host parents :D
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