or this one:
Showing posts with label tampere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tampere. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2005
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Really, we do get back to Germany
All right, I know it´s been a while since I last posted. But I did suggest that that would happen. So here I am in sunny, hot, and humid Barcelona, writing about Finland (and if any letter ´t´s are missing, blame the keyboard...).
So Eric and I had a little over 1/2 day in Tampere to kill before our flight. I used that morning to good effect (i.e. writing blog entries and uploading pictures). When it came time to leave the hotel, we trundled down to the train station, and waited where we thought an early bus would show. It didn´t. Apparently the bus I was looking for was a Ryanair special -- the early bus was not one of these, it was a regular intercity that stopped at the airport. Sigh. We sit in the train station alternating walking around. I take pictures of people bungee-jumping off a crane, and the Tampere Orthodox Cathedral:
We do eventually catch the Ryanair shuttlebus, get to the airport, where Eric is relieved of some silverware (forks and butter knives are SOOO dangerous) by security, and have an otherwise uneventful flight. We´re met by Moses, and return to Grünstadt for the night.
So Eric and I had a little over 1/2 day in Tampere to kill before our flight. I used that morning to good effect (i.e. writing blog entries and uploading pictures). When it came time to leave the hotel, we trundled down to the train station, and waited where we thought an early bus would show. It didn´t. Apparently the bus I was looking for was a Ryanair special -- the early bus was not one of these, it was a regular intercity that stopped at the airport. Sigh. We sit in the train station alternating walking around. I take pictures of people bungee-jumping off a crane, and the Tampere Orthodox Cathedral:
We do eventually catch the Ryanair shuttlebus, get to the airport, where Eric is relieved of some silverware (forks and butter knives are SOOO dangerous) by security, and have an otherwise uneventful flight. We´re met by Moses, and return to Grünstadt for the night.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Canoe trip, day 4, and return to Tampere
Our last day of canoeing started off with a bit of a twist. The guy hired to transport us was at the agreed place about 20 minutes early (we were 30 minutes early), but his English was extremely limited. And we had a slight problem. Since we had not camped at Rasua, and were't meeting him there, but at the foot of the lake, we had left a bag at Rasua (containing things we didn't want to put in the canoe). He was supposed to have this bag, and didn't. So Eric whipped out the oh-so-handy Finnish-German dictionary, discovered the word for 'suitcase' (Koffer in German, and matkalaukku in Finnish), and convinced him to drive the 4km back to Rasua so we could pick the bag up (which was to be left in his van until he picked us up, and dropped us at the Jämsä train station).
Once this was out of the way, we got off to a reasonably good start, making it to Jämsä in time for a leisurely second breakfast. However, once we passed Jämsä, the winds picked up, and we realized we'd have to work to make it to the pickup point on time. But we did. No interesting pictures along this stretch -- it was all river, and generally either residential properties or farmland on the banks.
We had an uneventful train ride back to Tampere, punctuated only by surrendering in frustration to the automatic ticket seller that only offered Finnish and Swedish menus, and going to the counter where the nice lady spoke English.
Upon arrival in Tampere, we went immediately to the Hotelli Victoria where I had stayed the previous Friday, hoping to get a room there. They said "sorry all full, the festival is in town". Festival? Yikes. FESTIVAL. This is one of those travel-incognito nightmares. You arrive in town without accomodations, and are probably SOL without going for miles.
We rightly decide to hunker one of us down at the train station with the bags while the other goes to the tourist office in the probably vain hope of finding a room.
We get lucky. 75 euro for a room at the Ramada Hotel, of all places. They have meeting rooms that can be converted to sleeping chambers during heavy demand. Not luxury, but we weren't being picky. And they had a usable internet connection in an out-of-the-way place where I could post stuff.
Last post for a few days, I think. I may not get to post until either Paris or Barcelona (somewhere around the 23d).
Once this was out of the way, we got off to a reasonably good start, making it to Jämsä in time for a leisurely second breakfast. However, once we passed Jämsä, the winds picked up, and we realized we'd have to work to make it to the pickup point on time. But we did. No interesting pictures along this stretch -- it was all river, and generally either residential properties or farmland on the banks.
We had an uneventful train ride back to Tampere, punctuated only by surrendering in frustration to the automatic ticket seller that only offered Finnish and Swedish menus, and going to the counter where the nice lady spoke English.
Upon arrival in Tampere, we went immediately to the Hotelli Victoria where I had stayed the previous Friday, hoping to get a room there. They said "sorry all full, the festival is in town". Festival? Yikes. FESTIVAL. This is one of those travel-incognito nightmares. You arrive in town without accomodations, and are probably SOL without going for miles.
We rightly decide to hunker one of us down at the train station with the bags while the other goes to the tourist office in the probably vain hope of finding a room.
We get lucky. 75 euro for a room at the Ramada Hotel, of all places. They have meeting rooms that can be converted to sleeping chambers during heavy demand. Not luxury, but we weren't being picky. And they had a usable internet connection in an out-of-the-way place where I could post stuff.
Last post for a few days, I think. I may not get to post until either Paris or Barcelona (somewhere around the 23d).
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Tampere, and fuel leaks
So I arrive at the lovely (NOT!) Tampere airport around 6 PM, catch the RyanAir-supplied bus to the train station, and walk the long block to my hotel. I am nagged by the sense that something doesn't smell right.
In the room, I confirm. One of the fuel (aka BEER) cans in the pack broke en route. Fortunately, I had taken precautions against things getting wet, so the damage was limited to throwing out some beer-soaked plastic bags, and washing out a few articles of clothing.
On the other hand, the PACK itself smells a bit of stale beer, even after repeated cleaning forays over the next few days.
After dealing with this, I get out of the hotel and walk a bit of the city. It's Friday night, and the Finns are drinking. Everywhere. They've apparently never heard of open container laws. I get dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. This was apparently a wise move, as the next few days will expose me to what passes for Finnish cuisine.
Tampere is an old textile mill town (perhaps a European version of Lowell). I took a few pictures before I left:
In the room, I confirm. One of the fuel (aka BEER) cans in the pack broke en route. Fortunately, I had taken precautions against things getting wet, so the damage was limited to throwing out some beer-soaked plastic bags, and washing out a few articles of clothing.
On the other hand, the PACK itself smells a bit of stale beer, even after repeated cleaning forays over the next few days.
After dealing with this, I get out of the hotel and walk a bit of the city. It's Friday night, and the Finns are drinking. Everywhere. They've apparently never heard of open container laws. I get dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. This was apparently a wise move, as the next few days will expose me to what passes for Finnish cuisine.
Tampere is an old textile mill town (perhaps a European version of Lowell). I took a few pictures before I left:
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