old tiger's Blog

From Kotka got a ride to Lappeenranta..directly on Russian border...
i got on towards Mikkeli-Savonlinaa..this is Finland at its best..
this means..forest,lakes..and unbelieveable great nature..in summer
Finland can be a terror for its mosquitos..they liked my skin as well
sometimes..the lakes(j?rvi)of Finland are a great way..
to feel 1 with nature in all its facets..
people swim,boat..walk around in the woods nearby..
Finns like Swedes are crazy about nature anyway..
don't recall where I slept in Savonlinna..probably rough..
every july there's an opera festival..but that did not interested me..
at all..I was there late june..weather was O.K..in Scandinavia weather
can be rainy a lot..one must have good luck with the weather conditions
otherwise your holiday gets bit rained out..I always had good luck what
weather was concerned..Savonlinna has got lots of water around..lots..
I did not stay long...just arrived late afternoon..and left next morning..
but it sure is a very worthwhile place to discover if you got the time to
spend...some Finns told me to visit a very old wooden church nearby..
called Kerim?ki church..dating from 1848?completey built in wood..
it's about 25 kms.from Savonlinna..difficult to reach..did not go there..
pity maybe..but I still had to go back home..2 ferries to pay etc..
I did not have a donkey that was shitting money either...and money..
goes quick in Scandinavia..it's bloody expensive...
so..I decided to hitch towards Kuopio-Jyvaskyla-Tampere-Turku..
and then take the ferry towards Stockholm again..
Tiger

Helsinki..towards Kotka..got a ride with a Finn...
he told me..Kotka is close to Russian border..
in fact..Russia in these days..was still very closed off..
this dude..drove me to a campsite...around Kotka..
where they were celebrating midnight summer..
it was around 20th june..Scandinavia goes nuts then..
everybody gets in a happy mood..people get stoned on booze..
so..Finnish sauna on this campsite..never experienced it before..
in the corner is a stove like thing..filled with stones..
they pour hot water on it..gives the steam..woooh...
http://sauna.wikix.ipupdater.com/
it went to my lungs..couldn't breathe..one starts sweating..
outside...a lake..to dive in..naked..big fun..now..these folks..
had put 2 crats of beer..inbetween the lake and the sauna..
it's not a good idea to get stoned in a Finnish sauna..
every year..at least 12 Finns drown into a Finnish lake..
at midsummer..they just loose their senses that day..
so..on this campsite..p?lser(saucages)fish roast..
great moods..I recall that day..lots of jokes...laughter..
I think every Finn has got a sauna at home..
great way to relax..I don't recall whether I slept that day..
or not..I was maybe stoned as well..I don't remember..
but I can advise you all..go to Sweden..Finland to celebrate..
midsummer..I know what it means..wooohhhaahh..
crazy Tiger

so..again to Stockholm town..got that ferry to Helsinki..
I skipped the idea of visiting Turku and go straight to Helsinki..
these ferries..specially on weekends...were nothing more
for some Finns..or Swedes for that matter...
then a booze party..alcohol was taxfree on these crossings..
and booze was damn expensive..Stockholm-Helsinki is 15 hours
crossing..normally I never liked these ferries..they cost money..
but in this case..no other option..unless you go completely up
north and cross into Finland via Haparanda/Kemi..my plan was
to visit the lake regio of Savonlinna-Mikkeli-Jyvaskyla..but first
Helsinki..and getting out of Finland was again a ferry to Stockholm..
the trip Stockholm-Helsinki went O.K..lots of drunken dudes..
Helsinki town is a nice place..I slept 2 days rough in a city park..
Finnish people are nice people...their language is extremely different
then Sweden or Norway..a ravintola is a Finnish restaurant..
Helsinki has good street markets..where fruits and groceries can be
bought at reasonable prices...Finland used the Marka currency..
and it was cheaper then Sweden anyway..so..first day..bit strolling
around this city..a young dude..came to me..and gave me money to
buy a bottle of Finnish vodka..I did not ask his age..maybe underage?
these Finns are hooked on booze..specially in summer..I've been up in
Rovaniemi and Ivalo..way up north..these Lapps are stoned 24h/24h..
Helsinki central Railway station was very hectic..I learned a few words
of Finnish..usually the bad words first...I recall Helsinki days as sunny..
2 days was more then enough for me in this place..so i was gonna hitch
to Kotka the next day..the park where I slept was very safe..
http://www.silja.com/en/
www.visitfinland.com
Tiger

Next day..I hitched a ride to Nynashamn..where Gunilla lived..
it's bit south of Stockholm..provincial town..nice harbour..
found the house of Gunilla..it was so nice to see her back..
I met her in Afghanistan..real nice chick..very outgoing..
her mother was a very nice lady..her dad..was a religious freak..
I stayed 3 days in Gunilla's home..they had a boat...and we made
a boat trip around Nynashamn one day..it was very refreshing..
Gunilla's mother was not a happy woman..Swedes are usually closed
of character..but if you make good friends with them..
they are friends for life..she told me that her husband was constantly
looking down on her as a sinner against religious rules..stupid fellow..
this house..was all in Swedish style..lots of wooden architecture..
really enjoyed my stay over there..if you ever have the chance..
just stay a few days with a Swedish family...I can recommend it..
I was gonna go back to Stockholm..and take the ferry crossing..
towards Turku(Finland)and then maybe Helsinki town as well..
Tiger

Uppsala towards Stockholm was only a short distance..
now..Stockholm town..if you like water..this is the place to be..
the old town(Gamla Stan)is a maze of little streets with nice shops..
Stockholm is as well a very busy bustling ferry point..
I recall hanging around in Central Station..picked up a city map..
youth hostel was full..so..I intended to sleep in the rough..
dropped my rucksack in a locker at the station..and went off..
exploring Stockholm town..I recall it was a very sunny day..
Swedes like the outdoors on sunny days..they walk around in the city..
or go to their cottages around Stockholm..what struck me were the big
amount of drunken dudes on the street..mainly harmless..but not a nice sight..summers are quite short in Sweden..and people really get stoned
on booze..the beer you got there in these days in cans..named Pripp..
just dishwash water compared to Belgian beer..I started talking to some
youngsters..chicks/dudes..on a square in central Stockholm..
they were obviously having a ball on booze..so the talk was mainly big
bullshit..these days..you got these raggare in Sweden..kind of teddy boy
types..mainly driving around in big cars..and getting stoned on booze..
I got a ride with them once..now..beware what you say to these dudes..
usually a big mouth..and bad language..they did not like Swedish system
in fact they liked nothing..only thing was sex,drugs and rockn'roll..
O.K.to me...so..I just talked along with them..I'm doubting whether
these raggare still exist nowadays in Sweden...anyway..they did early 70's..so..Stockholm..certainly worthwhile a visit..Skansen is a fun park
with lots of activities..but I did not go there..I hung around mainly in
central Stockholm..it's very expensive Stockholm..booohh..
in the evening..I got my rucksack back..and found myself a place to
crash for the night in a park..quite bit in the outskirts..safe enough..
http://www.stockholmtown.com/Default.aspx?epslanguage=EN
crazy Tiger