Epilogue

Marcy, Heather, Meagan, and Stefanie are still in Copenhagen and come home tomorrow. Dave is still in Estonia and Poland and will come home in a couple of weeks. Now that most of us are home, however, I thought I'd try to post a couple of the videos I couldn't get out while in Finland.

This is from the fortress on an island just outside of Helsinki. It was a cold day, but we still had fun. Actually, we needed more time to explore longer than we did. (You can enlarge these to fill the entire screen, by clicking on the lower right corner.)

This was also at the fortress. There were a lot of tunnels and we found a short one to explore. You can here the wind blowing in this one and see that we tried to bundle up as best we could. It was actually a little warmer in the tunnels.

This was the last day at the sauna. Here are all of the men jumping into the lake. I promise...I did it twice myself, but somebody had to film.
 

A great trip. We plan to create some type of photo "bucket" where we will all share the pictures we took. If you want to see more, contact one of us who went on the trip and we'll share.

Friday, May 27 ... our last day

Our last day in Finland and on our official trip was a great one. We traveled 3 1/2 hours by train farther north into Finland to the city of Jyväskylä...the home of the rest of the Koivistos. Here were we met by Samuel Koivisto (or Sammpa) and Katie Koivisto. Eventually, Katie's husband Jyri (Samuel's brother) found us as well. They spent a few minutes telling us about Samuel's business and the city of Jyväskylä. Then they got down to the real reason we came. We knew that the group had had enough of touring and meetings. We decided it was time to enjoy the Finnish tradition of sauna.

Samuel, Katie and Jyri took us to an island, where we cooked Finnish sausage and pulla bread. We also split into two groups (men and women) and spent time in the sauna. The concept is to sit and enjoy the steam for as long as you want, then run and jump into the lake...back into the sauna again for awhile and then back into the lake. It was great fun and worth the train trip.

We spent a beautiful day on the island. Now, most of us will meet the taxi at 4:30 am and head to the airport. Some of us are coming home. Marcy, Heather, Stefanie and Meagan are headed to Copenhagen for a few extra days. Dave is headed to Estonia and then Poland. He'll be gone for a few more weeks.

I can't load all of the video, for some reason, watch for one more entry after I get home.

Samuel Koivisto tells the group a bit about his business and his city. Jyri and Katie are seated with their little son, Kai.


Below, we get to business...out on the boat and then to the island..

Katie, Marcy, Meagan, Heather and Lisa head out.

Samuel, the pilot, Kai and Jyri.

Katie and Stefanie make it to the island, with the help of Samuel and Nathan.

Jyri supervises while Dave, Troy and Eric get the fire going to cook our lunch...great sausage with all the trimmings.

The sauna...from the back.

The sauna from the front.

The lake ... from the sauna and nearby (below).

I actually helped a bit...getting wood ready for the sauna...it's heated by burning  wood.

The men went first...I had to jump in and then get out to take the pictures. From the left ... Jeremy, Jyri, Eric, Dave, Nathan and Troy...Samuel had first shown us how.

Next, it was the women's turn (Heather took the picture since all the men were not around at this point). Lisa, Marcy, Stefanie, Katie (their coach), and Meagan.

We were all invigorated...what a great way to end the trip.

Thursday, May 26

Today we enjoyed our last day of visits with health and government officials, and we ended big with the National Institute for Health and Welfare...Finland's version of our NIH programs...somewhat.

 Ilmo Keskimäki, MD, PhD and Reija Heinola, PhD took the time to visit with our group to explain, in some detail, the Finnish healthcare system, including changes now taking place. Dr. Heinola discussed the care of elderly individuals in Finland. We spent two hours with them and had a good education.

As has been the case with all of our sessions, the group asked some very good questions. All of our group members come from different backgrounds and experiences, so they have a variety of questions. It's been good for all of us to hear the answers.

Dr. Keskimäki gave a great overview of the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare and of the healthcare system in Finland. Notice behind the coffee, a tray of fruit and a tray of Finnish sweet buns.

Dr. Heinola spent about an half hour taking about the care of the elderly in Finland. Notice now the empty tray of what was sweet buns. Yum!

Waiting for the tram to take us back to our hotel and off to see the sites of the city.

Early before we left for the day, a few of us walked a short distance to the "Church in the Rock". A famous landmark in Helsinki and an essential site to see. We were excited to see the roof of the church from the back.

As we rounded the corner and walked to the front, we saw this (above and below). The site is closed due to construction...too bad.

We made a quick visit to the Sibelius Monument, another famous site.  We're all in this one, including a young man who just wanted to be in our picture.

Looking up through the monument.

After that, we headed out on our own. Everyone had some shopping to do. A few of us stopped at the outdoor market and had some lunch. Eric, Jeremy, and Nathan are enjoying crepes with different fillings. All of them were good.

We considered squid rings, but decided against it.

This is Upenski Cathedral. The largest Orthodox church in Western Europe.

 

Inside Upenski Cathedral.

Another famous church, Helsinki Cathedral, said to be Finland's most iconic and photographed building.

Jeremy and Dave are headed up the steps and you can see the square in front of Helsinki Cathedral.

Everyone had a good day. We saw many sites and spent much money.

Wednesday, May 25

Today was one of the busiest days so far, but the group is sensing that our trip is coming to an end, so everyone was up for it.

We started the day visiting with Sirkka Pietiläimen, a nurse midwife and instructor at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Science. She gave a great presentation about nursing education. She also talked with us about some of the key issues in health care facing Finland today. I'm not sure where the photographer was (or what he was thinking about). I'm thinking that I got so involved with the presentation that I just forgot to take pictures. Sorry about that.

From the university, we jumped on a tram and then a bus and made our way to a community hospital, where we ate lunch and then visited with Meri Ovaskainen, who is also a midwife and a lactation consultant. She gave us a tour of the labor and delivery area of her hospital. We didn't get away from that visit until 2:30 pm.

In a maternity room, Meri tells us more about the hospital and its features. The rooms allow for parents and newborns to stay together, while in the hospital.


Having learned a great deal about the maternity and child health in Finland, our group took the rest of the afternoon and evening to visit Suomenlinna Fortress, built hundreds of years ago, when Sweden ruled Finland and enhanced in the 19th century under Russian rule.

It was REALLY cold today, but everyone got into the visit and had fun.

Entering the fortress.

Jeremy, Meagan and Stefanie explore some of the tunnels that exist throughout Suomenlinna.

Troy and Nathan make their way through the fortress.

We told Stefanie to use this as a setting for engagement photos...someday. She just needs a guy to fill the other space.


I had some videos to upload, but for some reason, I can't make that happen here in Finland...maybe when I get home.

Tuesday, May 24

Good news...Internet at the new hotel. We spent half of the day in Turku today, before leaving for Helsinki. I mentioned yesterday that we enjoyed our Turku Hotel. We were sorry to leave it.

Before we left, however, we visited Turku Castle. From the outside, it was impressive. We couldn't believe, however, how much there was to it inside. We started at one level and ended up following the official trail up and down and in and out throughout the castle. We were all amazed and glad we were able to visit.

Heather, Marcy and Lisa in the courtyard of the castle.

Stefanie, Meagan, and Lisa are apparently reloading their cameras for the next shot...

Meagan tried out the King's commode for size.

Here's the "king" visiting with a group of school kids who toured the castle with us.

 Jeremy, Dave and Eric hike around the castle...I was with them.

After the castle tour, we all headed to Hessburger, Finland's version of McDonald's ... at least in Turku.

Headed out of town on the train to Helsinki...couldn't get Heather or Lisa's suitcases to fit anywhere else. Meagan's showing us something on her tongue. Stefanie and Eric are in the picture and, of course, Troy in his cool sunglasses...my guess is that he's asleep already.

Monday, May 23

As our ferry pulled into Turku, Finland, today, we could see sheets of water pouring down the glass in the viewing area at the front of the ferry. It was raining. Following the pattern set in Stockholm last week, it appears that we may face rain the first couple of days in Finland, with nicer weather towards the end of the week. From what we have heard, however, we've got better weather here than exists in Utah.

We dropped our stuff off at our hotel in Turku at around 7:30 am and our appointment to see Dr. Iira Koivisto was until 10 am. There was really nothing much to see in Turku that was open yet and to make things worse, the ride over on the ferry was not one full of good, resting sleep. In fact, most of the group got very little sleep, so things weren't all smiles for the first couple of hours as we just walking around the town a bit. We finally stalled long enough and we were able to find Dr. Koivisto's office.

What we learned was that Dr. Koivisto and her associate are running a student health clinic for a vocational school. Students at the university nearby go to another clinic. Students who need it, can visit the clinic and receive primary health care, including treatment for mental health issues...mostly depression and some anxiety disorders. They can also receive hospital care when they need it. They are not required to pay out of pocket for these services.

Dr. Iira Koivisto (left) and Mervi Paatere, chief nursing officer, speak to our group about student health care in Finland. They also answered a number of good questions from the group about health care here in general.

Lari Kovisto, on the left, met us at the clinic and then walked with us back to our hotel, stopping along the way to point out a few sites. We entered one of them, a very nice Lutheran or State Church. Two large church buildings exist here in Turku, the Lutheran building and the Orthodox Church.

Lari, as you might have guessed, is a brother in law to Iira. The Koivistos are taking care of us here in Turku and later on this week (some other family members). They are related to my wife...cousins from a few generations back. Lari and Iira's husband, Mikki, are brothers.

 Lisa, Meagan and Stefanie take a look at the art exhibit that was inside the Lutheran building.

Above, Nathan, Troy and Jeremy head down the steps of the church. Heather, Marcy, Eric and the others are below.

It's always luck of the draw on the rooms we're giving. None of our rooms, so far, have been exactly the same. This hotel was once someone's house, it appears. It very nicely furnished and fun to stay in.
Stefanie and Meagan good a great room (below). Windows on two walls, a lot of space, even a dog statue. It was quite regal.

Sunday, May 22

The group had most of the day, today, to catch p and do last-minute shopping...even go to church. We scattered out across the city, but finally got together and headed for the ferry...Silja Galaxy. It departs Stockholm at 7:30 pm and arrives in Turku at 7 am. Small beds, tight rooms, but a lot of fun for the group. We all purchased the dinner buffet and breaksfast was included. Most got little sleep...I'm not sure any off us and any quality sleep.

This is our ship. We all had berths with an outside view. Some were three to a room, some two.

We enjoyed the dinner buffet. All you can eat, including however many oranges and apples you can carry out.

After dinner, we all came out on the sundeck to take a few pictures and just enjoy the scenery. Heather, Marcy, Jeremy, Nathan and Dave are getting great photos.

Just a couple of photos that give you a glimpse of what we enjoyed.

We stayed out until sunset.

We went to bed at a few different hours. Most of our group even participated in karaoke before going to bed.