Finland: Land of 10,000 lakes

Continuing where I left off from my two previous travelogues on my four days in Iceland (Part 1) followed by my four days in Stockholm, Sweden (Part 2), I will pick up and conclude my Scandinavia trip in the beautiful country of Finland, which I was visiting for the 3rd time and spending 10 days with my very fun and special friends Esa and Elisa Konga and their three twentysomething aged children. I first met the Konga's while we were attending graduate school at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, in the early-1990s and we became quick friends. I had visited them in Finland in 1997 and again in 2010, when their children (Noora, Aki and Mira) were very little. So when I stepped off the plane that morning at the Helsinki Airport, I was kind of surprised when I was met and picked up by their now very grown-up daughter Mira and her very fun boyfriend, Tuomas. We then drove immediately to Elisa's mother's house where her friend was visiting her from Germany and the five of us drove five hours by car to the small town of Mikkeli, a small city in central Finland that served as the headquarters for the Finnish armed forces during World War II when Finland was at war against the Soviet Union. When we arrived that evening at one of the very large, renovated army barracks that now serve as bed and breakfasts in Mikkeli, I got to see Esa and Elisa and their other two children again for the first time in 15 years. It was awesome. After spending a couple of days in Mikkeli, we then drove to Elisa's very nice apartment overlooking the most gorgeous blue lakes in the beautiful and charming city of Kuopio, located in the heart of that country's stunning Lakes Region. Finland officially has around 188,000 lakes that are larger than 500 square meters making Finland a recreational paradise. This large number is due to glacial activity that took place during the last ice age. While in Kuopio, we did more recreational activities than actual sightseeing, which was just fine with me since I had already done my sightseeing in Iceland and Sweden. On my first full day in Kuopio, we hiked on this trail along the side of the lake that led to the city center where they took me to the beautiful main cathedral and to the central square that is lined with stores, souvenir shops, restaurants, coffee houses and outdoor cafes, where we stopped for a taste of specialty cakes and coffee/tea. One of the highlights of my stay in Kuopio was going to the top of the 246-foot tall Puijo Tower where we had a delicious dinner at the tower's 360-degree rotating restaurant with its magnificent views of Kuopio and its many surrounding lakes below it. Built in 1963, it is one of the major tourist attractions in Kuopio and is a popular restaurant for locals as well. But the real highlight of my trip to Finland and to Kuopio was going jet skiing for two hours with Esa and Elisa's son Aki, with Mira and her boyfriend Tuomas, which was a first time for all of us. You can only imagine how much fun the four of us had flying across these beautiful lakes that are dotted with literally dozens of forested islands on a very sunny and warm July afternoon. I felt like I was in a dream doing this thousands of miles away from home in this very pristine and beautiful part of the world. We all laughed, yelled and acted like teenagers while skimming across the water and slept like babies that night. On another day, the entire family and I took ski lifts (free) to the top of the hill where the Puijo Tower is located and went hiking in the woods where we roasted marshmallows at a campsite there. I truly enjoyed getting the physical exercise, breathing in the very fresh, clean and pine-scented air and spending quality time like this with my friends. On my very last full day in Kuopio, my friends and their entire family, including their kids' boyfriends and girlfriend, who came to Kuopio to spend time with us and to meet me of course, treated me to the most fun, relaxing and interesting fully narrated cruise on the numerous connected lakes that go on literally mile after mile. We sailed past island after island, past one home and cottage that was more beautiful and charming than the previous one. It was the perfect way to spend my last full day in Kuopio. That night, we had an extremely lively round of water balloon tossing in Elisa's front yard with the balloons I brought with me from Ohio for just this occasion. Playing games of Uno and Spot It, that I also brought with me from Ohio and gave to them as gifts, was also so much fun and provided non-stop laughs. When Aki, Mira and Tuomas dropped me off at the train station that next afternoon to board my 5 hour train ride back to Helsinki and ultimately to the Helsinki Airport, it was a sad moment for me, but what lifted my spirits was knowing that one of Esa and Elisa's three kids are now talking about visiting me in Ohio sometime next summer, which would be wonderful. I promised Elisa that I would be as good a host to her children in Ohio as she was to me in Finland. As I stared out my window as the train sped by and through the forested countryside of Finland on my way back to Helsinki, where I would overnight in a hotel near the airport for my early morning flight back to Detroit the next day, I couldn't help but hope that it doesn't take me another 15 years to see these wonderful, fun and special Finnish friends of mine again. Until we meet again, my friends, and please make it sooner than later. Gary Richards is a teacher and traveler who likes to write about his trips. He is a Norwalk resident.