Finland ~ Easter Monday

April 22, 2019

In Finland, the Monday after Easter is also a holiday.  The kids were off school and Wade was home from work.  Since the snow had receded to the shadowed edges of the fields, today was the day for the snow tires to come off both family vehicles.  The kids were scattered here and there, catching up on homework and practicing their music.

All the girls play the piano so beautifully.  It's a joy to listen to them practice.

After lunch, Wade welcomed me to come along when he took the car out to air up the tires and make sure it was driving fine.  Since he enjoys photographing the scenic countryside of Finland himself, he had already scouted out some good places to stop.  

There were several varieties of little white, purple and blue flowers, mixed together here.

Many of the roads we went down were just rough dirt and seemed to end at farms but then they did continue, and eventually loop back to the highway.

Massive, well kept barn that we frequently passed.

These freshly tilled fields seem to go on for miles.

Fish farm in the beautiful Finnish countryside.

Since my arrival in Finland a week and a half ago, I had been frustrated by a lingering cold and plugged ears.  On our arrival home from our ramble through the countryside, Anna offered to drive me to visit her parents so her father, a doctor, could check and make sure that I didn’t have an ear infection.  Normally I wouldn’t have worried about it, but my ears had hurt so badly coming into Amsterdam, and I didn’t want to go through that again.

The younger children joined us for the drive to her parent’s house, close to an hour away.  This cozy, traditional home, filled with meaningful family photos is where Anna spent most of her childhood.  

After initial greetings, a black bag was procured, and an otoscope appeared.  Dr. S, a kind, elderly man, gently scoped out my ears and pronounced them uninfected.  They were, however, full of fluid so he prescribed a cold medicine to help clear things up before my Thursday flight.  In a major departure from a typical doctor visit, we were welcomed around the family table where we enjoyed a fancy cake, smooth Finnish coffee and ice cream.

Finnish sweets

By the time we had stopped by the pharmacy and driven home, it was nearly dinner time.  We had plans for us adults to go out to dinner, so I quickly went upstairs to tidy my appearance and change clothes.  Coming back down the wooden stairs, my foot slipped, and I went down the remainder of the flight on my back, head and elbows.  I was not hurt badly, but very stunned.  As I write this a few days later, the bruises have become rather colorful.

With the promise of good Indian food, I dusted myself off and we headed to a nearby town.  The restaurant, which served both Indian and traditional Finnish food, did not disappoint.  It was elegant and had excellent service.  We chose three entrees to share; Goa fish curry, chicken tikka masala and a paneer dish.  Plain and garlic naan and saffron rice rounded out the menu. 

The sun was setting as we finally boxed up the leftovers.  Wade drove us to the nearby Lake Lohja to watch it set on the water.  I hadn’t taken my camera, so I used my phone for pictures.  I was a bit disappointed that the iPhone decided to change the red ball of the sun to light yellow, but it was still very pretty.

Lake Lohja

Leaving the lake, we followed the sunset a bit and took a few more pictures before going home to bed.  It would be an early evening as the kids were returning to school in the morning after a four-day weekend.

On the road home.