Arriving in Lapland

13 Sep. 2006 Kiilopaa



I am not a morning person at all, but I managed to get up at 3am in the morning. Poor my friend, she had arrived in Finland less than 12 hours ago, but she also made it. We packed our stuff, took a cab to the airport, then flew out for Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland located on the arctic circle, with Blue1, at 39 Euro.


It was worth to get up early. We saw beautiful sunrise out of the window while flying.

We got to Rovaniemi city center by mini-shuttle, then headed for Kiilopaa, located at latitude 68 degree north, by bus. It is not really a town. There is a resort center called Fell Centre Kiilopaa, which is right by the Urho Kekkonen National Park. So, you can easily go on variety of trekking from very short ones to overnight hikes. We were going to try a couple of day hike for 2 days.

While having been waited for the bus to Kiilopaa, a Finnish lady spoke to us. She said she was going to Saariselka this time of every year to enjoy walking in autumn colors. You can see beautiful autumn colors in early September there, so many Finns seem to do the same thing. She was very friendly so we enjoyed talking all the way to Kiilopaa.
“Congratulations! Now you have the new prince!”, she goes.
New prince? Well, we didn’t know that.
“Oh, didn’t you? I have just heard on the news. I think I can find it in the paper too…”
She looked over the newspaper, and then found the news.
“Here it is. His name is Hisahito”
Oh thank you for the information. It was a bit funny that we were told our prince’s name from a Finnish lady.

Do Finns love to talk to strangers? Just like this, we were spoken to by many people in Finland, especially in Kiilopaa. They made our stay even more pleasant so we really had good time there.



The bus took us to right in front of the accommodation. There, you can stay at different types of accommodation including hotel, cabin, dormitory, and mountain hut. We stayed at the mountain hut.
When we checked in, the receptionist told us that;
“You are lucky people. Today we have smoke sauna at extra 8 Euro. Would you like to have it?”
Of course, we would love to!
They have a normal electric sauna, and just twice a week, they also offer traditional smoke sauna for the guests. Smoke sauna is heated by wooden fire in the stove made by rocks. So it takes several hours to heat, and also the smoke will go into the shack, so you will feel the smoky smell. Sounds tempting, isn’t it?



We had assumed that there wouldn’t be any shops where we could buy food, and the restaurant would be expensive, so we brought some groceries like pasta. But there was a casual cafeteria at the site. The menu looked good. Anyway, we had light lunch cooking the pasta we brought, then went on the hiking.

Meet an old friend 10 years after

12 Sep. 2006 Helsinki



It was foggy morning when I went out on the deck, but as the boat got closer to Helsinki, the fog was clearing. The white cathedral was coming into sight. There was an hour time difference, so I set my watch ahead. So we were supposed to be arriving at Helsinki at 10am local time.

I was waiting for the tram to the city center, but it didn’t come for a while and there was a long queue. It seemed not too far to the city, so I decided to walk. It was not far at all actually. In 15 minutes, I arrived at the harbor near the city center. There was a square where markets were held. I walked across the main street then soon I got to the hotel for that night. Helsinki was rather small town than I thought.

At the hotel room, I was supposed to meet my friend from Japan at 4pm. She is my old friend and we hadn’t met each other for over 10 or more years. We just had been exchanging a couple of e-mails in a year. We were not very close for those 10 years, though, through the e-mails, I knew that she had traveled to Finland a couple of times. So I asked her where I should go. Then I also added:
Why don't you come to Finland with me?
It was not a serious invitation because I knew it might be hard to take a vacation so sudden (yes, it is hard to take a week vacation in Japanese society…that was why I wanted to travel between jobs), but…she made it! Well-done!

Our itinerary was pretty tight in Finland, so I didn’t have enough time to wander around. I ran around marimekko factory shop, Sibelius Park and Tamppeliaukio Church, then got back to the hotel. It was weird to see my friend whom I hadn’t seen for a long time, at a small old hotel room in Helsinki. I was grinning with that funny feeling when I knocked on the door. She opened it. I wouldn’t say ‘ not at all’, but she didn’t look so different. Even after long years and not having been very close, I didn’t feel that we had been apart for such a long time. That is why we tried to keep in touch somehow, even just by exchanging some greetings.

There is a Japanese movie called ‘Kamome-Shokudo (Seagull Diner)’ shot in Finland. That is a story about 3 Japanese ladies who opened a Japanese style diner in Helsinki. Actually I haven’t watched it because I was not in Japan, but I really want to watch it as soon as possible. Anyway, that diner in the film is in Helsinki, so we decided to have dinner there. Unfortunately the diner had already closed when we arrived. So we walked around the town, had dinner over everlasting chatting. Oh well, still we had lots of things to talk, but we had to take 5:30am flight to Lapland on the next day – that meant we had to get up at 3am! – so we went to bed early.

Viking Line

11 Sep. 2006 From Stockholm to Helsinki



In the evening, I took a ferry to get to Helsinki where I was supposed to meet my friend from Japan and we would travel together for a week. 2 Companies, Silja Line and Viking Line, are operating ferries to both ways between Stockholm and Helsinki daily. I chose cruising with Viking Line, because it was a bit cheaper.

I thought it was right choice when I left Stockholm for Helsinki. The port of the Viking Line is located in the North Eastern pier of Sodermalm from where you could see the city view of Stockholm. So, once the boat departs, you can see Stockholm fading away in the distance. This is kind of a pleasure of travel, don’t you think? Silja Line departs from the other part of the city so you wouldn’t see it. I only stayed in Stockholm for 4 days and more than that, I was going to come back soon. But this scenery made me a bit sentimental.


I was out on the deck for about one hour. There are literally thousands of islands in this area, so I still didn’t see open sea. I enjoyed beautiful sunset, then went back inside. The Ferry was quite gorgeous with some restaurants, cafes, dutyfree shops, sauna, night clubs, a pub and discotheque, so you can play all night long if you want. As a matter of fact, Young people party hard during weekend on the boat, I have heard. But it was a weekday night, so it was rather quiet when I was there.

Sigtuna & Viby

10 Sep. 2006 Sigtuna & Viby



It is a perfect day for a day out! What a blue sky with no clouds! The breeze was a bit cooler but it was just like a beautiful summer day. I went to Sigtuna where is one of the oldest villages in Sweden located about 1 hour away from Stockholm by train and bus. Out of the window of the local bus to Sigtuna, all I could see was green fields and blue sky.

I got so excited when I got off the bus at Sigtuna. Very cute! Sigtuna is a tiny old town with pastel color houses and shops. The scenery there was very colorful with those houses, clear blue of the lake and sky, and vivid green of trees.



I went around the town, had lunch at a small café. I found Pyttipanna which is popular Swedish snack – stir fried diced potatos, onions, sausages and hams topped with sunny side up. Having Swedish foods as many as possible was my mission. Then I headed for a 1700’s old village Viby. That was a little nice walk for about 30 minutes from Sigtuna. I started with walking along the lake side path. The view from the path was breathtaking.






Then you will find an unpaved path in the middle of nowhere.



I didn’t see anybody on this path. I became unsure if I had come in the right direction, but suddenly I found wooden fences and reddish old shacks. Over the field, there was a left over May Pole for midsummer festival. Wow, this is very Swedish!





The village is very old and isolated. There are only a few old houses, but some families are still living in those old houses. I saw a family with a little baby busy with farming and washing. Other than them, there was nobody. It was very calm and peaceful afternoon. How lucky I was being in such a peaceful beautiful place in Sweden.

Mando Diao Instore Live

09 Sep. 2006 Stockholm



Jet lag! Well, it worked kind of in a good way. I am not a morning person at all, but I awoke 5am and I was not able to go back to sleep. I got up around 6:30am then played on the Internet to kill some time. Then suddenly I got sleepy, so I ended up going back to sleep till 11:30am.

On the day before, I happened to know that Mando Diao would play a mini gig at a CD store in the main street. They are one of my favorite Swedish bands and I missed their outdoor show the night before, because I had already planned to go to the ballet. So Lucky me! They played 4 new songs, ‘The Band’ and ‘Motown Blood’ with acoustic instruments. The stage was very small and the ceiling was quite low. They played sitting on the stools, so they would bang their head if they wouldn’t mind it when they stand up. Then…of course they hit their heads one after another…Poor guys…





After the event, I walk to Sodermalm. If you would like to see the beautiful Stockholm skyline view over the lake, this is the place you should go. The view was very pretty and I never got tired of it. I am a view loving person what so-called, so I can spend a couple of hours doing nothing but just seeing the scenery. Fortunately the weather seemed like going back to summer. I just got lazy for the rest of the day, wandering around and having some coffee at a café watching people. Just to enjoy the local atmosphere is my pleasure of the travel.

I walked a lot today. Feel like having a sweet! I dropped by a cake shop nearby and bought a Kokosball. It was very sweet so it went well with coffee.

Cullberg Ballet

08 Sep. 2006 Stockholm

Maybe a bit windy, but it looked the beautiful weather outside. I went out to buy something for breakfast.
Wooooo, it is Freeeeeezing!
Stockholm weather was not too kind.

My Friend planned a picnic lunch near an old castle outside of the city, but by the time we were supposed to meet, it started raining. So we ended up going to a buffet restaurant near his work place. I didn’t really care about anything as long as I was able to meet my friend and there was some food. The buffet looked pretty yummy actually. I always take too much food when I come to buffet. It is bad habit but I guess most of people would do the same thing, right? I went back to the table with dish-full of food and started eating. Chicken with cream sauce, mmm, it is good, then I took a piece of something which looked like potato. ?? It is too sweet. Is this…banana? Banana in chicken with cream sauce??
My friend goes, ‘Why not? It is normal’
Well, it was not too bad. The statistics shows that Sweden ranks high up in the list of per-capita banana consumption in the world, now I know why.

At night, I went to see modern ballet company, Cullberg Ballet. This is one of the reasons I came to Sweden. I hardly saw ballet stages, but I happened to see their performance at Edinburgh Fringe Festival several years ago and I really loved it. I even hadn’t known which ballet company performed at that time, then I found out the company’s name years later. I wanted to see their performance again sometime, and here they are.

Programs at that night were ‘Blanco’ and ‘End’ . Their performances were so unique. They used lots of props, like, heaps of shoes in ‘Blance’, and variety of goods for build a shack in ‘End’. They spoke a lot while dancing, so it actually looked like a play rather than a dance. They even did funny cun-fu performances screaming each other. They made us laugh again. Well, it is hard to explain about performing arts. All I can say is their performance is definitely worth to see!

Arriving at Stockholm

07 Sep. 2006



It was the clear sky in London when I changed the planes. Now I am arriving at Stockholm, it is rather gloomy weather. Well, I don't care. Finally I am here, at Stockholm!

Arlanda airport was not very modern as I thought. I picked up my luggage and took the airport shuttle to the city center. I was going to enjoy the scenery out of the window, but soon I fell asleep in the bus. I fall asleep every time I get on buses. That rythmical movement of the buses makes me sleepy always.

When I woke up, the bus was already in the city. It started raining a bit, but it was not too cold. The bus arrived at the city bus terminal which was located next to the central train station. The City Backpackers which I had booked already for that night was supposed to not far from there.

Soon I arrived at the hostel. I checked in, then accessed the Free Internet they offered. I checked my mailbox and found an e-mail from my friend who lives near Stockholm. It said;
Welcome to Sweden!
Yay! Finaly I am here!

It was getting dark, but I went out for a little walk. I headed for the old city, Gamla Stan through the main street of the city center. The little alleys with warm yellowish walls were pretty with the light rain reflecting shine of the street lamps.

Here is my itinerary

September, 2006

- Sweden

6. Leaving NY
7 Arriving at Stockholm
8 Seeing Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm
9 Wandering Stockholm
10 Sigtuna
11 Leaving for Helsinki by Ferry

- Finland

12 Arriving at Helsinki, meeting my friend from Japan　
13&14 Hiking at Urho Kekkonen National park in Lapland
15 Spending a lazy day at Visatupa
16 Rovaniemi
17 Hiking at Nuuksio National Park
18 Heading for Tallinn, Estonia

- Estonia

19&20 Tallinn

- Sweden, again

21&22 Stockholm
23 Moving to Rattvik , Dalarna
24 Mora
25 Tallberg & Leksand
26 Moving to Oland via Kalmar
27 Cycling in Oland
28 Going Back to Stockholm
29 Stockholm
30 Trosa

October

1Uppsala

- Italy

2 Flying to Bergamo
3 Flying to Catania
4 Siracusa
5 Noto
6 Siracusa
7 Ragusa
8-10 Taormina
11 Moving to Trapani
12 Erice
13 Isola Favignana
14 Flying to Pisa, moving to Milano
15 Watching Calcio Serie A match: F.C. Inter vs Catania
16 Como
17 Menaggio
18 Watching Champions League match: F.C. Inter VS Spartak Moscow
19&20 Agriturismo experience near Siena
21&22 Assisi
23 Firenze
24 Milano

- Turkey

25 Flying to Istanbul
26&27 Istanbul
28-30 Safranbolu
31 Moving to Cappadocia

November

1 Cappadocia Tour 1
2 Cappadocia Tour 2
3 Uchisar
4-5 Antalya
6-7 Istanbul
8 Leaving Istanbul

Ok, it is time to get out.

06, Sep. 2006, NY

I have just quit my job, yay! I need to travel now, before I go back to my country and get a new job. It would be about for 2 months, considering the season and my travel budget. Which countries I should go? I don’t want to hop around, so maybe 4 counties would be the most so that I could stay at least for 2 weeks in each country. 4 countries? Well, then, it is easy to decide. Sweden, Finland, Italy and Turkey. Why these 4 countries?

Sweden
I love Several Swedish rock bands, and also I have been interested in Swedish culture and food. I grew up with some Swedish juveniles. This country has always been fascinating for me. I have long wanted to go there, and finally, there I go!

Finland
I have been to Norway and Denmark before, and this time I am going to Sweden. So, why don’t I go to Finland? Also one of my friends is addicted to Finland for some reason, and I wanted to know why.

Italy
This is my favorite country to travel. I have been there 3 times, but I still have lots of places I want to visit. I am kind of addicted to go to Italy. Travelling around Europe without visiting Italy? No way! This time, I was thinking about visiting Southern - the heel part of Italy at first, but I remembered that my friend’s whisper who traveled in Sicily before, she goes, Oh, Sicily was great…I felt like hearing music from the air as I walk in the street…. Mmm, sounds tempting. So why not?

Turkey
I love Turkish food! This is one of the main reasons I want to go! I read Japanese travel essay comic about Turkey some years ago. I became interested in Turkish people, culture and food since then. Also one of my friends who visited Turkey many times and she always told me how fun her trips were. I just felt like I needed to go there.

I wanted to go to other countries especially Portugal. I can never have enough time to travel around Europe. Too many fascinating places I want to go.