Walking in Finland

I forget the name of this restaurant. It is on the south side of Vesijarvi lake, a short distance from downtown Lahti. There is a small driveway out to the island where this is.

I was out walking on one of my few days off work while I was in Lahti. I came across this in the early afternoon, and had a very nice lunch here. The soup was especially good on a rather dreary day.

Finland is a great place to walk. Like many northern countries that have long dark winters, in the summer, people want to be outside. Because of this, there are many walking trails. When you explore by walking, you always discover places that you would never notice from a car.

Finland

I have been on business trips to Finland a few times. When I travel on business, the opportunities for sight seeing are limited. So, there will not be many posts on this country.

During my trips, I have visited three cities: Helsinki (the capital), Tampere, and Lahti. The picture is of ski jumps in Lahti. Ski jumping is a popular sport in Finland.

The population of Finland is just over 5 million. Two-thirds live in urban areas. Because they are far north, they have long days in the summer and short days in the winter. They were ruled by Sweden for 700 years, then by Russia for 100 years. They became independent in 1917, and are now a member of the EU.

The land has a rugged beauty, much like northern Ontario. The people are friendly. Many speak some English, but few are fluent in English. Sadly, according to one article I read, two-thirds of Finns view life as gloomy and devoid of hope. I have seen evidence of this in the abuse of alcohol which seems common.

The Bus

In Hawaii, when you say that you are taking "The Bus," that is the exact truth. Their public transit system is called "The Bus." For $2, my wife and I rode the bus from Waikiki to Pearl Harbor. There are two different routes that make this trip. We rode one there, and the other back, so we saw different areas during the journey.

Taking public transit is not usually the fastest way to travel, but it is cheaper and usually more interesting than a taxi. By the way, in Hawaii, there is a taxi company called, "The Cab."

This is my last post on Hawaii, at least, until we travel there again. If you are in Waikiki, there is an excellent Thai restaurant called Keo's. The food there is excellent. If you have any questions about any of the places we visited, post a comment and I will respond.

My next post will be about Finland.

Pearl Harbor

This picture shows the USS Arizona Memorial on the right, and a US Navy ship on the left. None of the pictures I took can relate the impact that Pearl Harbor had on me.

Regardless of your nationality (I am Canadian), every person should be moved by the knowledge of the tragedy that occurred at this place. In a few hours, 2390 Americans and 64 Japanese died. Early in the surprise attack by the Japanese fleet, the USS Arizona was hit by a bomb. This ignited the forward ammunition magazine. Within nine minutes, the ship and its 1177 men rested on the bottom of the Harbor.

It remains where it sank. The bodies of most of those who died remain inside her. The memorial, dedicated in 1962, spans the width of the sunken ship. The names of all those killed on the Arizona are listed inside the memorial.

War is an awful thing. Places such as this remind us of this truth.