Travel – Page 3 – Carleen's Blog

Impromptu Parisian trip

It is K’s 30th birthday so we took a quick 2 day trip to Paris. Note to self-this is NOT long enough. To really relax and just enjoy the joy that is Paris I wish you a trip of at least 4 days minimum. Anyway, we were glad to see K, O and J if only for 48 hours!
A quick synopsis on some things that happened besides spending time with these guys. Generally our trips go off without a hitch this time it took a bit more effort but there are always highs and lows:
It snowed heavily for about 20 minutes the first morning but it didn’t settle. This was fab!
Our hotel was really lovely and quiet if not tiny! Bliss.
Spent the day in a lovely park celebrating K’s birthday! Cool.
I managed to hurt my back before leaving so was on panadol the whole time but did not let this deter me. Ouch.
Got on the wrong train for the airport. Stress.
Fixed that but then security wouldn’t let the slackline on the flight so Steve had to run back to the desks to check it in 20 minutes before flight was closing….freak out!
Phew. Now time for sleep and a wee baguette and cheese I brought home with me 🙂

Finnish touring

On Wednesday we decided to rent a car to look further afield. For only 80 euro for the day it was well worth it to have a look throughout the local area. Steve did a great job of driving while M provided snow driving advice.
Winter tyres are studded and the roads are well looked after. Although still covered in snow they have been groomed. They don’t appear to use salt or grit as I believe these don’t work once under a certain temperature anyway.
Steve invited the guy who dropped off the car to stay for a coffee and we all had a good yarn. He was able to provide us with some tips on places to go. So our first stop was the Snow Village.
The only thing about driving in Finland is that if you go past your turn off you have a drive a fairly long way to turn around. You can’t just chuck a u-turn in the middle of the road due to the snow banks. So after travelling quite a bit further past our turning we eventually managed to find a spot to spin around and make our way back to the Snow Village.

The Snow Village gets built every year when they take water from a local river to use for the ice and hire artisans to sculpt the blocks. It is basically two tunnels that run around in a circle. Off the tunnels are individual pods that are the hotel rooms. The tunnels are lit with coloured lights and each hotel room is uniquely themed. For example one had ice carved armchairs in front of an ice carved fireplace complete with dangling chandelier. The ice bar was pretty cool as was a complete ice chapel room. Note to self – wet reindeer skin smells like wet dog!

Next stop was the Husky dog farm (if only we could find it). After parking the car deep in a snow pile we hiked it down a road for about a kilometre before we figured that we were either lost or it was miles away. So we hoofed it back to the car. I think Steve thoroughly enjoyed getting the car out of the snow drift! About 4 kilometres down the road we came across the husky farm. We knew we had hit the right place when a tour bus was seen in the car park. You could hear the dogs barking from the road so we all eagerly walked towards the noise. Man, huskies are so beautiful but again, wet dog is a smell I am not too fond of. A number of tourists were already milling around and another bunch had left for their dog sled rides. We had a pat of the dogs and then the sleds started to return. The barking was incredible. The other dogs not involved in pulling the sleds were going nuts as they could hear the sleds coming well before we did and you could tell they just wanted to get out there and run!

By the time we left the husky farm it was dark so we were furiously looking for any sign of the Northern Lights. Later that night we picked a road that led into the national park where we knew it would be far darker. Steve noticed a hut just off the main road so we stopped to have a look. It turned out to be a walkers hut complete with fireplace and a shed load of wood, matches etc so we decided to camp out there for the night (or as long as possible as not everyone was too keen on staying all night). With a roaring fire, plenty of hot chocolate, snow for melting, chocolate for munching on and good company we holed up there until about 2.30am. The stars were spectacular but not a hint of the Aurora Borealis at all. During all the time there, not one car went past our little hideaway. What a magic night.

Velhon Kota

Day two of cross country skiing we headed to the Velhon Kota. Basically a kota is a hut. This one was a cafe in the forest which sounded like a great destination for a hot chocolate at the turn around point of a days skiing. At 7.5 kilometers it was a good distance given the skiing we had done the day before.

We just made it to the hut with 5 minutes to spare before closing time. The gentleman who owned the hut was keen for us to know we could stay and drink our hot chocolate while he was packing up.

The Finns although they appear quite standoffish are, we found, very friendly and keen to chat. They just prefer to get on with the job, in, out and then its time for a coffee and chat. Love it. So, we chatted to him for half an hour before we headed home as it was getting dark.

We weren’t too worried as we had our headlamps, extra warm clothing etc. One thing in this area, you may think you are isolated and then all of a sudden a snowmobile comes whizzing past through the trees, or you see car lights on a nearby road, or better yet, house lights twinkling from in-between the trees.

The kota is 20 years old and has no electricity. Inside everything was either lit by candles, kerosene lamps and the fireplace to keep it all toasty warm. The owner commutes to work each day on his snowmobile!

X Country Ski bunnies – Kesankijarvi lake

I have a new sport – Cross Country Skiing! Love, love, love it! The downhill skiing didn’t even get a look in even given that it was deserted most days. There is nothing like getting out into the forest with just your skis and the knowledge that to get anywhere its gotta be all you (and the occasional pleasure of a downhill section for a free ride).

Basically cross country skis are long, very skinny and have clips in the bindings that snap onto shoes that are similar to running shoes. You have long poles with a hook on the bottom and a foot (looks like an elks hoof) which assists when pushing off with the pole. You can either attempt to forge your own way across the snow or on the cross country tracks they have pre-cut that you follow along in on your skis. It is similar to a train and its tracks. This is classic cross country. There is also skating and telemark where the skis and boots are slightly different and you don’t use the pre-cut tracks. Only the front part of your shoe is attached to the ski so the remainder of your foot/heel is free to lift up and down in order to push off with. The arm opposite to the leg you are pushing off with is then used to push off on the pole to assist in providing forward momentum. Trying to work all this together takes a bit of time but once underway it becomes quite natural. The only thing I haven’t worked out is stopping or turning gracefully. Generally this was done by falling over as using the old snow plough usually saw me end up head first in the snow. I did manage to improve on going up hills and for the really steep hills, improved my herringbone technique.

We booked our skis for four days and did manage to get in some great trips. Day one was a tester around the Akaslompolo lake (currently fully frozen over). It was only a 3 kilometer trip around the lake but by the time we hit the cafe I was sweating bullets and ready to demolish a pizza. The last leg of the course had a bitter wind blowing through which meant significant wind chill and the need to continually stabilize yourself against the gusts.

After having recovered from the afternoon warm-up ski we did another trip that evening. This time heading out via the illuminated night track and into the woods. We were heading for a kota (fire hut) between a couple of the fells (hills). Taking our trusty new headlamps with us it turned out we didn’t really need them. The white snow reflected the fading light brilliantly. Then when it was dark (about 4pm by this time) we just continued following the white snowy path and let the cross country pre-groomed track keep us on course. The headlamps did come in handy when we got to cross roads so we could check the map and ensure we were heading in the right direction.

We ended up just at the tip of the Kesankijarvi lake where we stopped for a quick drink of water and chocolate. The water in Steve’s bag had frozen even with the insulation he had purchased for the tubing. Round trip of about 8 kilometers. I found it more comfortable and easier to control my body temperature skiing through the fell than out on the lake. The fells provided better cover from the wind and gave a consistent temperature so I managed to avoid overheating or sweating too much which thens becomes an issue when you start to cool down once stopped for any reason.

I have come to the thought that learning to ski at night is possibly a good thing. For one, there were some steep parts which I am sure I would have walked down had I seen them in daylight. At night they came up so quickly and appeared quite demure until you were speeding down them. Something has to be said for jumping into things “blind” sometimes.

Kiitos Finland

We have returned from Finland with all our fingers, toes and noses intact. The anticipated -30 degree temperatures alluded us while we were there as did the Aurora Borealis. So what did Finland hold for us? A log cabin in the woods, surrounded by thigh deep snow, a low of -14, incredibly peaceful surroundings and the joy of sharing this all with friends.

We flew into Kittila on Sunday evening to be picked up by a pre-arranged taxi. Our taxi driver (Anne) had taken the liberty of also collecting our cabin key from the local real estate agent as well. Great hospitality.

As I was determined NOT to do a typical British resort week away this meant things were a bit tougher to find out about when you are doing it off your own bat. Traditionally with the resort holidays everything is included, flights, transfers, accommodation and meals. This also means it can be triple, if not more, than what you can do by booking as an individual. More importantly it means you don’t have to be herded into the same town as every other traveler on the flight where the resorts are tailored to tourists.

I booked our log cabin in a town called Akaslompolo, resident population of 400, swelling to 20,000 during the summer time. Of the 12 cabins in our immediate vicinity, when we arrived we were the only ones there. Throughout the week 2 or 3 other groups arrived but they appeared to be Finnish families coming to ski for a few days before heading home again. Our cabin was bliss. Two downstairs twin rooms, a mezzainne floor with room for at least 5 people, fully equipped open plan kitchen/dining and living room with tv/dvd and fireplace. Plenty of storage, 2 toilets, shower, washing machine and an indoor electric sauna. As it was the low season we got a good price on it which, when sharing with mates, really makes for a cheaper time than through a travel company.

Town was about a 20 minute walk which was very pleasant as you are continually surrounded by a winter wonderland. We did hire a car for a day which was a brilliant idea in order to get out of town and see some more of the area. Without a car you are quite isolated and with few public transport options, taxis could become very expensive if you wanted to see more of the area.

Cross country ski tracks are in abundance and the illuminated track for night time skiing was only about 300 meters from us. This is lit until 10pm at night. We made some good use of this track on our ski days/nights.

Shopping was completed at Jounin Kauppa where there is also a pharmacy, dry cleaners, grog shop and cafe. Prices on many items are rather high especially alcohol so bringing duty free in would be the best idea if you are keen on having some tipple over the week. General food items like milk, pasta, sauces, bread, cheese were relatively priced but meat was very costly. Especially reindeer. This was upwards of 40 euro a kilo. You can pick up some fairly cheap sausages for the kota’s (fire huts) but in short expect that as with any country if the food is low cost it will most likely mean high fat or highly processed. I did notice the microwave meals were priced on par with the pound but if you can live for a week on that stuff I feel sorry for you. If we were to add up the cost of food bought while eating out over the week I might have a heart attack so I refuse to go there. To give you an example, one day on a ski trip we were out in the middle of nowhere and decided to cop the charge on 2 rolls, 2 chocolate bars and 2 hot drinks…17 euro! Seriously though, what do you expect when there is nothing else around for miles? This was our fault for not being prepared. The local cafe did do a great special on a pizza and large coke for 10 euro. Steve and I shared the pizza as it was far to big for one person.

Wifi was pretty much non existent in the area. There was an internet cafe (corner Tunturintie and Sivulantie) and wifi available at the cafe in the supermarket centre. 3 euro for an hour at the cafe.

I really want to capture some of the ski trips we did so I will do these individually but in all the trip was incredible with a large number of memories, ideas and impressions that will sit with me for a long time to come. Also, it was incredibly difficult to find out a lot about the place before we arrived so I really want to get some information down here to assist others in future. If you do have any questions please feel free to email me and I will try to help out.

In the meantime, a post would not be the same without a few pictures now would it.

Kendal Mountain Festival 2009

Well the weekend in Kendal has been and gone. Despite the horrific flooding happening in the Cumbria region the festival continued as Kendal had not been terribly affected. They had a bit of flooding on the Thursday but no where near the devastation that was happening further into the Lake District.

We had originally planned to stay at the same B&B in Ambleside as last year but it was booked out. Thankfully this didn’t go ahead as we wouldn’t have been able to get into the area anyway as they were blocked off by flooding.

Friday morning we headed up to the Lake District after having checked the forecast and road closures. All were looking well. We arrived in the area about 1pm and headed straight into Kendal Mountain Festival Basecamp to see what tickets we could pick up. We chose a Ski and Board movie session Friday night, Climbing movie session on Saturday morning, Andy Kirkpatrick’s talk in the afternoon, followed by Alain Robert’s talk Saturday evening, Free Flight movie session then a final Mountaineering movie session on Sunday morning before heading home in the afternoon. Phew, a jam packed weekend.

Our main reason for going this year was Alain Robert, one of Steve’s climbing heroes. You may know Alain better as “Spiderman” or the “Human Spider”. His more well known expertise is “builderring” or climbing buildings instead of rocks/mountains. He’s most recent conquest was the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Imagine our surprise when on Friday night before we headed off to our first movie session, there he was, Monsieur Robert himself. Steve had recently finished reading Alain’s book “With Bare Hands” and had it on him in case an opportune moment such as this presented itself. Not wanting to interrupt other peoples opportunities to speak to their own hero, Steve waited for his chance to say hello. His patience and respectful nature was not lost on Alain who seemed to have noticed Steve waiting. When Alain had finished speaking to some others Steve approached him for an autograph and was treated to not only an autograph but a long conversation with this incredible man. They sat down and chatted away happily for over an hour and a beer later. It was a privilege to chat to Alain but most importantly it was really insightful to see that this is a guy that clearly has a passion for what he does and is not quite sure why he is so popular. He sees himself as just a normal guy doing what he enjoys.

I think Steve could quite happily have turned around and gone home at that point having meet Alain but I was really keen to get intake of movies. The ones that stood out for me most this year were “20 seconds of joy” and “The Asgard Project”. Actually I would also add “Welsh Connections” and “Slab Monkeys”. It was a shame that Karina Hollekim couldn’t make it to talk after “20 seconds of joy” which went through her journey to becoming a base jumper.

It was a fab weekend. Not many photos though as the weather was shocking!

Avebury Stone Circle – Wiltshire

I have said it before, and I will say it again. If you wait for a sunny day here to do anything, you never will do it. So Saturday morning saw us getting all rugged up, wet weather gear on and off to find the Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire.

Having not had breakfast before we left Steve spotted a fab looking pub called the Waggon and Horses. No I have not spelt it incorrectly, this is “ye olde English” spelling. Thank goodness Steve spotted this place. Thatch roofed with fires blazing we had a hearty meal before heading out into the horrid weather again.

If you are into going to Stonehenge then I would suggest a trip to Avebury as well. In all honesty I actually prefer Avebury as here you get complete access to the stones directly in the fields that they stand. They are free to explore and there are a lot more of the stones that what you get at Stonehenge. I would still recommend seeing Stonehenge though.

The area covers 28 acres of which there is a large, deep ditch that circles the monument site. Then there is a stone circle inside the ditch area which encloses two more stone circles. The stones are said to date from 2850 to 2200 BC. Not all the stones are still intact as they have been demolished, rebuilt, taken to help build the local town of Avebury etc over the years.

The weather was tragic with high winds and driving rain. This did give me an opportunity to test my new down jacket. It is a RAB Neutrino made for high altitude mountaineering conditions and does this jacket work or what. This winter I am NOT NOT NOT going to freeze! It worked like a charm. We are heading to Finland in January for a holiday with some mates where it can get down to -30 Celsius so by the time we head off there I should be well convinced of its suitability. So far, I love it.

So what did I learn?

Venice although pretty during the day is rather dark on the canals at night
The gondolas are gorgeous but I kinda like a bit more speed, hence you can do these when you retire
Best coffee truly does come from Italy
I stuck out as a tourist with my lack of leather, boots or Gucci anything
The sound of rolling luggage bags is a constant on the cobbled streets
Venice is HUGE! So much larger than I expected
You can find quiet spots for a moment of down time
Venetians don’t live in Venice they scatter at night to the mainland and leave the tourists to the island

Finally, as a post would not be right without photos, here are some more.

Espresso freak out

Our last day in Venice was all about Espresso! Before arriving here I had never really been much of an espresso fan. I have found in the past that is has been too bitter for my liking. I have since come to the conclusion that it was the lack of skill not the product that was possibly at fault.

As our flight home wasn’t until 10pm Friday night we decided to take a leisurely pace today and just cruise from one cafe to the next.

First stop Cafe Vergnano 1882 in Mestre shopping centre. Generally the espresso were 0.90 cents each (standing up at the bar). Many places charge extra if you sit down. Thankfully we managed to get lucky with places that didn’t charge so we could relax and ALWAYS use the bathroom before heading off. Public restrooms are far and few between and cost 1.50 for the pleasure. However, if you are eating in a restaurant then you are OK. A tip here – the only McDees on Venice Island located on Strada Nova has a toilet that isn’t pin coded (yet) AND free Wi-Fi!

Next was a stop at the supermarket to buy our tin of 1882 coffee and of course Parmigana Regiano cheese.

Taking the train into Venice it was going to be another glorious blue sky day again though the temperature was feeling a wee bit baltic so it was on with the jumpers and windproofs. Enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant. It was packed with local workers so this is always a positive indication that you have picked a winner. My Spaghetti al vongole (clams) was lovely. I had to pick all the large bits of garlic out though as I am sure my fellow flight passengers would not have appreciated my lunch choice on a 2 hour flight.

Our last cafe stop for the day was Cafe del Doge. This was the best find besides 1882 as this is where we finally found an affogato. It would seem that if you want an affogato you really need to find a coffee house not a local bar. Of course the espresso shot with vanilla ice cream went down very well and was a great finish to our time in Venice.

Even getting to the airport was incredibly easy. We had wanted to get the airport boat but this was turning out to be another tourist priced rip. 8 euro to St Marks Square then another 13 euro to the airport. So we took the advice of the locals who were insistent that the bus was far easier. If the locals tell you this then I would suggest following their advice. So for 2.50 we got the public bus (number 5 leaving from “platform” A1) at Piazalle Roma bus station (over the glass bridge near the Santa Lucia station). 30 minutes later we were at the airport. Easy peasy.

So here are some shots of the last day.

Bologna via Trenitalia train

Where does bolognese originate from? Bologna! Did we find somewhere to have bolognese? No. Today was a good chance to get off the feet for a while and let Trenitalia trains do some of the travelling for us.

Under 2 hours from Venice it was a direct train from Mestre to Bologna (around 18 Euro return each). On arrival the train station is huge and chaotic. Bologna is a main intersection point for trains across the country. It was a MAD rush in there!

We had decided to only stay for a couple of hours as we had already had 3 huge days in Venice and Mestre. Our holidays are never lazy ones that’s for sure. We tend to be exhausted by the end of them so today was a bit of a “down” day for us. Having said that we did put in quite a bit of walking yet again.

The highlights for Bologna would be the covered walkways. Apparently there are 40 kilometres of these. I could imagine during the intense heat of summer or the snowy days of winter these walkways would continue to ensure that Bologna keeps on shopping. Surely Bologna should be a key spot on your places to visit if you are after a shopping spree. Fashion is high on the list here. However, fashion at a much better price than Venice. Same stores just minus the tourist price.

Another highlight was the “Teatro Anatomico” that we came across in the university sector. Bologna is home to the worlds oldest university of the Western World founded in 1088. The anatomy theatre was incredible with rich wood sculptures, seating and with the marble autopsy table in the centre of the lecture theatre. The wooden stalls surround the tables where the students sat and the lecturers stall at the head of the room. The stall is flanked by incredible wooden carvings of two men. However the carving details a view of man without skin so you can see the muscle, ligatures, spine. This may sound perverse but it is indeed truly beautiful. The wooden ceiling is adorned with carvings of the star signs.

It has been very cold the last 3 days and today was no exception. There is a cold Arctic front pushing its way across Europe with snow falling in the alps and drops of 15 degree differences between last week and this week. Chilly!

We ended up staying about 3 hours here even so I would recommend it as a stop if you are into your shopping. You get a much better feel for what Italy is from a day to day point of view. Students are in vast numbers here, it is an affluent city that just ticks along. Cars, scooters, buses, trams, pedestrians and bicycles bustle for position in every direction. It is pure madness. I can only imagine what a really large city like Rome would be like. I was quite thankful to get back to Venice Island where cars are absent. Bliss.