April 30,2009 we arrived in Seinajoki at 11:30 am to be welcomed by Mikko Mannikko. Not wanting to go hungry, our first priority was the lunch buffet. We were soon joined by Pertti Kinnunen. We had a gorgeous day for our Seinajoki hosts to lead us on a walking tour of the shopping district. Our mission was to find Marty a Suomi hockey jersey for the ongoing world cup series. For some reason getting in touch with Finland's culture re-ignited Marty's passion for hockey. We don't ask why, we are just happy for him. I'm even teaching him cheering etiquette. The tour ended with some ice cream. It was pretty hard not to because there were ice cream vendors every two blocks.
Next, we were on the move the Seinajoki's church, Lakeuden Risti ("Cross on the Plain"). Built in 1957-1960 it was the first building erected in Seinajoki. It was designed by famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The church's design must have focused on style because it has such terrible acoustics that it needs huge speakers at the front of the church for people in the back can hear. A 7 story clock/bell tower stands next to the church. Mikko's good friend is a priest at the church and arrangements were made for us to get a private trip to the top. The view of the city was impressive. We were able to get our barrings and if you looked towards the east horizon you could see the white radio tower in Lapua.
Our evening itinerary included a night at the theatre with a Finnish Elvis Impersonator. Pertti Kinnunen and her husband met us in the lobby and joined us for the concert It was difficult to understand what he was saying when he spoke to the audience, but he was able to drop the accent when he sang the songs. He was a pretty energetic and charismatic performer. He even had a wardrobe change. Although he was no "hunk-a-hunk of burning love", it was an entertaining evening. Much more enjoyable than the Icelandic music.
We then moved on to our hotel pub, "Wilson's", to watch the Finn/Czech hockey game. It was quite full with pre-May 1st revellers. May 1st is Labour Day in Finland and they reeeeally celebrate it with enthusiasm. Pirkko's husband bought us a round and needing a little taste of home we ordered burgers. Of course Marty had to be a little different and ordered the Double Dipper Platter, which took up half the table. Typical of Marty, he generously shared.
Day two in Seinajoki was very relaxing. We got to sleep in a little later than usual, some later than others. I got up two go for a run. I figured if I ran to the river I would always have a landmark to fall back on. It worked because I made it back to the hotel as planned. Marty and Gailmarie went to the market square to watch Pertti's old(er) men's choir. Christina went for a walk to the market to check out the May 1st festival atmosphere. Catherine caught some extra z's.
Pertti picked us up at noon and we headed to the river for kayaking and canoeing. It was a gorgeous day on the water and we all launched from the pier without incident. Marty had never kayaked before, but you would never have guest it. He owned that river. Gailmarie teamed up with the Pertti, the pro paddler, and they were the high riders in the canoe. The rest of us gals were in single kayaks. Other than Pertti, the only other truly experienced paddler was Catherine and you could tell by her effortless paddle stroke and maneuvering. After 2 hours of a leisurely paddling we made our way back to the dock to find it occupied by a group of partyers that hadn't made it home from last night's festivities. Thankfully Pertti was there to deal with them. Alcohol can hinder communication just a tad. They were harmless enough though. One of the guys (Tony) was nice enough to help us all out of the water. Christina patiently waited while everyone else made it to dry land. She was all ready to get out of the water, waiting for Catherine and Pertti to take her kayak up. The kayak swung wide and in an effort to avoid getting a kayak in the head, she ducked to the right. It was the only tactic that could avoid blood shed, unfortunately it resulted in over-turning the canoe. She barely made a peep, jumped out of the water with the greatest of ease and gave us the thumbs up signal to let us know that all was good.
The rest of the afternoon gave us a chance to kick back and toss some ideas around for our conference presentation. Some headway was even made. Of course we couldn't end the night on an empty stomach so we headed down to the pub for eats and to watch the Fin/Slav game. Finland made out with a win in over time. A pretty good way to end the night.
Next, we were on the move the Seinajoki's church, Lakeuden Risti ("Cross on the Plain"). Built in 1957-1960 it was the first building erected in Seinajoki. It was designed by famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The church's design must have focused on style because it has such terrible acoustics that it needs huge speakers at the front of the church for people in the back can hear. A 7 story clock/bell tower stands next to the church. Mikko's good friend is a priest at the church and arrangements were made for us to get a private trip to the top. The view of the city was impressive. We were able to get our barrings and if you looked towards the east horizon you could see the white radio tower in Lapua.
Our evening itinerary included a night at the theatre with a Finnish Elvis Impersonator. Pertti Kinnunen and her husband met us in the lobby and joined us for the concert It was difficult to understand what he was saying when he spoke to the audience, but he was able to drop the accent when he sang the songs. He was a pretty energetic and charismatic performer. He even had a wardrobe change. Although he was no "hunk-a-hunk of burning love", it was an entertaining evening. Much more enjoyable than the Icelandic music.
We then moved on to our hotel pub, "Wilson's", to watch the Finn/Czech hockey game. It was quite full with pre-May 1st revellers. May 1st is Labour Day in Finland and they reeeeally celebrate it with enthusiasm. Pirkko's husband bought us a round and needing a little taste of home we ordered burgers. Of course Marty had to be a little different and ordered the Double Dipper Platter, which took up half the table. Typical of Marty, he generously shared.
Day two in Seinajoki was very relaxing. We got to sleep in a little later than usual, some later than others. I got up two go for a run. I figured if I ran to the river I would always have a landmark to fall back on. It worked because I made it back to the hotel as planned. Marty and Gailmarie went to the market square to watch Pertti's old(er) men's choir. Christina went for a walk to the market to check out the May 1st festival atmosphere. Catherine caught some extra z's.
Pertti picked us up at noon and we headed to the river for kayaking and canoeing. It was a gorgeous day on the water and we all launched from the pier without incident. Marty had never kayaked before, but you would never have guest it. He owned that river. Gailmarie teamed up with the Pertti, the pro paddler, and they were the high riders in the canoe. The rest of us gals were in single kayaks. Other than Pertti, the only other truly experienced paddler was Catherine and you could tell by her effortless paddle stroke and maneuvering. After 2 hours of a leisurely paddling we made our way back to the dock to find it occupied by a group of partyers that hadn't made it home from last night's festivities. Thankfully Pertti was there to deal with them. Alcohol can hinder communication just a tad. They were harmless enough though. One of the guys (Tony) was nice enough to help us all out of the water. Christina patiently waited while everyone else made it to dry land. She was all ready to get out of the water, waiting for Catherine and Pertti to take her kayak up. The kayak swung wide and in an effort to avoid getting a kayak in the head, she ducked to the right. It was the only tactic that could avoid blood shed, unfortunately it resulted in over-turning the canoe. She barely made a peep, jumped out of the water with the greatest of ease and gave us the thumbs up signal to let us know that all was good.
The rest of the afternoon gave us a chance to kick back and toss some ideas around for our conference presentation. Some headway was even made. Of course we couldn't end the night on an empty stomach so we headed down to the pub for eats and to watch the Fin/Slav game. Finland made out with a win in over time. A pretty good way to end the night.
It sounds like your days are filled with fun, fellowship and great food. That's what GSE is all about. Enjoy!!! Love Myrna
ReplyDeleteTerrific blog Laurel !!
ReplyDelete... Just like 'being there'
Darlene
Christina, next time you need to going for a swim, you should bring your suit...lol. That's a great picture of you wringing out your shoes!!!
ReplyDelete