Latvia is Amazing!

Riga is supposed to be one of the most beautiful of the baltic cities (it's in Latvia, that's right David, I'm in Latvia, La-t-via, La-t-via) and I couldn't agree more. I'm so happy that I squeezed this day trek in, it is exactly what europe is supposed to look like complete with cobblestone roads, street vendors and european charm. Above is where I am staying (kinda) and below is a restraunt down the street that I don't think I can afford to eat at ;)

The eiffel tower in riga ;)
The blackhead's residence built in approximately 1230.


The lutheran cathedral - absolutely amazing! A picture couldn't do this justice. And inside they have a symphony playing and you can just go in and watch . . . you get goosebumps, because it is reverent (hope that is the right use of that word).

Jess & Heli's Awesome, Amazing, Super Cool Elevator Adventure

haha, ok, so I've been trying to explain the elevators here for a while now. . . please watch this instructional video intended for your educational purposes ;)

PS - Heli isn't always so Grumpy, it was the third take of this video though, and apparently she wants to cut me off of sugar, I'm not sure why ;)


Now I'm off for some adventures that maybe aren't quite as lame ;) Heading to Estonia, Latvia and South Finland (Helsinki) for the week, . . . stay tuned!

Sad Sad Story

A story you hear from a lot of people that go travelling . . . I have no money! haha. Well, I haven't completely run out of it yet, I just can't use my bank card to get anymore. GRRR. However, an interesting thing is that every grocery store, convenience store, post office that I have been to have had slot machines . . . maybe I should try my luck? Or maybe I should save the two cents I have left so I can eat them or something . . .

Signs

NOTE - THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE RAIN RAIN STORY, SO READ THAT FIRST

I've been meaning to do this post for a while, funny road signs that I have seen in Finland. I saw this sign on the first day, and had to take a picture. I have thought about it for a long time and have conclusively decided that it means you cannot build igloos on the side of the highway (in the middle, well that might be another story).

And then when I was out enjoying everything on the right side of my balcony I found this sign and had to take a picture. I actually laughed out loud when I saw it. I decided to continue to bike around and look for signs to complete my post. So, with that I began to get lost.



AND THEN, this terrible thing happened! I came to a round about. Anyone that has ever driven with me down Prince of Wales (the only place in Ottawa there is a round about) knows that these give me the hibejeebees and I usually just close my eyes and rely on the screaming passengers to let me know which direction to go. I made it around the round about uneventfully and then as soon as I finished congratulating myself. It started hailing :( and thundering. So I'm home now and posting pictures while my pants are still soaking wet. I hope you all enjoyed my story and uneventful afternoon adventures.

The End

Rain Rain Go Away!

I've decided photos are a fun way to tell stories, rather than me talking. So, on Friday at midsummer, it rained a little not too bad. On Saturday it rained a little more and produced some stunning rainbows (I'm not sure if you can tell in this picutre, but there are two rainbows right above each other).
So, on Sunday (today) we had a GIGANTIC thunderstorm, second biggest I've seen in my life (the first being camping in a tent during a hurricane with my family, ah, the memories). I was so scared because the thunder was literally deafening, and it looked like lightening was coming through our house. Heli and I both unplugged our computers and remained bored. When the rain let up, I took this picure from the left side of our balcony.
And this one from the right, haha. After being cooped up in the apartment all day, I decided it would be ok to go outside as long as I stayed to the right of my apartment balcony. So on my adventure I went. . . .
And the theory held true, this is the left side of the river I found.
And the right side of the river (quite possibly one of the most peaceful places in the world.)




TO BE CONTINUED . . . .

Midnight Sun # 1

WOW! On the way to the festival I saw a Canadian flag, I'm not sure why it was up, but it warmed the cockuls of my heart :)

It was actually quite dark this year, because of the rain. But that didn't stop people from having a good time. This is the bonfire, below is also a clip of some of the folk Finnish dancing, which was fun to watch . . . as you will notice there was lots of dancers barking, and lots of "uuuummmpppaasss" which generally make for a good time.

Midnight Sun # 2

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, in Canada, that doesn't seem to mean much though, (I think in the northern territories there is more celebration), in Finland, it's a big deal. I got the say off work (stat holiday) and all. It was wonderful. I went to see some traditional Finnish folk dancing, and at 11:30 there was a bonfire.

random fact of the day

I've been trying to take a picture of a Finland flag since I arrived, with no luck. This seems extremely weird, especially since I spent 2 days in the capital city and have been here ONE MONTH TODAY (!!), that I have not even seen one, and then this morning, 2 Finnish flags magically appeared outside my window. Yes, this is weird, so I decided to ask my roommate if I was crazy and they had been there all along. Apparently, there are only certain days of the year that the Finnish flag is allowed to be displayed. Today, being the begining of the summer solstice and the Midsummer Sun Statutory Holiday, is one of those rare occasions. So, I will get my camera out and try to get some better pictures of the flag.

I'm not really sure what other days you are allowed to put the flag up - except on your brithday, hahaha. random and weird. yes.

Scariest Thing Ever!

the dentist! Not only is it bad in Canada, it's excrutiating in other places too. I miss Dr. Tucker. You never realize how vulnerable of a place your mouth is, until you are lying on your back with two strangers talking in a language you don't understand, passing needles, scalpals and other shiny, metal, sharp utensils to be used in your mouth. Half way through my experience, they decided to use local anesthisia (yeah, I can't spell that word), they were a little enthusiastic about this, and 2 doses later, I could not feel my entire left side. Which made for an interesting bike ride home (don't worry, I only fell once, and that's funny, cause it's true).

I guess on the plus side, I haven't seen any king cobras on this trip, and I don't anticipate that to be happening either.

My weekend rendevouz in Sweden

I'm too lazy to type about it, so here's the story in pictures :) (For some reason the order got messed up when I posted these, the actual order starts at the flag (photo # 5 should be #1) then goes to the bottom, and then this first photo should actually be # 6 - and if that doesn't make sense, just look at the pretty pictures ;)
This photo above was taken at 2 am, leaving an establishment . . . not sure if sun is setting or rising
My new friend, and her white beer (large large glass)
Mecca. Mecca (for my brother).

Happy Fathers Day

Well, I don't normally like to be all sappy in front of the whole world, it is Father's day. And I do love my Dad, so this post is for you Dad, it's our song.

I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright
I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance
They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance

I have never seen that dress you're wearing
Or the highlights in your head that catch your eyes
I have been blind
The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek
There's nobody here, it's just you and me,
It's where I wanna be
But I hardly know this beauty by my side

I'll never for get, the way you look tonight
I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright you were amazing
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side
And when you turned to me and smiled,
It took my breath away
I have never had such a feeling
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight
The way you look tonight
I never will forget, the way you look tonight

The lady in red
The lady in red
The lady in red
My lady in red (I love you.)

Sweet Ride!

This is my new bike! Purchased at a second hand shop. It looks like most of the other bikes you see in Finland (other than this one has a straight cross bar, and most have "girl" crossbars that go parallel to the other bar). I'm excited to have it and spent all day saturday touring around town on my new purchase.

I also picked up a cell phone on the weekend. I thought about posting my number here, but do to crazy stalkers decided against it. So, if you want my number, drop me an email or a facebook note and I'll make sure you get it.

PS - I"m supposed to make sure that everyone knows, my roommate Heli took this picutre ;)

I ate Rudolph

k, so we got some confusion cleared up today, and by we, I mean the royal we ;). I was wondering what was going on in all the shop windows, were these white hats some new kind of fashion trend that just hasn't picked up in Canada yet? Apparently this is the graduation hat, for what seems to be the equivalent of high school.

High school here is a big deal. I went to a party of a coworkers son. The champagne was flowing, there were flowers everywhere, cards, family, relatives, cake, alcoholic punch that I never saw the bottom of . . . I'm sure it was a splendid time, but I can't promise you that since I didn't understand a word that was said the whole evening.

Well, that's a lie. . . .I did understand when they told me I was eating Rudolph. I had Reindeer soup. My first experiment with reindeer and I actually liked it. Surprisingly though, I liked the salmon soup too, even more perhaps. . . which begs the question, was I drinking too much champagne?

Those Crazy Fins ... Part Deux

More painting! I'm not sure if you can tell what this says. . . but just in case you can't it says, "You can't touch this - Stop! Hammer Time!" hahaha. This is on my way to work and everytime I see it I get that friggen song stuck in my head, dun nnn nnn can't touch this. haha. it's kinda wonderful, but I'm sure in a week, it won't be anymore.

So, those crazy fins have been very good about trying to speak english to me, although they aren't all that great at it and along the way we have had some miscommunications. Like for example, one day they told me to come to work at 9:30 and when I arrived I was an hour late since they actually wanted me at 8:30. haha. WELL, today, I think I had the most humorous misunderstanding to date; My coworker invited me to a party and was explaining that it would be a lot of fun because my other collegue before she was a social worker was a "hooker". I tried not to laugh, I tried so hard (I guess you might have to see the woman to understand). But it turns out that she was trying to say "cooker" and explain the job of a chef.

haha, oh those crazy fins. . . .

ps - I think I'm going crazy being here, the thing that I miss the most, other than my friends and family of course, is soda crackers!

Those Crazy Fins

A hard day's work. . . .

well the sucky part is that it rained today, and I had to walk 1/2 hour to work.

BUT once I got there I spent the morning fingerpainting with kids and the afternoon lawnbowling with seniors (it's actually a finnish game called melkky). Well, not exactly lawn bowling the rules are a little different and I didn't realize till half way through the game, that the object is to only knock one pin down and not them all. haha, lesson learned! Bring it on - old folks!

PS - this is some of the crazy grafitti that I saw on the way to the park and definitly had to take a picture of it ;) More of this to come.

Signs

This is the train that I took from Helsinki to Rovenemi, I had to take a picture of the sign because as you will notice, the double decker train allows both bikes and bears, but no dogs.

This is also a sign that I'm procrastinating when I'm supposed to be doing research. ;)

Batman Cola

I knew no one would believe me, so I took a picture just to prove it! They also have batman candy, and batman brand everything. I wonder how long until they come out with batman brand feminine hygenie products?