Travelog for: Pien

Today we made a biking trip to Tikkurila, Vantaa. I saw Heureka which is Finnish Science Centre. Here are two pictures of the building. In the second one you can see some stone boulders in the front, those are samples of different rock types. In the same pic you can see the light reflecting orb on the roof of the building (on right). It is the roof of planetarium.

The third pic is taken in the park just outside Heureka. The River Vantaa glides across Tikkurila. This river is the greatest in Vantaa. You can see how lush it is already in here.

In the fourth image I gaze towards another bridge that crosses the river.

In the last one you can see how the river forms small rapids at some places. This one actually was one of the tiniest rapids. We forgot to take a closer look at the bigger one.

Today was a very exciting day! Another toyvoyager arrived and I have to tell you that I wasn't at all happy at first. This is how all happened:

My host called out to me that we had another guest in the house but she told me to be brave as this new one was of the sort that I wasn't accustomed to. So I peered behind the corner and there it was... A horrible, scary, BIG mouse! I howled in panic and jumped high on top of the pink lamp on the table. My host came running to me and tried to soothe me down, the thing also came and said that it wasn't a mouse but a rat. I said I really can't see the difference between the two. The "rat" as he called himself started talking and talking and finally, I have to say, he had some good points. He said rats and mouses really can't harm an elephant in any way and that they had no reason to. So I encouraged myself and came down. We had a good conversation and believe it or don't, we became friends. This tv's name is Angus.

So now I can say I have overcome my fear of small squeaking creatures. At least this one is ok.

Hi again! We have been busy today. When I had gotten over the shock we went biking and visited The Church of St. Lawrence (Pyhän Laurin kirkko, in Finnish) which is situated between Vantaa and Helsinki. The church dates back to 1460 A.D. Here is some text my host found as an info for me:

"Helsinge, or Helsinki Parish, is known to have been populated by Swedish-speaking people by the 14th century. Documentary evidence shows that a wooden church stood here as early as 1401. The patron saint of the wooden church was Sankt Lars, better known as Saint Lawrence or Laurentius, a deacon martyred in Rome in the year 258.

The parish village with its church was favourably located on the coastal road between Turku and Viipuri. A branch of the salmon-rich River Vantaa ran through the village as well. A traveller approaching the village on the great coastal road, known as the King’s Road, could see the Church of St. Lawrence from afar, since the village was surrounded by fields, and there were no other big buildings to block the view. Helsinge was an established centre of population by the time Helsinki was founded in parish territory in 1550.

In medieval times, the interior of the Church of St. Lawrence was dark. The windows were smaller than at present, and candles were the only alternative sources of light. There were no pews. The outer walls were whitewashed. Lack of heating made the church cold and damp in wintertime. For the common people the church’s massive stone walls were both a reminder of man’s smallness before God and a visible expression of the combined power of the Roman Catholic Church and her loyal supporter, the secular government."

Anyway, here in the first two pics we are sitting on a beautiful bench in the surrounding cemetery.

Then there is three pics of the church itself. Quite pretty stone church, huh?

And in the last image Angus and I are sitting at the foot of a stone statue that was raised on someones grave.

Today we were quite bored as Minna, our host, had no time for us. She said she was busy writing an essay on History of Chemistry. So we took a look at one of her books, which was in Finnish. I have to say I didn't understand the text at all! Minna told us not to worry, the book was too much for us as we had never studied Finnish at all. I was interested though and I found a Donald Duck cartoon which was easier to understand because it had pictures. Angus had no patience though, he took a nap while I read the cartoon.

Afterwards Minna teached us some Finnish words and phrases. Here is a few:

Hei = Hi
Kiitos = Thank you
Kyllä = Yes
Ei = No
Hyvää päivää = Good day
Hyvää huomenta = Good morning
Hyvää yötä = Good night
Näkemiin = Goodbye
Mitä kuuluu? = How have you been?
Miten voit? = How are you feeling?
Voin hyvin = I'm fine
Voisitko auttaa minua? = Could you help me , please?
Hyvää päivänjatkoa! = Have a nice day!

Hello again!

Today we went to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and Minna showed some places to us. First we visited the Botanic garden. There were some pretty flowers and plants. Here is a pic of me in front of one of the glasshouses. It's called the Palm House. We didn't go inside though.

In the second pic I'm watching at one shallow pool in the garden.
Third pic is of the museum building and some hillside plants.
There is also a few pics of some pretty flowers, don't remember their names anymore.

After the Botanic Garden we saw the Finnish National Theatre. The statue in front of the theatre shows Aleksis Kivi, Finnish national author and poet. His major novel, Seitsemän veljestä "The seven brothers" (1870), the classic of Finnish culture, has been translated into several languages.

In the last image you can see Angus and me and behind us is the Helsinki Central Railway Station and its clocktower.

Today I said goodbye to my host and Angus. Angus is gonna stay awhile more. I hugged Angus and I hope we will meet again. The chances are good. Now I will be going to Austria! Goodbye Finland!

Pien arrived safely here in Vienna/Austria on Wednesday last week. He needed a little rest for a few days but on Sunday he had enough energy again so he joined us to an amusement park at lake Neusiedler See (in the very eastern part of Austria). It was about fairy tales and Pien and the other Toyvoyagers had alot of fun there!!!

From June 7th to June 29th the European Soccer Championship takes place in Austria and Switzerland. All the people here are very much into soccer at the moment and of course I also cought the "soccer spirit". One day our host took me and my Toyvoyager friends and brought us to the "fan zone" in the city centre. It was great fun to be there (Russia played against Sweden this day) and I felt like a real fan than

Since we had sooo much fun at "Fan Zone" my friends and I decided to play soccer ourselves, too. Pamplemoose, Ted, Cekelat, Dottie Grace, Galen and I were real "stars" and believe me, I made several goals!!

We also explored the flat a bit and found alot of other soccer stuff, too: Flags, balls and even Panini stickers! I didn't expect that there are sooo many pretty players taking part in this championship!!!

We spent a wonderful afternoon at Schönbrunn castle today. The castle was the former summer residence of the Habsburg family and it is situated in a very big park. We had a looong walk there and even went up a little hill where we reached "Gloriette" (the point of view). It was very pretty to look over all the city of Vienna! We also saw the palm house - a very special construction!

Imagine what we did after our long walk! We went to the zoo there!! Unfortunately the battery of the camera finished there so I can only show you this picture of a rhinozeros! But believe me: There were tons of interesting animals to see there (even some elephants - but none of them was as beautiful as I am  )

Yesterday we went to see the house created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It looks really beautiful and I like it alot! There is nothing special in this house, just normal flats (next time I come to Vienna I'll try to find a host living in there ). Everybody living there has the right to decorate the surrounding of his/her window just as he/she likes - but only as far as the arms reach. Interesting, isn't it?

Today we discovered Vienna's beautiful Rosarium. It is located almost in the city centre and has thousands of roses in all colours you can think of. It smelled wonderful there and Galen, Little Tex, Ted, Cekelat, Dottie Grace and I had a really great time there!

I am in Upper Austria now in a little place called Gmunden which is situated in an area called "Salzkammergut". My friends and I went there on holiday because our host's family lives close there. It's a very beautiful place situated within the Alps. The landscape is wonderful with the lake and the mountains and all the forests around and Gmunden itself is a pretty romantic little city.

Yesterday we went to the zoo again. This time the camera worked so I finally had my photo taken with all the different kinds of elephants living there and I'm very proud that I fullfilled one more of my life missions!!!

I did some more sightseeing here in Vienna, too. So I visited the City Hall with its large square where always some events are hold. At the moment it was the center of celebration for all the soccer fans, then it will be changed into an open air opera festival. In winter the Christmas market takes place there and afterwards they build up a big skating court there. Opposite the city hall the Old imperial theatre can be found and not far from it there is the Austrian Parliament.

I also passed by Hofburg which was the residence of the Habsburg family in former times and now it hosts the Austrian national library, several museums and the president's office.

Very close there I discovered twin museums. One is the museum of historical arts, the other one is the museum for natural history. They are built just face to face and really look the same.