After a good sleep in Helsinki, I started my next leg on the trip to Kevo with greater awareness of what I was seeing and experiencing. My first impression is that the Finns are so friendly and helpful. Whenever I ask a question, the person immediately switches to speaking English, and offers me assistance.
Helsinki Airport
At Helsinki Airport, a remarkable wood sculpture greets arrivals, and I was immediately reminded that wood and wood products are a significant part of the economy here.
Sculpture in wood greets visitors arriving at Helsinki airport
I saw many of these scooters in use at the airport. Unfortunately the sign said they were only for airport personnel, or I would have taken one out for a spin! They really seemed to be a great way to get around the airport quickly and efficiently.
Energy efficient means of transport around Helsinki Airport
Green Up
I found Helsinki much further along into spring than Fairbanks. Check out the vegetation next to this sign: you see spruce and some sort of cedar to the right of the sign, and to the left of the sign the vegetation has definitely gone through bud burst. Everywhere was very green.
Evidence of Green-Up surrounds the sign at the Airport Inn
Traveling North
As I flew north to Ivalo, the clouds cleared and I could see the evidence that Finland is a land of many, many lakes. There was some old ice still around, but the lakes have mostly melted out.
Finland is a land of many lakes
Although I did see some snow patches, spring seems to have sprung here in the north as well as in the south. From above, this landscape looks so familiar to me, as if I were flying over Interior Alaska.
From above, Northern Finland looks similar to Interior Alaska
Even the Ivalo airport reminded me of a rural Alaskan airport. It had just a single runway big enough for once-daily jet flights, a few small Cessna single-engine aircraft sitting on the apron, and few buildings but the small terminal.
Ivalo airport: the northernmost airport in Finland
There the similarities ended however. Check out the sign on the front of the terminal. To the left the sign is in Finnish, the center is English, and on the right is Sami. I hope to learn as much of the local languages as I can while I am here, but I know this will be a challenge! There is also the European sign that I am familiar with: the red and blue sign means no parking.
At Ivalo airport, the signs are in three languages - Finnish, English, Sami
Flexibility and the Finns Again
The first thing the taxi driver did on the way to the bus station in Ivalo was to brake for a reindeer crossing the road. Not enough time to get the camera out, but Kim has assured me I will see many more. Once at the bus station, I asked for a ticket to Kevo. The man looked at me and simply said "no bus." I was stunned! All this travel and no bus! Darn, I knew this trip had been way too smooth so far! Next bus was tomorrow morning. I was so confused. Kim had told me there was a late evening bus, and I had seen the times on the schedule I printed off the Internet. When I showed the printout to the gentleman, he politely pointed out that the Monday evening service starts on June first. Yes Carol, the date is day-month-year in Europe. I knew that! 01.06.13 is NOT January 6, but June 1. Oops.
OK, so now what? I had to reach Kim at Kevo to let her know I was not coming. She had sent me her local phone number the night before, but I had not written it down (another oops). I needed an Internet connection to get it off the computer. I was kindly pointed in the direction of the local library. At the library I was offered the password for the Wi-Fi, so at least I was able to get the phone number and send email. With number in hand, I realized it did me no good at all. I did not have a mobile phone that worked overseas. I asked hopefully for a pay phone, and the librarian smiled and shook her head, saying: "this is Finland." Everyone has a mobile. Back at the bus station, the attendant offered me the use of his phone. Happily Kim answered, and in a three-way conversation we worked out that there was a bus leaving soon that would get me halfway to Kevo, and Kim would come and pick me up at that point. As I related this story to Kim in the car on final leg to Kevo, she laughed and said: "how typical of the Finns, they are such friendly and helpful people." I could not agree more: my first impressions have already been strengthened greatly.
So it appears that, with the help of many who went out of their way to help someone who could not even speak the language, I have survived my first lesson in being flexible while working on research projects!
After some unexpected travel changes and a lot of help from friendly Finns, researcher Kim Miller (on the left) and her sister Abby pick me up for the final drive to Kevo