Christmas is coming . . . except where we are, it has arrived

After a great night's sleep, we woke to an overcast day with the promise of 22 degrees.  The Fins are amazed at the weather we have brought with us so late in summer!

There was a sighting of the Northern Lights earlier in the week, but we had not been able to see them before we went to bed, so we had set the alarm for 2:30 am this morning to get up and check again.  I was up at 1:50 am and checked, and Donna got up when the alarm went off, but this was not our time to be treated specially and we did not get to see the lights.  Bugger, maybe next visit.  😞

There are two main attractions in Rovaniemi - the Arktikum that showcases the Arctic environment and development and changing landscape, and the Santa Claus Village.  Both open at 10 am and we need to be away from here by midday.  Gee what a choice!  What to do?  Which one do you think we chose to visit??! Ha ha - hope you all guessed right!

The added bonus of the Santa Village is that we cross the Arctic Circle here again and instead of passing it on a ship, in the night, we got a chance to have one foot in each of the latitude zones!  Special.

The Santa Village is the permanent home of Santa Claus in Lapland, here in Finland.  It is summer now, although drawing closer to Christmas and the elves are busy preparing and wrapping presents and putting them in huge crates that are marked with the type of toys and where on Santa's sleigh that crate needs to be placed.  We visit Santa and tell him all about our grandchildren and how good they have all been this year.  He asks us to remind them that they must continue to be good with Christmas getting

closer.

We could visit the reindeer in their summer paddock up the back of the Village, but it was quite expensive at €40 per person!  Because we had seen reindeer in the wild as we were travelling to North Cape recently, we decided not to see them penned up here.

There are displays of Christmas from countries from all over the world and we are reminded that there are elves living under the floors who can send naughty and nice reports back to Santa at any time.

We can just imagine this place in the winter months - it would be so

special wrapped in a warm blanket of snow.  A few souvenirs bought, Santa's Post Office visited, the Iitala factory outlet visited (no purchases as we would have trouble getting them home).  Coffee and cakes later, we head for the car and our drive back to Riikka and Runo's home in Jyväskylä - 653 kms to the south and a drive of 6 hours and 35 minutes.  We make one stop for fuel en-route and drive in and out of rain, promising Riikka that we are bringing the sunshine back to them.

We finally arrive (slow weekend traffic and intermittent rain slowing) just before 7:30 pm.
Runo has smoked a salmon for us and Riikka prepared the tiniest new potatoes and salad and an amazing creme fraiche and dill sauce.  It was SOOO delicious - forgot to take photos sorry.  Dessert and coffee followed. The boys are happy we are back - dessert again - twice in the week!!

We semi-plan for the weekend.  Riikka is coming with us to Helsinki - I am so excited to be able to spend some girlie time with her and Donna.  We will first visit the timber Petäjävesi Old Church that we had hoped to see the other day, but didn't so that we could get to Jyväskylä at a reasonable time.

Riikka and Runo are visiting Australia next March and loose plans are made for us all to catch up in Sydney.

Finland - the other Green and Gold

If I had to use one word to describe Finland, it would be 'neat'.  Everything is just so, in it's place!

We left our accommodation just before 9 am as the car space is only free until then.  Made good use of the facilities - we each had a separate bedroom, separate bathroom, washed my hair and Donna did clothes washing.  Our hosts had generously left a few boxes of goodies for us, but we limited ourselves to one box of chocolate shortbread biccies (and if truth be known, we probably don't need them either!)  Still, a lovely gesture for visitors to the City.  Autumn is on its way to this part of the world - I had to clear yellowing leaves from the car this morning.  It has been parked in a very shaded street right next to a major park.

There are two places we really want to visit in Turku - the Cathedral and the Castle.  
The Cathedral is closer and has opened at 9 am, so we start there. Turku Cathedral is as old as the ages - that would be the medieval ages.  The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was consecrated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827.

I downloaded a virtual tour of the Cathedral so we could tell what we are looking at - link here.  It is fascinating!  Like many of the Cathedrals and churches of this time, not only is this a place of worship.  It is also somewhere to learn of the social history and customs and in this particular example, some of the military history of Turku.

Absolute highlights included the fact that over 4,500 bodies were entombed under the floor of the Cathedral.  This practice was discontinued in 1784 for reasons of hygiene! There are burial chapels for the wealthy and powerful residents of early Turku dating back to the early 16th century. and a number relate to military leaders of the Thirty Year War in the 1600s.  It also includes the final resting place of Karin Månsdotter, Queen of Sweden who died in 1612.  Her coffin in black marble with a gold crown resting on a gold pillow atop it.

The ironwork grilles are the oldest remaining examples of this artwork in Finland, and quite a bit of the original wall and ceiling frescoes remain.  Now, the Cathedral is Lutheran, and the body of the church is quite austere.

The car needs to be moved by 10:15 am, so after an hour looking through this amazing piece of history, we go back out into the sunshine and walk across the square.  It is a 10 minute trip through Turku to get to our next destination - Turku Castle.  Enroute, we travel alongside the Aura river and see all the former ships that are now restaurants, the many gardens and parks and heaps of old and new sculptures and statues.  Like many cities in this part of the world, the pedestrian and cyclist have right of way and we are forever on the lookout for those who choose to just come out of nowhere!

Turku Castle is amazing - truly an O.M.G. experience.  Set at the end of the land near the Turku Port, and protected on all sides by islands at the mouth of the Aura River, the castle is an imposing edifice that towers above us.  The latest additions are all white-washed and gleam in the early morning sun.  The castle flag flies above the main entrance and in a stiff breeze, we were lucky to get photos of it a full extension.  The downside?  Cobblestones, blasted cobblestones. And no two are the same shape or orientation or even.  Thank goodness I had Donna's are to steady myself.  
Then come the steps up into the castle itself (of course).

We wander into the inner courtyard that bears testament to the medieval time of the castle.  Footings of the earlier buildings can still be clearly seen.  I was particularly taken with the following information - Before becoming a museum in the 19th century, Turku Castle served as a fortification and a stronghold for more than 600 years. The Castle was designed to be as inaccessible as possible.  Even the steps and the passageway into the entry hall of the castle are shallow and very steep - the first step (no guardrail) is almost knee high.  You all know me - I don't do bad steps, so I opt to wait here while Donna explores the inner workings.  She comes back with stories and photos of what is on display.  AND confirms my worst nightmare - narrow, steep, spiral staircases in much of the inside of the castle.

Along with the Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. Work on its construction was started in 1280!  A number of mishaps befell the castle over the years - a major fire in 1614 destroyed the original timber part of the castle and in 1941, a Russian incendiary bomb hit the main castle.
Major renovations on the castle commence in 1950 and continue to this day (with the major features completed in 1987).

While Donna explores inside, I observe outside.  Employees arrive in their civilian clothes, disappear into a small timber door opposite the entrance stairway and re-emerge in castle period costumes; a kitchen hand arrives hauling cold boxes, obviously empty, up the stairs and places them in  cart near where I am sitting.  She tells me that the main kitchen is in the castle proper even though the cafe is in the first courtyard - so they have to transport lunches each day!  And just before Donna re-emerged, two plasterers arrived and began working on the crumbling plaster at these stairs - I imagine that they could be guaranteed a lifetime of work in a building such as this!

So, castle done, we set out for Jyväskylä and Riikka and Runo and their family.  This drive of 3.5 hours takes us across half of the breadth of Finland, skirting regional towns and through rural landscapes that include countless lakes.  Today's blog takes its name from the green of the fir and beech forests and the gold of the barley and rye crops that gleam in the sunshine as they are being harvested.  Now that summer is at an end, there is a flurry of activity to bring in the crops.  Couldn't even hazard a guess at the number of harvesters we saw working today.  We got caught on the roads behind three in our travel. 

As we near Jyväskylä we can see an impressive building off to our right and take a detour to find Korpilahden Kirkko. There are two stunning features - the painted clock that will forever say 3 o'clock and its exterior bell tower.  This is not a particularly old church with the date 1827 above its door.  Nothing is open, so we cannot see inside.

We arrive in Jyväskylä about 5:15 pm and book into the Greenstar Hotel for the night.  Modern, slick and clean.  They have arranged an easy-access room and give us preferential treatment to easy parking and access from the carpark!  Then it is a short ten minute drive to Riikka and Runo's home which is just two houses back from Lake Päijänne, one of the largest lakes in Finland at over 200 kms long.

It is almost indescribable how great it is to see them all again.  I can't believe how the boys have grown now 14, 11 and 9 years old.  Riikka's hug was wonderful and Runo greeted us very warmly, saying how he is sorry that Michael has not come this trip.
Riikka has cooked a lovely dinner - chicken with pesto, tomato and bocconcini cheese with rice and veges - how nice it is to have a home-cooked meal!  Dessert was fresh berries and blueberry cream.  The blueberries are tiny but so intensely flavoured - Riikka explains that they are wild from the forest.  Sorry, no photos, we were too busy catching up!

All too soon, the night grows late and time for bed nears - Riikka has work tomorrow and the boys school.  We leave at 8:45 pm after accepting Runo's generous offer of being chauffeur tomorrow on the 6.5 hour drive to Rovaniemi.  We collect him just after 9 am, so these little black ducks had better get to bed!


We will be back to stay a night with Riikka and Runo on Friday night before we all do some exploring and visit Helsinki together on the weekend.

All good things . . .

. . . come to those who wait, or come to an end.

Our six weeks whirlwind visit back to Germany has come to an end tonight. We celebrated our time here by cooking dinner for Steph, Felix and some of their extended family.

But not before we did some last minute touring and buying today.

Firstly Steph, Mathilda and I head out to buy meat and fruit and veges for dinner. We have decided on devils on horseback (my version: dates stuffed with goats cheese, wrapped in speck and oven baked) as an entree then roast beef with gravy, mixed roast vegetables (potatoes, butternut and jap pumpkins, carrots, spanish onions) and zucchini. We will finish with the Persian Love Cake.

The local butcher did a fabulous job of trimming the silverside roast of every bit of sinew and fat. Just over 3 kgs should feed the 13 of us and maybe have a bit left over for Steph's freezer.  And it did!

Back to Edeka and then home to cook.

Started off with the cake and then thanks to Steph's two ovens put on the roast!  

We had some lunch -  flammkuchen made by Steph (dough with fried ham, eschallots mixed in to creme fraiche and spread over and baked - BIG yum). Cake is out and the syrup applied so we then decided to head into town for one last visit.  

We had long looked at a church on the opposite ridge but had not yet had a chance to visit it. On quizzing Steph and Felix, they tell us that this the St Salvator Chapel site and that it is accessed by a not insignificant climb up the hill.

Michael heads off to explore while I wait below.  This pilgrimage site is a traditional crossroads with sculptures and chapel houses with life-size figures leading up to the St.Salvator pilgrimage site. 

The church sanctuary, the St. Salvator Chapel, was built by the church builder Caspar Vogt after 1617. He built existing cave grottoes into a lower and upper chapel.  All very dramatic Michael reports, but also very popular as I observe a number of groups exiting the route while I wait.

Michael also discovered a little carved man in his own little niche!

Back into the city proper.  Past the 'Spongebob Squarepants' building - the Gold and Silver Forum that doesn't try to meld into the surrounding building types!

Over the past six weeks we have been past a Jewellery store very regularly. And for the better part of those six weeks, I have been admiring a particular necklace and debating with myself whether I (i) need it or (ii) want it enough to buy it.

Well, today I did!!

Went into Delta Schmuckgestaltung  and asked to see it.  The jeweller was on hand to tell me about it -including that it is two necklaces, not one.  "Really", I said, "they look so good together".  Her reply?  "Yes - I thought so too when I put them in the window!"  Martina Peter-Eckle has been a jeweller for more than 30 years and trained here in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The City has a history of gold and silver smithing for jewellery that dates back to medieval times.  Martina is thrilled that some of her work is travelling home to Australia with us.  She also gives us complimentary key-rings - a really lovely touch.

So a few euros poorer, but very happy with my double purchase, we leave to stock up on Hussell nougat to bring home.  Sorry guys - they are out of the one I wanted - will try at the airport.

Back to Stephs about 4 pm and I adjust the roasting meat temp and prep the vegetables and get them into the other oven.  Cake now cold enough to ice.  Gravy made.  All ready to go.

The family arrives just before 6 pm.

Felix's dad Dieter, Steph's aunt Olga and uncle Rudi, Steph's cousin Ulli, her husband Andy and their twins Mara and Anneka.  We remember them as the 8 year old little girls we met last visit - they are now confident young women of 17!

Dinner was a huge success and Michael is finishing packing the suitcases as I write.

Steph and Felix have done a great job of renovating an old home into a modern living space for an active family. It was lovely cooking in a very up-to-date kitchen too!

Tomorrow morning we will leave by 7:30 am to drive to Munich and board our Thai Airways flight home. Wonder how much an upgrade to Business might cost? Will ask in the morning.

A couple of long days ahead before we are home.

Hope you have enjoyed travelling with us!

 

Off to Hamburg where our international family grows!

Inga and Markus had stayed with us as couchsurfers a number of times from 2010 to 2014. They are a really lovely couple that we have become very fond of. So when the decision was taken to attend Anne and Steve's wedding in northern Germany, we could not pass up the chance to dive across and meet the additions to their family - Finn now 2 and Lena, 3 months.  It was also a chance to meet Inga's parents with whom we had communicated following their crash in New Zealand.

Its too bad that we don't have a bit more time - Rich and Lou fly out this evening and are keen to try out that Michelin starred restaurant, but we really need to be on the road by noon in case the traffic is bad to Hamburg and Inga and Markus. And we skirt around the outskirts of Bremen - a city we have not yet visited. Oh well, next time!

Slept in until after 8, re-packed bags so we can just take the essentials in at Hamburg, and left to go to the aftermath breakfast at 9:45. There was no parking in the hotel lot when we got back here last night, but Michael went for a smoke walk later and found that someone had left, so we moved the car closer. Good one.

We head off to the Luethemuehle with Lou and Rich who got in about 1 am and were woken with the Liverpudlian revellers arriving back at the hotel to watch the boxing around 4 am. By 5 Rich had had enough and told them so!
They are flying out late this afternoon, but need to check out of the hotel at the same time as us. We throw all the luggage in the car (Gen, you are forgiven -you travel light compared to them!!) and when we get to the Luethemuehle there are heaps of others who are also carting luggage.


Anne Blythe (not the actress!) met us at the door. She looks remarkably together for a bride who will have got little sleep. She tells us the Steve and she managed to get to bed around 4 am, but that the last guests didn't leave the venue until 7 am!  Guess that they will be coming later to breakfast!!
Breakfast - OMG - what a breakfast. Remember that they are catering to to tastes and two cultures, so there was everything from cereal, fruits, yoghurt, croissants and pastries, scrambled eggs and bacon, boiled eggs and the usual spread of breads, rolls, cheeses, meats, and salad fare for the Germans (and us!)

We stayed until noon and then began to leave, saying goodbyes all round.  We have got to the car when Johannes comes running out - he wants a photo with us taken on his phone!

We manage to leave about 12:15 and head to the east. The next small town we drive through is Hinsbeck, bedecked in red and white bunting with ribbons tied on the street trees - we wonder whether there is a wedding or some other event, and then come across cyclists that appear to be in a race - also dressed in red and white - so guess that is our answer.

The trip planner tells us we have a drive of just over 4 hours so I send Inga a message saying to expect us around 5.  Got to stop doing that - it was 5:30 when we got here.  Made on stop for fuel and currywurst and then hit roadworks.

A group of bikers on trikes are motoring along - the only one we could get a clear photo of was the one who had raced on ahead and was now pulled over waiting for the rest of the gang.  And the rest stops are all named - Michael takes a particular liking to this one!

The country in the north is flat - there are no mountains and really no hills to talk of either. We are driving clear across the region of Neidersachsen. Solar energy is the order of the day and there are lots of properties (farms) where the roof of every building is covered in solar panels. We even pass one building whose roof is made of solar panels, but taken through the windscreen, the photo is not clear.

This region reminds me quite a bit of home. There are forests of pine trees - the wind must be strong here because many of them are bent from the prevailing winds, interspersed with wheat crops - okay, so we have sugar, they had wheat. And as we are further north, the crops are just coming to full ripeness and not yet harvested.

We again hit roadworks around Bremen - a city we have not yet had the chance to explore - another visit maybe; and the trip in to Hamburg is slower with yet more roadworks. Its about now that Optus decides that we have had enough international roaming and cuts off internet access.  Not sure what made me do it, but when we stopped, I downloaded the directions from Google Maps offline. At least we can follow those - and despite the many roadworks we make it to Inga and Markus' home first try!

It was so nice to see them again and meet their little family.  Finn is shy at first, but a toy whale soon has him making friends with us. Baby Lena is now 3 months and really happily comes to me.  We also get to meet in person Inga's Mum Anne and her father Rainer who we had been in touch with when Inga and Markus came to us after a crash in New Zealand. It was like old times chatting and sharing cakes made by Anne - including the most divine Portugese Egg Tarts - she has promised me the recipe.

We share lasagne cooked by Markus for dinner and then head to bed on their couch - yes, we have come full circle.  

Off to Hamburg tomorrow.  See you afterwards.

The trouble with travels

We've had a few problems with our technology.
The computer wouldn't connect to the web here at Steph and Felix's new house.
The camera disk won't download the photos.

Guess the 'equipment' is saying "enough already - give us a break!"
So, I did.

But tonight the laptop has connected first try when I plugged it in to a power outlet that actually has power connected to it (there are some issues with a couple of outlets and lights here at the new house - they should be sorted this weekend). Blasted SD card still won't download directly - but where there is a will, there is a way - and I am nothing if not determined - put it back in the camera and downloaded through the camera!


It was great getting back here to Schwäbish Gmünd. Steph and Felix had moved in the first week we were gone, and they are now almost settled in to their new home. They have actually had the house since April 2016, engaged an architect and set about making it their own. The former owner had lived here almost all her adult life and had raised her family here.  Now, she has passed on and her children with teenage children of their own, have sold the house to a new family. They replaced the roof and pretty well gutted the interior, opening to a more open plan, put in new kitchen and bathrooms and are now putting the finishing touches.

We arrived home to have Steph cooking the selection of fish that Felix had bought for dinner in her new steam oven - very nice. Would love one if it was a little earlier in our lives!  Very quick and combined with her induction hotplates, it is as good as gas!  And veges - so nice to have veges.

Since arriving back, we have been trying to help around here a little - Michael spent two days cutting out hedges and hedges of diseased buxus. Four trips to the green waste bin to get rid of it all - and one to go! Tomorrow we will go back to their former house and spakfill the holes where paintings were hung, and sweep up and wipe down after the kitchen was removed - yes, they sold the kitchen that they had put in in the rental - it is not considered a fixture here!!


But it has not been all work and no play.

We spent Tuesday afternoon exploring part of the Schwäbish Gmünd Munster and marketplace.
It was nice to become re-acquainted with the Munster - we did visit it during our 2009 trip, but we spent more time delving into its history and secrets this time. There are some amazing stained glass windows and Michael happily discovered a number of Green Men in the carvings above doorways.

There is so much history in the churches. Makes you look on their role in a whole new way.
Now, the icon for Schwäbish Gmünd is the Unicorn and we see unicorns in lots of places around town. But there are other quirky little things - like the bright orange plastic armchairs that are chained in place to provide seating for those weary from their expeditions in to town.

And there are stunning examples of engineering, of architecture and of a community that has learned well, the art of bringing the old into new times, of mixing today's life with yesterday's heritage.

The fountain that was under its winter cover on our last visit, is happily providing drinking water to all who need the refreshment - and doesn't discriminate between beast or man - it as happily lets the pigeons drink as it does the local man filling his child's water bottle.  The surrounds of the fountain tell the stories of the various coats of arms associated with the city and a multi-sided statue has the complete holy family watching over the users and the town square in general.
 
The main Marketplace is living history with a range of architectural styles showing how the city has changed over time. The buildings in the centre of the photo below (brown and white ones) are some of the earlier and date to when tax was paid on the footprint of the building - so the ground floor was smaller and each additional floor added width to the building!  The Rathaus (Council chambers) is the pink building on the left.  These always have beautiful displays of flowers and usually have a chiming clock - the one in Schwäbish Gmünd is particularly nice with some chimes that play a number of classical pieces.

Finally it is nice to see that the old buildings find longevity in new uses and that these communities of old have happily found ways to allow the old and the new to sit comfortably side by side in a new millenium.

After a few hours wandering and wondering, we come home to Steph and the kids, to pretzels and fresh seed rolls, to ham and salami and joy of joys to amazing cheeses that are SO cheap at the local supermarkets here!

Nite one and all - I'll tell you all about our trip to Ulm today, tomorrow.