Finland

After a couple of days at home I took the train to Duesseldorf airport, where I checked in for my flight to Oulu via Helsinki. The flight with Finnair’s Embraer 170 to Helsinki was almost full, and took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. The sun was already setting when we landed and it took a while until we got a bus and were transferred to the terminal. It was -7 degrees here – brrrr!
Finnair is actually Santa's Official Airline. I saw a MD11 and an A340-300 with the special livery, but it was already dark, so I couldn't take any photos. There is a nice one on Airliners.net - click here to see it.
I just walked into the building and my connection gate was next door. Boarding had already started, and I walked straight down to the bus again. The bus was absolutely full and reminded me of the pictures of Tokyo’s subway. They had a couple of buses, but thought they really must fill this one to the rim (standing there with open doors for at least 15 minutes in the cold), and then have only about 5 passengers on the next bus. Finnair has no allocated seating on domestic flights, so boarding was a bit chaotic. But since I was among the last few passengers on the bus, I was among the first off as well, and was second on board, i.e. had free choice of seats. I chose seat 1A at the front of the plane. The flight was fully booked and cramped. Even on the short 50 minute hop we got a sandwich and drinks, and not much later we landed in Oulu, where I walked off the plane (I only had carry-on luggage) and took a cab to the Holiday Inn. I checked in and since it was dark and cold I stayed in, wrote the first blog and had an early night – at least that was what I thought. But later Harvey (from Canada) knocked at the door and we chatted until 1am!

Next morning I got up early and enjoyed the nice breakfast. I also saw Pat again, met Emma, Jackie, Dieter, etc – many people I knew from e-mails but never met in person. After breakfast we shared a couple of taxis to the university and the Polar Tourism Conference started. Here as well I saw people again, and met many new ones. The conference was good and interesting, although I realised that I was not the only one who almost dozed off occasionally. Too many delegates with jet-lag! We had dinner at the greenhouses of the university, which was quite neat. This time I really had an early night, while some were going out partying…

The next day was almost as the first – breakfast, shuttle to the university, conference… We headed back to the hotel and shortly after that tried to find a restaurant for dinner. We were 11 and since it is close to Christmas it was a hard task for the Finnish colleagues to find a restaurant. Eventually, after many calls, they had one in walking distance, and we made our way through the cold. The restaurant was called Lasarett, because it was in a former military hospital. But it was really nice, and the food was excellent. Many of us had the “Oulu meal”, a really yummy 3-course dinner with local food. The main was a salmon steak…

The next day we had to get up even earlier, since our bus left already at 7:30am. We made our way through Finland’s winter wonderland up north to Rovaniemi. Here, we stopped at the Arktikum, which is an arctic museum and research center. After lunch at the restaurant there, we got a brief presentation on the center and then had about an hour to walk around and discover the Arktikum in our own time. Interesting the striking architecture with the long “glass tunnel”.

no comment ;-)

We then went further north, where we visited the home of Santa! Santa village is right on the Arctic Circle and offers everything around Santa and Christmas. Of course, many souvenir shops with Xmas stuff, reindeer rides, Santa’s post shop, and – most important – Santa! You could queue and got a photo taken with him. We did not join the queue, but could see him on a video screen, how he posed for photos with the many people… An amazing tourist trap, but quite interesting and fun to see. Certainly additional material for classes…;-)

me standing on the Arctic Circle

From there our bus drove us to Ruka, where the organisers had a special treat for us: The FIS Nordic World Cup. Tonight was the first competition of ski jumping, and we got tickets! We first briefly visited the press centre. About 400 media delegates were at this event. And then we went to the ski jump and could watch the competition. Of course, every time a Finnish guy was jumping, the crowd roared and the audience was a sea of blue and white flags. And believe it or not: I am writing this in the airport lounge while waiting for my flight, and just this moment Michael Uhrman (Germany) sat down next to me – he was one of the competitors last night!!! The whole German DSV team is on a flight to Munich, leaving just before mine. What a coincidence! During the break we had some food in the staff tent and then watched the second part.

the press room

And once again it is already the last morning. We could sleep a bit longer and breakfast was between 8 and 9am. After that we walked over to the National Park Visitor Center where we got a presentation again, and watched a short movie about Oulanga National Park and the Russian national park just across the border. We actually were in walking distance to the Russian border. While the rest of the group went to a waterfall/rapids nearby, Pirkko had to drive me back to Kuusamo, because I had to catch an earlier flight from Oulu. From Kuusamo I took a scheduled bus, and three hours later was back in Oulu, where I took a cab to the airport and checked in. I was quite early for my flight, and wonder if I would have made it had I stayed with the group…

the research station

The flight was quick and my connection in Helsinki was delayed quite a bit. I was wondering whether I was able to catch a train from Duesseldorf back home after arrival past 11pm. But no problem, I just had to change trains twice and was home sooner than I expected. And within the day I had an almost 30 degrees change in temperature, from -16.5 in Finland to +12 in Germany! Another great leg of this trip. I truly enjoyed the time in Finland, catching up with people, and the wonderful excursion. The ski jumping certainly was a wonderful experience and a highlight. And of course, I was happy to see lots of snow again, and have it nice and cold. In that respect, I do miss Canada!

Heide & National Park Wadden Sea Schleswig Holstein

It seems I have just been back from Taiwan, and once again I hit the road - well, rather the skies. This time I have two back-to-back conferences in Heide/Germany, a conference in Oulu/Finland, and a meeting with my publisher in Wallingford/Oxford/UK. In between I have time to pop in and out at my folks in Germany. On the way out I stayed a night each in Sydney and in Seoul.

Somehow, this trip wasn't meant to be "my trip" - it was/is full of hurdles. It started the week before, when I got sick and had a terrible cold/blocked nose, runny nose, headache, and what not. I never had a hayfever before, but these were the symptoms. No fun flying with this! Then, my PC crashed while I was preparing my PowerPoint presentations for Germany, and it just didn't boot again!

Monday, I took Emirates to Sydney, where I arrived late afternoon. George and Craig picked me up at the airport, and we had a great evening chatting about everything and nothing. George is pregnant, which was particularly sweet. I slept well in their beautiful apartment, and next morning I took a cab to the airport for my next leg to Seoul. After I checked in, and a good breakfast in the Qantas lounge, I had a chance to see the brand new A380! It was less than a month after it began its first scheduled service with Singapore Airlines between Singapore and Sydney, and so far it is the only A380 in commercial service. Funnily, the beast didn't even look that big. I assume that is because of the two decks the proportions are different than with a common plane? Anyway, it was great to even be able to see it take off into the skies!






I then took Asiana to Seoul, and had a nice flight. The seat next to me was empty, and thus it was comfortable. I saved the last Harry Potter book for this trip, and most of the time I either read or slept. I arrived in Seoul in the evening, and took a shuttle to my hotel. When I left the terminal I suddenly realised that it was cold and that my jacket was missing. For a moment I thought that I had left it on the plane, but quickly I realised that I left it at home - duh! Next little hurdle! The hotel was in Incheon, a little artifical village on the artificial island the airport was built on. I dared a quick walk in the bitter cold and indeed managed to find kind of a department store. They even had jackets, but it wasn't so easy to find one my size. XXL was still a bit short, but had to do for now! The hotel was quite nice, and my room even had a private steam sauna and a spa! What luxury! I indulged in both before I went to bed, and all the trouble was forgotten....
Next morning I was at the airport early and able to change my seat to an emergency exit seat - plenty of legroom! The flight was again very comfy except for my headaches and runny nose. In Frankfurt I had some food at the Lufthansa lounge before I tried to make my way to Terminal 1. Security was a bit of a nightmare, and after many minutes without anything happening (only 2 lines were open!) they took us to another security-check, which did indeed go faster, but once I had passed it I had a marathon to the gate. The Lufthansa A321 was packed and overbooked, and the seat pitch was next to nothing. Not the greatest flight I had, and uncommon for LH... Arriving in Hamburg, I quickly learned that my suitcase didn't make it - again! The next episode in this long line of hiccups! I went to the baggage counter and made a claim. The lady there was very friendly and told me that the suitcase got stuck already in Sydney! They then sent it to London, and thus it should be in Hamburg next morning. She gave me a toiletries bag and a t-shirt and off I went to be met by Christoph of the University of Applied Sciences Westküste, who then drove me to the hotel. Check-in was quick, friendly and easy, and soon I had time for a rest!
Next morning Ellen came and had breakfast with Alex from Mexico and myself, then showed us around the campus, and introduced us to their team. At noon'ish the first conference started, which was organised by the National Park Service Wadden Sea Schleswig Holstein. It was quite interesting, and my talk (in German!!!) went better than expected. After the conference we went for dinner in a local restaurant, and met some of the other delegates for tomorrow's conference. It was a fun night!

Next morning I had breakfast with Alex before we were once again picked up for the short ride to the campus. Rest assured that my suitcase still has not arrived, and I was to give yet another presentation (this time in English) in my shabby clothes I had worn all week by now. The friendly lady at the hotel check-in was so kind and gave me a free polo-shirt, which I immediately put on :)
This conference was organised by our host university and the IMT for their partner universities. It was very interesting, well attended, and good fun again! Dinner was at our hotel - excellent food and again lots of fun. By now, we really got to know each other, and each and everybody in the group was always up for a laugh!






When I got back to my room I learned that my suitcase was found - well what was left of it! I got a big black plastic bag from the guy at the front desk with the comment "be careful, I already cut myself". In the bag was my suitcase, totally trashed. The outer hard case was in pieces, and only the lining held the whole thing together... Maybe they didn't land in Hamburg, but just dropped it when overflying the city? ;-)



Next morning was planned for an excursion to the Eider Sperrwerk and the National Park Wadden Sea. The weather was beautifully sunny, but also quite cold. First stop was the Eider Sperrwerk (lock), where we met NP guides/rangers and got some interesting interpretation.

View out to the Wadden Sea

Traditional shrimp boats (Krabbenkutter)

Next was a stop in St Peter Ording, where we went behind the deik and had a walk along the long path through the salt marshes, until we reached the beach. What a beautiful piece of this planet - especially at this time of the year! I have always loved the North Sea in winter...






Next stop was the Multimar Wattforum, which is the National Park Centre. We got a guided tour here as well, where we could see many fish tanks, displays, etc. It is a beautiful centre, which certainly is a good educational facility for many tourists. We also had a yummy lunch there, before we headed back to Heide.







Back in Heide, we had a meeting with representatives of all the partner universities, and discussed the future of this new partnership. I then had the chance to quickly go to a department store (15 minutes before they closed) and buy a new suitcase. Heide is not exactly a metropolis, and the choice was limited, so I ended up with a bright red hard case... Dinner was at the student ball, which was quite a bit out of Heide. Once again, our "driving service" was excellent - these guys really did a great job! The ball was ok, but particularly our hosts were disappointed. We left very early to get back to the hotel, and had some final drinks at the bar there.

Next morning Alex and I were picked up again, and shuttled back to the airport. We checked in and had a last chat before Alex went through security, and I went downstairs to meet up with Frank, whom I hadn't seen for a few years now. It was great catching up over a few coffees, before I too had to make my way through security. My flight left at the last gate of the terminal, and once I arrived there, boarding had already started. The 50 minutes flight to Cologne on LH's B 737-300 was uneventful, and once in Cologne even my new suitcase arrived (pretty scratched already though, hehe). Mum & dad picked me up and I had a chance to finally lie down for a couple of days and try to get rid of my flu/hayfever/whatever-it-is symptoms. It didn't work though. It was a bit better but came back and I am still on medication... Just 3 days later I already left for Oulu again, where I am sitting now, but I will write that story in the next blog...

Cheerio!