Wordless Wednesday

Ivalo Airport

Ivalo is a very small city - with 4000 people, no university and no full-scale hospital it barely earns its 3-gate airport.

BUT, in that tiny space they find room for a children's play area. And once my kids found it, they quieted down.  That's the other point I want to make about making airports more friendly towards children - it makes the children more "friendly" to adults, by getting them happy and out of the way.

Here's the one photo that Terry allowed me to keep even though it is horribly out of focus. I promised him I would make it very clear in this post that he does not authorize this photo and wishes I would delete it.

The thing in the foreground is a kiddie sized table with two wooden puzzles on it. There were also 2 plastic bins with toys and books.

The family sees the light (Finland cont'd)

Our 3rd night we were on the schedule for the entire family to go to the aurora camp to try to catch a peek at the lights. We hemmed and hawed a bit about whether we should really bring the kids and in the end decided the sky was clear and it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Nobody remembers why Terry opened the door about 30 minutes before we needed to leave for the adventure, but after a moment's glance outside we started bundling everyone up at lightening speed. The aurora was out!!!

We got no photos as the camera was all packed up for the trip, but we got outside with enough time to show the kids and to watch for 5 minutes or so before heading to the meeting point. And no, I don't have faulty math. It takes a while to get all that clothing on.

We thought we did a super job bundling the kids up this time, but Alex did complain a bit about being cold. The nice part of the aurora camp is there is a field house with a fire going and people poke in and out to see what's going on. Terry and I traded off being inside and outside, but as we let the kids bring their LeapPads they couldn't have cared less if we were there or not.

The aurora never showed up as well as it had in the earlier evening.  We got a couple of photos that show it faintly, but the clouds started appearing soon after we got to the camp.  We ended up calling it a night earlier than the planned return time, apparently that's common when the weather just plain sucks.

Here's the one I took. And at least the kids got to see it, although they are not likely to remember it as they really didn't seem to care.

 

Husky dogsled ride

Alex: tights, corduroy pants, regular socks, ski socks, long sleeved T shirt, hoodie, her own Lands End snowpants and jacket, the hotel-provided Finnish brand coverall-type snowsuit. Estonian super warm hat. Scarf double wrapped around her face. Mittens.
 

Zoltan: just about the exact same gear.
 

Lynne: Longjohns, polartec fleece ski pants, jeans, long sleeved T shirt, flannel shirt, thick wool sweater. hoodie. Two pair of ski socks (one thicker than the other). Hotel-provided coverall snowsuit. Hotel-provided lined leather mittens.

We did have to open the door to our little apartment while we were bundling up but, I'll be honest, there were a couple of points when we were having our snack and petting the dogs that we all got cold. Yup, that's what I said. And mind you, we are people who spend an hour at the playground when it is -20C in Piter.

We have precious few photos from the day and nothing of the dogs in action. This is because Terry was busy hanging on and Lynne had two little heads right where she would normally hold a camera. And besides, it was extra super cold while the dogs were running and my hands would freeze right off and then I would probably drop the camera.

But we do have some photos from the day. The kids enjoyed the ride but they liked petting the dogs even more!

  Doggies getting a rest

 

                                                                                         

Awesomeness

Awesomness is the 5 year old helping the 3 year old learn his Russian poem for his school performance next week. She already has it memorized from Tuesday night when our nanny was helping him with it.

The Northern Lights

Here are a few more photos of the Aurora Borealis from our recent trip.  It was a short light show both nights but quite wonderful.  Hope you enjoy.

Russian Museum Member Evening

This year we have a membership to the Russian Museum. Between its physical convenience (30 minutes walking, or 25 minutes by metro/walking) and its convenient hours (open Mondays,the only major museum here to do so) it's been a fabulous thing to have.

The Russian Museum is technically comprised of 4 buildings and the Summer Garden (which is, for now, still free). Several times a year after the museums close for the night, Members are invited for an evening of art, music, food and drink.

This month we went to the Marble Palace, one of the buildings in which we'd never yet been. Just walking up was a sight, there's a good amount of marble on the facade. The evening featured a temporary exhibit so we didn't get to see many of the palatial rooms, but that just leaves something to go back for.  The exhibit was very modern, which was an interesting contrast to the 200-ish year old surroundings.

My favorite part was this glass sculpture that emitted tones as people moved around it or touched it. I am sad to say that I forgot to take photos of it.
There was a sign like this on the pedestal: 

And then hand written on the wall, in both English and Russia, with an arrow pointing to the sculpture, said "Please feel free to touch the glass."

So of course people touched it. And the dejournaya came and yelled at them for touching it.It was a bit like slapstick comedy.

We ran into a friend there, and when we went to find the bathroom she was at the garderobe (next to the bathrooms) getting her coat and offered us a ride, so we didn't stay for the lavish display of hors d'oeuvres that people were just starting to crowd around when we left the room, but they looked numerous and delicious and I hope the next evening will have a similar spread and we'll have to try it.

Instead, we hit Il Patio, which is a chain restaurant we visited for the very first time only about a year ago and now frequently return to because their pizzas are pretty good and the Caesar salad tastes just like a Caesar salad. I became a bit pre-melancholy about our return to the USA and the expense of housing and the 6 months we'll be living on one salary. We won't be able to have museum memberships or pay for a babysitter for a night out, or even logistically be able to go out on a Tuesday with the length of our commutes and the very shortened time we'll have with our children on a daily basis (as compared to now with our 15 minutes - 20 if we're feeling lazy - walk to the Consulate).

If the photos pass Terry's muster, we'll post some of the photos from the evening .... some day .... after he gets through all the Finland photos.

[Edited to add photos]

 

Reindeer Herding day

On our second day in Finland we went out with the reindeer herder and got to feed the reindeer. We also got to see Russia. It didn't look any different from Finland.

There isn't too much to say about that day - we planned badly and didn't dress the kids warmly enough, even though we wrapped her in blankets and a reindeer hide Alex got very cold and didn't truly warm up til we got to the fire for lunchtime, so we spent a lot of time worried.

Here's the kids at the beginning of the day, still warm and happy and playing in the snow while the older folks learned how to throw a lasso.

 And here they are feeding the reindeer.

 

Wordless Wednesday

The first day

We were up unfortunately early for how late we all got to bed, and of course all bellies grumbled. We got some coffee into the adults and granola bar into the kids and by the time we were dressed and coherent it was time for breakfast. During breakfast one of the staff members asked me what the kids eat for dinner, so they could be sure to have something on hand they'd eat. More on that later.

After breakfast we got the kids and me our gear - the place provides snowsuits, hats, boots, pretty much everything. The gear is good, but it turns out for a modestly warm day like today (only -2C) Lands End does just as well. The Kamik boots kept the kids' tootsies warm and I have to give a shout out - some of the resort's boots are Sorels, which have been the other boot we've used and recommended.

The morning was meant to be cross country skiing. Between Zoltan's faulty skis and the complexity of the activity the kids quickly dropped out. No matter, the experience started on the lake out the back of the resort, and the tobaggans and sledding hill were feet away. In essence, we waited for the group to return and got a bunch of runs in. You can see how happy the kids were!

 Having so much fun, in fact, that nobody thought to give them (or ask for) a snack. So a ravenous, about-to-grump group entered the dining area. We quickly load the kids up with rice, bread and fruit and I notice the only hot meal offered is a cabbage roll ... with pork. I ask if there's anything else as I don't eat pork and they say they will do something for me. I am a bit skeptical about what exactly will happen, and start to load up on salad and rice. And then, as the kids are pretty well finished with their meals, a delicious chicken curry appears at our table. Terry gladly helped me eat it.

After lunch we had to rush a bit to get everyone on the potty and back into snow gear for the afternoon activity - snowshoeing. So. Much. Fun. Zoltan this time agreed to hang out on the sled, and Alex made it about halfway before she also wanted a ride.

Here's Alex eating snow. I think this place has never seen tourists like us. When the guide heard Alex was eating snow her response was "No, you don't want to do that, it's very cold!" Um, for my kids, -2C is not cold.

 Bliss!