These photos were captured using the Sony Mavica MVC-FD91 Digital Camera. All images are © TomSettle.Communications.

Wednesday 19 July
I went with Mirja to her office today. We were there from 2-10PM and I had the chance to surf the net. Much faster connection than the old laptop! Our friend Jamal brought us dinner from McDonald’s.

Thursday 20 July
Harri, the boys and I went downtown this morning. We checked out some sporting goods stores and Anttila (department store), then stopped for ice cream at a kioski. Afterwards we went grocery shopping and came home to cook dinner.

Mirja and I left around 4 for Ala-Pihlaja. Along the way we stopped at Jamal’s shop and to pick up Mirja’s mother. We arrived in Pihlaja and visited with Teuvo and Meeri, then went to see Terttu (my aunt from Germany) at her cottage. She arrived last week and her friend Marta came a few days later with her granddaughter Janina. Here the group poses for a photo.

We finally got to our cottage where Mirja and her mom visited for a little while. They had to leave around 9:30 because Mirja had to work the early shift on Friday. After they left, Liisa and I played cards and then called it a day.

Friday 21 July
Liisa went to Virojoki with our friends Jorma, Jaana and Juuli this morning. It’s my last week in Finland. We have a busy weekend ahead so I started packing some things today…I’ll probably be leaving for Helsinki on Tuesday.

Jorma and family stopped by this afternoon for some home-grown strawberries and ice cream. Liisa, Terttu and her friends went to our friend Jenni’s name day party.

I visited Jorma and he showed me his new MP3 player/recorder…pretty cool! I also got to see Leena, Jaana and Juuli. Later I stopped at Teuvo’s house and then went to play Yahtzee at Terttu’s cottage.

Saturday 22 July
Liisa’s cousin Sirkka (seen here with Terttu and Liisa) arrived by bus today. Liisa walked to meet her and got caught in a heavy downpour. Terttu and her guests joined us for dinner, then we went to Terttu’s for coffee. We later went to visit Leena…today was her name day.

Harri and Mirja came to pick me up so we could go dancing in Kotka. Along the way we also picked up cousin Jouni and Mirja’s friend Marja. We wound up going to a popular local nightspot Meriniemi and helped close it down at 4AM. We had a blast!

Afterwards we had the munchies so we stopped at a grilli kioski to grab some food. Harri and Mirja dropped everyone off and headed back to Lappeenranta.

Sunday 23 July
I arrived back at the cottage a little after 5AM and found I was locked out. I didn’t want to wake anyone so I sat on the porch for two hours. Liisa and Sirkka woke up around 7:30 and let me in.

I managed to get a little sleep and then caught a ride with Jouni to our family reunion in nearby Lypsyniemi. Liisa and Sirkka had left earlier with Terttu. Before dinner, Teuvo and son Jouni looked across the water to try and spot Paatio, the island where our family once lived. (Paatio, seen here in the distance was taken over by Russia during the war)

We had a nice meal and got to see nearly 50 members of our extended family. After the reunion, we came back to Teuvo’s and I took pictures of his beloved cats: Jaska and Iines.

Later I went swimming down at Pihlaja Niemi and ran into Jorma’s family and their friends. Got back to the cottage and took a picture of the strawberry patch. Terttu and her guests came over and we grilled fish and baked potatoes. We played some games afterwards and turned in for the night.

Monday 24 July
The plumber came to our cottage today to install a water tank in the sauna and faucets in the kitchen.

I went for an afternoon walk to take some pictures of Alapihlaja and the forest near our cottage. It got rather warm so I went for one last swim. We heated up sauna after dinner and then went to visit Teuvo and Meeri.

Tuesday 25 July
It rained a lot overnight and the showers continued on and off throughout the day. The plumber returned and finished his work by mid-morning. We now have running water in our kitchen and sauna!

I went to say my goodbyes to Teuvo and Meeri…and to wish Meeri a happy birthday. Jouni picked me up mid-afternoon and we stopped in Hamina to get his wife Teija and daughter Marjut. They gave me a ride to Helsinki and we went shopping at Itakeskus.

Afterwards we drove by Jouni’s former workplace and their old apartment. They dropped me off at Raija and Ville’s house around 9PM.

Epilogue
My last full day (Wednesday) in Finland was cool and rainy. I did some last-minute shopping and packing.

Got up early on Thursday and caught a bus to the airport. My flight to Frankfurt left on time and another summer vacation was in the books.