Fantastic Finland- Friday 25th July- leaving Jyrki and Mari's.

We were up early again, as this was our last day in Finland, and we had to drive south-west 300km to Helsinki for our flights home later in the day.

A last look at the lake by Jyrki and Mari's house.


Outside Jyrki and Mari's house.


Olivia, with Laku the cat!

Once we had had breakfast, we loaded the car up and said our goodbyes to Jyrki, Mari and the boys. It had been a fantastic time, full of wonderful experiences, and we were all sad to leave Varkaus. More than anything though, we were so happy that we had met and made new friends in Varkaus. I've said earlier that Jyrki and Mari were exceptional in the way they made us feel so at home, and how they welcomed us into their house, and the fact that we spoke non-stop all the way to Helsinki about the things we had done together over the previous days showed how much these few days had meant to all of us.

Both families together in Savonlinna.

We hope now that we will be able to welcome the Ikonen family to Scotland soon, to allow us to repay some of the hospitality that was shown to us in Varkaus!
Once again- thanks for making our trip to Varkaus so memorable!

Of course, it had also been a very successful return to Kotka, and Santalahti, and it was especially pleasing for both Anna and myself to see how well Sandy and Olivia got on with Baboushka and Dayadushka. We hope to return ourselves to Finland soon. Undoubtedly, it's our favourite holiday destination!

Finally, on the road south from Varkaus to Helsinki, we didn't see one cloud in the sky for over 150 miles! The temperature rose to 28C, making us very sad to be leaving.

Fantastic Finland- Thursday 24th July- A trip to Jari's Summer Cottage!

We were up early, as Jyrki's headteacher Jari had promised to take us out on his boat to his summer cottage, a 20 minute boat trip down the lake. This proved to be another wonderfully relaxed day, where we ate, drank and had great fun with Jyrki, Mari, the boys and with Jari and his wife Kirsi at their cottage.

We also experienced a sauna heated solely by logs, which proved to be a truly fantastic way of achieving total and utter relaxation of body and mind. The lake was really warm, and we swam in it several times throughout the day. By the time we returned home to Jyrki and Mari's we felt that we had spent one of the best days in Finland- in a magical setting, with great company. Brilliant!


Olivia waits patiently for Jari and his boat on the jetty at Jyrki's house.


On the boat now, Jari explains the route, while Anna looks pretty unsure at this point!


Jari, Jyrki and me.


Antti-Jussi and Ville-Veikko.


A bit further on, Anna looks more relaxed now, despite some high-speed "slalom" from Captain Jari!


Jari and Kirsi's summer cottage, 20 minutes in the boat from Jyrki and Mari's house.


Upon arrival, we toasted Kirsi, (far left) and Jari, (far right) as they had celebrated 25 years of marriage the day before. Jari put an announcement in the local paper- with a bit at the bottom advertising a moped for sale!


Olivia, happy to pose!


Lunch is cooked on the barbeque.



Looking back down to the lake, Jari, Jyrki and Mari relax over lunch while Anna and Olivia explore by the lake.


Playing the Finnish game, Molkky.



We watch closely as the expert throws!


Time for the amateur Scots player to try to match up to the Finns' scoring power!



Mari and the boys relax.


Jari kindly presented us with our very own game, which we have already been playing since returning home. We are looking forward to the re-match!!


Sandy swimming with his snorkel in the lake. The water temperature was very warm, around 21- 22C each day. That compares very favourably with the sea temperature here in Scotland of around 12C during the summer!


Antti-Jussi, Jyrki and Jari.


This is a truly beautiful setting!


Three Suomi-boys together!



Discussing the return route, with "The Captain."


My pal, Jyrki!