Scandinavia

We spent our last day in Finland in Kemi, about 27 km west of Simo. Kemi is also Pekka's place of birth. After breakfast we drove towards Kemi. We first wanted to visit the icebreaker 'Sampo', which is moored in the harbour of Kemi. This icebreaker is no longer used as such, but in winter it is being used for icebreak excursions for tourists. In summer you may visit the ship and it is also in use as a restaurant. Pekka's brother Matti, sometimes sails with these excursions and he is willing to show us around and tell us something about the ship. First we drove to his house to pick him up and then we went to the harbour to visit the icebreaker. Before he showed us around we saw a video about the ship and the excursions in the restaurant. After the video Matti showed us around, the wheel-house, the engine room etc. Hilleke stayed in the restaurant to write her diary and to make some phone calls to Sweden to arrange some cottages for us to stay the coming nights. Ciska did go, but when we entered the engine-room it frightened her a bit and she said that 'it was not interesting enough' and she wanted to go back to Hilleke. But after some persuasion she continued. While we were showed around, Pekka was called by Aura saying that she had a burst tyre on the way from Oulu to Kemi. Today she would return together so Simo with the baby and Kaarle. Pekka decided he would go and help her if no one else would stop and help Aura to change the tyre. But when we got off the boat Aura called again to say that someone had stopped so Pekka didn't have to go. Pekka took Matti home and we, together with Veera, went to the Tourist Office. This building houses also, next to Tourist Office, a gem gallery. Hilleke appreciated this gallery more than the 'technical' icebreaker. On the first floor a lot of different gems were on display like sapphire, jade, quartz and amethyst. On the second floor they had copies of famous diamonds like the 'Star of Africa', the 'Koh-I-Noor' and others. There was also a copy of the crown of the English queen and the real crown that was once meant for the king of Finland. Long ago they invited someone to become the king of Finland, but that person had just lost a war so he denied the invitation.

When we left the museum also Aura arrived. Pekka then took her car to a garage to get a new tyre and after that we went to a restaurant to eat. On our expense as a 'thank you' for all they'd done for us in the past week. After that we went back to Simo. Ciska went to bed not very late as we want to get up early the next morning as we have a long drive ahead. Pekka and Arjan went fishing on the river trying to catch a salmon. Unfortunately they didn't catch one, not even any other type of fish. This evening the ladies went to the sauna first. This meant that Pekka and Arjan now had a pre-sauna ritual, the drinking of English ale together with the tasting of some whiskies. When they walked to the sauna it started to rain a bit and before they arrived there it poured. Luckily it was much less when they returned after half an hour. Before we all went to bed we first had a draft beer to make up for the fluids we had lost in the sauna.