Although we arrived in Helsinki area on Monday we only went to Helsinki on Wednesday.
One of the reasons to go to Helsinki was to pick up some documents that we will probably need en route. Our plan is to apply for a Chinese visa in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Unfortunately the Chinese embassy in Almaty wants the visa application form either in Russian or Chinese. So back home in France Pei helped us to pre-fill our visa application form in Chinese and sent it together with a letter of invitation written by her brother in China to the Amadeus office in Helsinki. Thanks Pei! I used the opportunity to meet and have lunch with my colleagues Ulla and Minna and say 'Hi' to other colleagues in Nice and Istanbul during a conference call. They were quite surprised to hear me :-)
Another reason to go to Helsinki was to meet up with Silja and Pekka who we had met when we had arrived in Finland four weeks ago. They had been on the Archipelago Ring bicycle tour and we had agreed to meet again in Helsinki. We went out for a coffee in a nice cafe with a beautiful look over a lake and had a really nice time hanging out and just chatting.
We were strolling in the city center of Helsinki on Wednesday and Thursday. The city was full with people and musicians performing in the streets. Great atmosphere! Helsinki is the prettiest city that we visited in Finland. So much as we loved it during summer, we wondered how it would be in Winter with minus 25°C and dark all the time..
Showing posts with label Finland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finland. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Bicycle adjustment in Sweden/Finland
We are at Riga airport and waiting for the flight to Dushanbe. So there is some time to have a look at the modifications of our bicycles.
Back in Stockholm Sarah bought her Brooks B17 saddle (there is a Brooks retailer in Stockholm old town Gamla Stan). She had problems with the WTB Pro Gel mountain bike saddle that was on her bike. Since she got her Brooks saddle I haven't heard any complaint.
I was riding on my SDG mountain bike saddle but replaced it by Sarah's WTB Pro Gel saddle. We were carring my SDG saddle for a while and finally sent it back home when we arrived in Finland.
In Jyväskylä, Finland, we swapped our stems. Sarah's riding position was not ideal and she had numb palms (despite the Ergon GC3 bar ends) and backache. My stemis a double adjustable stem whereas Sarah's headset can be adjusted in only a single point. The double adjustable stem allows a more upright riding position. In Helsinki Sarah bought a bended handle bar that again lifts the hand position by 2-3 cm. It all helped, the numb palms and backache are gone.
When we arrived at Noora's place we received the spare part parcel that my brother had sent from Germany. I was riding a 44-teeth chain ring and a 16-teeth sprocket in Sweden and Finland. The first gear was easy enough, but would not be adapted to Central Asian and Chinese mountains. I replaced the 44-teeth chain ring by a 40-teeth Spécialités TA one.
Back in Germany we had ordered the Schwalbe Marathon XR tyres. These tyres are supposed to be the best for touring. Interestingly enough, Schwalbe stopped its production last year. We hoped to receive the XR's at Noora`s place with our spare part parcel as well. Unfortunately the online shop was not able to deliver them. So we were looking for the XR's in Helsinki without any success. At the end we decided to continue with our tyres and bought two foldable Schwalbe Marathon Extreme tyres as spare tyres. Let's see how far the Schwalbe tyres will last. After 2350 km we couldn't see any wear on our Schwalbe Marathon and Marathon Plus.
Back in Stockholm Sarah bought her Brooks B17 saddle (there is a Brooks retailer in Stockholm old town Gamla Stan). She had problems with the WTB Pro Gel mountain bike saddle that was on her bike. Since she got her Brooks saddle I haven't heard any complaint.
I was riding on my SDG mountain bike saddle but replaced it by Sarah's WTB Pro Gel saddle. We were carring my SDG saddle for a while and finally sent it back home when we arrived in Finland.
In Jyväskylä, Finland, we swapped our stems. Sarah's riding position was not ideal and she had numb palms (despite the Ergon GC3 bar ends) and backache. My stemis a double adjustable stem whereas Sarah's headset can be adjusted in only a single point. The double adjustable stem allows a more upright riding position. In Helsinki Sarah bought a bended handle bar that again lifts the hand position by 2-3 cm. It all helped, the numb palms and backache are gone.
When we arrived at Noora's place we received the spare part parcel that my brother had sent from Germany. I was riding a 44-teeth chain ring and a 16-teeth sprocket in Sweden and Finland. The first gear was easy enough, but would not be adapted to Central Asian and Chinese mountains. I replaced the 44-teeth chain ring by a 40-teeth Spécialités TA one.
Back in Germany we had ordered the Schwalbe Marathon XR tyres. These tyres are supposed to be the best for touring. Interestingly enough, Schwalbe stopped its production last year. We hoped to receive the XR's at Noora`s place with our spare part parcel as well. Unfortunately the online shop was not able to deliver them. So we were looking for the XR's in Helsinki without any success. At the end we decided to continue with our tyres and bought two foldable Schwalbe Marathon Extreme tyres as spare tyres. Let's see how far the Schwalbe tyres will last. After 2350 km we couldn't see any wear on our Schwalbe Marathon and Marathon Plus.
Friday, July 23, 2010
At Noora's place
Total distance: 2350 km
Savonlinna - Puumala - Mikkeli - Klaukalla
When we left Savonlinna the temperature has dropped to 16°C in the morning for the first time since weeks. It was cloudy but it didn't rain. After several hot weeks in Finland, 16°C were very welcomed and made cycling relaxed. Our plan was to cycle within two days from Savonlinna to Mikkeli and take the train from there to Helsinki area. We were running out of time! In Savonlinna no booking counter was available at the railway station. So we called the Finnish railway company VR and made a reservation over the phone. It worked pretty well. No upfront payment was required, we could pay at the counter. Why a reservation? Each Finnish long-distance train has only three slots for bicycles.
We stayed the night somewhere close to Puumala and had exceptional dinner. In one supermarket we found black bean sauce with roasted garlic and chilli. It felt a bit like home. That was definitely a wonderful change from pasta and bread again and again.
The route between Puumala and Mikkeli is supposed to be Finland's most photographed Lakeland scenery. We could see why but the cloudy sky didn't make it that pretty. The next morning before taking the train we visited Mikkeli city center. It must be a curse but wherever we are, huge constructions sites in the middle of the city destroy the whole picture.
The train ride was an easy thing. The wagon with the bicycle compartment was lowered so that we could push in the bicycles very easily. Also the compartment offered big lockers. The bicycle panniers and other bags fit perfectly. There was no hassle about where to store our many bulky bags.
We took the train to Tikkurila, got off and cycled about 30 km to Noora's place in Klaukalla, our final destination in Finland. Noora was one of my Finnish colleagues and we used to work together. She and her husband Petri were so kind and offered us a home for several days. That made things much easier. We could send some bicycle spare parts and our passports - that arrived from the Tajik consulate in Berlin only after we had left Germany - to Finland, just before we would leave Europe and start the real adventure. Without Noora's and Petri's help we would have had some headache. We were spoilt at Noora's place in many ways. It felt so good to sleep on a mattress! We could use their washing machine - ahh fresh clothes! But even better was their sauna. We were surprised to find a sauna in their little bathroom. Oh, and of course warm showers. Moreover staying at one place for more than three days was very relaxing.
Noora and Petri, thank you very much for your hospitality and the great time at your place!!
Savonlinna - Puumala - Mikkeli - Klaukalla
When we left Savonlinna the temperature has dropped to 16°C in the morning for the first time since weeks. It was cloudy but it didn't rain. After several hot weeks in Finland, 16°C were very welcomed and made cycling relaxed. Our plan was to cycle within two days from Savonlinna to Mikkeli and take the train from there to Helsinki area. We were running out of time! In Savonlinna no booking counter was available at the railway station. So we called the Finnish railway company VR and made a reservation over the phone. It worked pretty well. No upfront payment was required, we could pay at the counter. Why a reservation? Each Finnish long-distance train has only three slots for bicycles.
We stayed the night somewhere close to Puumala and had exceptional dinner. In one supermarket we found black bean sauce with roasted garlic and chilli. It felt a bit like home. That was definitely a wonderful change from pasta and bread again and again.
The train ride was an easy thing. The wagon with the bicycle compartment was lowered so that we could push in the bicycles very easily. Also the compartment offered big lockers. The bicycle panniers and other bags fit perfectly. There was no hassle about where to store our many bulky bags.
We took the train to Tikkurila, got off and cycled about 30 km to Noora's place in Klaukalla, our final destination in Finland. Noora was one of my Finnish colleagues and we used to work together. She and her husband Petri were so kind and offered us a home for several days. That made things much easier. We could send some bicycle spare parts and our passports - that arrived from the Tajik consulate in Berlin only after we had left Germany - to Finland, just before we would leave Europe and start the real adventure. Without Noora's and Petri's help we would have had some headache. We were spoilt at Noora's place in many ways. It felt so good to sleep on a mattress! We could use their washing machine - ahh fresh clothes! But even better was their sauna. We were surprised to find a sauna in their little bathroom. Oh, and of course warm showers. Moreover staying at one place for more than three days was very relaxing.
Noora and Petri, thank you very much for your hospitality and the great time at your place!!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Lakeland
Total distance: 2093 km
Jyväskylä - Lepänjuuri - Vaajasalmi - Kuopio - Savonlinna
We had planned to pause for 2 days in Jyväskylä, but it became 3 days at the end. After only 2 days break we knew that it wasn't enough to relax from the last few days before. We were still too tired to continue to Kuopio. Actually we didn't do much in Jyväskylä. The city itself wasn't so interesting. Most of the time we were either sitting on the porch in shade or in a café downtown. We did visit the Natural History Museum of Finland in Jyväskylä which was rather a disappointment. The film 'Twilight - Eclipse' (this vampire thingy) that we watched on a rainy day was better. One highlight during these days was the semi-final between Germany and Spain. Schlaaaaaaaand lost, Spain was definitely better. Another highlight was that the camping site had free saunas for its visitors and as we were in Finland we considered it a must to go sweating at least once. As far as I am concerned, it was my first time in a sauna. When I entered the sauna, a breathless man came out and nearly fainted. He had too much I guessed. I hesitated. That wasn't a good sign. It was impossible to breathe inside, the hot steam was burning in my nose. The thermometer showed 100°C. I didn't believe it. After 3 rounds of sauna I must say that I have never felt cleaner before. Later in Kuopio we had the chance to visit the world's biggest smoke sauna, but we didn't feel like sweating. It was already too hot outside (36°C) and we preferred taking a swim in the cool lake instead.
From Jyväskylä we sent a first parcel back home. It contained a saddle (Sarah bought her new Brooks saddle in Stockholm), two books and Swedish maps.
It took us three days to get to Kuopio. If you ask us to summarize the three days in a few words, we would mention heat, dirt roads, lakes and forest. On our way to Kuopio the temperature climbed to astonishing 36°C. That has been the top temperature so far. The hot weather was one 'enemy', the other one was the road condition. There are so many hilly dirt and washboard roads. Even national roads can be dirt roads. If we could, we avoided the dirt roads that were luckily marked on the bicycle map that we had bought in Jyväskylä. We had been lost too many times. Therefore we felt the need for a good map. In this region, the Lakeland, you are spoiled with many lakes and forest, it's simply incredible (Finland's territory: 69% forest, 10% water). The Aland Islands were impressive. The Finnish Lakeland can easily keep up with. It's even more lonely in the Lakeland than on the sometimes crowded Aland Islands. Pure nature! Fantastic!
On our way to Kuopio we had the chance to listen to Finnish music. In the little village Lepänjuun we stayed at a camping site that organised a summer concert that very evening. This festival takes place twice per summer and we were lucky to be there and to pitch our tent next to the live band. Unfortunately the audience and dancers were elder people and so was the music. It wasn't too bad though. As an alternative the village organised a second concert for the younger people. We went there, listened to Finnish Hard Rock and were surrounded by teenagers. That wasn't our thing either. So we went for ice cream at the beach instead.
In Konnevesi, a small town, we cycled out of the forest and were suddenly on a festival. We were strolling around, when I decided to get some grilled food. The grill-master prepared a plate with grilled potatoes, eggs, onions, tomatoes, salmon and a Finnish specialty called muikko (small lake fish). He bet that I would love the salmon and the muikko (from Lapland), and he was so right. We talked a bit about our travel and when he heard that we would go so far, he came back with a second plate with muikko. You need more food, he said. Cool guy! His grill partner, a former member of the Olympic rowing team, told us about the festivals in the region. During summer many towns in the Lakeland organise festivals and lumberjack games. One more indicator that Finns love their short summer.
As we were running out of time in Finland, we decided to take the ferry from Kuopio to Savonlinna (it saved us from three days of cycling). The ferry MS Puijo (79 € per person + 10 € for a bicycle) passed hundreds of big and little islands during 10 hours on its way to Savonlinna. It's supposed to be Finland's most beautiful ferry ride. We do agree but unfortunately the same scenery gets boring after a while.
Savonlinna. After reading Lonely Planet you expect a lot of Savonlinna but we found the city rather boring. It doesn't have any pedestrian zone, the main route goes right through the 'city center'. However the walk along the harbour is quite nice. Savonlinna is famous for its castle. We had the choice between a guided tour in English with some more people or a guided tour in German with only two of us. We chose the German option. The guide told us some interesting facts, for example about the military's rule in the past that no left-hander was accepted. The narrow stairs of the turrets were built clock-wise. So when the enemy was coming upstairs, he had to use his left hand to hold the sword. When we came out of the castle at 6 pm, a queue with people in suits and dresses was growing and growing in front of the castle. Savonlinna is also famous for its opera festival inside the castle and Carmen was on the agenda on that day.
Jyväskylä - Lepänjuuri - Vaajasalmi - Kuopio - Savonlinna
From Jyväskylä we sent a first parcel back home. It contained a saddle (Sarah bought her new Brooks saddle in Stockholm), two books and Swedish maps.
It took us three days to get to Kuopio. If you ask us to summarize the three days in a few words, we would mention heat, dirt roads, lakes and forest. On our way to Kuopio the temperature climbed to astonishing 36°C. That has been the top temperature so far. The hot weather was one 'enemy', the other one was the road condition. There are so many hilly dirt and washboard roads. Even national roads can be dirt roads. If we could, we avoided the dirt roads that were luckily marked on the bicycle map that we had bought in Jyväskylä. We had been lost too many times. Therefore we felt the need for a good map. In this region, the Lakeland, you are spoiled with many lakes and forest, it's simply incredible (Finland's territory: 69% forest, 10% water). The Aland Islands were impressive. The Finnish Lakeland can easily keep up with. It's even more lonely in the Lakeland than on the sometimes crowded Aland Islands. Pure nature! Fantastic!
On our way to Kuopio we had the chance to listen to Finnish music. In the little village Lepänjuun we stayed at a camping site that organised a summer concert that very evening. This festival takes place twice per summer and we were lucky to be there and to pitch our tent next to the live band. Unfortunately the audience and dancers were elder people and so was the music. It wasn't too bad though. As an alternative the village organised a second concert for the younger people. We went there, listened to Finnish Hard Rock and were surrounded by teenagers. That wasn't our thing either. So we went for ice cream at the beach instead.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Finnish
When we left Stockholm and Sweden, we also crossed a language border. While we managed pretty well to 'understand' or 'read' - Swedish, we don't understand Finnish at all. Our German, English, Latin and French knowledge helped us a lot to guess what was written in Swedish. It worked surprisingly well. Things changed enormously when we arrived on the Aland Islands, i.e. in Finland. Everything was written in Finnish and our language knowledge was suddenly useless. Luckily the Swedish translation (probably for the Swedish minority in Finland) was usually written just below. The more we cycled into mainland Finland, the less Swedish words and translations appeared. Finnish words look very interesting to us: they contain so many double letters.
It's difficult in Finnish supermarkets to identify the price of a product. Hundreds of little price cards make it not easy to spot the right one when you don't understand. Here is how we survive.
1) Check for Swedish translations.
2) Compare the brand or producer's name.
3) Compare the weight.
4) Compare the last digits of the bar code!
We have to say it again: we are amazed by the Swedes' and Finns' English language skills. In very rare cases we met people who could not speak English but at least they were good at talking with their hands and legs. It's always surprising how quickly people switch into English when they recognize that you do not speak their language. They do not need to think a second and the English sentence is out of their mouth. In a Lidl super market (yes, they are present in Finland and look exactly like back home) I went to the checkout and was welcomed with a 'Hi'. I replied 'Hi' and did not say anything else. The total price came back in English. I was perplex and wanted to know what I had done to out myself as a non-Finn. Apparently, it way the way how I said 'Hi'. Are there so many different ways how to pronounce the one-syllable word 'Hi'?
It's difficult in Finnish supermarkets to identify the price of a product. Hundreds of little price cards make it not easy to spot the right one when you don't understand. Here is how we survive.
1) Check for Swedish translations.
2) Compare the brand or producer's name.
3) Compare the weight.
4) Compare the last digits of the bar code!
We have to say it again: we are amazed by the Swedes' and Finns' English language skills. In very rare cases we met people who could not speak English but at least they were good at talking with their hands and legs. It's always surprising how quickly people switch into English when they recognize that you do not speak their language. They do not need to think a second and the English sentence is out of their mouth. In a Lidl super market (yes, they are present in Finland and look exactly like back home) I went to the checkout and was welcomed with a 'Hi'. I replied 'Hi' and did not say anything else. The total price came back in English. I was perplex and wanted to know what I had done to out myself as a non-Finn. Apparently, it way the way how I said 'Hi'. Are there so many different ways how to pronounce the one-syllable word 'Hi'?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A typical day on the road
Curious what one of our typical days in Finland looks like? This was our 75 km day to Kuopio.
When we free camp we usually set the alarm clock according to the environment around the tent. If we expect people to show up early in the morning, we wake up around 5 and 6 am. On that day we woke up at 7 am as we pitched the tent in such a way that it couldn't disturb anyone. Looking into the apse, we are never 100% sure what the weather is outside. It's always a surprise.
One of us packs sleeping bags, mattresses and bags inside the tent. The other one unlocks the bicycles and starts mounting the panniers on to the bicycles. When we free camp, we only have the most necessary things inside the tent. All other stuff is still ready-to-go packed in the bags.
Last step is to pack the tent. In normal cases it takes about 25 minutes from waking up until the bicycles are fully loaded. We still work on optimisation :-)
On that day we were lucky with the camping site. It was located at a lake where a pier reached far into the water. The mosquitoes stayed in the forest and didn't annoy us too much. So we prepared breakfast right at the lake. Usually we have porridge in milk, spiced up with banana, apple, dried fruit or chocolate.
After breakfast we discuss the route for the day. The place was so nice that we stayed even longer just for fun.
Around 10 am we hit the road. It was already ferociously hot: 30°C!
After 10 km we stopped at the first super market to buy food for lunch. In almost 95% it is bread, cheese and fruits.
July in Finland means that the scent of strawberries is everywhere, either from agricultural strawberry fields or from the roadside. We stopped to get them fresh from the field. They were so red and sweet. We haven't had any better strawberries anywhere else.
The thermometer showed 34°C at lunch time.After 30 km it was time for a long lunch break, a bath and reading in the shade.
At 3 pm we hit the road again. The last few days were extremely hot. No day passed without ice cream. So at kilometer 55 we stopped for an ice cream break. New status: 2000 km since our departure.
After 70 km on national roads - together with cars and lorries - we arrived in Kuopio. Separated bicycles lanes are usually available in bigger cities. 5 km later we made it to the final destination, the camping site in Kuopio.
First action is usually to pitch the tent before we go for a deserved shower. Once again, it was so hot!
A shower is the highlight every day!
Swedish and Finnish camping sites offer kitchen facilities. So there was no need to use our camping kitchen equipment. At 21:30 o'clock we finally had our well deserved dinner: rice, curry and meatballs for Peter.
After dinner we spent our time reading. Since we were in Sweden, we read Stieg Larsson's Millennium Triology.Yes, we carry all 3 books with us!
But after this long day not even these thrilling books could keep us awake for long time. We were sound asleep around midnight, even though it was still not completely dark outside ...
When we free camp we usually set the alarm clock according to the environment around the tent. If we expect people to show up early in the morning, we wake up around 5 and 6 am. On that day we woke up at 7 am as we pitched the tent in such a way that it couldn't disturb anyone. Looking into the apse, we are never 100% sure what the weather is outside. It's always a surprise.
One of us packs sleeping bags, mattresses and bags inside the tent. The other one unlocks the bicycles and starts mounting the panniers on to the bicycles. When we free camp, we only have the most necessary things inside the tent. All other stuff is still ready-to-go packed in the bags.
Last step is to pack the tent. In normal cases it takes about 25 minutes from waking up until the bicycles are fully loaded. We still work on optimisation :-)
On that day we were lucky with the camping site. It was located at a lake where a pier reached far into the water. The mosquitoes stayed in the forest and didn't annoy us too much. So we prepared breakfast right at the lake. Usually we have porridge in milk, spiced up with banana, apple, dried fruit or chocolate.
After breakfast we discuss the route for the day. The place was so nice that we stayed even longer just for fun.
Around 10 am we hit the road. It was already ferociously hot: 30°C!
After 10 km we stopped at the first super market to buy food for lunch. In almost 95% it is bread, cheese and fruits.
July in Finland means that the scent of strawberries is everywhere, either from agricultural strawberry fields or from the roadside. We stopped to get them fresh from the field. They were so red and sweet. We haven't had any better strawberries anywhere else.
The thermometer showed 34°C at lunch time.After 30 km it was time for a long lunch break, a bath and reading in the shade.
At 3 pm we hit the road again. The last few days were extremely hot. No day passed without ice cream. So at kilometer 55 we stopped for an ice cream break. New status: 2000 km since our departure.
After 70 km on national roads - together with cars and lorries - we arrived in Kuopio. Separated bicycles lanes are usually available in bigger cities. 5 km later we made it to the final destination, the camping site in Kuopio.
First action is usually to pitch the tent before we go for a deserved shower. Once again, it was so hot!
A shower is the highlight every day!
Swedish and Finnish camping sites offer kitchen facilities. So there was no need to use our camping kitchen equipment. At 21:30 o'clock we finally had our well deserved dinner: rice, curry and meatballs for Peter.
After dinner we spent our time reading. Since we were in Sweden, we read Stieg Larsson's Millennium Triology.Yes, we carry all 3 books with us!
But after this long day not even these thrilling books could keep us awake for long time. We were sound asleep around midnight, even though it was still not completely dark outside ...
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Snapshot: rally lights
Something noticeable: many Swedish and Finnish cars - particularly in the countryside - have additional installed rally lights.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Swedish and Finnish differences
We have never been to Sweden and Finland before. So what differences or common things did we notice between the two countries (and France/Germany) since we have arrived here? Here is a list of things that we quickly identified.
- We loved this soft, white Swedish bread that you can get in every super market. It is called "mjukbröd". We found it only once in Finland. It seems that the Finns prefer rather dark bread as the Germans do.
- There are less foreign (camping) tourists in Finland. While Sweden was full of Germans and Dutch, there are "only" Finnish number plates on the camping sites. Do all the foreigners hide in the vast woods?
- Finnish camp sites do not charge you for warm showers. Swedish ones charge about 5 SEK.
- In Finland we are obliged (by law) to fill a registration form at every camp site. Personal information name like address, passport information, travel purpose and date of entry are requested. It looks like a very strict procedure.
- Swedish McDonald's requires 4 purchased coffees to get one for free, Finnish McDonald's requires 5. The fast food chain Hesburger is more present than McDonald's in Finland.
- In both countries trampolines are very popular. More trampolines are however seen in Sweden.
- In both countries super markets are open on Sunday. Unfamiliar is the way how opening times are displayed. They are usually written in three lines: first line for opening times on Monday to Friday, second line for Saturday and third line (often in brackets) for Sunday. Same method is applied on parking signs for example.
- Swedish long distance bicycle routes are really well marked. At unclear junctions signs do clearly show the direction. Finnish long distance bicycle routes are by far not as good as the Swedish ones. Instead of flat, rectangular signs brown stickers are wrapped around the poles of street signs. They can not be noticed easily and bleach out after a while. Also missing route numbers or names add a lot to one's confusion when many routes cross each other or share a part.
- Sweden and Finland are not 100% 'flat like a flounder'!
- Red, timbered houses can be found in both countries.
- We loved this soft, white Swedish bread that you can get in every super market. It is called "mjukbröd". We found it only once in Finland. It seems that the Finns prefer rather dark bread as the Germans do.
- There are less foreign (camping) tourists in Finland. While Sweden was full of Germans and Dutch, there are "only" Finnish number plates on the camping sites. Do all the foreigners hide in the vast woods?
- Finnish camp sites do not charge you for warm showers. Swedish ones charge about 5 SEK.
- In Finland we are obliged (by law) to fill a registration form at every camp site. Personal information name like address, passport information, travel purpose and date of entry are requested. It looks like a very strict procedure.
- Swedish McDonald's requires 4 purchased coffees to get one for free, Finnish McDonald's requires 5. The fast food chain Hesburger is more present than McDonald's in Finland.
- In both countries trampolines are very popular. More trampolines are however seen in Sweden.
- In both countries super markets are open on Sunday. Unfamiliar is the way how opening times are displayed. They are usually written in three lines: first line for opening times on Monday to Friday, second line for Saturday and third line (often in brackets) for Sunday. Same method is applied on parking signs for example.
- Swedish long distance bicycle routes are really well marked. At unclear junctions signs do clearly show the direction. Finnish long distance bicycle routes are by far not as good as the Swedish ones. Instead of flat, rectangular signs brown stickers are wrapped around the poles of street signs. They can not be noticed easily and bleach out after a while. Also missing route numbers or names add a lot to one's confusion when many routes cross each other or share a part.
- Sweden and Finland are not 100% 'flat like a flounder'!
- Red, timbered houses can be found in both countries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)