Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. We wish you the best in 2010.

明けましておめでとうございます。2010年もよろしくお願いします。

Here are a few photos of us from 2009: Christmas in Denver (top); near Santa Barbara (middle); and near Sonoma (bottom).

Norway

One of the highlights of my trip to Kilpisjarvi was a day trip to Skibotn, Norway. The trip was only about an hour from Kilpisjarvi, but the changes in climate and landscape were vast. It was around 20 degrees (F) warmer in Skibotn, and the trees were much taller and more varied. Around Kilpisjarvi, the majority of the foliage consists of stunted birch trees around 10 feet tall. However, around Skibotn, there are numerous varieties of conifers as well as rich mosses covering most of the forest floors. Older homes have sod roofs, attesting to the warmer, moist conditions.

In Skibotn ( 69°23'26.80"N, 20°16'18.67"E in Google Maps or Google Earth), we stopped twice: once to stand next to the Arctic Ocean and skim rocks across its surface (more than 10 jumps with one rock!) and another time to hike around a beautiful forest.

Then it was back to Kilpisjarvi to finish the workshop. This trip was the farthest north I've ever been, easily beating Reykjavik at 64 degrees north. I hope to one day return to Norway, to see more fjords and explore the capital, Oslo. This trip was a nice taste of what to see later. I only wish H had been with me. In her place, though, I had many good friends.

Sauna

One of the finest parts of Finnish culture is the sauna. Sitting in a small wooden room drinking beer with friends, then every once in a while tossing some water on hot rocks to fill the room with steam, and sweating profusely all the while - this is the joy of sauna. Then, if you do it at a special place like Kilpisjarvi in mid-May, you can dip yourself in a frozen lake located hundreds of kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, walk back inside, and start the process all over again.

Here are some photos of the sauna and the hole in the ice where I submerged myself twice. Also, I've included a photo at what seems like dusk, but which was actually taken at 3:00 am. The sun sets at this time of year, but it never quite hides far enough on the other side of the earth to make things completely dark. In a few weeks, the sun won't set at all.

Reindeer

On the road between Rovaniemi and Kilpisjarvi, Finland, we came upon this herd of reindeer. There are three or four different breeds of reindeer that live in this part of northern Europe and western Russia. The reindeer are allowed to roam fairly freely and are rounded up twice a year for butchering and other purposes. Unlike with cattle, which have colored plastic tags on their ears identifying their ownership or the now outdated branding system used in the US, in Finland owners cut the ears of their reindeer in different patterns in order to distinguish owners. Therefore, each owner has a unique system of nicks and cuts.

Because reindeer are allowed to freely wander in some places, they cause some traffic accidents each year. We came close to hitting the first herd that we met, since we came over a hill and were surprised by them. This herd was easier to spot, and because they were in no hurry to get out of the road, we had a moment to take some photos.

Like large animals in many parts of the world (deer in Iowa, elephants in Tanzania, monkeys in northern Japan) the reindeer are not a new sight for the local people with whom I am traveling and are considered more of a nuisance than a wonderful creature to be admired.

Rovaniemi

This morning I arrived in Rovaniemi, Finland's gateway to Lapland, located at the Arctic Circle. This is definitely the farthest north I have ever been in my life. I walked around this small city today and took some photos - this shows the path I followed along the river.

Rovaniemi has a university (University of Lapland) that has a beautifully-designed school of arts.

It snowed on me today as I walked around, and it is really coming down now. It's 9:20 pm as I write this, and it is as bright outside as it was at 5:00 pm.

Tomorrow, I'm off to a workshop in Kiilpisjarvi, located even farther north of here, at the borders of Finland, Norway and Sweden. I'll give a talk, help workshop some other scholars' work, climb a mountain and take my first Finnish sauna.

Hisako has all of the Tallinn photos, which I still hope to share.

Tallinn, Estonia

I haven't written a post for half a year. So, here goes again.

We arrived in Tallinn, Estonia last night for a few days. We took a ferry from Helsinki, Finland, where we will return on Friday for about a week.

After graduation at Colorado last week, and with our 7th anniversary coming up in a few weeks, we decided to take a small trip. I was invited to attend a workshop in Lapland (northern Finland), so we are making a longer vacation of it.

We just finished eating breakfast at our hostel. We were joined by an Australian and four young French students living in Norway. We are easily 15 years older than everyone here, but no one seems to mind.

Today, we will walk around the Old Town and take hundreds of photos. We'll post some when we get back tonight.

For those curious, check out Old Town Tallinn on the web - it's a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/822

Huis ten bosch

November 9 we went to Huis ten bosch and stayed the night at Den Haag.

The entire park is a bit surreal, carefully planned and beautifully designed to resemble a village in the Netherlands. All of the buildings are brick, there are windmills, canals, open city squares, draw bridges, cobblestone roads, and tall ships. The cars and buses used to transport guests between the entrance and the various hotels are all designed to be circa early 20th century. The roof lines of the buildings are all unique, making the entire park feel on the surface like one is walking around Amsterdam or Leiden.

Of course, upon closer inspection there are some things that are not quite right. As is the case with all theme parks there is a cleanliness that is unusual compared to a non-theme park. Also, what would be store fronts or the front doors of homes and businesses were merely closed doors that remained always closed, having tourist shops on the other side of them.

Some highlights of the trip included the leaves changing colors in front of the museum, which is an exact replica of the home of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

This Japanese restaurant also caught my attention. It offers a nice mix of ideas - Japanese restaurant in a Dutch village, in Japan.

The highlight was by far was kayaking at night. Each night there are fireworks at 8:45, after which most people return to their hotels or walk around to view the lights on all the buildings. The water taxis stop, though, leaving the canals empty. So, each night at 9:15 a guide takes groups around the waterways on kayaks.

If I ever return to Huis ten bosch, I will be sure to do this again. I was not only the highlight of the trip but one of the highlights of my year. Imagine a labyrinth of canals lit with beautiful lights, completely peaceful and all to yourself. We slowly made a large loop of the waterways, turning what was supposed to be a 45-minute trip into 90 minutes of pure pleasure.

The guide led us and two other couples around the park. We stopped for awhile to look for falling stars. We also rowed into the center of the Hotel Europe, which is built on water, offering a unique experience of being inside the hotel, yet on water. Some guests waved at us from their rooms. I'm sure they were surprised to see kayakers out their windows. It was a truly beautiful experience.