These photos were captured using the Sony Mavica MVC-FD91 Digital Camera. All images are © TomSettle.Communications.
Wednesday 5 July
Harri drove us down to the train station this morning so Liisa and Ron could buy train tickets to Helsinki (Ron flies back to the U.S. Friday). We then walked around the harbor and Harri took us to lunch. Afterwards, we came back to the house, looked at some pictures and I took a group photo.
Harri and I took Liisa and Ron back to the station to catch the 4 o’clock train…and we all got caught in a heavy downpour. We’re talking totally drenched! In the evening, Harri’s family and I went to visit Timo at camp…he’s having a great time. We then drove to Karhula to check on Harri and Mirja’s rental apartment. It’s currently vacant and they’re prepping it for new tenants. We paid a short visit to Mirja’s mother in Hamina and returned to Lappeenranta around 11:30PM.
Thursday 6 July
Harri, Mikko and I went to Ala-Pihlaja to help take my cousin Jouni’s boat to his home in Hamina. We stopped along the way to see Minna at work. When we arrived in Pihlaja, we had coffee at Teuvo’s before boarding the boat. Jouni piloted the boat while brother Harri read the map and offered helpful instructions. There were some problems with the motor so we had to go at a slower speed than we expected.
It took about two hours until we arrived at Jouni’s dock. We visited at Jouni’s house until nearly 2AM, watching some funny old Finnish TV shows on video. Jouni’s wife Teija drove us back to Pihlaja…Liisa had returned from Helsinki earlier in the evening.
Friday July 7
Ron flew back to the U.S. today, departing from Helsinki with stops in Frankfurt and Pittsburgh. Harri took Liisa to Hamina this morning to attend her class reunion cruise.
Harri, Mikko and I drove back to Lappeenranta in the early evening. Harri’s mother Meeri had given him an old typewriter, which he and Timo are looking at in this picture. Timo had returned from camp this afternoon.
Saturday 8 July
Harri, Mirja, the boys and I went shopping in downtown Lappeenranta this afternoon. We had lunch at the all-you-can-eat Pizza Buffet and ran into our friend Jamal. He invited Harri, Mirja and I to his apartment for evening tea.
When we arrived, he served us wine and some snacks from around the globe. Jamal, seen here with Harri and Mirja, also showed us some pictures and a book about his native Pakistan.
Sunday 9 July
We had to get up early today because Harri’s family was going to a christening just north of Helsinki. It was for Mirja’s sister Marja-Leena’s baby boy. I wanted to spend a few days in Helsinki, so they gave me a ride and then I caught a train into the city.
I walked to Raija and Ville’s house, then later Antti picked me up and took me to his place for dinner. He and his family had some friends visiting from Savitaipale for a few days.
After dinner, Antti, his friend Jorma and I ran to the grocery store and stopped at a local pub for a beer. They dropped me off around 9…I watched the Howard Stern movie Private Parts on TV and then turned in for the night.
Monday 10 July
Antti’s family and their friends took their kids to the Muumi children’s park today. It’s located near Turkku, about two hours west of Helsinki. I had the house to myself all day and it gave
me a good chance to catch up on my work.
Tuesday 11 July
I caught the bus to Antti’s apartment this morning. Antti, Jorma and I walked the kids (Antti, Ella and Lotta seen here) over to a local playground. We spent some time there, grabbed some lunch at a nearby restaurant and then went back to Antti’s for afternoon coffee.
In the evening, Antti and I went to pick up some furniture and stopped by his office to get some computer cables and disks. We also paid a visit to our friend (and Antti’s co-worker)
Tiina who lives just outside Helsinki. She just had her house repainted and we stopped by to check it out.
Continue to Week #5
