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Thursday 30 July 1998

Slideshow Pictures

We drove through customs and into Helsinki, Rita’s home town.

Ended up by the Viking Line ferry terminal. Rita knew that we were heading the wrong way, so we backtracked. We were looking for Mannerheimintie or Stockman department store where Rita could navigate from. Stopped on a street and decided to buy a map in a convenience store. While looking for a map Rita noticed a Tulikivi store where stone objects were exhibited in the window. Rita and Rachel went in and bought two stone eggs and two egg cups. Rita argued that these stone eggs are very useful as a source of vitamin, protein and fat in case of an earthquake or other disaster since they are unbreakable; so I agreed that we should stock up on them. Mannerheimintie was just one block from the store, and once we were on it Rita had no trouble navigating to Munkkiniemi. There we found our hotel, Kalastajatorppa, and checked in. We were given a room on the second floor, with a large window facing the water.

Rita made some phone calls and scheduled us to visit Rita’s uncle Jarl and his wife Aune. We drove to the general area and then stopped a man on the street to ask for directions. He spoke excellent English and Rita commented on this. He said Finland was a small country, and to do business Finns had to learn many languages. Parked our car and after a tour around the neighborhood we found the apartment. Rita’s uncle Jarl, his wife Aune and Rita’s aunt Eine were there to meet us. Later Rita’s cousin Iris and her daughter Christina (Tytti) and her two children came over.

We had coffee and cake and later a very nice dinner which Jarl and Eine made under the direction of Aune. We gave them a huge bottle of Vodka which we had bought in the duty free on the ferry and table cloths from Hungary for the aunts (a great gift since both of them are gifted in handicrafts).

Then we headed back to the hotel and got hopelessly lost. It was overcast and getting dark and there were no navigational aids and to add to our trouble the street signs were next to impossible to see being on sides of buildings with trees planted in front of many. We turned off the main road and stopped at the intersection to look at the road signs. A bicyclist riding behind us gave our back window an enormous bang. with his hand. The Finns sure don’t like their bicycle lanes obstructed. Finally after driving for about an hour we ended up on Mannerheim street near the landmark Stockman’s department store and from there we had no trouble reaching the hotel. Shortly after arriving at the hotel, Christina’s and Rick’s aunt Kaino and her son who announced that his friends call him "Jerry" came to visit us. We had a few drinks from the mini-bar in the hotel room, and a somewhat strained conversation, not that they weren’t friendly enough.

Kaino asked Rita, to ask Christina and Rick, to send release papers concerning the grandparents’ estate. They left and we went to bed.

Friday 31 July 1998

We had breakfast at the hotel. Then Kaino came over with her friend to bring some gifts for Christina including a large wicker basket which in spite of my strong protest Rita insisted, to bring back to Canada.

After they left we went to a camera repair store to see if the camera charger could be repaired. The repairman said there was nothing wrong with our charger, it was the transformer, but we were using the transformer daily for other electrical appliances so there was nothing wrong with the transformer.

On the way back to the car I dropped the charger and now it was definitely broken. We spent a few minutes looking around the sidewalk for parts of the charger with Finns looking at us with curiosity from a restaurant on the corner and we finally gave up. Went back to the hotel, freshened up and had lunch at the hotel in a round building where Rita had an orange juice as a kid when she lived in that area. So we had lunch and Rita relived her old memories and had an orange juice at the Kalastajatorppa.

We went to visit Rita’s cousin Sally and her live-in Reiska. Sally announced that she would not have invited us over unless Rita had phoned because she is so embarrassed about the way they live and we are such "millionaires".

Those Finns sure have a sense of humor. Rita’s aunt Eine and Sally’s granddaughter Johanna were also there. We brought them a huge bottle of Vodka and Reiska jokingly announced that it is just what he needs since he is an alcoholic. We had a nice time with Sally apologizing and apologizing for her miserable apartment which was actually quite nice. After that we headed back to the hotel.

We got lost again. Shortly after the scenic tour of Helsinki (that Rita insists on calling "getting lost".) Rita’s cousin Rafael (Raffu) phoned and asked us to come to a party at their house. We declined because we were tired. Apparently they had partied and "saunaed "until the wee hours of the morning which we missed. Would have been fun but I may not have been too thrilled by the sauna part.

Saturday 1 August 1998

Had breakfast at the hotel, soon after Iiris her live-in Jokke, Raffu and his live-in Liisa came to take us for an outing in Helsinki. We went to the hospital Iiris’s works in, where she showed us the lab.

There we had a complete blood test and were told that all three of us had some type of infection and my cholesterol was a little high. We thought of checking in at the hospital, immediately, and take advantage of our medical insurance, but hospital food didn’t appeal to us.

Then we went to the Satama tori.

Everything was just closing but we checked out the indoor market.

Toured the square and saw the famous Finnish statue called Haavis Amanta.

The statue depicts a nude woman who in the early 1900 earned her education by posing as a nude model and working as a prostitute. Every spring on May Day the students celebrate their graduation around the statue and the statue gets the honor of wearing the "white hat" (Finnish graduating hat).

Some sadist placed the male statues facing hers and if you look close enough you can see a wishful look in their eyes.

Then we went to Stockman’s where Raffu offered to buy us everything in the store. He paid for two films that I needed and he wanted to pay for our groceries which we didn’t of course accept. Raffu and I went to the liquor store. Raffu paid for a bottle of wine. Rita bought her favorite Finnish bread, and cook book, magazine and was in her glory. She also eyed the wondrous fresh yellow mushrooms she remembers from her childhood but didn’t think there would be a place to prepare them. We were looking for the Finnish souvenir (for Rick), with wooden spoon, salt and bread on a wood board, and finally found a facsimile. Apparently the souvenir isn’t that popular anymore and hard to find.

Then we were off to a restaurant. We walked back to the hospital took out some money at an ATM. Rachel and Rita went in Raffu’s car and I went with Iiris. Iiris decided to make some phone calls on her cell phone so she steered with one elbow while dialing on her cell phone. We arrived at the restaurant they intended us to have lunch in, but the restaurant was being used for a wedding. So we decided to go to another nearby restaurant and again, Iiris made a phone call while elbow driving. It was to her daughter Christina telling her about the change in plans.

We went into the restaurant which was used as a stagecoach stop during the Swedish reign of Finland. Christina, her husband Petri and their two children joined us.

We had a very nice lunch. Raffu’s treat.

Then we went off to Raffu’s and Liisa’s house which was a really nice house with of course the sauna, which is a must in Finland. He showed us his collection of musical vehicles, belt buckle collection, crystal collection and his musical lighter collection. He gave us two musical lighters. The one that plays "Für Elise" I claimed immediately. The other plays some other tune we don’t know the name of. Liisa gave us a clock and a candle stick. Had a couple of beers and strawberries and then a nice lunch with cold cuts, etc. They invited us to a dance by a lake, but Raffu and Liisa would have had to cancel work that evening, so would have Iiris, so we bowed out to make it easy for them. Raffu and Liisa donned their red coveralls and off to work they went to the post office.

Iiris drove us back to the hotel and off to work she went.