tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73778124654692570962024-03-14T06:35:07.822+02:00Finnish FolliesTracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-17428868848323246722010-11-30T16:48:00.001+02:002010-11-30T16:50:45.766+02:00Christmas Markets in Regensburg (or, how I convinced Mike to go on a weekend long shopping trip!)<div class="MsoNormal">Be prepared, this is a long one, but it comes with pictures! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When Mike and I started talking about how to spend our Christmas holiday, one of his ideas was to take a German river cruise. When I started to explore options, they were all based on going to the Christmas Markets of various German towns and cities along the Danube or Rhine. Well, it seems like we weren’t the only ones with that idea, and everyone else had it about six months before we did. As a result, the ones we were interested in were already sold out, but that idea provided the inspiration for our November trip. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We left Helsinki on Friday night bound for Regensburg, Germany, about 125 kilometers northeast of Munich. At the airport, we watched a man get in an argument with the Lufthansa ticket counter woman, and then her supervisor. We both just stood there and talked about why you would ever argue with them. At the end of the day, you don’t get to fly if you make them mad. And guess what, the guy and his too heavy suitcase stayed in Helsinki. The Germans take their luggage weight VERY seriously!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After arriving in Munich, we met our driver and passed a Starbucks. I have been dying for a decaf, non-fat, toffee nut latte for ages. Since we were already headed to the car and it was late enough, I figured I’d just have one at the airport on the way back to Helsinki. Lesson learned – get your Starbucks when you can get it. Just because there are several in most large US airports, there aren’t in most European airports. Never to see that Starbucks again (wahhh!). We loaded up our luggage in our Mercedes Benz station wagon and were on our way with the world’s most chatty German driver. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We soon hopped on the Autobahn and were whizzing along. My clue that it was the Autobahn (because it’s not like there is a sign that says, “Welcome to the Autobahn”)? The Porsche that blew by us like we were parked at the mall. Sheesh. Apparently, those Porsches can go kinda fast. It was dark, but we got a play by play of what we were passing from the driver. Lots of hops, not to be confused with hogs. Good thing Mike can interpret heavily accented English for me. I was much more focused on watching the odometer tick further and further up. Our top speed that I saw was 190 kilometers per hour (kph). It’s not quite a 2:1 ratio between kph and miles per hour, but I knew we were going more than 100 mph. When I looked it up after we got to the hotel, it was 118 mph. Fastest I have ever gone, and something tells me that the Mercedes Benz station wagon goes a little faster than the old Ford Pinto station wagon we had when I was a kid. The drive explained we could have gone faster, but the weather, the nighttime, and the winter tires all have to be taken into consideration. It would be interesting to do it in ideal driving conditions!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Upon arriving into Regensburg, we got a little mini-tour. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburg">Regensburg</a> is a UNESCO World Heritage city and one of the oldest and best preserved medieval cities in Germany. It’s a neat little city to see by night and the most impressive structure is the Regensburg Cathedral. It was just so beautiful lit up at night. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUMt8wdPwI/AAAAAAAAAE4/tmXH9UFu37Y/s1600/DSC02750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUMt8wdPwI/AAAAAAAAAE4/tmXH9UFu37Y/s320/DSC02750.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>This bridge was built in the 1100s and is still in use as a foot bridge today.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">By the time we got to the hotel, it was 11:00 and we were ready for dinner. Sidewalks roll-up pretty early in this little town, so it was a good thing there was a McDonald’s right across the street. We were able to kill two birds with one stone – have dinner, and continue Mike’s quest to eat at a McDonald’s in each country we visit. I do have to say, the food was consistent at this one, there were no disgusting fly issue (see previous post about McDonald’s in Espoo) and this one had a separate counter area called the McCafe. They made all sorts of fancy coffee drinks, served different kinds of bagel sandwiches, and had lots of pastries from which to choose. Like a Starbucks inside of a McDonald’s. But, not.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We had decided on Saturday that we wanted to take a boat ride on the Danube. After trying to figure out where to go, we were a bit stymied because the boat rides actually stop in October, run during the Christmas Market season, and then don’t start again til Spring. It was not easy to figure out where we should be and the fact that I had made a serious error in judgment when selecting my shoes for the day did not help. We eventually gave up and my prince of a husband took my shoes from me while I had a cup of tea, he went back to the hotel and exchanged them for my much more practical new snow boots. After I was re-shod, we started off for our first Christmas Market, the Lucreziamarkt. On the way, we saw a tourist info office and we’re able to get info about the boat ride. Yeah!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUIqh_rKfI/AAAAAAAAAEU/U_t7cLvY1v4/s1600/DSC02739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUIqh_rKfI/AAAAAAAAAEU/U_t7cLvY1v4/s320/DSC02739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Mike in front of part of the the Lucreziamarkt. The cathedral is in the background.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We wandered around the Lucreziamarkt and saw the different crafts and treats that were available. A few items caught our eye for family gifts and I managed to pick up a gift for myself <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">!</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUF5WPzt_I/AAAAAAAAAEI/TngcfyQV9KE/s1600/DSC02729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUF5WPzt_I/AAAAAAAAAEI/TngcfyQV9KE/s320/DSC02729.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span> This carousel was made from all sorts of branches and stumps. The young woman in the little stand in the back was pedaling it to make it turn. I told Mike he can make me one :)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">We had lunch reservations for late in the afternoon, so we needed a snack. After perusing the choices, we settled on a baumstriezelei, which is traditional Hungarian baked sweet bread. It was gooooood. <a href="http://piroskafelt.blogspot.com/2008/03/krtskalcs-hungarian-grilled-sweet-bread.html">Here’s a recipe if you want to make baumstriezelei at home</a>. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUHkiq5dhI/AAAAAAAAAEM/wOXtg81x5Xk/s1600/DSC02732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUHkiq5dhI/AAAAAAAAAEM/wOXtg81x5Xk/s320/DSC02732.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">The</span> baumstriezelei oven where the dough rotates on rolling pin sized skewers.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next was the boat trip where we took a ride up the Danube to Walhalla. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla_temple">Walhalla</a> is a museum in honor of German scientists, politicians, artists, etc. A German Hall of Fame, so to speak. The actual building looks like the Parthenon in Athens. The boat does not stop at Walhalla, but just gives you a view from the river. </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUIaW6lGjI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/hAC4tsrZ0L8/s1600/DSC02742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUIaW6lGjI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/hAC4tsrZ0L8/s320/DSC02742.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>Walhalla. It's 350 steps to get into the museum.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJENYfoXI/AAAAAAAAAEY/qAU1uuPHbkg/s1600/DSC02747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJENYfoXI/AAAAAAAAAEY/qAU1uuPHbkg/s320/DSC02747.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> </i><i>Our boat and view of the Danube. It was 3:30 and getting dark.</i><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After the boat ride, we had a late lunch at Wurstkuchl. <a href="http://www.wurstkuchl.de/index.php?id=2&L=1">Wurstkuchl</a> has been serving sausage for hundreds of years in this location. We really enjoyed our traditional German sausage and Mike had a traditional German beer to go with it. I had Orangina. Yeah, Orangina. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJdmrcsxI/AAAAAAAAAEc/3Bink5dRYyw/s1600/DSC02759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJdmrcsxI/AAAAAAAAAEc/3Bink5dRYyw/s320/DSC02759.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>Traditionally, you eat outside on the picnic tables, but since it was so cold, we . . .</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJp0zl2sI/AAAAAAAAAEg/XTK1er7fpQY/s1600/DSC02751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJp0zl2sI/AAAAAAAAAEg/XTK1er7fpQY/s320/DSC02751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>ate inside in the cafe.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Later in the evening, we went to the main market in the city, which is on the main square of Regensburg. The place was jam packed. So many people standing around drinking guhlwein, which is a spiced red wine, eating sausage, and talking with friends and family. You literally had to push and shove to get through. We visited all of the stalls looking for the ideal Christmas decoration and gifts and really soaked up the atmosphere. Everyone was having such a good time and it was quite infectious. It may be Black Friday in the U.S. that signifies the start of the season, but I think the first weekend of the Christmas Markets starts it in Germany. After spending almost two hours here, we went for dinner at a restaurant recommended to us by a Brit who lives in Regensburg that we met on the boat ride.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJ9caU1kI/AAAAAAAAAEk/r5Psb7iIyXg/s1600/DSC02769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUJ9caU1kI/AAAAAAAAAEk/r5Psb7iIyXg/s320/DSC02769.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> Decorations around the square.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUKKUdyB0I/AAAAAAAAAEo/g7mcY4x3jX8/s1600/DSC02763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUKKUdyB0I/AAAAAAAAAEo/g7mcY4x3jX8/s320/DSC02763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the stalls at the market. We bought some small star lights here.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And guess what we had for dinner! More sausage! This time, it was a little sausage platter with different kinds of sausage to taste, along with a big soft pretzel. I could only eat so much of that sausage, and by the time we finished dinner, I was sausaged-out!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For those of you who know me well, hold on to your seats, as our first activity on Sunday will probably surprise you. We went to Mass. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburg_Cathedral">big, beautiful cathedral</a> is a Catholic church dedicated to St. Peter and home to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburger_Domspatzen">Regensburg Boys Choir</a>. I had seen several references on the internet that the Regensburg Boys Choir is second only to the Vienna Boys Choir (no idea where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir fits into the ranking) and I really wanted to hear them sing. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We walked into the church about 9:55 and realized that this is the place to be on Sunday mornings if you’re older than about 60. Finding a seat was very difficult and though we wound up near the front, we were directly behind a stone column that was at least 15 feet in diameter. We had a great view of – stone. At this point, we still did not know the denomination of the church, though we were guessing Catholic. Once the service started, keeping in mind it was in German, the good Catholic that was with me recognized the order to the service. Yep, Catholic. Then the boys started singing. When the priest had been speaking, he had been using a microphone. The boys had no microphones, but the way their voices carried throughout this immense cathedral was amazing. It was so beautiful. Sometimes they were accompanied by an organ, and sometimes it was just their signing. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUKpQSRt0I/AAAAAAAAAEs/6XKQa90cq-o/s1600/DSC02760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPUKpQSRt0I/AAAAAAAAAEs/6XKQa90cq-o/s320/DSC02760.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Picture from Saturday evening. My photos don't do the cathedral any justice!</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Luckily, the man at the end of the pew left pretty early in the service, so I was able to easily enter and exit the pew and as a result, able to see some of the choir. Now, if I were in a church in the US, of course I wouldn’t get up and down during a service, but people were coming and going pretty regularly. Some were probably tourists, but others seemed to be parishioners, so I felt like I could get up to see what I could see. One thing I noticed, the boys were as cold as all of us and many of them were actually wearing gloves (everyone in the church, with the exception of the priests, was bundled up in coat, gloves, and even some in hats). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I also noticed that no hymnals or bibles were provided, but some people did BYO. I thought that was interesting. Mike was the one who noticed the average age of the attendees and this matched what the woman on the boat had told us. Young people are leaving the churches in Germany in droves. <span lang="SV">Similar situation in Finland. </span>As I understand it, both countries require their residents to tithe X Euros as part of their annual tax filings and the only way to not complete the tithe is to renounce your membership. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When it was time for communion and everyone moved forward (a lot less organized than what I had seen the times I went to St. Anthony’s in CG), we made our graceful exit. There was actually an area roped off in the back for tourists who were just coming and going during the Mass. I am really glad that we went in and listened to the full Mass (or almost full Mass) and didn’t just pop in for a few minutes. Mike is right, there is always something peaceful about Mass, even when you don’t know exactly what is being said.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From there, it was back to the hustle and bustle of the Christmas markets. Our third and final market was the Romantic Market at the Thurns and Taxis Palace. This palace is larger than Buckingham Palace, if you can believe that. I spent a few minutes <a href="http://www.thurnundtaxis.de/">reading their website</a>, and am still not sure what they are the royalty of. As far as I can tell, it’s because they created international postal service. I am sure that isn’t exactly right, but I like to now think of them as the Prince and Princess of the Post Office!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPULBeub_qI/AAAAAAAAAEw/nthy6jNafsI/s1600/DSC02789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPULBeub_qI/AAAAAAAAAEw/nthy6jNafsI/s320/DSC02789.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>The Romantic Market at the Thurns and Taxis Palace.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This market was so beautiful. I really wish we had come through here on Saturday night to see how it looked in the dark with all of the holiday lights. We found a few more gifts and enjoyed lunch. Since we swore off sausage by this point, I had a bread bowl of potato soup. We did have another treat since there was a vendor selling crepes. A little crepe with Nutella and banana. Made me feel like I was in Paris! We continued the hunt for the perfect Christmas decoration, but to no avail. By this time, it was really cold and one of us was freezing. This is the one of us who hasn’t bought a new winter coat with a temperature rating of -10F, snow boots, and thermal gloves because she commutes on public transportation many days! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPULmd-rKOI/AAAAAAAAAE0/Wz3rcSDbWiY/s1600/DSC02788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TPULmd-rKOI/AAAAAAAAAE0/Wz3rcSDbWiY/s320/DSC02788.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>The really bright light on my coat is my reflector. All good Finns wear a reflector this time of year so the cars can more easily see you. Looks like it works!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We headed back to the main market to buy some Christmas decorations that we had our eye on and then made our way back to the hotel. We stopped at McDonald’s to get a hot drink, since literally everything in town was closed and Mike was done with the guhlwein. At the hotel, we repacked our suitcases (we had strategically packed a big one and brought an empty smaller one) with our goodies and waited for our car back to Munich. Our driver appeared right on time with her big Mercedes Benz van. She wasn’t nearly the lead foot of our Friday night driver so no new top speed to report.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We ate dinner at the airport and caught our flight home. As we were getting ready to pull out from the gate, the pilot came on and said since it had started to snow, we would need to be de-iced out on the runway. For some reason, at the Munich airport, de-icing occurs out on the runway and not at your gate. You taxi for a ways and pull up to this large apparatus where they spray the de-icing stuff and then you are on your way. About 20 minutes after take-off, the pilot came on and told us we were really lucky. We were the last flight to take-off from our runway, which was now closed because of the snow. The planes were starting to back up for the single run way and things were now delayed. With our tailwind, we even had a nice early arrival back to Helsinki. Overall, a great weekend! </div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-57374142965680827392010-11-25T22:43:00.000+02:002010-11-25T22:43:00.914+02:00Giving ThanksHappy Thanksgiving to all of our American family and friends! Mike and I have so much to be thankful for this year. As many of you know, we also celebrated our wedding anniversary on Monday, and as we got engaged on Thanksgiving day three years ago, this time of year is extra special to us. During our anniversary dinner on Monday night, we did a bit of a year in review. We continue to marvel at what a year we have had. We have had some tremendous highs, and unfortunately, a few lows. During our "sunlamp" time this morning, we talked about how much we have to be thankful for, and our toast this evening (with non-alcoholic champagne, of course!) focused on the same.<br />
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As thoughts of Thanksgiving crossed my mind in the last week or so, I have to admit that I was a bit melancholy about the day. We would both be spending it working, and not with our families or in our own home cooking up a storm. We had already planned to spend the holiday in South Carolina with Mike's dad, so that plan obviously had to change. Some new friends here are throwing a big Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday, but we are flying to Germany tomorrow, so will miss the gathering. It seems as though everyone on Facebook is very excited to be spending the day with loved ones and having an incredible feast. This contributed to the feeling of melancholy and made me a bit green, I must admit.<br />
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As the day progressed, it got better, though! I had a lovely lunch with a friend and her new daughter. Mike and I had a nice time cooking our modified Thanksgiving feast together, we had a few of our favorites for dinner, and less dishes than ever before (can't beat that!). Mike set a beautiful table with our china and silver, and it felt like home. It was only as we were cleaning up that I realized I forgot to make the Stove Top stuffing I had managed to get my hands on!! I'm blaming that on pregnancy brain!<br />
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Without further ado, here's what our first Helsinki Thanksgiving dinner looked like. As I said, it was a modified feast. We had herb marinated chicken (yep, chicken, I had been told finding turkey is very difficult. Someone told me last night that you can get it at Stockmann. I should have known.), my mom's famous sweet potatoes and baked apples (my favorite!), green bean casserole (I have never made it before, but how easy is that??!! We modified here because Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup is very, very hard to find), and crescent rolls (one of Mike's favorites). No pumpkin pie since we're gone this weekend and figure we'll find plenty of sweet treats in Germany. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TO7JHrmOlrI/AAAAAAAAAEA/TsrnxC7ljBA/s1600/DSC02718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TO7JHrmOlrI/AAAAAAAAAEA/TsrnxC7ljBA/s320/DSC02718.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Mike pouring our "champagne" to celebrate the holiday.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TO7I7L8z3AI/AAAAAAAAAD8/ZTYSYeXXsyU/s1600/DSC02721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TO7I7L8z3AI/AAAAAAAAAD8/ZTYSYeXXsyU/s320/DSC02721.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Our modified Thanksgiving feast (who needs Stove Top?!).</i></div><br />
Please note the flowers in the background. I took a flower arranging class last night that was put on by the American Women's Club. I have never done anything like that before. And though the florist didn't love what I put together, I did, and that's what matters!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TO7JT9w5SFI/AAAAAAAAAEE/88sdxuvuWh0/s1600/DSC02726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TO7JT9w5SFI/AAAAAAAAAEE/88sdxuvuWh0/s320/DSC02726.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>My first floral arrangement. Apparently, Martha has nothing to worry about!</i></div><br />
And with that, we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from Helsinki! Enjoy your friends, family, food, the parade on TV, Cowboys football, and whatever else you do to make the day special! We enjoyed our day and evening here and are most thankful for the lives we have and those that are in it!Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-56565372563912249372010-11-14T08:59:00.002+02:002010-11-14T10:04:04.894+02:00Finnish Father’s Day or Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!The news has been slowly making its way over the phone lines and the interwebs, but for those of you we haven’t connected with, we’re pleased to let everyone know that we’re expecting a baby boy! At least, according to the note we received from the doctor, “Male parts were seen.” I had an unexpected ultrasound a few weeks ago and Mike was not able to attend. The doctor was able to see the baby’s sex and I asked that instead of telling me, he writes it down on a piece of paper. It seemed like he wrote forever, not just a 3 or 4 letter word. And sure enough, when Mike and I opened the paper at home that evening “Male parts were seen.”<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today is Finnish Father’s Day. Yesterday, in order to prepare us to be a mother and father (Finnish or American), we attended birthing class in English. We are a little on the early side, but considering the next class is scheduled for the day AFTER I am due, we figured we should probably attend, now! The class was like a mini-United Nations meeting, if the UN was comprised of a bunch of preggy ladies! I was expecting a bunch of Americans and Brits. I could not have been more wrong. Of the 25 people (one husband couldn’t attend), the following countries were represented (and remember, they all spoke English):</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">US – there were a total of 4 of us, making us the largest country population. Go Team America!!</div><div class="MsoNormal">Holland</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hungary</div><div class="MsoNormal">Russia</div><div class="MsoNormal">France</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finland</div><div class="MsoNormal">Germany</div><div class="MsoNormal">UK </div><div class="MsoNormal">Turkey</div><div class="MsoNormal">Nigeria</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chile</div><div class="MsoNormal">Philippines</div><div class="MsoNormal">India</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I may be missing one or two. It was really interesting to see how similar many people’s thoughts and feelings towards pregnancy and giving birth are, regardless of from where you come.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We covered a number of topics including birthing positions, what to take and when to go to the hospital (apparently, hospital food is pretty bad no matter in what country you give birth), and both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to pain relief. The class was given at a yoga studio by two midwives. Though they discussed the pharmacological approaches, they are definitely pro-skipping the drugs and pro-breastfeeding. Not militant about either, but you knew where they stood. I am pro getting an epidural next week if it means it will hurt less in March!!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Speaking as the voice of non-authority on this topic, some of the differences of giving birth here compared to the US, a few I have mentioned before:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">1) The person who delivers the baby is someone you have not met. You get assigned a midwife when you show up for delivery. We also found out yesterday that shift changes every eight hours, so the odds of having two or three different midwives are probably pretty good. As a result, Mike and I are considering using a doula. You typically meet with a doula a couple of times before the birth to develop the birth plan, the doula then attends the birth, and then also does some follow-up care. I heard a great explanation for a doula from a friend. She’s focused on “the belly button up” while the doctor (or midwife) is focused on “the belly button down”. I feel like using a doula here would allow us to have someone we have 1) met before and established a relationship with, and 2) someone advocating on my/our behalf in Finnish. At the end of the day, the midwives all speak some level of English and we’ll tell them when we arrive we need a strong English speaker, but I think having someone there who is working for (and paid by) us who speaks the language will be a plus. If you want to learn more about doulas, especially in the US, <a href="http://www.dona.org/mothers/index.php">read here</a>. I have several friends who have used doulas in the US and have been very happy with their experiences.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">2) They strongly encourage you to stay out of the bed. Walking, sitting on or leaning over an exercise ball, sitting on a horseshoe shaped stool, standing, sitting in a bath tub, etc., all seem to be very much encouraged. It was explained to us that they encourage this for two reasons; the first is that you may as well let gravity help pull the baby down, and the second, if you are lying down on your back, your tail bone is compressed. By being in an upright position, your tail bone is able to expand back (which it was made to do) and can give you at least another two centimeters of space.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">3) The midwives told us to eat a good meal before coming to the hospital and to bring our own food. And of course, there is a microwave for your use! This one really surprised me, so much so that I asked a question confirming it. My thought, and I could be totally wrong on this, is that you don’t eat a lot in the U.S. in case you end up having a c-section. Well, in Finland, last year 60,000 babies were born. Only 16%, so we’re talking less than 10,000, were born via c-section. The percentage in the US is about exactly double. The expectation is that you won’t have a c-section, so you don’t need to worry about food and aesthesia issues, and you need your strength, so eat up. I wonder if it will finally be OK to eat soft cheese, deli meat, Diet Coke, and some wine, then??!! Just to round out the c-section stats, the 16% is comprised of 6% that are planned, 9% that are urgent, and 1% that are emergency.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">4) The use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is very popular here, with 49% of last year’s birthing moms using it. It is used as the first round of painkiller instead of any type of intravenous pain killer. It is key to know when your contraction is going to start because you need to take it 30 – 45 seconds before it happens. If you wait until the contraction starts, too late. In the US, because often times you get an IV with painkiller in it (e.g., Demerol), you don’t have to manage this as much. I think the IV has to be MUCH easier. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">5) The epidurals here are much weaker than the US. They are meant to ease the pain, but the expectation is that you are still able to have use of your legs and move around a bit (e.g., in order to be in the upright sitting positions).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the midwives did tell us that if you are into technology, Finland is the place to have a baby! I knew that about cell phones, didn’t know it about births. As a result, 45% of women received an epidural, and at the hospital we will be going to which is affiliated with the University and the medical school, the rate is even higher. The number in the US seems to be somewhere in the 60% - 70% range.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">They then had a couple come to speak to us who had participated in the class earlier this year and now have a 6 month old son. They are a younger couple and she is from Finland and he is from the US. She did the birth without the use of any pain medication and described it as being the most wonderful experience. She told us that in the month or two leading up to her labor, she would go to a park and hug the trees (a literal "tree hugger"!) and think about their growth. And think about the leaves and flowers growing and beginning anew in the spring. For those of you who know me well, you know my eyes were about rolling to the back of my head, at this point. She proceeded to tell us about the birth and that after they were home for a week, she saw the midwife and said she was worried because her baby never cried and she thought there was a problem. By this time, I was waiting to hear about the unicorns and rainbows that were flying out of her you know where!! Apparently, she had the perfect birth, has the most perfect baby, and is even lucky enough to have the world’s two most perfect cats. They are so happy and filled with joy, they don’t even want to go out together for dinner without their son. Gag me. Call me jaded, call me a woman with too many friends who have already given birth and are raising kids, call me whatever you want, but don’t look for unicorns and rainbows here, I think I am a bit more of a realist!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-GyXy5Q5I/AAAAAAAAADo/Rokd7TKh0LI/s1600/unicorn_rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-GyXy5Q5I/AAAAAAAAADo/Rokd7TKh0LI/s320/unicorn_rainbow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image courtesy of Google Images, but now you know what I was expecting! Look, even a Finnish mushroom in the foreground!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Overall, the class was really interesting and we both got a lot out of it. We wish there was more face to face education available here, but in lieu of that, we have books on the way from Amazon.co.uk, we have DVDs, and we have friends who have lots of experience they are willing to share. We’ll be OK or even better.<br />
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<b>ETA:</b> There have been a few requests from US friends and family to see the "bump." Here are some recent pictures.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-XjuL1EUI/AAAAAAAAAD4/qzaOebu_sBQ/s1600/The+Bump+Nov+7+2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-XjuL1EUI/AAAAAAAAAD4/qzaOebu_sBQ/s320/The+Bump+Nov+7+2010.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>November 7, 2010</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-XCapKRnI/AAAAAAAAAD0/CBKU7V-8uIQ/s1600/The+Bump+v2+Nov+7+2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-WwF-jlxI/AAAAAAAAADw/ESvGy0rv7v4/s1600/The+Bump+Nov+13+2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TN-WwF-jlxI/AAAAAAAAADw/ESvGy0rv7v4/s320/The+Bump+Nov+13+2010.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>November 13, 2010</i></div></div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-81376340000436609202010-11-03T13:31:00.001+02:002010-11-04T09:45:33.716+02:00The Sun Doesn’t Live Here AnymoreWhen Mike and I came to Helsinki on our house hunting trip in June, we talked to a lot of people about what it is like to live here weather-wise. The Finns LIVE for summer. They love the long, long days, the comfortable temperatures (it never gets much above 80), and spending time outside. Supposedly, summer makes up for the time we are in now. November. Hands down, bar none, and without a doubt, every Finn I have asked says November is the worst month here. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Though the days are getting noticeably shorter, today’s sunrise was at 7:48 and sunset is at 4:19, the sun never really shines. It’s all cloudy and gray. And depressing. This period will last for many, many weeks. We hope that December brings snow, crazy I know, but snow means that what little light we have will be reflected on the ground, too. Not just light from above, but light from below. We will need all of the light that we can get.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This need for light brings us to our latest purchase. A sun lamp. Each morning, we get up 30 minutes early in order to have time to sit in front of our lamp. This is all in order to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is a form of depression that’s symptoms can include a lack of energy, a desire to sleep too much, withdrawal from friends and family, and overeating, especially carbs. It is thought that SAD is caused by the eye’s retina not getting enough sunlight. Sunshine impacts the amount of serotonin and melatonin in the body which impacts your sleep and mood levels. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the suggested ways to prevent SAD is by sitting in front of a high powered lamp, for between 30 minutes and 2 hours a day. It is suggested to do it between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in order to not mess up your night time sleep. Since both Mike and I work, and aren’t always home by 6:00 p.m., this means we start our day 30 minutes earlier than we had. We are trying to make it quality time. We eat breakfast together, read the newspaper (my Mom has been sending me sections of the Sunday NY Times. Love!!), and just chat. With Mike gone to the U.S. this week, my mornings have definitely been lonelier. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TNFGEWgJWOI/AAAAAAAAADg/KkvefI0J-gU/s1600/Light+off+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TNFGEWgJWOI/AAAAAAAAADg/KkvefI0J-gU/s320/Light+off+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>This is our sun lamp sitting on our dining table.</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> One of the other issues related to the lack of sun is a potential vitamin D deficiency. I have been hearing about this a lot in the U.S for 6 months or so. I have read that some think it is because we all wear so much sunscreen these days. I am not sure if that is true or not, but the cause in Finland is no sunshine, not too much sunscreen. In order to combat this one, a vitamin supplement is needed. For us, it’s not a big deal. The pre-natal vitamin (me) and the daily multi-vitamin (Mike) that we have been taking provide enough vitamin D. For babies, it is an entirely different story. Babies have to take a vitamin D supplement, as well, even if their mom is taking one and breastfeeding. There isn’t enough vitamin D for them to share. This supplement is required for about 6 months a year and the time to start taking it is now. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of my new friends here happens to be from Mesa, Arizona. And though she is a Sun Devil, we forgive her for that (Hi, Sarah!)! Sarah is married to a Finn and has had both of her little boys while living here. Sarah is a professional photographer and keeps her own blog. Additionally, she wrote a guest post on another blog that is a beautiful description of this time, and what we are all dealing with. Her post is quite eloquent, much more so than this one, and <a href="http://www.ourfrontdoor.us/notepad/2010/10/29/autumn-in-finlad.html">I highly suggest you read it</a>. My friends in the northeast may be able to relate a little more to what Sarah writes and what we are dealing with. My friends in Arizona and California, otherwise knows as the “Sunshine State”, welcome to our world. Think of me when you’re complaining because the high is “only” 62 degrees and a cloud or two passes over and “blocks your sun!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wish us luck and if you are looking for us in the early morning hours, we’ll be in front of our sun lamp! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TNFGeY7hvII/AAAAAAAAADk/jmV5biURDJY/s1600/Light+On+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TNFGeY7hvII/AAAAAAAAADk/jmV5biURDJY/s320/Light+On+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i> Here's the lamp on (taken at the same time as the prior picture) to give you an idea of its brightness</i>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-34053659085032634972010-10-26T16:12:00.000+03:002010-10-26T16:12:59.162+03:00I Get By with a Little Help from the Finns<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">So, it’s not all traveling, fun, and games here in Helsinki. <span> </span>There’s actual life living occurring and lots of the days have components that are hard. <span> </span>Someone recently said to me, it takes a year to just figure it all out. <span> </span>If it takes a year, I’ve got 10 more months to go. <span> </span>Whew boy!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Anytime I try to accomplish something new, it takes a lot of help.<span> </span>Checking the internet, asking friends who have “been there, done that”, and asking random strangers. <span> </span>As an example, a few weeks ago, I went to pick up our Murano that had to have some “chanegments” done on it to meet Finnish auto standards. <span> </span>(The word “changements” was used by someone to describe the lights and other modifications we would need for import and I just loved it.)<span> </span>Let me tell you what I had to do and what kind of help I needed (and, for fun, let’s count those times!). . .</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First, I had to check the bus schedule on the website <span style="color: magenta;">(one)</span>.<span> </span>That is pretty easy as the website has a selection for English. <span> </span>Good thing, too, because we use it ALL THE TIME. <span> </span>When the website isn’t in English, we use Google Translate.<span> </span>It’s a good tool, but can only get you so far in the translation.<span> </span>You get the gist of it, but not the exact meaning.<span> </span>You also have to type everything in, so if it’s a four page letter from the television tax people, you give up and take it to work for someone to read and summarize for you!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I walked to the bus terminal and found what I thought was my bus.<span> </span>No one was there and the door was closed.<span> </span>Eventually the driver came and when I boarded, I confirmed with him<span style="color: magenta;"> (two)</span> that this was the bus headed my way.<span> </span>After taking a tram the wrong way, I learned how to figure it out on the trams.<span> </span>If the bus is leaving from a terminal, I still have no idea how you would know.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Riding the bus, I realize that they do not list the upcoming stops like the trams do. <span> </span>And, since the bus only stops if someone dings the bell to exit, or if someone flags the bus down at a stop, you can pass stops, so counting stops doesn’t work. <span> </span>Panic call to Mike <span style="color: magenta;">(three)</span>,“The bus doesn’t list the stops, how do I know when my stop is coming?” <span> </span>(Mike has taken the bus a lot more than I; it’s not that he is smarter than me!!) <span> </span>Mike’s response, “Oh yeah, it doesn’t.<span> </span>You just have to kind of watch for it.<span> </span>You can also try to track it on your GPS.”<span> </span>Great.<span> </span>He also describes what the stop looks like since he had taken the bus home from there two days prior.<span> </span>A woman overhears me and comes to my seat.<span> </span>An American <span style="color: magenta;">(four)</span>!<span> </span>She asks me where I am going, but she has no idea where this is and she’s getting off soon. <span> </span>She tells me to watch the bus stop signs on the side of the road closely and that I can also go up and ask the driver to signal me for my stop.<span> </span>Please note, reaching out unasked to offer assistance is typical American behavior and NOT typical Finnish behavior!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we are traveling along and making most of the stops, I know that I am getting close. <span> </span>At this point, the driver is making eye contact with me in his mirror (not in a weird way!) and I can tell he knows that I am not exactly sure where I am going. <span> </span>In fact, on the stop before mine, I start to gather my things and see him in the mirror shake his head to indicate it’s not my stop. <span> </span>For the next stop, he nods and I get off.<span> </span>(I’ve already counted him, so I won’t count him again. <span> </span>Bonus points, though, for extra helpful bus driver!).<span> </span>Unfortunately, Mike’s description wasn’t accurate for me. <span> </span>The bus stop going towards our apartment was about 500 yards past where I got off, so his landmarks didn’t make sense to me. <span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I start walking towards the car service station and realize that I will not be able to cross this six lane highway if I continue in the same direction. <span> </span>I turn around, go back to a stop light and cross. <span> </span>As I am walking, I then realize that literally, the sidewalk ends well before my destination. Here comes another couple <span style="color: magenta;">(I’ll count them as five)</span>.<span> </span>First, I ask them if they speak English.<span> </span>I usually try to do that thinking I am being polite. <span> </span>I just don’t want to assume everyone speaks English even through most do.<span> </span>I have no idea if people think I am an idiot for asking, but whatever. <span> </span>They speak English and tell me that the sidewalk connects to another sidewalk that I can’t see (up over a hill and around a corner) and that I will be able to get to the station.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once I am at the station, since I have been there before, I know what to do.<span> </span>I do need some assistance there, but I don’t think it’s any different than if I had been at a comparable station in the U.S.<span> </span>I get the car, input our home address into the GPS <span style="background-color: white; color: magenta;">(six)</span> and make my way home. <span> </span>Driving by myself.<span> </span>For the first time.<span> </span>During rush hour. <span> </span>I make it. <span> </span>Miss a few GPS directions, but American Jack (our preferred voice, as opposed to American Jill) recalculates. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This may not sound like it was that difficult, but I am not an adventurer by nature. <span> </span>I don’t like exploring on my own; I don’t like feeling lost. <span> </span>It all just adds an additional bit of stress to each activity. <span> </span>I use some adrenalin each time.<span> </span>It makes me tired after I complete the task.<span> </span>On the positive side, I am willing to ask anyone and everyone for help. <span> </span>I’d rather ask 6 people for help than waste 15 minutes trying to figure it out on my own.<span> </span>Next time, it will be easy to go there.<span> </span>Unfortunately, I probably won’t need to go there again.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is one of the reasons why going to places like Ikea, and restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe and McDonald’s are comforting. <span> </span>You know how to do it.<span> </span>You know what to expect. <span> </span>It’s a lot easier.<span> </span>And there are days you definitely want easier. <span></span>It may sound odd to you that those are things we do and enjoy on occasion, but when most days have an element of difficulty, you need some days with easy. As I get to know some more of the Finnish places, they start to fall into the category of “easy”, too. <span> </span>I guess it just takes 10 more months for them all to fall into that category!</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-15458312739965873682010-10-19T15:33:00.000+03:002010-10-19T15:33:42.870+03:00If You Want a Good Belgian Waffle, of course You Go to Copenhagen (???)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Currently, our goal for the rest of the year is to spend one weekend a month in a different European city. <span> </span>We hit Paris in September and for October we’re checking the box with Copenhagen. <span> </span>For being so close to Helsinki (less than an hour and a half by plane), there are so many differences. <span> </span>I think a lot of people lump Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland into one Scandinavian bucket.<span> </span>In actuality, Finland is not a Scandinavian country, while the other three are. All four are considered Baltic countries, though.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We spent the weekend with friends Paula and Tom who are living in Stockholm. <span> </span>It was fun to compare notes about what life is like in Stockholm compared to Helsinki, while also seeing what Copenhagen has to offer. <span></span>When we arrived on Friday night, the first thing Mike and I noticed at the train station was a Domino’s Pizza!<span> </span>We definitely do not have that in Helsinki.<span> </span>As we walked out the front door of the train station, we saw a 7-11.<span> </span>I felt like we had landed in Los Angeles or Phoenix, not Copenhagen, Denmark!<span> </span>We had a short walk to our hotel and passed the Hard Rock Café.<span> </span>Guess what, we don’t have that in Helsinki, either!<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our hotel was sooooo cool.<span> </span>We stayed at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radisson_Blu_Royal_Hotel,_Copenhagen">Radisson SAS Royal Hotel</a>.<span> </span>The hotel was completed in 1960 and designed by Arne Jacobsen.<span> </span>In addition to being the architect of the hotel, he actually did the interior design of the hotel: everything from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_chair">egg chair</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_%28chair%29">the swan chair</a>, down to the cutlery used in the restaurant. <span> </span>This hotel is the epitome of the Danish Modern design movement. <span> </span>I was in love with it as Danish Modern is by far my most favorite era in design. <span> </span>If I could have a house that is completely Danish Modern/mid-century modern, I would.<span> </span>If you were to buy a new replica egg chair today, it would cost between $5,000 and $10,000. <span> </span>At some point, in refurbishing the hotel in the last 50 years, the hotel got rid of all of the original chairs and brought in replicas. <span> </span>Apparently, they have two left in a suite that is still decorated exactly as Jacobsen did it. <span> </span>I can only imagine what the two chairs in the room are worth.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2GyuLVm0I/AAAAAAAAACw/1Mvx101HS_w/s1600/Egg+and+Swan+Chairs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2GyuLVm0I/AAAAAAAAACw/1Mvx101HS_w/s400/Egg+and+Swan+Chairs.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i> The swan chairs are tan and in the foreground, the egg chairs are black and in the background.</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mike and I were on our own for dinner and had already planned that we would eat at the Hard Rock Café. <span> </span>I know it sounds like such an American tourist thing to do, but when you don’t get to eat American food, you take advantage of the opportunities to get. <span> </span>You also do weird things like wander through 7-11s just to see what they have! <span> </span>Let me tell you, those were the best dang nachos ever! <span> </span>I managed to save room for about 1/3 of a hamburger and some French fries. <span> </span>Great fries, OK burger.<span> </span>Fries in Helsinki are never “done” enough, so it was awesome to have some good French fries!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2HbQgmY8I/AAAAAAAAAC0/RiS3ntIgyiM/s1600/Mike+at+the+Hard+Rock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2HbQgmY8I/AAAAAAAAAC0/RiS3ntIgyiM/s320/Mike+at+the+Hard+Rock.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>Mike enjoyed his share of the nachos, too! (Note - and who has ever heard of Jennifer Batten???)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Saturday, we planned to meet our friends after breakfast. <span> </span>We had breakfast on the 20<sup>th</sup> floor of the hotel and I was so surprised to see the coffee service that I have at home was the service they use! <span> </span>This set was a gift from my grandmother and had previously belonged to her.<span> </span>I had always admired it and a few years ago, she made it mine. <span> </span>Of course, it’s Danish Modern (I get my design appreciation from her!) and was such a landmark piece when it was designed it is now on display in the MoMA in NYC. <span> </span>I had never put two and two together that the hotel and the coffee set were designed by the same person. <span> </span>Also at breakfast, we had the best Belgian Waffle ever. <span> </span>And I mean EVER.<span> </span>I don’t know what they did to them, but they were just a plate of waffle awesomeness! <span><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2IJzIFyuI/AAAAAAAAAC4/HinjF-7Kau0/s1600/Coffee+Service.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2IJzIFyuI/AAAAAAAAAC4/HinjF-7Kau0/s320/Coffee+Service.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <i>Coffee service designed by Arne Jacobsen still used in the hotel today.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Once we met Paula and Tom, we walked through downtown to see the Parliament building as well as the Amalienborg Slot, the home of the Danish Royal family where there is also a small museum. <span></span>Slot means castle in Danish. Another difference between Denmark and Sweden compared to Finland, we have no Royal family. <span> </span>Finland has never had a monarchy, and as such, none of the traditional trappings like palaces, crown jewels, etc.<span> </span>Seeing the museum and understanding a bit more about the Danish Royal family and their lineage was interesting. <span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We had a lovely lunch along one of the canals and enjoyed catching up with each other. <span> </span>Paula and Tom are having their own adventures in Stockholm and have been living there just a few weeks less than we have been in Helsinki. <span> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2JHWuCeAI/AAAAAAAAAC8/a6bhH9KGR3M/s1600/Lunch+on+the+canal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2JHWuCeAI/AAAAAAAAAC8/a6bhH9KGR3M/s320/Lunch+on+the+canal.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>It was so nice to sit outside under the warm sunshine without a cloud in the sky.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After lunch, we decided it was time for a brewery tour. <span> </span>The Carlsberg brewing company is the fourth largest brewery group in the world with over 500 labels. <span> </span>We walked through the old brewery (only a little bit of beer is actually brewed in the facility these days) and hit the tasting room. <span> </span>My three companions got to taste several of Carlsberg’s brews, while I enjoyed Schweppes lemonade.<span> </span>Good thing I don’t like the taste of beer, anyway!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2JikhcFTI/AAAAAAAAADA/CJzTL8WBplU/s1600/Beer+Bottles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2JikhcFTI/AAAAAAAAADA/CJzTL8WBplU/s320/Beer+Bottles.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i> Carlsberg has the largest collection of beer bottles in the world, 19,556.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As it was late afternoon, the temperatures were starting to drop. <span> </span>We went on to Tivoli Gardens, which is the world’s oldest amusement park. <span> </span>Similar to other tourist attractions in the Nordics, Tivoli is not open year-round (see last post about Fiskars Village). <span> </span>They are open in the summer, again the two weeks before Halloween, and then again around Christmas.<span> </span>This period before Halloween was one of the reasons I had thought Copenhagen would be a good place to go. <span> </span>They really do it up for Halloween by bringing in 15,000 pumpkins and decorating the park for the holiday. <span> </span>Halloween is not really celebrated in Finland, so if we were going to see Halloween, this was our opportunity and the decorations in the park did not disappoint!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2KjRTasZI/AAAAAAAAADE/0HuJBsdzq0c/s1600/Halloween+Decor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2KjRTasZI/AAAAAAAAADE/0HuJBsdzq0c/s320/Halloween+Decor.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>A hay maze for the kids.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2LRGls-bI/AAAAAAAAADQ/_OQeK2XuGbs/s1600/Pumpkins+and+peacocks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2LRGls-bI/AAAAAAAAADQ/_OQeK2XuGbs/s320/Pumpkins+and+peacocks.JPG" width="320" /></a><i> </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>I didn't know the peacock was the official bird of Halloween!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2LDLVJH-I/AAAAAAAAADM/utaXvjHXFZQ/s1600/Mike+and+Tracy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2LDLVJH-I/AAAAAAAAADM/utaXvjHXFZQ/s320/Mike+and+Tracy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>I 'm wearing two maternity coats and am still cold! Good thing I have a down coat in my closet!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We enjoyed a nice Italian dinner and headed our separate ways for the night.<span> </span>By this point, it was really, really cold.<span> </span>For our short walk back to our hotel, my teeth chattered and I shivered the entire time. <span> </span>Winter is coming.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2K3_FHBhI/AAAAAAAAADI/KmetRBelVHg/s1600/Jack+O+Lantern.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2K3_FHBhI/AAAAAAAAADI/KmetRBelVHg/s320/Jack+O+Lantern.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>Jack's teeth were chattering so hard he lost the bottom row!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once we reconvened in the morning (after having the world’s best Belgian waffle again!), we compared notes on how we finished our Saturday night.<span> </span>Turns out, all four of us decided that “Grease” really is the word and had watched it on TV in our respective hotels.<span> </span>Even though it was in English, it, of course, would not have been a problem for me if it were in Danish as I can recite most of the script and all of the songs verbatim.<span> </span>Mike was thrilled.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Sunday, we visited the Danish Design Center which highlighted Danish design over the last 100 years or so.<span> </span>I think most people would be shocked by how many everyday items they would recognize that they didn’t know were actually Danish in design.<span> </span>I loved the museum and picked up a few items, including a book called “Designed for Kids,” that contains lots of things for kids utilizing cool design.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2MFG5JGCI/AAAAAAAAADU/aoVcZM_q_TM/s1600/Coffee+Service+at+DDC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2MFG5JGCI/AAAAAAAAADU/aoVcZM_q_TM/s320/Coffee+Service+at+DDC.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>On display at the DDC, more pieces from the same coffee set that were in the hotel and in my home.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After visiting the Design Center, we went on to the Rosenborg Slot, which was the castle used by the Danish Royal family in the 1600 – 1700s.<span> </span>The grounds of the castle are beautiful and I imagine in the summers are packed with people. The crown jewels of the Danish monarchy are found here.<span> </span>It was interesting to see the different rooms that were on view, as well as some of the artifacts.<span> </span>I think my favorite room was a room used by King Christian IV that was entirely made of mirrors. <span> </span>According to my Rick Steves guidebook, ol’ Chris IV was the Hugh Hefner of the era. <span> </span>He used the mirrors on the floors to look up the skirts of the women and behind one set of mirrors is what we would call today a Murphy bed and behind another set of mirrors a staircase for secret entry and exit. <span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2MkkRDDhI/AAAAAAAAADY/GgPi0sbHRuU/s1600/Rosenborg+Slot+gardens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2MkkRDDhI/AAAAAAAAADY/GgPi0sbHRuU/s320/Rosenborg+Slot+gardens.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <i>In the gardens of the Slot, I was happily surprised to see the red/orange leaves! Not many, but I take what I can get!</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After wrapping up our visit to the Slot, we again parted ways to make our way back to our respective adopted cities. <span> </span>We had such a wonderful time seeing friends from home and can’t wait to see them again! <span> </span>Mike and I took another walk through a 7-11, bought a few treats for the trip home and jealously eyed the Burger King and the KFC as we walked back to our hotel. <span> </span>Please keep in mind, Domino’s, BK, KFC and 7-11 are not part of our everyday American life, in fact, I couldn’t tell you the last time I was in either a BK, KFC, or 7-11, but something about wanting what you can’t have makes life a bit tougher some days. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2NQu60uYI/AAAAAAAAADc/FoL-m8k8Svc/s1600/BK+and+KFC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TL2NQu60uYI/AAAAAAAAADc/FoL-m8k8Svc/s320/BK+and+KFC.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Jealous!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We collected our luggage, hopped on our train to the airport, and our flight back to our “home.”<span> </span>Copenhagen was a great weekend, and if you’re looking for a good Belgian waffle, have I got the place for you!! </div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-35911148968251882262010-10-15T13:24:00.000+03:002010-10-15T13:24:03.365+03:00Seeing the Ruska (Tracy’s translation: Leaf Peeping, literal translation: Seeing the Fall Colors)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">On Sunday, Mike and I ventured out of the city to go leaf peeping and to see what we could see.<span> </span>Ever since moving to Connecticut in 2004, fall has been my favorite season because of the explosion of fall colors.<span> </span>It is one of my absolute favorite things in life.<span> </span>We hoped to be able to continue the tradition while living here.<span> </span>We had a successful trip, and are sticking with the theme of “things are different, but OK.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We drove due west a little over an hour outside of Helsinki.<span> </span>We probably passed at least 10 speed cameras on the way.<span> </span>The use of speed cameras is very popular in this area, and since tickets come with a big fine, you really do have to pay attention to your speed.<span> </span>Luckily, they do post a sign ahead of the camera, though I suspect if you are driving too fast, it may be too late by the time you see the sign.<span> </span>Our GPS also notified us when we were approaching a camera.<span> </span>Somehow, as the cameras are fixed to the roadside, Garmin knows where they are and even prompts us when we turn the GPS on to download the current speed camera locations from their website.<span> </span>Now, that’s useful technology!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgqPC51OPI/AAAAAAAAACk/LmUnJQASLNg/s1600/Mike+and+Moose+Crossing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgqPC51OPI/AAAAAAAAACk/LmUnJQASLNg/s320/Mike+and+Moose+Crossing.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>The first place I have ever seen "Moose Crossing" signs! </i></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">An additional driving related item that is quite different here than home are the drunk driving laws. <span> </span>To be considered impaired, it means you blow a .05 on a breathalyzer. <span> </span>Basically, if you have more than one drink, you’re toast.<span> </span>Well, when you think about it, how many times have you actually been pulled over and given a breathalyzer test? <span> </span>Since we have been here, we went through a check point at the airport when a taxi was dropping us off and on our way to Fiskars Village we went through a checkpoint. <span> </span>Just as you’d see at home, a couple of cops stopping each car that passes by the point. <span> </span>They greet you, hand you a tube, and tell you to blow. <span> </span>It was all in Finnish, so we assume that was what they said! <span> </span>Luckily, as it was only 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon(!!!!!) Mike passed.<span> </span>It’s pretty sad to think that there are actually people who probably don’t.<span> </span>Seriously, though, 12:30.<span> </span>On a Sunday.<span> </span>Some Finns would tell you it’s not that they are looking for people who were just drinking on Sunday morning, it’s people who are still drunk from the night before.<span> </span>I guess those people know how to party!<span> </span>It’s just something we have to be very cognizant of while we are here.<span> </span>If one of us has a drink, the other has to drive or is limited to only one drink. <span> </span>I guess since I am the one pregnant, I get to be the designated driver for 20 more weeks, but man, will Mike owe me after that!!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our destination was Fiskars Village.<span> </span>You may be familiar with Fiskars already.<span> </span>Anyone who has owned a pair of orange handled scissors has probably owned a pair of Fiskars.<span> </span>They look like this:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgoUeE0mUI/AAAAAAAAACU/TDAMly9RrVo/s1600/scissors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgoUeE0mUI/AAAAAAAAACU/TDAMly9RrVo/s1600/scissors.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>Fiskars Scissors - I can't remember a time when my Mom didn't own a pair of these!</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Fiskars makes a lot of other products, and actually owns a number of other companies, as well.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The village we visited was home of their original ironworks and is now a popular tourist attraction.<span> </span>Some of the old buildings are set up as small museums to show how things were originally done, and some of the buildings are set up as craft shops.<span> </span>There are also several restaurants.<span> </span>Unfortunately, most of the museum buildings and shops are only open on a seasonal basis, so we were only able to see a few shops.<span> </span>Everything is open June through September, and then again towards the end of November and December for holiday shopping.<span> </span>We enjoyed browsing in the few shops that were open and we had a very nice lunch in the restaurant that was open.<span> </span>We knew before we left home that most things would be closed, but still thought it would make for a nice afternoon, and it was.<span> </span><span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgpUsi3ZnI/AAAAAAAAACY/f-dmKj9Dc38/s1600/Mike+and+Tracy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgpUsi3ZnI/AAAAAAAAACY/f-dmKj9Dc38/s320/Mike+and+Tracy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <i>Outside the restaurant at Fiskars Village.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The leaves here are definitely changing, but there aren’t nearly as many deciduous trees.<span> </span>Many more evergreens and pines than leaf droppers.<span> </span>Another big difference between Finland and Connecticut are the actual colors.<span> </span>I did some research on this, so please bear with me!<span> </span>In Europe, most of the leaves change to shades of yellow, while in North America, you get some yellow, but with a lot more red and orange mixed in.<span> </span>Apparently, this is due to an evolutionary process that started 35 million years ago.<span> </span>The red leaves ward off insects, which was needed in North America due to how the mountain ranges are situated (north and south, like the Rockies) and because the mountains in Europe (primarily the Alps) are on an east west axis, insects migrated in a different pattern and trees that couldn’t survive died and are no longer part of the various tree species.<span> </span>Sorry for getting all science-y on you, this is the most science I have done in ages.<span> </span>For more, and much better explained, info, <a href="http://www.sciscoop.com/fall-colors-and-autumn-leaves.html">click here</a> to the short article I read.<span> </span>To net it all out – red and orange leaves are really, really pretty and I really, really miss them.<span> </span>We saw some, but very few.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgpnR-kktI/AAAAAAAAACc/HPPn7Grb-b8/s1600/Lots+of+Yellows.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgpnR-kktI/AAAAAAAAACc/HPPn7Grb-b8/s320/Lots+of+Yellows.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <i>Lots of yellow leaves.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After Fiskars Village, we drove a few more kilometers to a town on the sea (that’s what everyone here calls the water that is along the coast, technically, it’s the Baltic Sea, so I guess that makes sense! <span> </span>I’m just used to calling it “the ocean”!).<span> </span>In Raasepori, the sun was out and it was a beautiful afternoon. <span> </span>Nothing was open, which I think is a combination of two things – it’s a little seaside town that is quite a popular destination in summer, the rest of the year not so much, and it was a Sunday. <span> </span>Outside of Helsinki, and maybe the other bigger cities, most places do not open on Sundays. <span> </span>In fact, that just changed in Helsinki in the last few months. <span> </span>The laws are similar to the “blue laws” you see on the east coast of the US and govern when places are open and when certain things (like booze) can be sold. <span> </span>We’ll definitely have to go back to Raasepori next summer and check it out. <span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgp4T2lyKI/AAAAAAAAACg/BVSQPfmF-ac/s1600/Raasepori.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TLgp4T2lyKI/AAAAAAAAACg/BVSQPfmF-ac/s320/Raasepori.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <i>Raasepori on a beautiful fall afternoon. Notice the leaves in the background, lots of yellows.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After that, we headed home and had a pretty drive. <span> </span>The sun was out most of the way and as we headed into Helsinki, it started to rain, but still sunny in places, though.<span> </span>That meant rainbows.<span> </span>2 of them.<span> </span>A double rainbow.<span> </span>I have seen more rainbows here in the last 6 weeks than I probably have in the last 6 years.<span> </span>Kind of cool.</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-65756466249558528322010-10-11T18:37:00.000+03:002010-10-11T18:37:32.141+03:00We're having a baby . . .And that's all we know. We hoped to find out the Sprout's gender today, but apparently, the Sprout didn't feel like sharing. No sign of any boy parts, but our doctor said this is not a reason to go out and buy pink things or tell everyone we're having a girl, it just means she didn't see any parts. We'll try again in a month.<br />
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Today was my first appointment with my neouvola. You may recall from my prior post about my first doctor appointment that a neovula is a nurse midwife and provides a majority of the pre-natal care in the public health setting. My appointment lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes while we reviewed all of my previous medical records and she took my vitals. <br />
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I spoke to my neovula last week to make the appointment. Neovulas do their own scheduling and you can only call them between 12:00 and 1:00. If you miss the 12:00 - 1:00 window, call back tomorrow. If the phone is busy when you call, hang up and call back. We spoke for a few minutes and her English is pretty good. I was most impressed that today she had printed a lot of materials specifically for me in English. The materials were related to the foods I should not eat, a hospital tour we can take in English, and other pregnancy related info. I think it says a lot that she took the time to do all of that.<br />
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<div style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">WARNING!!</span></div><i>The next part of this post contains some info that anyone who has ever been pregnant can relate to. For everyone else, it may be more info than you want to know, in general, or about me! Proceed with caution! </i><br />
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The part that I find the most odd, and a bit disconcerting is that for each visit, I will be responsible for doing the following and then giving her the results at the beginning of the appointment. 1) Weighing myself -- OK, I can handle that, it's in kilograms, but I can read numbers! 2) Taking my own blood pressure -- OK, I guess I can use that arm machine, too, but still not as comfortable with that as I am with a scale. And considering today when she did it, the first time she got an error message, this does not increase my confidence level! 3) Taking, and more importantly reading, my own urine test -- Put the little stick in the cup and if the boxes are this color, then it's normal, if they are that color, or that color, or that other color, then it isn't. If the test results aren't normal, put your name on the little cup and leave it sit there (with the other little cups that don't have lids - ewww!!) and go get her. <br />
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I do all of the above in the bathroom at the center and write it on a sticky note. Really, a sticky note? I would think at least there would be a form, but nope, a sticky note. Today she had me do the urine test, but told me don't worry about the results because she was going to lunch and since she is sending me to the hospital tomorrow for a bigger set of lab work, we'd just wait to see what those said. Of course, the little box wasn't the color it was supposed to be. Sigh. Guess I'll wait til tomorrow to take the test again. The test I am having to take tomorrow - syphilis. Again, really, syphilis? They test every pregnant woman in Finland for Hep B, HIV (pronounced "hive" as in bee "hive") and syphilis. In the US, I think Hep B and HIV are standard and of course, my results for those were negative. But, since I haven't been tested for "the syph", I have to go get tested for it, and since I am there, let's test for the other two again while we are at it! <br />
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And then the urine test . . . I was sent home with a specimen cup, a small plastic syringe, two vials and paper instructions. You have heard of do it yourself pregnancy test, this is do it yourself urine test. And instruction number one, you have to wait between 4 - 6 hours since you last urinated. A pregnant lady waiting 4 - 6 hours? Are you kidding me??!! That is a challenge in and of itself. <br />
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So, tomorrow will prove to be another exciting day. Drive Mike to the office, drive home (second time solo driving), take test (do not screw up test as I have only one test kit), get self and urine specimens to hospital where the lab is (do you drive with urine specimens and hope to not spill? Do you take urine specimens on the bus? -- ewww!!!), and get self to work (drive). And oh yeah, it's supposed to rain.<br />
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Welcome to healthcare in the public system, and the not so glamorous side of pregnancy! <br />
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-11561524357000461542010-10-08T22:41:00.000+03:002010-10-08T22:41:51.218+03:00Elixia - Our New Gym<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Mike and I have joined the gym.<span> </span>For the last 3 years or so, we have been very good about going to the gym and working out with our personal trainers, Ray and George at <a href="http://www.thetrainingfloor.org/">The Training Floor</a> (hi, guys!).<span> </span>We both think we are in the best shape of our lives, or for Mike, at least on par when he was playing football in high school and college.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We have really missed being in the habit for the last few months and decided to get back at it.<span> </span>We got a few referrals from other folk we have met here and I went out and did some recon.<span> </span>Gyms here are pretty similar to home, but usually a lot smaller.<span> </span>There are a couple of chains and a lot more smaller, independent gyms. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A new gym opened by our apartment in April, and we had both heard about it independently, so we decided to check it out.<span> </span>It is called <a href="http://www.elixia.fi/">Elixia</a> and it is the closest thing we found to our big gym in Stamford.<span> </span>It has two levels of space, a variety of classes, and lots of cardio machines.<span> </span>The best thing is, it’s practically empty.<span> </span>How I looooove having my own gym!<span> </span>We went on both Saturday and Sunday and at what we thought were pretty peak times and there were maybe 2 or 3 other people using the cardio equipment at the same time as us.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are five TVs that you can watch while you work out.<span> </span>One of the best things in Finland is the amount of American TV we get.<span> </span>I was able to watch 3 episodes of “Friends” back-to-back on Sunday while I worked out.<span> </span>I am sure I saw these episodes back in the ‘90s when they aired at home, but it has been so long they were practically new to me!<span> </span>Mike got a kick out of how much I was laughing out loud watching them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We have our first personal training sessions this Thursday.<span> </span>They train only during the week, so we do miss being able to do that on Saturday mornings.<span> </span>I think it will make it difficult to get two sessions in a week by just doing it in the evening.<span> </span>We’ll see how that goes.<span> </span>There are also a lot of different classes you can take, everything from spinning to Zumba.<span> </span>And the Finns looooove their Zumba!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’re glad to have found Elixia and hope we can make it as much part of our routine as Planet Fitness and The Training Floor were in Stamford.</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-62906854421748297242010-10-06T20:33:00.000+03:002010-10-06T20:33:48.273+03:00A Big Day at IBM Finland<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">As some of you may have noticed, I have not mentioned much about working at IBM Finland.<span> </span>Though I do mention in my sidebar that I will share my experiences working in Finland, I want to be careful about talking too much about my employer.<span> </span>IBM does encourages social networking and lots of colleagues have blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts, but working in HR, I think it is better if I only share general, topical thoughts.<span> </span>And of course, none of those general thoughts necessarily reflect those of my employer!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Monday was a big day at IBM Finland, though, so I have to share!<span> </span>At least it was for me.<span> </span>As I went to the cafeteria for lunch with a few of my colleagues (that’s what all people in Finland who work together call each other – they are “colleagues”, not “co-workers”, not “associates”, nothing else – they all refer to each other as “colleagues.”<span> </span>From Nokia, to IBM, to the grocery store, to the restaurants.<span> </span>They are all “colleagues,” but I digress . . .)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we were walking to the cafeteria, one colleague asked me if I had noticed the American flag outside.<span> </span>Granted, I walked right by it in the morning and didn’t notice, but sure enough, on the four flag poles where there are usually four Finnish flags, there were three Finnish flags and one American flag.<span> </span>What a sight for sore eyes!<span> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKyvh4V_4mI/AAAAAAAAACM/VOP2GTiB2cY/s1600/Flag.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKywJzmJyCI/AAAAAAAAACQ/MHRqalfOR0Y/s1600/Flag+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKywJzmJyCI/AAAAAAAAACQ/MHRqalfOR0Y/s320/Flag+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span><i>Outside the IBM Finland office</i> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKyvh4V_4mI/AAAAAAAAACM/VOP2GTiB2cY/s1600/Flag.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">The American Ambassador to Finland was visiting IBM and in his honor, they were flying the flag.<span> </span>Our Ambassador here is a bit of a local celebrity.<span> </span>His name is Bruce Oreck, and he is of the Oreck Vacuum family.<span> </span>He has been here since August of last year and has made quite the name for himself.<span> </span>The Finns really seem to enjoy him.<span> </span>I think part of it is he doesn’t seem to come across as a typical ambassador.<span> </span>At least, when I picture an Ambassador, I don’t picture someone who looks like this: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKyu1FBgKjI/AAAAAAAAACI/t9Kv_XoNg4o/s1600/Ambassador+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKyu1FBgKjI/AAAAAAAAACI/t9Kv_XoNg4o/s320/Ambassador+2.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Ambassador is the one holding the bees (with the gold hoop earring)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Photo courtesy of the US State Department</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal">I think he looks like Mr. Clean, so quite appropriate that he is from a vacuum business family!<span> </span>He apparently has varied interests including a vast knowledge of minerals, he’s a body builder, and he’s into beekeeping.<span> </span>Apparently, he has one of the largest private mineral collections in the U.S.<span> </span>He has also introduced beekeeping to the Embassy here and they make honey and candles.<span> </span>I am lucky enough to be going to an event at the Embassy in a few weeks, so I will report back if I see any evidence of the minerals, or the bees!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I am known to do if there is a potential celebrity sighting on the horizon, I will loiter.<span> </span>So, loiter in the IBM lobby I did.<span> </span>I didn’t have to wait long before I saw Ambassador Oreck.<span> </span>He was with IBM Finland’s head executive, so not really appropriate for me to go and introduce myself, but I did follow them for a short walk to the auditorium ;-)<span> </span>Not sure when my next celebrity sighting will be, so I had to take advantage.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In looking for a photo of the Ambassador, I came across his blog.<span> </span>If you are interested in reading about what he does while in Finland, you can <a href="http://www.usembassy.fi/ambassadorsjournal/">read more about it here</a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</style> <![endif]-->. I found it to be quite interesting and informative.<span> </span>He’s definitely leading a more exciting life in Finland than we are, but I did find some Finland travel destination ideas!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">More to come about the Ambassador and the Embassy in a few weeks . . .<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-34973670042549469962010-10-04T13:17:00.000+03:002010-10-04T13:17:13.096+03:00Trip to Paris<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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One of the best things about living in Europe is the ability to travel and see Europe!<span> </span>(funny how things work that way).<span> </span>Mike had a business meeting two Fridays ago in Paris, and since it was my last week of “leisure” before retuning to work, we decided to make a weekend of it.<span> </span>I am lucky enough to have been to Paris several times before and it is absolutely my favorite city in the world.<span> </span> <div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After getting news that 50% of the flights to Paris were being canceled because of striking air traffic controllers, we made it on Thursday evening as planned.<span> </span>Mike had a business dinner, so I was on my own.<span> </span>We were staying at a hotel pretty far out, and as the taxi drivers were also striking, I ended up eating in an Italian restaurant very near the hotel.<span> </span>It was about the worst Italian food I have had.<span> </span>Oh well.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our hotel that night was called the Evergreen Laurel.<span> </span>The reviews on Trip Advisor were pretty dismal and I wasn’t impressed.<span> </span>Interesting enough though, it reminded me of home.<span> </span>And when I say “home”, I mean Casa Grande, Arizona.<span> </span>The hotel is owned by the Evergreen Group in Taiwan.<span> </span>Apparently, they are quite the conglomerate and have a number of varied businesses, including hotels, airlines (EVA Air, as well as a cargo line), shipping, etc.<span> </span>They also have an airfield in Marana, AZ between Casa Grande and Tucson.<span> </span>I have been to that airfield a couple of times and I had no idea the company did so many other things.<span> </span>The hotel catered to Asian clients and I think the funniest thing was the guy at the front desk was named Brian and he was from Boston.<span> </span>He told me he was hired because his English was so good and it was easier for him to communicate with the Asian clients than the Parisians who spoke English.<span> </span>Either way, I was glad he was there because it was easier for me to communicate with him, too!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Friday, while Mike was in meetings, I had a day on my own in Paris.<span> </span>I spent some time in both the morning and the afternoon sitting in the Jardin des Tuileries.<span> </span>The sun repeatedly stuck its head out and it was so nice to see.<span> </span>For the majority of my time in Helsinki, it has been pretty cloudy, rainy and dreary.<span> </span>I had lunch at one of my favorite places that are actually in the US, too, <a href="http://www.lepainquotidien.com/">Le Pain Quotidien</a>.<span> </span>There is something to be said for going into a restaurant and knowing the menu and getting what you want/expect.<span> </span>I do miss that.<span> </span>I then went to the Musee de l’orangerie.<span> </span>This museum has a number of Claude Monet Water Lily paintings.<span> </span>A few things I learned about the Water Lilies – it’s a series of more than 250 paintings and many of them are quite large.<span> </span>I saw four that were 36 feet in length.<span> </span>I guess when I have seen them before, they were either the smaller versions, or I just do not have a good memory of what I have seen in the past.<span> </span>Either way, I was very struck by the size and don’t think I’ll forget now!<span> </span><span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span><span> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKmOzUmxf-I/AAAAAAAAABc/tasiAxUS25k/s1600/Water+Lily+-+Sunset.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKmOzUmxf-I/AAAAAAAAABc/tasiAxUS25k/s320/Water+Lily+-+Sunset.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span> <i>Claude Monet - Water Lily (Sunset)</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal">After my day on my own, I met Mike at our new hotel.<span> </span>Side note – we booked a hotel for the first time through Hotwire.<span> </span>Hotwire is one of those sites where you pay for the hotel room before you know the name of the hotel.<span> </span>I was a bit leery, as I am pretty particular about hotels, but went for it anyway because everything I was looking at was so expensive.<span> </span>We got a smoking deal for the Westin Vendome right by the Louvre.<span> </span>I will definitely use Hotwire again!<span> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We rode the Bateaux Mouches up and down the Seine at sunset and then walked to one of my favorite restaurants, <a href="http://www.relaisdevenise.com/index.htm">Relais l’Entrecote</a>, for dinner.<span> </span>There is no menu at l’ Entrecote.<span> </span>Everyone has a salad with a mustard vinaigrette, steak and French fries.<span> </span>You can pick your dessert.<span> </span>It is sooooo good.<span> </span>And for those of you in the tri-state area, one opened in NYC last year and I highly suggest you try it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKmm2c4AKUI/AAAAAAAAAB4/zmTxcl-qGLY/s1600/Eiffel+Tower+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKmm2c4AKUI/AAAAAAAAAB4/zmTxcl-qGLY/s320/Eiffel+Tower+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>View from the Bateaux Mouches (with slight technical difficulties!)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On Saturday, we had Starbucks for breakfast.<span> </span>Though Finns drink more coffee per capita than anyone in the world, they don’t have Starbucks.<span> </span>And for that matter, it’s very hard to even find decaffeinated coffee.<span> </span>Kinda makes it difficult for a pregnant girl to get a cup of joe.<span> </span>When I was in Paris in the summer of 2004, there were four Starbucks in the entire city.<span> </span>Today there are 46!<span> </span>I think the Parisians could do with 45 and the Helsinkians could have one!<span> </span>After breakfast, we went to the Musee d’ Orsay.<span> </span>This museum is known for its collection of Impressionist paintings and is in an old restored train station.<span> </span>The building is absolutely gorgeous, just incredible.<span> </span>Unfortunately, it is currently being renovated and many of the works of art are in make shift locations.<span> </span>Additionally, 54 Monet works are at a special exhibit at the Palais Royal, so we did not get to see them.<span> </span>We took an English language tour of the museum and had a wonderfully knowledgeable guide from the museum whom we quite enjoyed.<span> </span>We had a nice lunch at the museum and added it to our list of museum restaurants where we have had a good meal.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mike had planned our Saturday evening well in advance and as surprise for me. <span> </span>We had tickets to the Moulin Rouge!<span> </span>A car picked us up at the hotel and took us to the theater.<span> </span>We had dinner before the show and sat at a table with several other couples.<span> </span>We enjoyed talking to an older couple from New Zealand and a young couple from Leeds, UK.<span> </span>The show was so much fun to watch.<span> </span>Moulin Rouge is home of the cabaret and it was so neat to see it where it originated.<span> </span>The dancers were fabulous and the acts in between the show numbers were also quite good.<span> </span>We really enjoyed a ventriloquist who did some audience participation and a girl who swam in a pool with snakes, big snakes!<span> </span>It was quite an evening and we had so much fun!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKmRfYlMXlI/AAAAAAAAABo/a9Maw5Z57kk/s1600/Moulin+Rouge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TKmRfYlMXlI/AAAAAAAAABo/a9Maw5Z57kk/s320/Moulin+Rouge.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <i>The Moulin Rouge (with more technical difficulties!)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">On Sunday, we had breakfast at a little café near the hotel before heading out to an art fair.<span> </span>It wasn’t quite what I expected based on what I had read in the guide book, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.<span> </span>As we were walking back to the hotel, we decided we would have lunch at l’ Entrecote.<span> </span>We knew it was a bit silly to go to the same place twice in one weekend, but we decided it was worth it.<span> </span>We haven’t found restaurants in Helsinki yet that we love, so we decided we should take advantage of being in a place with one that we do.<span> </span>Lunch was as good as dinner two days before.<span> </span>As we left the restaurant, it started to sprinkle, then rain, and we walked quickly back to the hotel.<span> </span>We were lucky to be able to walk through parts of the grounds of the Louvre that are covered, and then get on streets that under colonnades and we stayed pretty dry.<span> </span>We collected our bags and hopped in a taxi to the airport.<span> </span>What a wonderful weekend!</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-21134526284689138322010-09-22T18:55:00.000+03:002010-09-22T18:55:00.580+03:00First Doctor's AppointmentToday was my first pre-natal doctor appointment in Helsinki. I think the best way to sum it up is "it will be different, but it will be OK." We are lucky enough to be able to use a private medical system while we are here. The public system is very good, but with the private option, you get the choice of scheduling with a doctor instead of a nurse or midwife, more doctor choices (you don't just go to the assigned clinic in your neighborhood), and shorter wait times for appointments. There will be aspects of my care that are through the public system, including some of my pre-natal care, all of my labor and delivery, and some post-natal care.<br />
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The doctor was referred to me by an American friend who has seen her once. That was good enough for me. I know lots of us have picked a doctor out of a book from our insurance company or from a website, so it is always nice when you can get some type of referral. The doctor thought it was very kind that my friend had made the referral. Mike and I met with the doctor for 40 minutes for our 20 minute appointment (I never said that the private option meant longer appointment times!). I was very thankful she took the extra time with us. It really helped allay some of my fears and concerns. <br />
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Almost the entire appointment was spent as a discussion. She reviewed my records, told us about what care we can expect from her and from <a href="http://en.mehilainen.fi/content/booking">Mehilainen</a>, the health care group she belongs to, and what our expectations should be regarding the care we will receive from the public system. She also checked my vital signs and did some blood work. All standard things and so far, so good. <br />
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We will see her throughout my pregnancy, but she also encouraged me to go to my local maternity clinic in my neighborhood. At those clinics, nurse midwives handle most of the routine pre-natal care. This person is called a neuvola. If there are any issues or concerns, there is always a doctor on staff that will be brought in to consult/treat. Nurse midwives here are required to be educated and trained as RNs (or the Finnish equivalent), and then take additional schooling to become a neuvola. The clinics also offer education to the soon-to-be parents about pregnancy and birth and then after the baby is born, they will also come to your home and do checks on the mom and the baby. When was the last time you heard of a doctor in the US coming to your house?!<br />
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When we go to the hospital to deliver the baby, we will be assigned a neuvola when we check in. This will be someone we have never met before. That is the part I find the most disconcerting. Another American friend I have made here had a baby on Saturday. This is her second child, so she was able to compare this experience to giving birth in the US. For the most part, she thought her experience in Finland exceeded her US experience. The thing I find most interesting is your neuvola stays with you throughout almost the entire time you are in delivery. At the beginning when you aren't in active labor, she will come and go a bit, but as soon as things start to intensify, she stays in the room the entire time. She actually has a desk set up in there where she also does her office/paperwork. Once you start to deliver the baby, she is the one who does the delivery. She does have an assistant come in for that portion, and an anethesiologist comes in if you have an epidural, but no one else if you are having a complication-free birth. Of course, if there are complications, there are two or three doctors there that will become active with the delivery.<br />
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That brings me back to my overall assessment. "It will be different, but it will be OK." We're not doing this in a field in some third world country. We're doing it in the number one country in the world (according to <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/16/why-cold-depressive-countries-end-up-the-best.html">Newsweek</a>), the country with one of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate">lowest infant mortality rates</a> in the world (and well ahead of the US), and one of the <a href="http://www.childinfo.org/maternal_mortality_countrydata.php">lowest maternal mortality rates</a> in the world (again, well ahead of the US). It will be different, but it will be OK . . . <br />
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Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-6297806924986550382010-09-21T11:17:00.000+03:002010-09-21T11:17:43.504+03:00Last night's journeyMike and I took a walk last night to an area of town called Ruoholahti. It's a new area that has a lot of big corporate offices, new apartment buildings, and a few shops and restaurants. Mike said parts of it remind him of Bethleham, Pennsylvania, because they have taken old factories and redeveloped them into a new, hip, current area. It's about 2 kilometers from our an apartment, so easily walkable.<br />
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You may recall a few posts back that I said the Finns love all things American. Within two minutes of stepping outside our front door, we saw both of these cars. The first is a Chevy Impala, and it needs a bit of work, but overall, it's in pretty good shape.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJhlVgnEQfI/AAAAAAAAABE/cRhPq2fEVfk/s1600/Chevy+ImpalaJPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJhlVgnEQfI/AAAAAAAAABE/cRhPq2fEVfk/s320/Chevy+ImpalaJPG.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The second is a mid-60s Volkswagen Bug. Now, I know that's a German car, but think of how often you see Bugs of that vintage in the US. I suspect this one actually came from the US and not Germany. The reason I have surmised that is because when we picked up our car a week and a half ago, the shipper told me that they actually import more old cars from America than current ones (there were a bunch of old cars waiting in the parking lot to be picked up). Finns love to get cars from the US and restore them. The most popular? 1967 Ford Mustang. I haven't seen one, yet, but I am keeping my eyes open. Maybe you see more of them in the summer when the weather is better.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJhmvGc-PaI/AAAAAAAAABM/gCjaONtYzx4/s1600/VW+Bug.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJhmvGc-PaI/AAAAAAAAABM/gCjaONtYzx4/s320/VW+Bug.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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Our first stop on our walk was at an electronics store called Verkkokauppa. I HATE this store. The store is set up unlike any store I've ever seen. Almost the entire store is set up by brand, instead of by product. So, you want to buy a washing machine? You have to go to the Samsung area and look at their washing machines, then you have to go to the LG area and look at their washing machines, etc. Coffee pots? They were in about six different places. The Finns have a reputation for being horrible at customer service, which has not been our experience, at all. Except this store. It is not designed for the customer, yet there were lots of people shopping. Mike suspects that each of the product manufacturers actually lease space from the store and that is why it is designed this way. Of course, Nokia has a large section, so I told Mike he needs to find the person at Nokia who manages the relationship to find out WHY! I also said we will not buy anything there unless the product is not available anywhere else in the country in an effort to not encourage the business model!! My first Finland boycott, joining the list of In 'n Out, Wal-Mart, etc. I guess I feel like I am at home :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJhoaQRdwsI/AAAAAAAAABU/Jd_ZKLVhNPA/s1600/Verkkokauppa+Electronics+Store.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJhoaQRdwsI/AAAAAAAAABU/Jd_ZKLVhNPA/s320/Verkkokauppa+Electronics+Store.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Avoid this store!</i></div><br />
We also visited the hardware store in the same mall. Smaller than a Home Depot, but bigger than an Ace. We found a store very similar to Home Depot in Espoo, so we're in good shape if we need to build anything! Our final stop was at a gym called Elixia. We signed up and bought some personal training sessions. We're really looking forward to getting back into the routine of going to a gym and training. The gym is brand new and much nicer than the Planet Fitness gym we belonged to at home (and the price tag shows it). I am sure the personal training won't be as fun as with Ray and George at the <a href="http://www.thetrainingfloor.org/">The Training Floor</a>, but we'll have a go at it. Time to pump some iron! <br />
Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-67294105299302714482010-09-15T19:45:00.000+03:002010-09-15T19:45:00.785+03:00A Tour of HelsinkiWhen Mike and I were here 3 years ago, we took a bus tour of the city. Yesterday, I was able to join some parents and friends of the International School of Helsinki (ISH) and do the same tour again. It was a good refresher. Though a European capital with close to a million people in the metropolitan area, Helsinki is one of those cities that you can feel like you can see in just a few days. <br />
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The highlights of the tour are the Rock Church (<span lang="fi">Temppeliaukion Kirkko) </span>and the monument to the composer Jean Sibelius. The Rock Church is amazing. The site for the church was selected many years ago and instead of quarrying the rock out of the hill and then building the church, the church was built into the rock. Many of the inside walls are the actual rock and the roof is made of copper. The acoustics are supposed to be excellent and there are often concerts performed there. I picked up the schedule and hope we'll be able to go to a performance this fall. Read more here about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temppeliaukio_Church">Rock Church</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJDz7QSLclI/AAAAAAAAAAs/hCQ8amaj_js/s1600/Rock+Church+Outside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJDz7QSLclI/AAAAAAAAAAs/hCQ8amaj_js/s320/Rock+Church+Outside.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD0P0MHa6I/AAAAAAAAAA0/kTi5E3L3KNg/s1600/Rock+Church+Inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD0P0MHa6I/AAAAAAAAAA0/kTi5E3L3KNg/s1600/Rock+Church+Inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD0P0MHa6I/AAAAAAAAAA0/kTi5E3L3KNg/s1600/Rock+Church+Inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Outside the Rock Church on a very dreary day</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD0P0MHa6I/AAAAAAAAAA0/kTi5E3L3KNg/s1600/Rock+Church+Inside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD0P0MHa6I/AAAAAAAAAA0/kTi5E3L3KNg/s320/Rock+Church+Inside.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Inside the Rock Church</i></div><br />
The other stop on the tour is a monument to composer Jean Sibelius (read more about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius">Sibelius</a>). He is Finland's most famous composer and his most famous composition is called <b><i>Finlandia</i></b>. He is definitely one of Finland's favored sons. The monument consists of hundreds of steel pipes welded together. According to the info on the tour, the monument is designed to recall the trees in the forest. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibelius_monument">Wikipedia</a>, the monument's design is to capture the essence of Sibelius' music. Also, an interesting fact from Wikipedia is that a very similar work by the same artist is at the UN headquarters in NYC. One of my tri-state area readers will need to go and check it out!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD1Xyg7DKI/AAAAAAAAAA8/0_AV7qa5I3s/s1600/Sibelius+Monument.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TJD1Xyg7DKI/AAAAAAAAAA8/0_AV7qa5I3s/s320/Sibelius+Monument.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Monument to Jean Sibelius</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">After the tour, my new friend Jaime and her son Brayden and I had lunch at Cafe Strindberg on the Esplanadi. Cafe Strindberg is another Helsinki institution, but unfortunately, they are in a building attached to a mall and with the mall's renovations that start in a few weeks, the Cafe will close. Apparently, this summer, there were many protests and even several country politicans got involved to save the Cafe. Time marches on though, and the Cafe is due to close at the beginning of October. I am glad I have had a few opportunities to enjoy it.</div>Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-2543035019762833502010-09-12T20:04:00.000+03:002010-09-12T20:04:09.344+03:00Some things are the same, some are notThis weekend was all about driving, shopping (see previous post, we "Said Yes to Boston!"), and unpacking. Yesterday was my first turn at the wheel since we got the Murano just over a week ago. Mike has been driving to work each day, but I hadn't yet ventured out. Yesterday was the day. We had to start with getting a fill up of gas. Luckily, we live across the street from a gas station. We rolled in and filled it up (the gas light was on, so we knew we'd need a FULL tank). To fill up the Murano (about 18 gallons) we spent 97.49 Euros, which is $123.58 cents. Are you kidding me??? I could fill up almost 3 times in Stamford for that amount of money! Mike suggested today that maybe we go for a drive next weekend. No way, we can't afford it!<br />
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Our outing took us to Espoo, a Helsinki suburb and Ikea. Ikea is pronounced differently than in the US. The Finns say it like this: Ick-yuh. Other than that, exactly the same as home. Forced path through the store, almost the same food in the cafeteria, and you still can't pronounce the product names! It's comforting going somewhere that is just the same. Sticking to that theme, because the line was so long in the cafeteria, we decided to have lunch at the McDonald's across the street. Mike likes to try McDonald's in different countries just to see how much the same/different they are. The menu here was pretty much the same, but the number of flies was far greater. This was not the cleanest McDonald's I have ever been to, to say the least, and I won't be returning. Ronald would not have been proud. We then went to the local electronics store called Giganti. It's like a Best Buy on a much smaller scale. This was our second trip in a week and we picked up a few necessities. Like when we are at home, we can always find something to buy in an electronics store.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TI0GsWAmLEI/AAAAAAAAAAk/H5oA-5mSFVQ/s1600/Ikea+Espoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TI0GsWAmLEI/AAAAAAAAAAk/H5oA-5mSFVQ/s320/Ikea+Espoo.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Ikea in Espoo, Finland. It was a very rainy day.</i> </div><br />
We finished up Saturday evening watching the History channel and some of the documentaries about 9/11. I bet this is similar to the way some of you also spent time on Saturday. Hard to believe it has been 9 years.<br />
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Today, we got most of our unpacking complete. Our living room and dining room look very similar to how they did in Stamford. We have our many of our favorite things and it really feels like home in those rooms. In addition, we have 3 very small bedrooms with very small closets and they aren't completely unpacked, yet. <br />
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A little info about our apartment set-up (pictures to come soon). One bedroom will be used as a sitting room and Mike will have full use of that closet. We have an American TV and DVD player in there (more about that in a future post) and the couch folds out into a bed (visitors welcome!). The second bedroom, though the smallest, is our master bedroom. We have a queen size bed with two nightstands. I purchased this bed set for my Stamford condo and we used it in our guest room at home. The room is so small, the matching dresser does not fit and is being used as a TV stand in the sitting room. We are not talking large furniture here, people. I have full use of this closet (please note, it is smaller than Mike's!). The third bedroom is going to be an office/baby room. Right now, we have a desk, chair, and cabinet. We're going to need to add the baby gear and not sure how we're going to do it. We have some time to figure it out . . . I see some Marimekko fabric in here and am really looking forward to decorating it! <br />
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Unpacking the office and all of our clothes is an overwhelming task, at this point. We both brought too many clothes. We even donated lots to Goodwill before leaving, but we still have too much stuff. Luckily, we have a storage area in the basement of the building and can put lots of things in there. In a bit of irony, we don't have anywhere near the closet space we need for clothes, but I have empty kitchen cabinets with everything in there already unpacked. Don't be surprised if you come for a visit, go looking for a plate or glass, and find a sweater!<br />
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We finished the day with our shopping trip at Stockmann taking advantage of all the "Say Yes to Boston" goodies. It was fun to stock up, and I know we'll definitely be glad to have some of those treats during winter. We'll have to work on a ration plan! Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-47261921004318861342010-09-10T17:48:00.001+03:002010-09-10T22:08:15.355+03:00Say Yes to Boston!The largest department store in the Nordic countries is called Stockmann, and it is located in downtown Helsinki. It is a quick four tram stops from our apartment and we can also easily walk there. On the 1st floor of this nine story department store, there is a really nice grocery section, almost a gourmet market, but a lot bigger (think AJ's, Bristol Farms, or Bertucci's). Each month, Stockmann has a different theme for their products on sale and this month's theme is "Say Yes to Boston." The ads feature a young woman wearing a graduation cap, and since we can't read the ad we got in the mail, we're guessing it's some type of back to school theme.<br />
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The best part of the theme is that they are featuring tons of American products in the grocery section. Finding American products here is pretty difficult (as one would imagine, since we are not in America!). All of the big grocery stores have an American shelf or end-cap where you can find a few things that the Finns think the Americans need or want. You can always find Aunt Jemima pancake mix, Betty Crocker cake mix and icing, Marshmallow Fluff (who knows why!), and Reese's Peanut Butter cups. And then depending upon the size of the store, there will be some other stuff thrown in. All of these products cost anywhere between two and three times what you would pay for them at home, so to justify the cost, you really, really have to want them.<br />
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"Say Yes to Boston" has a HUGE selection. Wishbone salad dressing - yep! (salad dressing here leaves a lot to be desired.) Chips Ahoy and Oreas - yep! Food Should Taste Good Multi-Grain chips - yep! Kraft Mac & Cheese - yep! I met several American women this week and "Say Yes to Boston" was a hot topic of conversation. Needless to say, Mike and I will be doing some grocery shopping this week. I have never been so happy to go to Boston!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TIpEGFEcS1I/AAAAAAAAAAc/IFdR5Tke3sI/s1600/Say+Yes+to+Boston+Chips.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TIpEGFEcS1I/AAAAAAAAAAc/IFdR5Tke3sI/s320/Say+Yes+to+Boston+Chips.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Food Should Taste Good Multi-Grain Chips</i> </div><br />
The chips are Euro 4.20, which is $5.34. Well worth it :) <br />
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If you'd like to read more about Stockmann and their take on "North American Cuisine" and Boston, you can read more <a href="http://www.stockmann.fi/portal/en/delicatessen/simply_delicious/say_yes_to_boston_food_/">here</a>. The text should appear in English.Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377812465469257096.post-54935780122399398412010-09-03T13:44:00.000+03:002010-09-03T13:44:52.381+03:00Helsinki - We've made it!Mike and I started our Finnish adventure separately, with Mike at the beginning of August and my arrival this week. No matter, we're here together now! This adventure will last for at least a couple of years, but who knows what the future really holds. We're planning to be here for awhile and to enjoy the experience to its fullest. That being said, this blog will focus a lot on our experiences as Americans living abroad, and more specifically, living in Helsinki, Finland. And with no further ado, here we go . . .<br />
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Right now, we're doing our version of "camping without bugs." Our furniture and other household items were supposed to arrive earlier this week, but due to circumstances beyond our control (which I think will be a common theme the next few years!), they have been delayed by more than a week. We are making do with our new IKEA sofa sleeper, our new European TV (full of all sorts of American shows) and some basic kitchen necessities. Needless to say, I'd like my stuff. And soon. <br />
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Mike has been working this week and I have been recovering from jet lag and scouting the area. We live in a great neighborhood overlooking a former ship building yard and marina for sailboats and yachts. We live in a 9 story building that is one of the newest in Helsinki (built in 2003) and is quite nice. The first floor includes the S Market, which is a large supermarket chain, a pharmacy and a liquor store. We can get to all of them without going outside. As the high temperatures are only in the 50s (and it's the beginning of September!), I think this will prove quite useful in the winter!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TIDQD0zUVJI/AAAAAAAAAAM/oa0QsjJSJYE/s1600/Apt+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hf-ztZJdNQU/TIDQD0zUVJI/AAAAAAAAAAM/oa0QsjJSJYE/s320/Apt+view.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>View from our apartment</i></div><br />
We have a tram stop right outside that takes us into the city center in about 5 minutes. I will be able to take the tram to IBM once I start working towards the end of the month. Mike will take our car to work each day. Speaking of our car, we picked up my Murano this morning in a small town about an hour outside of Helsinki. We took the train to get there and then drove home. We are trying to be really cognizant of the speed limits here as speeding ticket fines are 10% of your annual income. You may find <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1759791.stm">this story</a> interesting about the highest priced speeding ticket ever in the world. It just so happens the guy with this claim to fame is Mike's boss, Anssi. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1759791.stm"></a><br />
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My favorite story so far is about yesterday's adventure and I think is a perfect example of how two people can look at the same situation and have such different opinions about it. Mike and I are similar in a lot of ways, but we definitely have some key differences! Mike had inadvertently left his US cell phone on the airplane when he flew here in August. He checked with Lost and Found at FinnAir and was told he needed to register a claim with the Finland National Lost Property Service. If FinnAir found the phone, it would be turned over to this service. The service is actually used by most companies in Finland as a central Lost and Found repository. Mike had basically written off ever seeing the phone again. Lo and behold, we got a letter in the mail this week that said the phone had been found and could be picked up for the cost of 18 Euros or mailed to him for the cost of 30 Euros. I decided to take a field trip to get the phone. The Lost Property Service office is amazing. Hundreds of white bins with people's lost stuff. There was an umbrella stand that had at least 20 found umbrellas. I gave them our piece of paper and the woman brought back the phone. She knew when and where it had been lost. I paid my 18 Euros and left. I wonder what other treasures are there and what they do with the stuff that is never claimed . . .<br />
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Now for the funny part. Our take on the situation is very different. I was going on and on to Mike about how I think it is so great they found the phone and we got it back for only 18 Euros! That would never happen at home. Someone would have found the phone and kept it. (I am sure you can all hear me blathering on.) Mike's take on the situation - I can't believe that Lost and Found charged me 18 Euros to give me back my phone!<br />
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I think that story sums up what our overall experience here will be. It's different than home. How we both view it won't always be the same. There are parts that we will view as better than the US, worse than the US, or just different than the US, and we won't always feel the same. At the end of the day, though, we'll do it together and I think we'll learn a lot. Not just about Helsinki and the Finns, but ourselves, too.<br />
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On a side note, as if we haven't had lots of announcements already this summer, we do have a little bit more news to share. In about 6.5 months, we plan to welcome an addition to our family. We're expecting a baby on March 4, 2011! This little Sprout, or McBaby, will be a wonderful addition to this our lives and this experience and we are sure it will make it all the more exciting (and overwhelming and scary!!)! We couldn't feel more blessed. <br />
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We hope you stick around to hear more about our adventures - in Helsinki, and as parents. Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02167567459273975605noreply@blogger.com1