Email —You Can Say Hello Here.Varkaus pictures
As there are loads of great photos from Varkaus, look here at our holiday blog to see them all.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Fantastic Finland- Sunday 20th July- Kotka to Varkaus
We were up early, as Anna's parents, aunt and uncle and sister Olga were due to leave at 8.00am for their return trip to St Petersburg. The weather wasn't nearly as good as the day before, and it looked as though it might even rain.
By 8.15am, we had said our goodbyes, and we were left to finish tidying our own cottage and take a final look around Santalahti. It was the end of our second visit, and it had been just as enjoyable as our first visit in 2006. It's highly recommended if you are thinking of somewhere to stay in southern Finland.
A final picture inside our Santalahti cottage!
Just before leaving, our resident duck came back for a last feed!
At around 10.20am, we handed in our key to reception and climbed back into our wee Mazda for the four hour journey north to Varkaus. This was the second part of our holiday to Finland- meeting up and staying with the teacher of the school in Kuvansi which my class had corresponded with the previous school year. I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time! I wanted to see another part of the country and of course, I really wanted to meet Jyrki and his family, and see where they lived.
Sandy, next to an old Russian helicopter, on the road north towards Varkaus. What was it doing abandoned here?
It began to rain a few miles after we left Kotka, and continued all the way to Varkaus. Indeed, it was the worst day's weather we had seen in either of our two visits here. I texted Jyrki as we got closer, saying we'd arrive by around 3.30pm.
Finally, we arrived and met Jyrki, his wife Mari and the two boys, Antti-Jussi and Ville-Veikko. I think we were all a little nervous about meeting each other for the first time, though I had told Anna several times that I was absolutely sure that they'd turn out to be wonderful people. My confidence was correct! To say that Jyrki and Mari are wonderful people would be a huge understatement. They are exceptional, and we felt at home immediately.
Sandy and Olivia enjoyed helping to give out the presents we had brought, and all the children soon went out to the back garden to play with the Stomp Rocket we had brought from Scotland. It proved to be a big success! Antti-Jussi and Ville-Veikko were so good at playing with both Sandy and Olivia- especially as they gave up their bedrooms to allow us to stay!
After we looked round the house- which is superbly situated right next to Lake Saimaa, and is a beautiful building with lovely large rooms- we were asked if we'd like to try the sauna after dinner, followed by a swim in the lake! It seemed a little cool for this, as the rain had only just begun to lessen, but it turned out to be the perfect end to the day. We had a great sauna and swim session, and by bedtime, we felt we had made two very good new friends in Jyrki and Mari.
Jyrki told me some of the things we would be doing throughout the week, and we went to sleep looking forward hugely to the days ahead. (Due to the rain, there are not many pictures from today- but there are many, many more from the next few days.)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Fantastic Finland- Saturday 19th July
As this was the last day of our holiday in Kotka with Anna's folks, we decided to stay close to home, around Santalahti, along with taking a trip into town to visit the area around the Sappoka Water Park and the harbour.
I also decided to take some pictures of inside the cottage, just to remember it.
It was a beautiful day and here, you can see down through the trees, to the Finnish Bay.
The kitchen area of our cottage.
The living area.
The bedroom, with double bed, and single bed above.
The bathroom, with very strong shower, which was guaranteed to refresh!
Down at the beach. We had several sessions in the sauna, and Sandy loved thundering down from the cottage to plunge into the water. Once we cooled off, it was great to race back up to the cottage and jump into the sauna again!
Above and below, in the water.
Looking back at the cottage, on a hot summer's day!
Sandy, with his Russian grandparents.
In the afternoon, the temperature was around 27C and we headed down to the Sappoka Water Garden in the centre of Kotka. It's a really beautiful place- click on any of the photos to see them much larger- and I love visiting here. A real oasis in the town!
A group photo, taken by Uncle Boris.
With Auntie Olga.
By the waterfall.
At the top of the waterfall, Sandy with Dayadushka.
Can you see Baboushka down below, on the bridge?
Two totally contented children, by the water!
With the centre of Kotka in the background- what a beautiful place!
I really do love this wonderful setting.
Sandy, by the waterfall.
Looking through the trees, to the lake.
Above and below, down by the harbour, with lots of boats to admire!
Olivia loved Santalahti!
The sun sets on the last evening at Santalahti.
Fantastic Finland- Friday 18th July
We visited the adventure park at Kouvola, Tykkimaki which is situated about 50km north of Kotka. Olga came with us and it was a lovely sunny day, with the temperature around 23C. It's a super place for children, and both Sandy and Olivia loved visiting for the second time, as we had also been there in 2006. Like then, we had a great lunch- very healthy- in one of the very good value restaurants. It's such a refreshing feeling to go to places like Tykkimaki and know it's going to be super clean, and that you can look forward to real quality food at lunch times. I'm afraid you can't always say the same at some of the UK's amusement parks that we have visited.
Olivia was particularly keen on the monorail pedal train that took you around part of Tykkimaki!
I'm sure Sandy drove the very same lorry in 2006!
The goats, sheep and Shetland ponies were a new addition.
Feeding the goats.
It took Olivia a while to get the hang of what she was supposed to do here! I had to help direct her right foot to the accelerator!
A bit ironic that we went all the way to Finland to have a ride on a Shetland pony!
However, Olivia and Sandy both had great fun riding the ponies.
The sheep were very popular with the young children.
It all was very tiring by 4pm, and Olivia had a nap in the Tykkimaki pull-around car.
Meanwhile, Olga and Sandy continued on another ride.
Yes, Tykkimaki is great!
And I enjoyed it too!
A very happy family!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Fantastic Finland- Thursday 17th July
Olivia loved having Dayadushka bounce her up and down on his leg!
Yes, more blueberry picking!
It was great for the children to wander around, helping themselves to blueberries.
Our squirrel friend returned each day, looking for more and more snacks. I took this picture from a distance of less than a metre! Obviously, it got food from lots of the guests who stay in Santalahti.
Sandy and Olivia enjoy sitting on the decking with Baboushka, Dayadushka, Uncle Boris and Aunt Lucia.
With Olga, at dinner.
And another with Baboushka and Dayadushka.
What can you say about Santalahti? It's the second time we have stayed here, and it really is a lovely place. With the cottages just a few metres from the sea, it's so easy to have a hot sauna and then jump into the sea- which was admittedly fairly chilly. However, if you got really heated up in the sauna, it appeared to lessen the effects of the water temperature! And if we felt cold when we came out of the sea, well, we just ran back up and into the sauna again! Sandy's expresion here says it all- he loved it in Kotka, and no wonder- it's great.
Looking down to the sea through the trees.
Another of the cottage.
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