Land of 188,000 Lakes

Finland very much reminds me of northern Minnesota--only there are more trees and more lakes, so it is even more beautiful. I couldn't believe all of the lakes. There seem to be lakes every few miles or so.

At the family reunion, we had the pleasure of taking a late night sauna and then jumping in the lake pictured above. If you are an experienced sauna-taker then you know how much of a treat it is to have one that is near a lake. The lake was very cold but it felt great. We went back and forth a few times and then relaxed outside our cabin with a beer. I slept so well after that!

One of my favorite days in Finland included a hike with relatives Pia and Pilvi and their families and our cousins Lee and Jon from the States too. We hiked through a bog to a lake and a little camping shelter and then had a little cookout. This is one of my favorite views on the way there. The shelter is actually on a little island and there is a floating platform that we had to get on to cross the water. You have to pull the rope to get yourself across. We went across in two groups but even still it was teetering a bit and I thought we were going to sink! It was pretty funny. 

Once on the island Emil helped Pasi start a fire and we ate yummy leftover smoked salmon with rye bread while we waited.  Then they cooked makkara (Finnish sausage) and we ate that with the most amazing mustard--I wish I had brought some of that back with me!

The shelter was really cool. You could actually camp there and there were some fishing poles too. Lee tried his luck fishing with some makkara for bait but the fish weren't going for it.

Here's the shelter.And Pia and Pauli.

And Pasi and Pilvi with cuties Lida, Emil and Lotta.  It was Lida's birthday so we sang her "Happy Birthday" in English and then in Finn too.  

This was one of the nicest days weather-wise that we had in Finland too. Pretty comfortable, not too hot or cold--perfect for hiking and eating sausages!

When we were with Mari in Kangasala she took us to an old tower to view the lakes that surround the town. Here's a view from the top.

It was windy up there! We had to stop for coffee afterwards to warm up. Finns are serious coffee drinkers. You can expect to be offered coffee at least two or three times a day, often with something sweet to go with it. I had no problem with that!

Here's a picture of us on the beach. As you can see from how we were dressed, it sure wasn't warm enough for swimming that day but we still had fun.