Tour Managers Tales

Welcome back .... today we are heading to Turku (Abo in Swedish). The journey today started with a stop in Hameenlinna, chance here to visit the birthplace museum of Jean Sibelius the great Finlandia composer. Later we visited Iitalla Glass museum and factory, the it was through the Finnish farming areas, mainly grain crops, and sugar beet. Arrived in Turku late afternoon, our hotel sits on the market square and is surrounded by bars and restaurants ... noise levels ... bearable just, and to top it all off there is also a Rock Music Festival here over the weekend as well .... On Saturday we went to Naantali, this has to be one of the most beautiful little town anywhere in Finland, the town is overlooked by an imposing church (closed for renovation until 2012), a walk took us round the town, with its lovely old wooden houses mixed in with some newer (old) looking houses, we sailed back to Turku on the old Steamship the Ukkopekka, a leisurely two hours through the archipelago and  up the

Hello, today we left Kuopio and continued the journey into the Savo, Lake District region, some of the scenery is fantastic, mind you we did have a sunny day ... in the rain its not so dramatic, the first stop was in the lovely little town of Savonlinna, in the heart of the lakes ... the town is dominated by its Castle and harbour. The next stop was to visit the largest wooden church in the world !!! enough seats for 6000 people. Kerimaki, is fascinating just by its sheer size alone.  The Kerimäki Church  in Kerimäki, is the largest wooden church in the world. Designed by Anders Fredrik Granstedt and built between 1844 and 1847, the church has a length of 45m (148 ft), a width of 42m (138 ft), a height of 37m (121 ft) and a seating capacity of more than 3,000. Altogether there can be 5,000 people at a time in the church. It has been rumoured that the size of the church was the result of a miscalculation when it was built (supposedly the architect was working in centimetres, which the b

Mita kuuluu, (hows it going) .... Now arrived in Kuopio  -  Kuopio is the centre of tourism and culture in the Finnish Lakeland. This vibrant university  city is home to over   96,000 people, and delights holiday goers with its natural beauty, a broad range of events, and great shopping and entertainment opportunities. Kuopio’s most striking landmark is the Puijo Tower. It’s an excellent place to start your tour of the city. The view from the top will take your breath away – the majesty of the forests and the lakes! At the market square and hall in the city centre, you’ll get a good feel for Savonian life: a relaxed mood, people who love to chat, and regional delicacies from vendace to pasties and kalakukko fish pies. The harbour invites you for a cruise of the stunning archipelago – or to walk on the awe-inspiring natural ice to enjoy the gleaming snow. In Kuopio, everything is close at hand – nature, culture, entertainment, and services.   A really warm day here and a lovely 2 hour

Hello, nice to be back to live internet again !! yesterday journey from Kuusamo to Nurmes, on the way we made a stop at an outside art gallery of sorts .. to view the "Silent People" -    The Silent People moved to their present home in the autumn of 1994. The peat-heads are kept in good shape and have their clothing attended to twice a year; their heads come straight from the field, their clothes from organised collections. The Silent People are made and clothed by the Suomussalmi Youth Workshop, which also takes care of their maintenance.   People often ask what precisely is the idea behind the Silent People. A state of psycho-logical withdrawal? The mute Kainuu soul? A forgotten people? Reijo Kela refuses to provide any answer. Each viewer is free to come to his own conclusions. It may, however, be of interest to learn that if the Silent People were to be completely undressed there would remain some one thousand wooden crosses standing in the field. The Silent Peopl

Hei !!! departed Lapland and Rovaniemi at lunchtime, drove south - east first following the Kemijoki (Kemi River) the longest river in Finland at 512 kms. Stopped at a forest area called Auttikongas, to view a waterfall and rapids, lovely weather today some cloud but mainly sunny with a nice breeze. Later arrived at Posio, and the Pentik Pottery, here there is a nice Country Life Museum and a Coffee Cup Museum. Just a short drive then to Kuusamo and our destination. Dinner in the Hotel, Salad Buffet for starter, followed by either Salmon in a cream sauce or Reindeer Meatballs .... all very nice. Well its of to bed now catch you again in a couple of days ... no internet tomorrow night !!!! staying in Nurmes at a Karelian Bomba Village. (www.sokoshotels.fi) and click on Nurmes. Great place right beside the lake, accommodation is in chalet style wooden huts. Will have some pics for you on Thursday.... Hei hei ...... but to keep you going, I was walking in the woods this afternoon and came

Reindeer Hello and welcome to Finland, just spent the last two days in Rovaniemi the capital of Lapland. While here we have visited a Reindeer Farm, crossed the Arctic Circle and encountered the dreaded mosquito ..... as well as thunder storms and downpours. Also had visits to Arktikum (www.arktikum.fi) an excellent museum showing the past and present life of Lapland, as well as other interesting exhibits, this is a MUST if you visit Rovaniemi, the other Must, is Santas Village, again this sits on the Arctic Circle, there is a Post Office where you can mail your cards, or leave then for delivery in December. Leave Rovaniemi today and head to Kuusamo in the heart of the Finnish ski area. Here are some pictures .... Reindeer Farm  Baby Reindeer  Arctic Circle  Eight Seasons Four seasons did not suffice for Laplanders and the Sami people in the olden days. Instead, they structured time into eight periods: autumn-winter; winter; spring-winter; spring; spring-summer; summ

Stand by ... Finland is coming to you soon. I depart for Rovaniemi in the Finnish Lapland on Saturday 23rd July, I am so looking forward to going, it is one of my favourite places, so green and so much water it gives it a very clean feeling, not to mention a tree or two. Be sure to be back here from Saturday evening for the first part of the journey. Bye for now ..... and thanks for following. Richard

Hello, I am now back home after disembarking the Eurodam in Dover yesterday morning. I have to say again that I love Holland America, they are one the leading cruise lines .... service is excellent and the food ... well absolutely brilliant ..... can't wait to get  back on one of these great ships. Here is the final information on the ports. St Petersburg, Russia St. Petersburg Overview  There's something eerie about coming to St. Petersburg. Probably Cold War remembrances, and all sorts of warnings from ship personnel about pickpockets and black marketeers - and the fact that you have to go past stern-faced, uniformed customs officials at the pier doesn't help. Once in the city, you may find St. Petersburg a wonderful place ... or you may find your experience here one big hassle. The key museums and attractions are not air conditioned and rarely have special facilities for the disabled. There are few signs in English and understanding what you are seeing - wheth

Hello and greetings from Tallinn, Estonia, the sun is shining and it is very warm. Have had a good few days the first port was Copenhagen and then onto Warnemunde (Roctock), lovely little town, but this week it was pouring with rain all day, we are docked there all day until 22.00 at night, ships spend a long time here to allow people to go to Berlin, which is a 3 - 4 hour train ride - can never understand why British passengers do this trip, it cost around US$200 each you can nearly go to Berlin for a weekend flying from the UK for that. Later this afternoon we set sail for St Petersburg, Russia, another wonderful and exciting port, lots of great architecture there. I have added some information details about the ports that I have already been in, enjoy !! ... catch up again in a few days.  Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen Overview   Sitting on the east coast of Denmark, Copenhagen has been the Capital for 600 years and is the largest city in Scandinavia with a population of 1