Rovaniemi

As I'm preparing to leave the city that I have been living in, I'm realizing I haven't done too much of the touristy things here, or even taken many of the pictures. So this week I have been scurrying around taking pictures. Hannah and I planned to go to the zoo today, but with the temperature drop to 0 degrees we decided there might be a better time for it. Instead, Hannah, her friend Noura and I climbed up the Ounasvaara hill - it's the best place to go to see the whole city. Apparently these rocks that we were climbing were created by the ice age and my wonderful tour guides did their best to explain all of this to me. hmm, is this the Canadian Shield?
Oh and I forgot to mention the other one we were with, Dido ;) Isn't she cute? Hannah has two puppies, Amiee who is 3 1/2 and Dido who is just over a year (I think). She is training them in agility competitions and they are quite adorable and energetic. And they have dreadlocks!
The view of my city from the top of the hill.

After wandering through the forest for about an hour or more, we came to this sign that said we were entering the forest . . . gee, thanks for letting us know! Hannah, Noura and Dido didn't know I was taking pictures of their bums all afternoon. Through this part of the forest we found cloud berries (not as tasty as everyone seems to think they are, kinda bland) and blueberries.

Back in the city, I took a few pictures, but as you can see there is really nothing to take pictures of. I think this building is the city hall. Most of the buildings in the city are this grey/white colour. The city was burned to the ground during a war, and was rebuilt looking like this (generally not overly appealing and definitly not what you imagine "Europe" to be. Noura was talking about a trip her husband and herself recently took to Italy and when friends ask where they went, they answer "Europe" . . . Finland is not very European.)
This is the "famous" theatre (famous to those locals in Rovaniemi that need to have something famous to cling to) . . . possibly inspired by the Museum of Civilization?
So, I had a crisis. I had 2 flat tires on my bike a few weeks ago (not sure if I mentioned that or not). It cost WAY too much to get them fixed. This is the bike that I borrowed from a friend - Jenni. Note the classy garbage bag on the seat to prevent wet bum syndrom during the rain (which never seems to stop). Within a week of borrowing this, I got another flat tire! How does this happen to someone? Hopefully I will have better luck at home.
And the best part of all . . . made in Finland ;)
Closing off, here is another view of the city. These 3 buildings (yellow, blue, red roofs) are apparently just appartment buildings, but when you see them they really grab your attention cause they look like they are made of lego.

Hopefully tomorrow it will be warmer and I'll get some more pictures. I can't believe I only have a few days left here. 7 nights sleeping in this dorm room to be exact, CRAZYNESS!