Cookie travels

Continued from preparing for Stockholm trip –part1

When all seems to be done, the night before our trip, hubby asked me if I already planned where to go in Turku? Oh yeah, it slipped out of my mind that Turku would be our first stop. I was engrossed finding out where to go in Stockholm that I forgot about Turku. Actually, we had a day to tour Turku before our sea travel to Stockholm which was in the evening. Then there’s another question posed to me by hubby regarding the parking area in Turku coz we’re driving from Pori to Turku. We need a parking area where we can leave the car for few days while we were in Stockholm. Gosh, I had to sleep late reading the Turku brochure given to me by the Tourist Info office in Pori. How we spent our May Day in Turku will be another post.

Packing? I managed to do this in the night time. There were still toiletries to pack. Those were the last items that were crammed inside our backpacks before we left the house. We wanted to travel light, so each one carried a backpack. For now it was time to say bye to our home.

Whether there’s a love vacation or not, our family vacation is still coming into reality. Thanks to the May Day holiday. The kids had a break in school during 1-2 May plus the weekend so it’s again a perfect time to think of a family getaway. It was a sudden plan to go to Stockholm. I had 3 days to get the booking done before travel day. It’s good that I found a travel agency that helped us in our travel and accommodation booking. So my focus now would be where to go in Stockholm, like which sights to see in our 2 days stay in the city. With the small map given to me by the travel agency, I was able to figure out the places we should once we arrive there. Booking and sights in Stockholm done, I gave it a tick.

Next were the things to bring, like some juice and munchies along the road coz we’re driving from Pori to Turku, our port of departure to Stockholm. I already did a short grocery stop during the daytime coz I’m scared that shops will close early for the May Day holiday. I still can’t tell properly when do shops close. Shopping for trip done so I gave it a tick. Am I really done?

I read in the news couple of months ago an interesting item about vacation. To all who love vacation, this one is a ‘watch out’ but only here in Finland. Love vacation is another kind of paid leave that can be accumulated similar to summer holiday time of up to 7 days a year.

This is yet a proposal by Social Democratic MP Tommy Tabermann, a person known for his collections of romantic poetry. According to him,

People in today’s fast-pace society have been robbed of time for themselves and those close to them.

A healthy person works better, a sick person less, and a healthy person can stay in the workforce longer.

Although this proposal is aimed for couples and spouses to prevent their relationship from getting distant but then I feel that the whole family would also benefit from this. The kids for example can enjoy more time with their dad and mom. They can join the holiday too depends on the couple right? For us, we always bring the kids during vacations. But I don’t know what has happened to this proposal coz I haven’t heard hubby talking about love vacation yet. Prop or drop?

It was not a usual day. We saw a band playing on stage at Promenadi and there were also few tents put up selling food. I was wondering what these all are about. As we came closer to watch the performers on stage, I saw a banner with the writing: Europpa Paivan. I’m not good in Finnish-English but it’s clear to me that those words mean Europe Day. I don’t know if most Europeans or other people knew about this. I for sure don’t know ..:-) So let me go further to the story behind Europe Day.

It was on 9th May 1950 when French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read his proposal to the international press appealing to European countries to combine their coal and steel production under one European body. His speech is known as the “Schuman declaration” and paved way to the creation of what is now called the European Union. If you are interested to know more about the full text of the Schuman declaration of 9 May 1950, it’s right here.

So there you go, every 9th May is a joyful celebration for members of the European Union as it marks the day when European Union was created. It’s nice to know that the city of Pori joins other citizens of European Union in celebrating this anniversary. Happy Europpa Paivan!

For those planning to visit Tampere for leisure or business, the official website of the City of Tampere provides more comprehensive information about this city. You can request for a copy of their brochure (Tampere and Region 2008), restaurant guide, and maps which are mailed out free of charge. The website also has a brochure in pdf format for downloading and printing. Some screen shots of the brochure (pdf) are shown below:

Tampere, a city touched by light © City of Tampere

invigorating excursions and striking scenery © City of Tampere

ideas and movements © City of Tampere

cultural mainstreams and new directions © City of Tampere