Sunday, 5 Jul

We slept in. Finally about 9:30 we shuffled across the street for our complimentary breakfast. By 10:00 we were hunting down an Otto, and then headed toward “the fortress” that overlooks the harbor at Lappeenranta. The old buildings have been restored and many of them host art galleries, shops, and restaurants. It would have been a better time, but it was on-again, off-again rain. We ended up by the harbor and Finland’s biggest sand castle. For the past 5 years, they have been constructing huge castles to draw tourists. It was big, and the details were amazing. They spray it with glue to keep the rain from disintegrating it too soon. About 14:00 Eero picked us up and again we were hosted by the Juntunen’s. We were served another great dinner; this time moose. After dinner we drove up to Imatra to see “the rapids.” During the summer they release water from the old power plant and flood the old rapids. People line up on the bridge to watch, and get an idea of what the river must have looked like before it was tamed for hydroelectric power. Now, the water is diverted even farther away to the new power plant. After a brief tour of Imatra, we ended up at the military cemetery in downtown Lappeenranta, viewing the respectfully maintained graves of Finns that died in the Winter War and World War II. We finished off the day at the harbor, eating a waffle smeared with strawberry jam.

“The Bear”, Sat 4 Jul

One of the reasons we came to Lappeenranta was a chance to visit Russia. Marji-Liisa was telling us that we could take a cruise down the Saimaa Canal from Lake Saimaa at Lappeenranta to Выборг (Vyborg), Russia. After her offer, I read the official US State Department website about travel to Russia and about fainted. We then consulted our published-in-April-2009 tour guide of Finland and did faint. Both talked about required visas, lengthy detentions if you try to enter the country without one, yadda, yadda, yadda. The Finns, however, were adamant that the rules had changed and visas were no longer required. We would be fine. So, at 7:10 in the morning we found ourselves in the queue for the boat. They asked if there were any foreigners and we were the only 3 to raise our hands. They checked our names against the photocopies of our passports we had sent a week ago, got stamped by the customs agent, and boarded the Carelia, along with about 150 Finns. Soon we were on the way for our 5 hour, 43 km trip. We passed through 8 locks, dropping about 80 meters in elevation along the way. About half way, we passed into Russia with thoughts about visas and detentions and gulags running through my head.

We pulled into Выборг and could see Marji-Liisa and Eero waiting for us outside the customs area. They had traveled by bus instead. It took us nearly 30 minutes to get off the boat and through passport control. We discovered the 2 women customs agents were three times as fast as the man… too bad we were in the man’s line. Out the door we went, with just 2 hours available to see the sights. We headed toward the city center. Before World War II, Vyborg was the Finnish city Viipurin, the name the Finnish still use. It has some of the best surviving Finnish architecture, mostly because the Russians have never spent any money updating the structures, which are looking very tired. Most of the buildings we saw in Vyborg looked old and deteriorating. Our first stop was a three-story, round, fortress-like structure. This building looked very good, considering it was 700 years old. We went to the restaurant on the top floor and Eero surprised us with a bottle Champaign to celebrate the Fourth of July. Then to the main market. Oh my. People were selling candy, cigarettes, herbs, fresh fish, fresh meat, clothing, crystal, what were probably boot-legged CDs and DVDs, linens, clothing, and assorted stuff. The butchers were pretty interesting. They had large logs on end. The top had a piece of cardboard on top. Put the meat on the cardboard. Whack the meat with a large knife. I guess at the end of the day you toss that piece of cardboard and get a new one for the next day (at least that’s what I hope they do).

We visited Lenin’s statue, walked past the Lutheran church, and then back to the boat. The Juntunen’s road the boat back with us. We took the early dinner in the restaurant, and spent most of the rest of the trip on the aft deck, trying to stay out of the rain. The photo is a relieved Dumroese family having just crossed back into Finland. The boatload of Finns had spent most of the trip to Vyborg drinking, and picked up where they left off on the way home. They had a guy with a guitar and microphone and proceeded to have a good old fashion sing-along. He was assisted by very drunk women in a sort of karaoke-like style. A few folks were dancing as well. We pulled back into Lappeenranta about 21:45. A long, good, fascinating day.

Bird of the day: Common Sandpiper.

To Lappeenranta, Fri 3 Jul

After lunch today, we tossed our stuff into Marji-Liisa Juntunen’s car and headed south and east to Laappeenranta. From Suonenjoki, our travel first took us to Mikkeli where we walked through an outdoor craft fair. It reminded me a bit of Moscow’s Rendezvous in the Park… lots of crafts, folks dressed in renaissance garb. We also saw the Guinness Book of World Records award for the largest “pin” collection (pins, badges, buttons). The record holder was there, proudly showing off his 32,000 pins. I gave him a couple of Forest Service shields for his collection. From Mikkeli, we turned more easterly toward Puumala, driving through the heart of Finland’s lake district. Along the way we stopped at this kioski for an ice cream break. Ice cream is big here. A multitude of flavors. From there, more south and east to Imatra, just a stone’s throw (well, 5 km) from Russia, before heading south and west into Lappeenranta. Marji-Liisa dropped us off at the Lappeenranta Spa on the waterfront. It’s a great hotel, and I really like the European style in the rooms. After freshening up, we headed out to the Juntunen house for dinner. We met Marji-Liisa’s husband, Eero. He smoked us some “rainbow trout”. It was spectacular, pure and simple, although it seemed more salmon-like than trout-like.

Birds of the day: Hawk Owl (lifer), Whooper Swan (lifer).

Thursday, 2 Jul

Today was spent trying to get ready for tomorrow. After lunch tomorrow, we are heading for a weekend in Lappeenranta. The first half of next week we'll be in Juensuu visiting another METLA station, and then on to Helsinki before heading back to Idaho. So I tried to take care of as much busy work as possible today, but I have a bunch more to squeeze in tomorrow. Deb and I backed up the last of her research tools to ship back to the states (rather than lug them through eastern Finland). That also means we are cleaning out the refrigerator, which should make for an interesting dinner. I'm guessing that when I return to Suonenjoki later this summer, I'll be back in the guest apartments... so no more enjoying the rustic cabin. I'll have to take a good-bye sauna tonight.

Bird news is pretty slow.... but the woodpeckers have fledged, as have the Nightingales that I think had a nest under the eaves of the cabin.

Wednesday, 1 Jul

Going back and forth from the cabin to the station is a nice walk. Here is our version of a Finnish tread-master. I'm not sure how many steps there are (maybe I'll count them), but it sure gets the blood pumping in the morning. It's still very warm... Deb says some kids came down and swam in the lake this afternoon. It was more interesting when the girls changed their clothes out in the open. No, Niklaas was with me at the time up in the station. This evening, the cuckoo lived up to its name... calling cu-cu... and enjoying itself, I think, listening to the echo across the lake... CU-CU, cu-cu, CU-CU, cu-cu...

BTW, 151 steps.

Tuesday, 30 Jun

Another tough day in the office. I wish I could say I spent all my time in this office by the lake, but the truth is that I end up doing most of my real work in the second floor office in the station. I spent the day trying to better understand the nuances among water retention curves, media shrikage, particle density, and bulk density. Maybe I should have stayed by the lake! We Dumroeses are falling into a predictable pattern. Deb joins me in the office in the morning to take advantage of the Internet, and then escapes to the cabin (she probably uses the lake office). Niklaas does likewise, having discovered he can communicate with his buds if he gets on-line early enough and they stay up late enough. In the afternoon, Niklaas and I go down for coffee and our sweet tooth fix. Then, by 16:30ish, when nearly all the Finns have already left for the day, we wander back to the cabin. So.... it's 16:30. I think it's time to go to the other office. I have some papers to read and that spot looks more comfortable....

Weekend, 27 and 28 Jun

It was a hot weekend in Finland. Temperatures were near 30 C (86 F). After securing a couple more bicycles, and buying some tickets on-line, we cruised into Suonenjoki Saturday morning and boarded the 9:06 train to Kuopio. The trip to Kuopio is actually faster by train than by car, and by 9:36 we were walking toward the center market area, right next to City Hall. As I mentioned earlier, they have food vendors, craft people, folks selling produce, and on this particular day, a large rummage sale. At the far end of the square is another building containing a variety of other vendors, including folks selling cheeses, meats, chocolate, and souvenirs. Inside, we perused a bit and then enjoyed a cup of coffee before heading out for more investigating. After a morning of shopping we ended up on the outdoor patio of the Kummisetä restaurant . After a nice meal, more shopping, including some fresh Suonenjoki strawberries that are coming into season (not quite as big as the one in the photo). Niklaas thought it was pretty funny to see a Tex-Mex restaurant in Finland. By 15:00 we were pretty much done sightseeing and shopping, so we took seats near the square at an outdoor coffee/beer house (in the shade, thankfully) and watched Kuopio walk by. We saw a lot of very white people whose legs and arms had probably not seen sun in a very long time. We also noted a lot of black clothing. Deb and I both commented that we also saw a lot of pregnant women, not that we were particularly looking for them, which makes their sheer number that much more significant. I guess we know what the Finns do on the winter solstice. We waited about 40 minutes for the train, got in the wrong car (oops, who would guess that the first car behind the locomotive would be car 6, and the last car would be 1?), and in 18 minutes were back in Suonenjoki. We sent Niklaas off in a flash to get some supplies in the 6 minutes before the grocery store closed at 18:00. Deb and I took a leisurely ride back to the station.

Sunday was warm, very warm. We all slept in and then lazed around the cabin. After brunch, Deb decided to take a walk in the woods and Niklaas and I made our usual and customary run to the grocery store for a few supplies. We figure if we buy just a little each day, it gives a good reason for Niklaas to peddle to the store everyday and keep those soccer legs in shape. We picked up some more Suonenjoki strawberries from the local girl, and cruised back home.