Monster Jam @ Helsinki

I decided to post this event update as attendning the "Freestyle Mania" really felt like a fresh(!) breeze from America to me. That may sound odd? I think only Americans can come up with sport events like monster truck racing or (WWE style) wrestling, and fill up Helsinki's biggest indoor stadium, the Hartwall Areena!

There were many things about the event I loved. The presenter speaking English with true US accent and trying to warm up the rigid Finnish crowd: "And remember, he'll do one more donut [with a monster truck], only for you, as you've been such a wonderful audience tonight.." That translates to me something like "Hey now c'mon, let's try it again, you are such a quiet crowd and we're really having a hard time getting you to make some noise!!" Haha! :)

And it was all about the merchandise, the excess of toys, T-Shirts and caps available, as well as popcorn mugs and all the exotic stuff you know you really don't need, but you buy them because the kids love them.

Sure, the tickets were expensive, the merchandise was overpriced (compared to the US), and the toilet queues were exessively long (as usual).. But as this kind of tour comes to Finland once in a year or two, we tried to love the show to the max. My wallet feels somewhat thinner, but so what, I feel happy and it seems my son got some inspiration to his child's play too. ;)

I'd love to go and see it again.. in ten years here, or definetely sometime sooner in America!

Summer 2011 update 12/16: Linnanmäki

Speak of the big and the bold. It's a really nice (but also expensive) amusement park hear the centre of Helsinki.

In the dark Autumn time (like now) they arrange the Valokarnevaali ("Carnival of Light").

Summer 2011 update 11/16: Tykkimäki@Kouvola

I'd really like a chance to get to know Kouvola better. This time most of our minutes in the city centre were wasted on just driving around and looking for McDonald's.

But, yes, Tykkimäki is a nice amusement park. I feel it's slightly "in the middle of nowhere", but it has good rides and it's also a bit cheaper than Linnanmäki.

Summer 2011 update 10/16: Puuhamaa@Tervakoski

Puuhamaa was something different than I expected, in a nice way. My son also seemed to like it very much, but next time we'll need to come for the whole day as we didn't have time to visit the water park section at all!

PS. It was quite a crowded place but in case you're wondering where are all the people: most of the pictures were taken a moment after closing time, on the way out.. :)

Summer 2011 update 9/16: Porvoo

So let's get this thing going again.

Sometime in mid-July the weather was really nice, again, and we visited Kungsbacka's Farm (again) and Old Porvoo. Wanha Laamanni is a reputable restaurant on convenient spot for tourists at the top of the church's hill. It was dreadfully expensive, a bit overrated I would say, but I must also admit that snails in garlic butter tasted pretty yummy. ;)

Summer 2011 update 8/16: Nõmme Seikluspark @ Tallinn

One more update, and I believe the first half of my last summer stories is pretty much told. We've reached mid-July, wo-hoo.. :)

We took a day trip to Tallinn and headed to Nõmme Seikluspark to climb in some trees. :) I read afterwards that Flowpark in Turku should be pretty similar. It was a really nice experience, though I was quite exhausted as it takes a lot of physical fitness and endurance to manage all the tracks through. It may seem easy from the ground level.

On the way back to harbour I had a moment to check out the Ölletorn restaurant which I've wanted to see for quite some time. It was nice, but admitted, nothing that special. I confirmed, however, that they do have a large selection of Estonian beers. And waterpipes!

(Yes, there's also Suomenlinna one more time.. taken from aboard the Viking XPRS :)

Summer 2011 update 7/16: Loviisa (w/Svartholma)

A.k.a. The Ehrensvärd Designs pt.2 as Svartholma sea fortress plays a part in 1800th century Finnish (or, Swedish/Russian as well) military history alongside Suomenlinna.

We planned a day trip to Loviisa, but the visit to Svartholma took so much time that we actually didn't manage to see much else than the Laivasilta salt sheds area.

Summer 2011 update 6/16: Suomenlinna

One of Helsinki's top attractions is a maritime fortress from the 18th century. It's included on the UNESCO World Heritage list and a great place to visit especially on summer time.

I had thoughts initially to label this update as "The Ehrensvärd designs, part 1" as the fortress' construction was supervised by Swedish military architect Augustin Ehrensvärd, and there is actually a second place designed by him that we visited this summer..

Summer 2011 update 5/16: Korkeasaari

Now let's try to get some more work done here!

Korkeasaari is Helsinki's zoo island. It was a nice place for a family visit, and especially as it's been a while since my last visit, so something had actually changed. :)

Summer 2011 update 4/16: Pikku Rengastie

This was my first overnight trip this summer. Oh, it was really beautiful out there, too bad that only a couple of pictures can be fitted here..

That's all folks for now, but stay tuned for more.. Good night! ;)

Summer 2011 update 3/16: Tapiola

Even concrete jungle can be a surprisingly nice place for a little adventurer, on a hot summer day!