Carol's Travels

After breakfast we took a guided bus tour of Helsinki.  After a while we got off and walked.
This is a sculpture dedicated to the Finnish composer, Sibelius.
We took a tour of the amazing new library.  It has so many features and services that most libraries will never have; such as, 3-D printing machines, extremely large photo copiers, music rooms, film viewing rooms, devices for making small plastic animals, and books in multiple languages.
This is the building where President Trump and President Putin met in August, 2018.
We then took a ferry ride to a nearby island where eight of us has lunch at a bistro.
Walking through a park on the way back to our hotel, we encountered lots of people wearing traditional costumes. People like to make their own traditional costumes and get their pictures taken in the park.

This evening we will have our farewell dinner, then we will fly home tomorrow.

Last night our group of 25 was divided in two so we could attend one of the home-hosted dinners.
This is the home where we had our dinner.  The husband cooked a delicious dinner for us.  We ate cauliflower and cheese soup, homemade rye bread, moose and cheese meatballs, mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and chocolate cake with whipped cream. We drank wine or beer with dinner and coffee or tea with dessert.  The host gave us a tour of his home that he built himself.

This morning a priest gave a PowerPoint presentation telling us about the three churches he serves.  Sami people are the members of these churches which are quite a distance apart.  He preaches at each church once every three weeks.  He is married and has six children.

Then we left for the airport.
Here we are landing in Helsinki, Finland.  We are staying at a 5-star hotel tonight and tomorrow night.

Shortly after we left the hotel this morning, we climbed up over 400 steps to see some huge boulders.  One is called Bear Cave.
There were several huge boulders at the top of the wooden steps.  Bear Cave was under a boulder a few steps above this boulder.
Our next stop was Siida Museum.  There were beautiful displays and pictures showing the history and lifestyle of the Sami, the indigenous people of Lapland, Finland.  This is an authentic drum used by the Sami.  We also had lunch at the museum.  Reindeer pasta was on the menu.
We next went to the Reindeer Farm.  These Sami people are wearing traditional costumes.
We got to feed the reindeer then watch them eat in their troughs.  After this, we walked to a traditional house where we were served tea, coffee, and cookies.