Kuopion Retkeilijat

Amy & Rachael have been visiting us this past week, leaving yesterday. Yet I don't seem to have many photos of the duration of their stay...
Last Wednesday we attended a party organised by our school at a cottage on Lake Kallavesi. We didn't really know what to expect but were pretty amazed when we got there (after a looooong walk) to find it was one of the old houses we had appreciated from a distance. We'd seen it from the other side of the lake a fair few times and always commented on how good it would be to live in such a place!

 

(As it was evening time when we arrived it was too dark to take any good photos, they're some I found on the internet of the exterior of the cottage, and the sauna/jetty on the lakeside)

There was a lot of people from school there, and everyone here always introduces themselves as soon as they realise we're exchange students. We spent some time in one of the bedrooms upstairs having a few drinks etc. and having a good nosey around the house itself, which was amazing! There was loads of little rooms to explore and a massive moose skin hung on one of the walls...

 

 

There was also a sauna right on the lake for us to use. The times were organised as boys only, girls only, then a 'mix it up' session. Leigh and Rachael opted out of sauna and caught a bus home. Me and Amy joined the girl's sauna a bit late and ended up staying there until the boys came in. Once getting over the initially weird feeling of being naked around boys I'd never met (including one of the guys who lives in the flat opposite...) we had a really good time! Everyone was super friendly and they even brought in cold beer in for us! We also had many trips outside in the rain to jump in the water, which was warmer than expected, and we sat on the benches for a little while too until we were ready for the sauna again. This cycle was repeated until it got late into the night and it was time to leave. Although there were plenty of beds in the cottage and people were staying over we decided to head home, missing the last bus meant having to walk however...

Neulalahti

I got a bike from the charity shop for 5 euro last week, I've been eager to ride it ever since but we've had issues finding leigh one so cheaply. So when the Dutch boys from over the hall offered to lend one of their new found bikes to her, we took the chance and decided to explore an area of our local town (Neulamäki). We've done plenty of exploring downtown in the city centre but as far as Neulamäki goes, we only know our accommodation and the local supermarket and town square area.

Anyway, after heading down a VERY steep dirt track (which resulted in me in the hedgerow at one point... back pedal brakes are so not my style), we discovered a little lake beach, with a sauna hut and jetty. We'd packed swimming stuff just in case so we had a little splash around then some older woman came and joined us for a swim, which was slightly weird but nice. Then after some drying off on the jetty we took back to our bikes and cycled to Prisma to buy some bits and bobs.

It's been a good day despite I'm sick of waiting on the mail, I want my packages already!!!

Väinölänniemi

Today we visited one of the swimming beaches on the Lake Kallavesi, Väinölänniemi. It was a pretty weird experience swimming amongst ducks! And there was sand, real life sand! Unlike the rocky edges of the lake we explored a few days ago. We have an orientation day at school tomorrow, which should be good, hopefully. Plus pancakes are on the agenda for breakfast. Woo!

Puijon Torni

Today we had a (very long and sweaty) walk up to Puijon Torni - a 75m tower that gives a 360 view over the landscape. Being that high up made you realise just how much of Kuopio is made up of water (604.5 km2). It was so hot, 31 degrees when we set off, so a well deserved ice cream at the top was enjoyed!

Stone skimming

Today we had a long look around town (in 28 degree heat!) before getting the bus home for dinner, then spending some time at the lake again. I learned to skim stones on the water! I also got a bike for 5 euro in the second hand shop near our accommodation. 5 euro!

Lake Kallavesi

Kuopio is almost entirely surrounded by Lake Kallavesi. We went for a long walk around a part of the lake today then went for a little swim, the water wasn't chilly at all! It was a lot sunnier than it actually looks in these photos, around 25 degrees. Afterwards we went to PRISMA, which is some sort of Asda & B&Q rolled into one massive store. Crazy.