AMAZING!

Hei Ihr, 

nur ein ganz kurzes Update. 

DANKE für über 1.000 Klicks auf diesen Blog. 

Fühlt euch gedrückt.

Eure Jacques



Hei all,

just a very quick update.

THANKS for over 1,000 clicks on this blog.

Hug you.

 
Yours Jacques

ESN Cruise English!

Hello everyone. How are you?

Another weekend is almost over in Finland. I'm already here since about 3 weeks and the time flies infinitely fast. Travelling is probably a reason for this.

This time we went on the ESN cruise. With stay in Stockholm. We started on Wednesday morning by bus from Seinäjoki to Helsinki. 6 hours bus ride. But with one or two alcoholic beverage, it was to endure. ;) After a more or less comprehensive alcohol control (no one was allowed to take alcohol onto the ship) we went fast to our cabins. Quite closely with three people on a even for FOUR! People designated room of 6m ² and a small bathroom. Since we do not really want to spend a lot time there, we can make it. After a quick check of the cabins and a quick "refreshing", we took a close look of the ship. 12 floors, 2 bars, 1 disco, even swimming pool and sauna were available. A complete new world for me. The shops opened after the ship had passed the habour. The view of the port of Helsinki is actually quite good for a look. Once checked in, there was no turning back. The "Welcome champagne" was presented at the Atlantis Palace and the opening show was not that bad. The Tax Free shop could also offer some good stuff and the souvenir shops were’nt save of us. On Wednesday I went to bed quiet early because I wanted to see Stockholm. Thursday morning, I dispensed of getting up at 7 o’clock. Sorry Alex. It was just too early. But I stood up a bit later, just to go to breakfast as well. Such an incredible breakfast buffet I have rarely seen and it was also a very human price of 11 Euros. After arriving in Stockholm harbor, we have to find the hop on, hop off – Bus. After some time spend with searching and an initial confusion, based on an incorrect map, of course not based on a reading fault of the map, we could step on the Bus at Karlaplan. ;) From there we proceeded to Stureplan. In addition, we have been in Östermalm and Djurgården, Norrmalm Kungshol-men, Gamla Stan and Södermalm. For all who are unsure whether they want to visit Stockholm. I highly recommend it. Beautiful buildings and in the summer, the city is probably incredibly green. Because of so many trees. After a great day with glorious sunshine back on the ship. A quick evening meal and meeting with the tutors. I actually don’t remember the name of the card game. Had it one at all? Highest, Middles’ Lowest? It must have been something like that. Nor between alcohols was purchased. Unbelievable how much cheaper it is on the ship. I can almost understand the "alcohol tourists" who only drive for the alcohol onto a “ship-trip”.

The atmosphere in the bus on the way back to Seinäjoki was quiet. Very quiet. I think almost everyone at some point did fall asleep on the way.

Friday evening, a little after-hour sit-in was going on at my apartment. (Thanks Julie for beeing that tolerant) The boys killed some beer and Alex and I had to try whether the purchased Bacardi Razz. We have to make sure that it was still good. ;)

He was.

Saturday and Sunday were despite of the previous consumption of stimulants quite productive. Of course, the University may not be neglected at all. ;)

So tell me what do you have done on the weekend? Are you away over Easter? Or are you just enjoying the weather at home?

Alex is going to St. Petersburg. Christian and I are willing or not practicing for the oral examination in Finnish after Easter and probably organize a barbecue or something and the rest will arise spontaneously Oh and of course I will give my best that you still get an occasional update. ;)

Enjoy the beautiful sunny days and if you have don’t have sun, then we will send you some.

Hug you.

Yours Jacques

ESN Cruise

Hallo ihr Lieben. Wie geht es euch?

Ein weiteres Wochenende ist vorbei hier in Finnland. Ich bin schon über 3 Wochen hier und die Zeit fliegt unendlich schnell. Wobei das wohl auch an den Reisen liegt.

Diesmal ging’s auf die ESN Cruise. Mit Aufenthalt in Stockholm. Am Mittwochmorgen per Bus von Seinäjoki aus nach Helsinki. 6 Stunden Busfahrt. Aber mit dem ein oder anderen alkoholischen Getränk war es durchaus zu ertragen. Angekommen in Helsinki haben wir nach einer mehr oder weniger ausführlichen Alkoholkontrolle (man durfte keinen Alkohol mit aufs Schiff nehmen) schnell unsere Kabinen bezogen. Durchaus eng mit drei Menschen auf einem für sogar VIER! Menschen vorgesehenen Raum von ca. 6m² und einem kleinen Bad. Da wir uns jedoch nicht wirklich viel dort aufhalten wollten, kamen wir damit aus. Nach einem schnellen Kabinen Check und einem kurzen „frisch machen“ haben wir uns dann auf dem Schiff umgesehen. 12 Stockwerke, 2 Bars, 1 Disko, sogar Swimming Pool und Sauna waren vorhanden. Eine vollkommen neue Welt für mich. Die Geschäfte öffnen erst, nachdem das Schiff abgelegt hatte. Der Blick auf den Hafen von Helsinki ist übrigens durchaus einen Blick wert. Einmal abgelegt, gab es kein Zurück mehr. Der „Willkommens-Sekt“ wurde im Atlantis Palace überreicht und die Opening Show war nicht schlecht. Der Tax Free Shop konnte ebenfalls einiges bieten und der Souvenirshops sind von uns natürlich nicht verschont worden. Für mich ging’s am Mittwoch jedoch ziemlich früh ins Bett. Ich wollte unbedingt Stockholm sehen. Donnerstagmorgen habe ich dann um 7 Uhr aufs aufstehen verzichtet. Sorry Alex. Es war einfach zu früh. Jedoch bin ich dann doch nicht umhin gekommen was zu essen also hab ich mich ein wenig später (knappe anderthalb Stunden) doch zum unglaublich reichhaltigen Frühstücksbuffet bequemt. Sowas gutes habe ich selten gegessen und das zu einem durchaus humanen Preis von 11 Euro. Nach Ankunft im Stockholmer Hafen haben wir uns auf die Suche nach dem Hop on, Hop off – Bus gemacht. Nach einiger Suche und einer anfänglichen Verwirrung die natürlich auf einem falschen Stadtplan beruhte und nicht am Kartenlesen scheiterte konnten wir dann am Karlaplan einsteigen. Von dort fuhren wir weiter zum Stureplan. Außerdem haben sind wir in Östermalm, Djurgârden, Norrmalm, Kungsholmen, Gamla Stan und Södermalm gewesen. Für alle die sich nicht sicher sind, ob sie Stockholm mal besichtigen wollen. Ich kann es nur empfehlen. Wunderschöne Bauten und im Sommer ist die Stadt wahrscheinlich unglaublich grün. Bei so vielen Bäumen. Nach einem wunderbaren Tag mit wunderbarem Sonnenschein zurück aufem Schiff. Ein kurzes Abendessen und rüber zu den Tutoren. Wie das Spiel mit den Karten heißt weiß ich nicht mehr. Hatte es überhaupt einen? Highest, middel, lowest?! Irgend sowas wird es gewesen sein. Zwischen durch wurde noch Alkohol eingekauft. Unglaublich wie viel günstiger es auf dem Schiff ist. Da kann man die „Alkoholtouristen“ fast verstehen, die nur für den Alkohol aufs Schiff fahren.

Im Bus auf dem Rückweg nach Seinäjoki war es still. Sehr still. Ich glaube fast jeder hat irgendwann mal auf dem Weg geschlafen.

Freitagabend wurde dann ein kleines After-Hour-Sit-In in meinem Appartement veranstaltet. Die Jungs haben das ein oder andere Bierchen gekillt und Alex und ich mussten probieren ob der gekaufte Barcadi Razz auch gut war. ;)

Er war.

Samstag und Sonntag waren dann obwohl des vorherigen Konsums von Genussmitteln ziemlich produktiv. Denn natürlich darf auch die Uni nicht zu kurz kommen. ;)

Erzählt, was habt ihr so gemacht am Wochenende? Seid ihr über Ostern weg? Oder genießt ihr einfach das Wetter von zu Hause?

Alex wird nach St. Petersburg fahren. Christian und ich werden wohl oder übel für die mündliche Prüfung in Finnisch lernen und vllt ein Barbecue oder sowas veranstalten und der Rest wird sich spontan ergeben. Ach und natürlich gebe ich mir Mühe, dass ihr noch das ein oder andere Update bekommt. ;)

Genießt die schönen sonnigen Tage und wenn ihr keine Sonne habt, dann schicken wir euch welche rüber.

Fühlt euch gedrückt.

Eure Jacques

Lapland with a dot on the "i"

We're back. After nearly 2.000 driven kilometers and many incredible and unforgettable impressions. Especially the dot on the "i" has also reached us yet.

Thursday, 14.03.2013, Seinäjoki -10 ° C:

We just picked up the car and we were surprised, when we see that a Volvo V50 is waiting before the Hertz car rental. That’s more than enough space for four people included luggage for the weekend. So it seems, at least initially. As the luggage, the food and everything else what we needed, little by little finds his place in the car, takes me at least well aware that winter clothes certainly need a lot of space. Apart from that, of course, had linen and towels are taken.

It is 17.30 h. Everything is packed. The four of us are also still in the car. So let’s go on to Lapland. Direction North. The evening is long and behind Oulu, after the first 418 km, it stretches a bit. It's almost 10 pm and until we’re up in Rovaniemi it will take probably sometime. Temperatures drops with every mile. The hardest temprature difference between the inside of the car and the outside is almost 46°C. At half past 2 in the morning, after about 640 km, the redemption. Get out off the car, get key and check in. Tomorrow morning we have to get up early. The huskies are waiting for us.

Friday, 15.03.2013, Rovaniemi, -20 ° C:

It’s 07.00 o’clock in the morning. The alarm clock brings us after a short night back to reality. The slices are frozen from the outside. Ice flowers. Something I know only by hearsay. It seems to be cold. After waking up, we dig out nearly every warm thing of the luggage what we've packed on. Sledding, we were predicted to be cold. After we leave our bags with the boys, we were on our way. And so early in the morning, it seems once again a lot colder than it already is. Once in office, we are first packed on. To the existing two pairs of socks is another pair of socks adapted, after that warm winter boots. Over the ski pants and tights, as well as the vest, the T-shirt comes long arm shirt, the sweater and the sweater again a thermo overall. A second / third scarf and warm leather gloves with shear ling are provided to us also. Once ready, we attracted nearly dying on overheating. It seems pretty far away that we will be grateful afterwards. Arrived at the Husky point we get a briefing how we have to handle the sled and the dogs. The phrase "You can stop a car by turn off the engine, but you cannot turn off these animals, they are running engines with full power!" Stick in my memory. What he meant to me will become clear later. When we starts, the pressure and the adrenaline increases. Actually I had not even after the briefing really expected that we will be driving the sled alone in a team with inexperienced.

The first half of the ride I rode the sled, Alex was sitting. After a tea break in the middle of nowhere in the woods we changed. The guides told us a bit about the dogs. These are not the "typical huskies" (siberian husky) familiar from Hollywood movies. Alaskan huskies are long-distance runners. Comparable to marathoners. They can run nearly 200 km a day. (Sorry Volker ;)). At least they need a 50-100 km run per day otherwise they are not fully occupied and there are definitely no family dogs. On average a dog works for 7-9 years.

As we left the Huskies behind us we continued your driving to the north. We meet the guys at the car. Our bags are already stowed and the car is pre-heated. Thank you for this again. :)

On the way we will made a short trip to Santa Claus Village. What's for my expectations unfortunately been rather disappointing. If you wanted to see Santa you have to take a photo with him and that was quite expensive. So we visited a few reindeer and the Post Office and went for a walk on the "Arctic Circle". Every year thousands of letters written by children from all over the world are arriving in the Post Office. That keeps the idea that Santa exists. Actually a pretty good one.

After another 300 km and -35 ° C, we arrived at Ivalo. The cottages are cute. There’s only one small hook. No toilet, no shower, no kitchen. Actually it exists, but in a distance of about 200 meters to walk. This can be quite uncomfortable at such temperatures. After we had established ourselves and cooked something, we started to look for the Northern Lights. Under a starlit sky and -35 ° C in the woods far away from civilization, you would think it would be the perfect situation, but unfortunately the Northern Lights don’t see it like we do. After 3 hours of waiting and looking into heaven we have abandoned. Back at the cottage the first thing was to warm up.

Saturday, 16.03.2013, Ivalo, -25 ° C:

It's cold. The cabin has cooled down completely and the thought of running to the shower still doesn’t make this better. After showering, back at the cabin, I have to recognize that the 200 m were enough to freeze my toothbrush. Despite a cap my hairs are frozen as well. Breakfast is after yesterday's purchase of semi-finished buns and cheese spread out quite lavish.

It goes on to Inari. A really huge lake. At least in the summer. Now in the winter, it is used as ice road. Included street signs. To describe the feeling of walking on a frozen lake in this size (1084.33 km ²) is nearly impossible. After a short visit in the museum and a resident purchasing a memory of this visit, we’re back in the car. South! Oulu waits in 546 km. After several stops to take food and other stuff we’re arriving at 20 o’clock in Oulu. The hotel has a 24/7 check in. However, I never realized a version of "phone check-in”. After we inspected our rooms and put down our things we went for a walk. Once the harbor and back. I must say that I'm sure, that sales of bladder- and kidney tea in this region run pretty good with the outfits the girls. Or they just are accustomed.

Flash frozen back at the hotel we went to bed. With the knowledge, that it's all over tomorrow.

Sunday, 17.03.2013, Oulu, something between -15 ° C and -10 ° C:

Bright sunshine wakes us. It's perfect weather. Blue sky and no clouds. The hotel let us down a bit, since there is no breakfast already around 9:30 am. Common, we’re students! Looking for a coffee shop or a bakery we were running again through Oulu. Even during the day, the city is not bad. The port is sweet. However besides us four and a couple of families with young children, there is no one to see. How well, that all the shops are opened on Sundays. Yoghurt drinks are purchased. They need to extend until lunch.

Back at the car we go towards home. 327 km separate us from our temporary home Seinäjoki. With every mile it’s getting warmer. In Seinäjoki there are +2 ° C. First time since we've been here, that it is above zero degrees. We can hardly believe it. Is spring coming soon? We took the advantage of the car and drove to LIDL to buy something to drink. Then we need don’t need it least to drag like we usually do when we buy some drinking stuff. After we unloaded and stored in any apartment we bring back the car. The key is inserted and the adventure is over.

A weekend full of incredible moments is passed. But we have saved everything. And if we don’t have anything pictured on photos. Then we saved it in a black photo album with a silver button. ;)

When and where we are planning the next road trip?

And the dot on the “I”? Sure. These are the northern lights. Even if they didn’t wanted to show up in Lapland. Last night they were there. In Seinäjoki. Directly above us. Breathtaking.

How was your weekend?

Hug you.

Yours Jacques