#and i am very self conscious about both my finnish and just about me

[littlemaple]

i have a lot of feelings for and about käärijä

[night-lie]

Are you a ballet fan as well as a Swiftie? Any Taylor songs you associate with ballet or ballet characters?

Thank you for your ask!! I am a casual ballet fan.

This bit in Enchanted's coreography looks like 5th position, and the dress is just so Tchaikovsky's Barbie of Swan Lake. I would love to watch someone dance to Enchanted. For contrast, perhaps WAOLOM or WANEGBT 1989 tour version are Fokine's Dying Swan? It really depends on what vibes are used as a criteria. My criteria is "it's cool and I like it". Dying Swan isn't quite that angry though but more sad, so maybe ATW10? And if we bring up the scarf, I have to mention Løvenskiold's La Sylphide although luckily Taylor gets away unlike the poor fairy.

I'm half joking when I say the Rep album is Stravinsky's Rite Of Spring. It confused the audience, people hated it, the composer and coreographer's reputations were stained by it, but it made an impact. Watching it can make you very self conscious of being a part of the audience (and confused), which is what being a Taylor fan sometimes feels like.

Finnish National Ballet's The Little Mermaid is ocean themed so I'd use that for 1989 or TTPD, especially the Albatross or BDILH which is a song from Ariel's perspective and about nothing else or nobody else. Certainly not someone we mention on this blog. I love mermaids, I will not think critically when they're involved.

As for characters, it would be obvious to connect Clara from The Nutcracker and Clara Bow, but I don't think it works. I think Giselle is a good fit for Debut/Fearless/Speak Now era; The innocent search for romance and the unexpected pain (and death). Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet could be Lover, perhaps?

I haven't seen it myself, but Skorulsky's The Forest Song sounds like it would fit folkmore. Vera Zorina's performance from The Goldwyn Follies is very nymph-like to me, even though it's a movie.

The only album I haven't mentioned so far is Midnighs, so uh. Um. The White Cat from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Because Karma is a cat! Fool proof reasoning. That reminds me of Princess Florine, she saves her prince doesn't she? She was also trapped, so she's both a damsel and heroine. Very Taylor.

[aroundtheworldin18years]

Why do we love Italia so much?  In all honesty, do you really need to ask?  Simply take a look at the photos in any of our Italy posts and it will become transparent as to why we are drawn to this wondrous land.  With rugged mountain ranges, picture postcard landscapes, historical landmarks, and let’s not forget the delectable cuisine, favourable wine and friendly locals; it’s very difficult not to fall in love with all things Italian.  Italians have certainly mastered the way of living life and Italy almost feels like our home-from-home when we visit.  In 2018 we had a glimpse of Winter life in Val di Fiemme when we visited Cavalese and stayed at the Aparthotel Des Alpes.  For our return in Summer 2019; we thought it only right to stay at the sister hotel, Aparthotel Majestic in Predazzo, in the Province of Trento.

Take a beautiful location and frame it.

APARTHOTEL MAJESTIC LOCATION

Located in the beautiful Val di Fiemme region of the Italian Dolomites, Aparthotel Majestic is just one of the many properties owned by Trentino Residences.  Set in a valley with spectacular mountain views, this Tyrolean style chalet-apartment hotel is a short 5-10 minute walk from the main center of Predazzo, and less than 2 miles from Ski Center Latemar, just one of the fine ski resorts that the Trentino South Tyrol region has to offer. 

FACT: Antonio Stradivari regularly visited Predazzo Forest, choosing only the very best quality fir trees to produce his musical instruments.

Aparthotel Majestic is perfectly situated for exploring the outstanding natural environment of Obereggen, Pampeago and Predazzo.  Travelling by car will take you no more than 10 minutes and then a short journey up the mountain by cable car will bring you spectacular views of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites.  A great place to begin your Summer adventure and take a closer look at the flora and fauna, as well as admire the magnificent views.  The Dolomites is the perfect playground for walkers, hikers and those with a bit more energy to burn, cyclists.

Ski Center Latemar in Predazzo

A BIT ABOUT PREDAZZO

Geological Museum of the Dolomites in Predazzo offers visitors a great opportunity to learn about the rock formations, mineralogical and geological properties of this mountainous alpine region.  The short walk from Aparthotel Majestic to the main street in Predazzo is easy to navigate.  Simply exit the hotel, turn left, keep walking and before you know it, you’re in the thriving hub of Predazzo.  Right in the heart of the town centre, Chiesa arcipretale dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo, otherwise known as Church of Predazzo; draws your eyes to the characteristic 19th century architecture as the bells ring aloud!  The church has been welcoming parishioners since 1872 when building work was completed.  There are lots of quaint little shops, restaurants, bars and gelateria’s in Predazzo, and amiamo Italian gelato!  So creamy, so yummy, so moreish!

The Church of Predazzo

Opulent decor inside the Church of Predazzo

The walk to the centre of Predazzo

SELF CATERING APARTMENTS

Having stayed at Aparthotel Des Alpes in Cavalese, we had a fair idea of what to expect from the Aparthotel Majestic self-catering apartments.  Aparthotel Majestic ticked many of the boxes of what we like from our accommodation.  Close to the main town of Predazzo for evening walks, a great location for exploring the region, a large indoor swimming pool for relaxing in after a day filled with adventure, and a spacious apartment with traditional Tyrolean styling and stunning views of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites.  Aparthotel Majestic has 90 apartments including Studios (2 and 4 occupancy) and 1 bedroom apartments (4, 5 and 6 occupancy).  Although, the rooms are classed as 1 bedroom, our room had a lounge-come-master bedroom, plus a separate room with bunk beds, and additional bunk beds in the entrance hall of the apartment.  A great family size apartment.

READ OUR REVIEW OF APARTHOTEL DES ALPES IN CAVALESE

Balcony views of the UNESCO Dolomites from Aparthotel Majestic

ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION

Check in at Aparthotel Majestic is available from 16:00 to 20:00, and check out is at 09:00.  All was peaceful and quiet upon our arrival, not surprising really as we didn’t arrive until well after midnight.  A phone call to reception earlier in the day explained we’d be late and the room was unlocked pending our arrival.  Knowing that we’d be arriving late, we chose to dress the girls in their pyjamas at Malpensa Airport.  Both Lily-Belle and Matilda were sound asleep upon our arrival to Aparthotel Majestic, so all we could do was carry them to the room and tuck them in.  Mummy and Daddy unpacked the car, emptied the Leanpac luggage and then fell into bed…exhausted!

Main lobby at Aparthotel Predazzo

Aparthotel Majestic reception area

THE APARTMENT

The apartment room plan at Aparthotel Majestic is very similar in layout to their sister hotel Aparthotel Des Alpes.  The only difference for this apartment was that it had two additional bunk beds in a separate room, and the decor is more traditional to the region.  Lots of large wooden beams.  The apartment was very clean, extremely spacious and could easily accommodate six people.

Our spacious apartment was split into 6 areas;

bedroom one (hallway) with bunk beds and a wardrobe,

spacious bathroom with sink, vanity unit (with mirror), toilet, bidet, and enclosed shower,

main lounge area/2nd bedroom (pull down bed, large wardrobes either side) with a dining table (bench seating and chairs), seating area with a sofa and TV,

small well-equipped kitchenette,

small separate bedroom with bunk beds and a wardrobe,

large balcony with patio table and chairs for al fresco breakfasts whilst watching the sunrise.

Regarding rooms and beds, Matilda normally fights with Lily-Belle to get the top bunk, but not on this occasion, two lots of bunk beds meant no squabbles…or did it?  Safety conscious Daddy that I am, neither L-B or Mat-Moo were allowed to sleep on the top bunks and of course, this made me the worse Daddy in the world!  I’ll get over it, as will the girls!

BEDROOMS, BATHROOMS, BIDET’S BUT NO BUBBLES

Open the apartment door, and you walk immediately into the hall where there are bunk beds.  Directly opposite the bunk beds is the bathroom; within is a toilet, bidet, wash basin with under-storage, vanity unit with lights and mirror, but as expected, no bath.�� Ok, a shower does the job and gets you clean but a bath is the one thing I really miss when travelling, I love a good soak (if the girls leave me in peace to enjoy it) with bubbles…lots of bubbles!  Just to say, our girls still find bidet’s strangely amusing!  Will they ever grow out of it…probably not!

Bunk beds in the halway

Shower enclosure

Bathroom

LOVING THE LOUNGE

As can be expected with an apartment style room, there is a small kitchenette complete with a hob (no oven or grill), microwave, kettle, cutlery, plates, cups and other useful kitchen utensils.  The main lounge area, which also serves as the master bedroom; has a huge pull down bed.  As a family we love snuggles at bed time and the master bed easily accommodated all four of us on more than one occasion.  Wardrobe space either side of the bed is more than plentiful.  The lounge also had a dining table with a fixed bench seat and chairs.  A two-seater sofa should you wish to take the weight off your feet and relax whilst watching the TV.  The apartment summed up in a few words…a spacious and perfectly adequate home-from-home!

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SWIMMING POOL

25 METRE POOL 

Open from 15:00 to 20:00 daily. The heated pool was large with a shallow end for children and a deeper end for adults.  Around the edge of the pool there are loungers for when you’ve had enough fun splashing around.  A swim hat must be worn (unless your head is bald or shaved like mine) as is the standard in most European swimming pools, whether public or private.  The pool is an ample size for a few lengths to grab a little aerobic exercise, but, it’s also fun to just splash about with the girls.  There was also a small area of the pool which formed the jacuzzi.

Lots of bubbles in the jacuzzi

Relax or take a dip

Wet and welcoming

WELLNESS CENTRE

JACUZZI and SPA

Open from 15:00 to 20:00 daily, age 16+ only. Beside the pool is the Wellness Centre.  This excellent facility is very Romanesque in style with lots of mosaic tiles and intricate paint designs all with a calming influence.  There is a Finnish sauna and a Turkish sauna (sorry, don’t know what the difference is), a whirlpool and little foot spas for easing the pain of troubled feet.  The spa area is very spacious and a great place to relax and allow your mind to float away to distant lands filled with unicorns and fluffy clouds.  Sadly, having two under 16’s in tow meant we didn’t get to try out the Wellness Centre facilities.

READ ALL ABOUT MY NUDITY EXPERIENCE IN OUR ALPE CERMIS POST

Wellness Spa

Come in, sit down, relax and converse

Kneipp, perfect for soothing tired feet

FOR CHILDREN

PLAY AND BABY ROOM

There is a spacious Play Room at Aparthotel Majestic.  The room is inviting with brightly coloured alpine murals painted on the walls and lots of play toys for imaginative toddlers.  Matilda particularly loved the toy kitchen.  The Play Room is primarily for younger children, toddlers and babies (supervised).

For tots and toddlers

GAMES ROOM

There is a large Games Room at Aparthotel Majestic.  The room has arcade games, a pool table, a table tennis table and table football, the latter two are firm favourites with The Callaghan Posse and we are very, very competitive!  The Games Room is primarily suitable for older children and teenagers.

A chill out room for the teens

OUTSIDE PLAY AREA

To the rear of Aparthotel Majestic there is a garden with an enclosed children’s play area.  There’s the usual swings, slides, a seesaw, climbing frame and a roundabout.  There’s also plenty of grass to run around on.  In the far corner is a pizza oven should you wish to bake your own pizza’s and dine al-fresco as the children play.

On a slippery slope to Slippyville

What goes up, must come down

I believe I can fly

KIDS CLUB

Beside the Play Room and Games Room is a decent sized auditorium where the Kids Club hold their evening sessions.  Lots of dancing, role play and plenty of encouragement for children and parents to interact.  This is where we struggled a little, the Animation Team spoke Italian (we were in Italy) and we basically guessed what was going on.  Thankfully, an English speaking Italian tourist stepped in and translated for us, we were extremely grateful.  The translation really helped us enjoy the Animation Team entertainment much more.  Lots of fun and Matilda bopped and danced the night away.  Lily-Belle (age10, moody, stroppy etc) was a bit more reluctant and chose to watch the show from a distance!  Our Summer Activity programme was hectic for the whole week, so sadly, we only managed to visit the Kids Club twice.

Colourful Kids Club

WI-FI

Wi-Fi is always very important to us when selecting our holiday accommodation.  We like to capture moments and take lots of photos and videos, even though we probably only use less than 5% of them.  To try and keep our phones relatively clutter free, we tend to upload pics and vids to the fluffy cloud at the end of each day.  Wi-Fi is free in the main reception area, and it is also free in your room if you book your stay at Aparthotel Majestic direct with Trentino Residences.  For all others, the weekly cost for Wi-Fi is cheap at just €15.00 and a password is available to purchase at the reception.  When we travel we like to chill every now and then and watch a movie, the Wi-Fi connected quickly and we never experienced any dropouts even in the apartment.

Reliable Wi-Fi in the reception area

RESTAURANT AND BAR

Aparthotel Majestic restaurant and bar is a decent size and can easily accommodate large numbers.  The decor is bright and, as expected with Tyrolean restaurants; has lots of wood.  The food range is extensive and of exceptional quality.  Presentation was impeccable and always the freshest of ingredients used!  We ate in the restaurant on more than one occasion, and always had a wonderful meal, not to mention a glass (or two, or three) of Aperol Spritz, honestly; it would be rude not too!  On the nights a sit-in meal didn’t appeal to the girls, we used the available take-away service on offer at the restaurant and retired to our apartment to watch a movie.

Freshly made bruschetta

Mouth watering risotto

Tasty pizza

Luscious panna cotta

Delicious penne pasta

TRENTINO GUEST CARD

Staying at Aparthotel Majestic will give you access to a Trentino Guest Card.  Here are a few benefits of applying for this card:

Free travel on public transport within Trentino (trains, ferries and some cableways),

Free entry to over 60 museums, 40 attractions and 20 castles in Trentino,

A range of events to taste local produce in the company of the producers themselves. (discounts apply on purchases and free guided tours),

A range of ‘unusual’ experiences and booking services with the dedicated App.

A Trentino Guest Card is a convenient way to enjoy everything that Trentino has to offer!  As well as travel, the Guest Card gives you free entry to all of the main museums, natural parks and castles.  The Guest Card also allows you to travel for free on public transport.  Definitely worth picking one up, and the added bonus…they are completely free! (free for anyone under 18, free is you book a stay of 2 nights or more at an affiliated hotel in Trentino – otherwise cost is €40 per adult per week). For further info, visit Trentino Guest Card

FIEMME-MOTION CARD

The FiemmE-Motion offers holders once a day lift access in Val di Fiemme (Alpe Cermis, Pampeago, Latemar 2200 Predazzo, Bellamonte – Castelir).  As well as admission into many attraction, the card offers holders up to 30% discounts on a host of activities such as: river rafting, biking and e-biking, trekking with lamas; plus a host of benefits and discounts in local restaurants and at local producers.  The FiemmE-Motion Card is within your tourist tax that you pay to your hotel accommodation.  Tourist Tax is compulsory therefore you may as well take advantage of and use the FiemmE-Motion Card. For further info, visit FiemmE-Motion Card

THANK YOU

We would like to take this opportunity to give a very special thank you to Chiara, owner of Trentino Residences.  Chiara was excellent in recommending places to visit and also put us in touch with Cristiana, at the Val di Fiemme Tourist Board; who organised our Summer activities programme.  Our stay was thoroughly enjoyable at Aparthotel Majestic and we really enjoyed all of the summer activities on offer in Val di Fiemme.  We look forward to returning in the not-so-distant future.

WOULD WE GO BACK

A definite yes and without hesitation we would have no qualm in recommending Aparthotel Majestic to tourists visiting Val di Fiemme.  Predazzo is the perfect base camp in Summer for hikers, walkers, cyclists and horse riders wishing to explore the flora and spectacular scenery of the Dolomites.  And in Winter for skiers, boarders and thrill seekers in search of the ‘white stuff’.  Predazzo is just a short walk from Aparthotel Majestic and worth an evening or two of your time.  When Dorothy Gale clicked the heels of her ruby slippers and uttered the words ‘there’s no place like home’, we are fairly certain that she was talking about Italy.  If you ask us, there is no place like Italy and just like a magnet, Italy draws us back time and time again.  Cannot wait to return, until then…addio per ora!

LILY-BELLE (age 10) SAYS I really liked the pool, the water was warm and really clear so I could see under the water.  The apartment was quite big and the beds were very comfy.  I don’t understand why they give you two single duvets to fit a double bed?  It was nice to sit and eat breakfast out on the balcony.

MATILDA (age 4) SAYS Daddy is a grumpy troll, he wouldn’t let me sleep on the top bunk!  I liked going into the swimming pool and playing with the toy kitchen, oh and I liked the playground outside.

Aparthotel Majestic (itinerary)

Date(s) of stay:  3rd July 2019 until 10th July 2019 Cost:  Aparthotel Majestic – gifted (see disclaimer below)

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[disclaimer:  Our stay at Aparthotel Majestic was gifted by Trentino Residences.  Gifted item(s) were provided in return for social media and blog coverage]

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APARTHOTEL MAJESTIC, PREDAZZO, ITALY – REVIEW Why do we love Italia so much?  In all honesty, do you really need to ask?  Simply take a look at the photos in any of our Italy posts and it will become transparent as to why we are drawn to this wondrous land. 

[travelling-trooper-blog]

It was time to say goodbye to Silvi. Aside from Silvi’s loving character, I think the hardest part was going to be saying goodbye to those delicious kombucha tea drinks that she loves. I’d never heard of them before Silvi, but she swears by their health benefits. Personally, I just think they’re delicious. I may or may not try to make my own batch when I get home. Though Perry and I still need to give the old mead thing a try first. (Don’t think I’ve forgotten, good sir!)

As a parting gift, she found me a place to stay with a former colleague of hers. Tomas and Cecile live about 30 minutes out of the city centre by train with their three kids. More on them later.

Before heading to their place, we decided to explore a bit of Helsinki with our old friend, Izi. We mentioned Izi before in Italy. It’s a great travel app that features free downloadable walking audio guides. We managed to see a fair bit in a few hours.

The central railway station was the start of our tour. These “stone men,” as they’re called, hold spherical lamps that light up for eighteen hours a day during December, which is the darkest time of the year in Finland.

The gentleman in the photo on the right is Aleksis Kivi. He is recognized as the national author of Finland for having written the first Finnish novel of merit, Seven Brothers. Apparently it was Kivi’s only novel, but it is still regarded as the greatest Finnish book of all time. If you’re only going to write one book, you might as well make it count, right?

This prrty granite building with its nifty arches and balconies looks like something from the Middle Ages, but it was actually built in 1902. It was meant to house the Finnish National Theatre for proper Finnish theatre. For a long time, Swedish was seen as the prestigious language of the elites; only the common folk spoke Finnish. But in 1872, playwrighte Kaarlo Bergbom had the cojones to envisione a proper Finnish theatre for Finnish people.

As a Canadian, I could totally relate to this! At least in terms of culture, Sweden is to Finland what the US is to us. We produce a little a fraction of the amount of programming, movies, music, etc. that the US produces, and little of it reaches beyond our borders. We stand in Goliath’s shadow.

And like Canada, which is celebrating its 150th birthday this year, Finland is quite young. They turn the big 1-0-0 this year. We have that whole English Commonwealth situation, while they were part of Sweden for some 700 years (hence why Swedish was seen as the prestigious language) until they became an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as a result of the Finnish War of 1809.

Soviet Russia would later go to war with Finland over land claims during the Winter War in World War II, and Finland didn’t become independent of Russia until 1917. That’s not long ago.

What with our short history, our ties to the UK and the US, and our rapidly evolving population, Canada is still trying to figure itself out. I think Finland is in the same boat.  They have a fairly complicated past that is inextricably tied to Sweden and Russia, and you still see shades of the history of those conflicts to this day. Apparently Sweden is contemplating giving Finland a mountain by altering a part of the Sweden-Norway border. I guess they see this as a sort of centennial birthday gift?

Canadians are so self-conscious about what it means to be Canadian that we have to explicitly shout it at the top of our lungs–whether it’s in the I. Am. Canadian commercial, or more recently, the KFC commercial in which a guy explains to his neighbour all the reasons why Canada is so great. If you ask me, though, if we really were that great, we wouldn’t have to keep telling people how great we are, y’know?

I think it would be awesome to see a Finnish equivalent to the I. Am. Canadian advertisement. I have no idea what it would contain, because after speaking with all of my hosts in Finland–a healthy mix of expats and locals–the consensus seems to be that the Finns are an odd bunch. Maybe it’s the whole lack of sun thing.

Take their traditions for example. Finland holds several annual competitions to entertain themselves. These are all true.

– World Air Guitar Championship.

– Who can sit naked atop an ant hill the longest.

– Who can carry his wife across the finish line first (the winner gets his wife’s weight in beer).

– Who can throw their Nokia phone the farthest.

– They used to have a competition to see who could sit in a sauna the longest, since every household in Finland has a built-in sauna; however, they stopped it after one finalist received burns and another one died.

– The play a game of soccer in knee-high mud.

Finns can also be very quiet. Even Anne in Jyvaskyla, who was very outspoken and sociable, admitted this about her fellow Finns. In fact, while waiting at the airport, there was a couple eating beside me. They didn’t speak the entire time I sat there. They either stared at their phones or at each other.

This is also surprising since apparently Finns drink twice as much coffee as Italians and the French. Where does all the energy go?

ANYWHO, that was quite the tangent. On with the walking tour. Aleksanterinkatu is the oldest street in Helsinki. There are heating pipes underneath the pavement to melt the snow and slush. Every year at 1:00, the street becomes “Christmas Street, and Senate Square is decorated with trees and lights and garlands. It’s also the place of their Christmas parade. People line up and block off the streets on November 25 to see the Christmas decorations on the window displays at Stockmann’s department store.

Stockmann’s was founded in 1862 by George Franz Stockman, a German merchant. The first store was located in a small historic building on Aleksanterinkatu. Today, the Stockmann chain is the biggest in all of Scandinavia.

Fazer is a heavenly cafe named after the Swiss confectioner, Karl Fazer. He opened his cafe in 1891. The interesting part is that his business didn’t take off until Finland imposed restrictions on Russian sweets that could be imported.  Even more hilarious is that Fazer hired basically all Russian employees who brought with them all of the best Russian tricks of the trade. The man knew what he was doing.

I bought some amazing caramel chocolate at Fazer with the intention of sharing it with my hosts for the night, but sadly, I had not the will power to resist temptation, and I ended up eating the whole thing before I even got to their place. I am weak. But hey, at least I brought a bottle of wine as a thank you for their hospitality. Nobody can say I don’t show my appreciation!

This is Senate Square, anchored in the middle by the Helsinki Cathedral. The cathedral earned Helsinki the nickname “White capital of North.” The dude on horseback is General Alexander II. Helsinki also earned the nickname “Small Petersburg” due to Alexander I’s predilection for Russian architecture. I have to say, though, for such a grandiose exterior, the church is quite bare and simple inside. Apparently this is how the Lutherans roll. Lutheranism is the dominant religion in Finland.

The square is also home to the Finnish Council of State, where the Prime Minister and his cabinet meet every Friday at 1 pm, as well as University of Helsinki.

This is Mr. Snellman. He helped found the Bank of Finland, which issued the currency Finland used while they enjoyed their autonomy within Russia. This system was used until the country changed to Euros.

The oldest Orthodox church in Helsinki just turned 190 years old two weeks ago. So there’s that.

And so ended day 1 of walking around Helsinki. Now it was time to meet our hosts for the next two nights.

Silvi, our previous host, used to teach Kindergarten with Tomas. Cecile teaches with him now. Both Tomas and Cecile are French. More importantly, they both love board games. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked in the door. Silvi had told me that I had to show Tomas Dobble because he would love it. No need, Silvi; they already had it–along with a library of other games I’d never heard of.

I think the first night we played a game called Dead Man’s Draw. I tried searching for it on Google, and there’s a game called Dead Man’s Draw that essentially sounds the same, but it features some slight variations on cards we played with. It’s a simple card game that requires just a bit of luck as well. It’s an underwater-themed game, featuring cards like octopus, spear, mermaid, and others. Each card has a corresponding number of points assigned to it, as well as a different ability. The game starts with all of the cards stacked in the middle. The first player starts flipping one card at a time. You can flip as many cards as you want, but if you flip a card that you already flipped, you kiss all those potential points goodbye. It’s like playing Black Jack; the trick is knowing when to quit. If you decide to call it, you collect all of the cards and earn those points.

Now as you’re flipping cards, you have to do the corresponding action for each one. For example, if you flip a knife, you get to kill one of your opponent’s points cards. If you draw a treasure map, you get to pick from the three most recent burned cards to add to your pile. If you pull an octopus, you must draw the next two cards, meaning you risk drawing a card that you’ve already drawn in that round. And so on. I think there are ten different action cards, all with points ranging from 2 to 7. That’s the gist of the game. We played several rounds of that game before calling it a night. Cecile and I tied the first round, and then I won a whole bunch of rounds–which was a nice change!

I immediately fell in love with Tomas and Cecile. They are loving, thoughtful, and compassionate human beings. I mean, Tomas agreed to host me when Silvi asked him without even meeting me! Their character is reflected in their parenting. Their kids are so respectful and well-behaved. Their middle and oldest sons were even nice enough to share a room for two nights so I could take the middle son’s room. Plus, they’re the kind of parents who you can tell still know how to be silly and goofy. They’re kids at heart. I mean, 1) they teach Kindergarten 2) they collect board games 3) Tomas acts as a clown for children at hospitals in his spare time, for crying out loud! How can you not love this family?!

And after two years in Abu Dhabi, it was nice to spend two nights with teachers who clearly love what they do for a living. It was nice to talk about relevant teaching issues. Between these two and Anne, who is an English professor, it was interesting to hear what people in Finland had to say about Finnish education. Their education system is highly regarded around the world, but it seems that there’s some question in Finland itself as to whether it really is good we all make it out to be.

Nonetheless, as a teacher, talking shop was something I sorely missed. It came naturally to these two. They have a genuine passion for what they do. They even have a chart of English verb tense conjugations right by the toilet. You don’t get more teacher-y than that.

Wine, board games, good conversations, and great people. I was in Heaven.

The Travelling Trooper Explores Helsinki It was time to say goodbye to Silvi. Aside from Silvi's loving character, I think the hardest part was going to be saying goodbye to those delicious kombucha tea drinks that she loves.