The past two days have been hot here in Finland. Today it actually got up to 27 celsius, which I believe is about 85 farenheit. We've been sweating a bit.
Yesterday we dealt by the heat by going to the swimming pool. My cousins and i enjoyed the sunshine and some swimming, and Michelle and I even tried aqua running (known as deep water running in the States).
After we swam, we went in the sauna in the women's lockerroom, where clothing is expressly forbidden. An old woman in the sauna kept adding more and more water to the coals, making it very hot.
We followed up our swim by meeting Michelle's friend Iiris for drinks on the river. I had more cider, the usual, and even got to try out the roads on the way there. That makes Finland the 6th country I've driven in.
Today we took a trip to Porvoo, a small town on a river about an hour east of Helsinki. There we wandered through craft and antique shops, listened to some really weird music, ate ice cream in the park, and made a few purchases here and there.
I was able to send a few things home with my uncle, who headed to the States the day after I arrived in Finland, and I'm excited to have room in more suitcase for more gifts (and things for me).
We had meant to climb the hill where the castle used to sit in Porvoo, but due to the heat and our exhaustion, we settled for sitting in the shade by the river as we ate banana bread and drank coffee.
I wasn't kidding about these Finns loving their coffee. Today I had it on three different occasions. Good thing I like it!
Tomorrow we are meeting Michelle when she gets off work downtown to see some sites and shop more. I think the shopping will be a common theme throughout my visit.
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