July 11 was Kaisla's 18th birthday. We began the celebratory day by going to her room in the morning and singing to the sleepy birthday girl. Still drowsy with sleep, we all shuffeld down to the breakfast table which was set with hibiscus flowers, candles, eggs, bacon, and strawberry cake.
Later that day, we packed our bags and loaded up the big blue van for an overnight trip to Savolinna, Retretti, and Imatra. The entire excursion had been a last-minute ordeal, which is how Kari likes things. "Calendar" is one of the dustiest words in his vocabulary. He like things to be spontaneous and adventerous. This is very different for me, as I have parents who are planning summer vacation way back in January.
Anyways, it took us five hours to drive to Savolinna, which is a city famous for opera. It was rather late--7ish. Too late for stores to be open. So we just went on a mad hunt for hotel rooms and later decided that we didn't really want to go to the opera, anyways. So I just saw Savolinna through the car window.
After breakfast he next day, we drove to Retretti, which is a city famous for its art exhibitions.
A note about Finnish hotel, esp. regarding their breakfasts: I have been in two different hotels, and they have both had amazing continental breakfasts. None of the Costco-bought danishes and muffins nonsense that I've gotten used to in America. Here, a continental breakfast means a full out buffet.
Back to Retretti. The first exhibition in the museum featured white porcelain manga-like characters. Manga really gets around, I guess. There were also glass surfboards and animal sculptures. The most impressive, though, and the highlight of the exhibition were the paintings of a Finnish summer.
The paintings were done in the early 1900s, but I noticed that the landscape has hardly changed at all. Finland is a nation that has been well-preserved. There were lakes and forrests hundreds of years ago, and they still stand today.
We moved on to watch the release of the dam at Imatra. It is, I belive, the largest in the country. While it isn't as big as the Hoover dam, the water was mesmerizing. A composition of Sibelius floated through the air until the notes were overtaken by the rush and roar of the water.
Five hours later, we were back at home, only to find that Joona had single-handedly consumed the rest of the strawberry cake.
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