Sunday, December 30, 2007

Mont Tremblant in a sunny Sunday

Today, the weather was exceptionally beautiful and a perfect weather for skiing. One of the things that is very noticable is the friendliness of service that one gets here in Mont Tremblant. People smile even if every place is overly crowded. Today, I had to fight to get my parking spot.... That has to be fixed here in Mont Tremblant.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Our hotel Wyndham Cap Tremblant - very nice choice

We reserved our hotel cia an agent without really knowing where we were going to end with. The whole hill is operated with huge Wyndham condominiums (http://www.wyndhamcaptremblant.com) and our one room with a large livingroom and kitchen was a very pleasant surprise.

I do have to admit that I have made a decision to not use Wyndham anymore as I was very badly treated in Wyndham downtown Chicago during December 2007. Not only did they let me know that I should not have made my reservation through Expedia.com, but they also caused me headache in multiple different ways. I decided that they do not need my business. Hilton, Marriott or Holiday Inn brands are my choices during 2008. I do not have to take any crap from my hotel specifically as I spend half of my life on the road.

Mont Tremblant, Quebec

We spent the first evening visiting the skiing center Mont Tremblant, which is architecturally very nice with lots of shops and restaurants. All of the hotels are by the lifts and I highly recommend the use of these hotels as the parking of your own car is horrifying, if not catastropic. If you get too late to the slopes, you are not going to have a parking space..... I can not understand why they have not figured out a better way.

Our car trip to Tremblant mountain

We rented a car for a few days so we could get to Tremblant for some skiing. This mountain is around 2 hours from Montreal (direction northwest). We took highway 15 and after 45 minutes a pretty scenic road 117 that eventually came back to highway 15 and then we were almost at Tremblant. The weather has been around 0 Centigrades almost every day with some snow and rain as well.

Chinatown in Montreal: you have to explore it

we wanted to chech out an authentic Chinese restaurant in Montreal and the hotel suggested to eat at La Maison Kam Fung (http://www.laimaisonkamfung.com). The cab drive from the hotel to Montreal Chinatown took only a few minutes and we stepped into the restaurant. The sight was good.... Mostly Chinese people which is typically a good sign. We ate, we ate lots and it was one of the best dinners ever in a Chinese restaurant (not counting our Finnish best ever Nanking outside Kalevankatu 27 in Helsinki Finland)

After the dinner, we decided to explore the Chinatown itself and it is very intresting and authentic! The weather was intresting as well as it started snowing pretty heavily.

Shopping at St Catherine during Boxing day

Only 5 minutes from our hotel is St Catherines street that is the main shopping street in Montreal. I found what I needed, which is a local bookstore.and this one even had Starbucks inside.

Montreal is very intresting as a city as it has 36 kilometers of shopping area under the ground and it is almost another city under the real city that you can see.....I am very impressed how they have done it. Also, you can shop until you drop even in bad weather.

Montreal: initial feel for the town

We arrived to Montreal in the late evening, took a cab from the airport to our hotel (45 Canadian dollars) Marriott Chateau. The hotel is located very close to the main shopping street St Catherine so I very much recommend this hotel. Also, very important to me is the gym facilities that a hotel provides and this one has a very good one with lots of different equipment.

Our first aim in the morning was to explore the old town in Montreal. It was easy to find it, but the size of the old town kind of dissapointed us.... We expected it to be larger, but I am sure it is very lively during the summer months.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Morning in Montreal

The city was very quiet in the evening of 25th of December. The American Airlines flight left Dallas around 01.00 PM and with the almost 4 hours flight time and change in time zone made us to land in the dark Montreal. The lights of Montreal was very nice. We are staying in the Marriot Montreal Chateau Champlain. A nice hotel with good service.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Montreal, Canada here we come

This is the first time I get to visit Montreal and Quebec City. My travel this year has been extensive, but this time I am going to enjoy the trip to full extent!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Finally back to Dallas for Christmas

Two very productive weeks behind me, but I am ready for some Christmas time with family. The Chicago O'Hare airport is packed with people getting ready for their holiday.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Back to Chicago icestorm

It was not a long stay in Dallas... I am on my way to Chicago again. Based on the weather news, Chicago has had considerable delays because of icestorms that have been hitting Illinois and other surrounding states.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Chicago was hit with a snowstorm

I am on my way to Dallas again. Chicago was hit with a hard snowstorm last night. This automatically turned into a mess.... Massive delays on the airport, and other related stuff. But, I am on my way tob Dallas now

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Winter in Chicago

I am again on the airport. This time I am flying to Chicago for two days (one night). The temperature in Chicago is 23 Farhrenheit (-5 Centigrades).

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Helsinki, Finland is very dark this time of the year

I have to say that the weather in Finland at this point in time is very harsh for people that need light and sun. I spent one week in Helsinki and it was raining most of the time besides yesterday on Saturday. I am supposed to be used to this, but I am not. Regarless, I am now on my way to Dallas, Texas via Paris, France.

Friday, November 16, 2007

From Atlanta to Chicago

The morning in Chicago was cold but beautiful. Fall in Atlanta is more obvious than in Dallas, Texas.... I guess the airstreams are different even if there is only 800 miles distance from the two places. I am jumping to my Paris, France plane from Chicago and then further to Dallas.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Atlanta, here I come

I am sitting in a plane again, now on my way to Atlanta, Georgia until Friday and then via Chicago, and Paris to Helsinki, Finland. Lot's of miles again....

Monday, November 05, 2007

Chicago for a couple of days

I am on my way to Chicago again. This time it is going to be only one night, but a very exciting one as a new project is starting for me. It is a good day overall as I heard this morning from Finland that my boolk manuscript is good to go and should be coming out before Chrismas.... finally.... I am staying in Crown Plaza Metro in downtown Chicago.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Two plane changes too much

Finally in Chicago, after having changed plane in London (not my favorite I am afraid). If one has the change, the best thing is to land in the final destination....

Time to get back to Dallas, Texas

I am on my way to Dallas Texas from Prague, Czech Republic. It has been a very nice trip with lots of new contacts and new understanding of the Czech Republic marketplace as well as the surrounding countries. I am impressed with the city and will definetely visit again. My flight back to Dallas is via Heathrow, London and Chicago, Illinois.

To get to know Prague, take a grand tour.

I had a chance to take a 3 hour grand tour while in Prague. This tour is a combination of bus tour as well as walking in the largest working castle in the world. The weather was beautiful and this gave me the opportunity to get to know the geography in the downtown area so next time when I visit the place, I know how to get around.

Hotel Ibis Mala Strana, I can recommend it

I stayed in the pretty nicely located hotel Ibis Praha Mala Strana that is 2 metro stops from old town and even in a walkable distance (20 minutes) from the major places in Prague. What impressed me in the hotel was not so much the rooms (they are very nice but nothing special), but the nice service that you get in the nice restaurant and lobby bar. They really make you feel that you are welcome. There is also a large mall just beside the hotel, so if you are in a shopping spree, no need to travel anywhere. I will definetely use this hotel in the future as well.

Trip via Chicago, Bryssels to Prague went well

The service was good and Bryssels, Belgium airport worked very well and they have a nice lounge for travelers that either fly business or have a launch card of some sort. This was my secomnd time in the Prague airport in less than 2 months so I was able to get around easily. Nice experience overall.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Czech Republic in my mind

I am sitting on the plane again, this time headed to Prague, Czech Republic to do a speech. I am flying via Chicago and Brussels, Belgium. I am very excited to see Prague as I have not been there before (other than the airport).

Final day - from Marathon, Texas to Dallas, Texas

Our finaly day was awesome. We got up early in the morning (5.15 AM) while it was still dark and drove along highway 67 (more to follow later). I was home around 3.00 PM and more than 500 miles behind. Overall we drove more than 1600 miles.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Third night in Terlingua Ranch

We drove around 200 miles during our second day, from Ft Davies down 67 to Marfa, then to Presidio that is by the Mexican border. From Presidio we drove along the beautiful Rio Grande along highway 170 to Lajitas, Terlingua and then finally to our overnight place Terlingua Ranch....

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Second day with lunch in Pecos, Texas

We drove from Abilene to Pecos and had lunch in Pecos in a traditional Mexican take-away place and it was very authentic indeed. From Pecos our journey continued on highway 17 to Fort Wayne where we had reserved rooms in the beautiful hotel....(Will descibe later). We drove also an additional loop of 70 miles to see the observatories of McDonalds that is managed by the University of Texas at Austin. Today's trip was around 450 miles.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Big Bend motorcycle trip finally here

Five good friends and 1600 miles ahead of us. We left Dallas around 06.00 PM and the first leg took us to Abilene, Texas. We drove mostly in the dark, but the weather was good and our ride was smooth. We are staying by interstate 20 by Abilene in a local Best Western Inn and Suites. Tomorrow we will drive to Fort Davies, Texas. The drive today was around 200 miles.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Mexico City International airport works well

I have to say that the airporrt works well and they have a nice American Admirals Club that frequent travelers like myself enjoy. The trip from the downtown area was not bad 04.30 AM but I would reserve lots of time during regular hours. The traffic in Mexico City is horrifying.

Mexico City is very interesting

I have to say that I very much enjoyed to see and feel the life of Mexico City. Very vibrant and lots of building and development going on which means that the local economy is growing. I also had the chance to sit in a car multiple times and saw tens of different neighbourhoods and many of them were very nice indeed. I am sure this place is going to be a place for me to visit lots of times

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Mexico City - new destination to explore

I am very excited to fly to Mexico City today.... A direct American Airlines flight from DFW International airport to Mexico City International airport where I will have transportation waiting on me...

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Beautiful Helsinki early morning - Texas here I come

It is time to go home again. My flight takes me today from Helsinki to Frankfurt, Germany and then to Dallas. Very nice to get home..... 2 weeks of travel has been productive but home is home, no matter what.

Prague -International airport - not bad experience

This is my first time on this airport. Pretty nice and large. It seems to be a major hub to other European and US destinations.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Little did I know about airport location

I had no idea that Slovakians use Vienna international airport as one of their exits to differnent parts of the world. It is only 45 kilometers from Bratislava. You live and learn....

Two days of rain in Slovakia

The fall is definetely here in Slovakia. It has now rained for straight two days and I am on my way back to Helsinki via Prague. Tomorrow I will be flying back to Dallas via Germany.

Bratislava old downtown is full of history

I had a chance to walk around the beautiful old downtown Bratislava during my arrival afternoon and it really is full of history and old buildings. I stayed in the Danube hotel which is very central to downtown area.... walking distance to everything.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Bratislava, Slovakia here I come

I am on my way to Slovakia from Helsinki to Prague with a change of plane that takes me to Bratislava. I am very excited to see the country specifically as I have never seen it before.

Back from Kotka via Porvoo

I used the bus to get back to Helsinki. However, this time I stayed in Porvoo for a day. Porvoo is a beautiful city 50 kilometers east of Helsinki. I warmly recommend if you have time to visit Porvoo. It is worth it.

Kotka Kuutsalo in my mind

I had a chance to visit a beautiful island outside Kotka on Saturday. I was interested in a very old cottage that has been built in 1918. The nature was very nice but the cottage was run down. I have to say that the Finnish nature is something that it is very hard to find anywhere else.

Bus from Helsinki to Kotka, Finland-when did I miss the price increase

The best way to move around in Finland is with public transportation. However, since when did it cost 240 old Finnish markka to take a bus to kotka and back. This is more than 40 Euros. The bus trip is convenient but I do not want to pay for the bus itself and its investments.

Helsinki last week of August - last week of summer

I was lucky. The last week here in Helsinki was very nice but 31st og August the typical Finnish fall weather was here again.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Back to Europe - via Paris

It is still hot in Dallas, but according to Helsinki weather... I do not need to worry... It is raining.... This trip is 2 weeks with a little swing via Slovakia... Very exciting. My seat is in business Boeing 767.... Sweet

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

American Airlines did it again

I am a happy camper. My flight to Dallas was delayed and they booked me into an earlier flight.... To first class. These guys really know how to treat their clients.

Monday, August 13, 2007

On my way to hot Chicago

Beautiful morning in Dallas Texas this morning and I am on my way to Chicago for one night. First class again, thank you American Airlines! What makes this trip even more enjoyable is the fact that the first initial book manuscript is ready and I sent it for a review to the book publisher yesterday.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Pleasent surprise from American Airlines again - return to Dallas

I have to say that I really enjoy American Airlines, my whole family got upgraded to business class on Boeing 777 and now the kids get to see how I spend most of my travel... Working on my 3 million miles on American Airlines..... Our vacation is over now, final leg from Miami, Florida to Dallas, Texas. Our vacation was beautiful, refreshing and we met people from differnet cultures around the world.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Miami city and boat tour aound the Miami neighbourhood

We spent our day today on a nice short bus tour in downtown Miami and then finished our trip by having a 90 minute boat tour that let us see the rich and famous Star Island and Fisher Island house owners (many of them). The weather was beautiful, the boat was not packed as it could have been and the pictures I was able to take with my Nikon D80 were perfect!

Tomorrow, we will fly back to our Dallas, Texas home! I really miss our three Lowchen dogs! I am sure they will be happy to see us. My next longer trip will be in the end of August and will take me to Helsinki, Finland and Bratislava, Slovakia.

Miami South Beach hotel and neighbourhood

We stayed in the famous South Beach area in a hotel that is built in art deco style. This hotel South Sea is OK and we had a view to the sea and beaches from our corner room. However, as in lots of Florida hotels, do not expect much of them being new..... they are not.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Miami Florida flight on Boeing 300

The flight to Miami was smooth, but we were hit by a thunderstorm immediately after landing. This resulted in a boring 1 hour "sitting in the plane without drinks or anything" and kids started to become impatient and screamy.... Oh well... Now we have been waiting for our bags to arrived for more than an hour....

How did Royal Caribbean International do - final ranking

The cruise is over and my somewhat lame feedback on the service levels of Royal Caribbean International during the first two days were balanced with very good service during the rest of the cruise.

The ship "Adventures of the Seas" is much nice one than the "Carnival Destiny" we used last year and the state rooms and overall service stations with bars, food etc works better on RCI. If you visit this ship, make sure you test the Portofino restaurant that is top-of-breed food with very good service.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Back to San Juan, Puerto Rico

We are on our way back to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Seven days is over and we have seen unbelievable places and islands. The Royal Caribbean Cruiselines has changed the immigration to be more smooth... It is done already on St Thomas, which is US soil so there is not as much hassle in San Juan in the morning. We also have to catch our flight to Miami, where we will spend a couple of nights in the beautiful Southbeach area......

St John's and St Thomas are pearls of the Caribbean

This morning we arrived to the US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas. Having now seen 11 Caribbean islands, St. Thomas and the neighbouring St John are our favorites.... no question about that.

We participated in an arranged excursion that included a 45 minute ferry ride to St Johns and then a 2 hour bus drive around the island. Beautiful scenery, and two of the 10 most beautiful beaches reside on these two islands: Megans Bay on St. Thomas and Trunk Beach on St. Johns.

I am sure we will visit these islands again, maybe purely coming to St Thomas and staying on both islands for a week or so.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Early arrival to St Martin

The morning was beautiful and we had decided to take a combined island sightseeing and catamaran trip. The only way to see the true nature of these islands is to take the tours as you have typically less than 8 hours time to explore and 2 hours of this goes to eating and security controls.

This island was pretty nice, but not like St Thomas.... I am amazed of the amount of trash that one gets to see on these islands when driving around. The other noticable thing is the uneven quality of buildings..... You can have a nice house and a dumpdter beside it.

During our catamaran cruise we got to see Microsoft Bill Gates two mansions that he ownes on these islands. One was a huge thing overseeing the bay and the other one was also very impressive.

Fun at the Caribbean sea - from Curacao to St. Martin

It took a full day and night to sail from Curacao to St. Martin, which is an island divided between two countries: France and Holland. During the day of sailing I decided to take it easy and read and sleep. In the evening it was time for Mohito and dacing with 80s music.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Full day on the sea, next destination is St Maarten

We are on our way to St Maarten and as we are very south as of now, it will take a while to get to our next destination. After this trip, I have seen 10 Caribbean islands, from south, east to north. Each of these island have their own flavor so do not assume you have seen them all when having seen one.

Are we destroying our nature - our jeep trip opened my eyes

The former head of Nokia, Jorma Ollilla is the chairman of the board for Royal Dutch Shell and one of the refineries is located on the island of Curacao. According to our guide, the plant is among the third largest in the world. We drove for three hours on the jeep and the island is very dry and not much green can be seen anywhere. At some point in time my nose picked up a familiar smell that I got used to when passing Porvoo Finland oil refineries. The sky of Curacao was full of dirty smog and the smell of oil was very noticable. What was even more interesting that Europeans buy luxury time shares from a luxury resort which is directly under the smog that tens of different pipes spit out.

I do understand that it is about money, but what is sad is to see the pollution taking foothold in these beautiful Caribbean islands.

Early arrival to Curacao this morning

One more island to visit. This time we arrived to Curacao that is 42 miles east of Aruba and 35 miles north of Venezuela. The capital of Curacao, Willemstad, is also called little Amsterdam and I do not wonder why... It is a beautiful little city with Amsterdam-like houses with hundreds of shops. The cruise ship was able to dock very close to the downtown area and there is a bridge between the downtown and the cruise ship. There are approximately 170.000 inhabitants in the island of Curacao.

We really liked the downtown area and had a nice cup of coffee by the water. Three hours of walking was enough to explore the style and pricing of the island.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Aruba as a shopping paradise?

I spent 3 hours today shopping in Aruba main streets... Based on our "collected intelligence", Aruba and Curacao are more expensive than St Thomas, St Maarten or even San Juan, Puerto Rico.

My wife compared the pricing of some merchanise in the Tommy Hilfinger and some of the stuff was 4 times more expensive when compared to the factory outlet in Dallas, Texas.

The Aruba center is made for tourists, so the feel you get is to spend money on stuff which is ok as the whole islands lives on tourism nowadays.

Scuba diving and sailing

We went today immediately to scuba dive with a sailboat. I just had just read about the presence of the largest oil refinery in the world on these islands and I could not be without thinking what that does for the environment.

The second stop on our scuba trip was a location with a shipwreck.... And some of the parts of the wreck were only 2 feet deep. I was able to see lots of fish and some very large fish when scuba diving.

Aruba by early morning

We arrived to Aruba in the Caribbean islands early this morning. The view was beautiful, as it was raining in one part of the island and sun shining in the other. The ship is docked very close to the downtown area, she guests can pretty much walk down to the shops.

Aruba has around 100.000 inhabitants, mostly with Dutch heritage and the island became independent in the seventies but is part of the Dutch kingdom.

Carnival Cruise vs. Royal Caribbean

I have to say that I am amazed of the lack of urgency to serve on the "top of the line cruise ship". Last year we spent our vacation on Carnival Destiny where the crew really wanted us to enjoy... Here on Royal Caribbean it is like the clients are an annoyance if you ask anything. And by the way, I am paying twice as much on this cruise.... So.... Can I have this ship with the crew from Carnival please.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Our Caribbean route this summer

We are on the ship, so our two nights in San Juan old town Sheraton is over. The ship Royal Caribbean "Adventures of the Seas" is headed first to Aruba and we will be there on
Tuesday which means that we are going to have one night cruising and Wednesday our trip takes us to Curacao (tropical mini Amsterdam) for a day.

Thursday we will spend one day at the sea and Friday we will arrive to St Maarten, Saturday is St Thomas.

Sunday we will arrive back to San Juan, Puerto Rico and we will fly to Miami where we will spend a night in South Beach Miami.

Tuesday we will return back to Dallas. Texas.

Mobility is everywhere

I wrote in my previous blogs that it is time for independent software vendors to start innovating around mobility. It is obvious to me that people around the world are just waiting for more applications they can use to drive business. I was amazed last year how widespread the cell use and GRPS was on the Carribean islands.... This year it is even more obvious with lots of new handheld devices.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Borders Bookstore want to go out of business?

I am amazed how badly Borders bookstore keeps it premises. I thought it was just one place in Dallas, but the one here in San Juan, Puerto Rico is worse and to the point that I do not want to visit the place anymore. Borders will lose its clients at least that I represent.

Prisoners of our own habits

This is the second time in San Juan and yesterday when we arrived, we visited three places that I hate to admit we did. First of all, we decided to have Starbucks coffee.... secondly my kids wanted to visit Hardrock Cafe San Juan.... These are not even close to be Puerto Rican, so why are we humans so used to our own habits.... Of fear? Of convinience or what... The third place was something we from the past... A local bar with the very good Medalla beer that was refreshing.

The thing we all have to learn from Puerto Ricans... They are very polite, nice to talk to and I would be very happy to spend longer times here in Puerto Rico.

First night over in San Juan, Puerto Rico

This is a wonderful city, we spent last night in downtown San Juan and our hotel (Sheraton) is very exclusive with good service. Today we are headed towards Plaza de la Americas where we expect to do some shopping. The weather yesterday was humid with a couple sprinkles of water but today the sun is shining. Our luxury cruise is departing tomorrow evening and the first stop is going to be Aruba (close to Venezuelan coast).

Friday, July 20, 2007

San Juan, Puert Rico here we come

It is the time of the year where we are headed again to the Carribean. Our flight from Dallas Fort Worth to San Juan which is the beauitiful island of Puerto Rico. We are sitting in the beautiful D terminal in the brand new Admirals Club that is worth every penny!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Week in Denver, Colorado is over

This was probably one of my most busy week ever. The Microsoft Worldwide Conference 2007 is over and I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and nothing beats that! Last night we had a nice end of conference party at the large Coors baseball field. I am now sitting in the American Airlines Admirals Club with a beautiful outlook over the airfield. Also, the architecture of the main terminal is very interesting and reminds me of northern part of Finland. The flight to Dallas is less than 2 hours so I have a change to get home in time.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Microsoft WPC 2007 is here again

The Microsoft worldwide partner conference started today and this is my third conference. The first one was in Minneapolis, then in Boston and now in the beautiful Denver Colorado. This is the first day an I am sitting here in the huge convention center listening at the first keynote.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Denver here I come

I am on my way to Denver, Colorado for a conference with a golf tournament tomorrow Sunday. We have made history here in Dallas when it comes to rain... It has been pouring water for a month now and whole mobile home parks have been swept away. This morning at 06.00 AM the sun was getting up and now we have one of the most beautiful mornings one can have. The flight from Dallas to Denver is less than 2 hours, so this time I do not have to sit here for long.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Beautiful night in Chicago

Chicago nighjt is beautiful with its lights and around 27 centigrades. Sometimes travel is fun, even on business as one gets to see many interesting places around the world.

The rain keeps pouring - to Chicago again

I am on my way to Chicago and I was lucky. It has been raining again heavily today and the executive platinum desk called me and told that they can acommodate me on anm earlier flight so I would be in Chicago around 11.00 PM, not 2.30 AM as my original flight would be due to delays in weather an other crap. Thank you American, you showed again why I fly with you guys when I can.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Life of a traveler

The life of countinous travel can be tiring and the race for standby lists is harsh. I seem to shoot straight to the top each time I try to get to Dallas. Today my trip takes me from Chicago to Dallas and thank god it is Friday.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Chicago again

I am back from Europe and on my way to Chicago for just one night. The weather in Dallas has been very rainy with lots of water all over the map. This has also hurt construction work in the area as everything is just extremely wet.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Finnair uses same terminal as American Airlines

Very convenient to transfer to the American Airlines gate.... Just the security controls are between.... This 767 has the new full bed seats... sweet...

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Return to Dallas via Zurich

It is early Sunday and I am on my way back to Dallas via Zurich. The good news is that I have been upgraded to business so the flight will be more pleasant than in the coach class.

Summer is in Helsinki

I love Helsinki by summer and the fact that it is light late in the evening already now and the lighter it will become until it starts to go the other way in mid June. Last night, a thick fog hit the downtown Helsinki which was very spooky....

Friday, May 18, 2007

On my way to Finland through Zurich

I am on the plane again, this time to Finland. They have upgraded the seats in business class, which is perfect! This plane has been outdated for a while so this type of upgrade is mostly welcome.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Dallas in the spring... It has been odd weather

I was lucky of taking the earlier flight as we have again huge thunderstorm and rain in Dallas... Hail, wind and lightening...

Chicago is hot

It is very interesting to note that Chicago, Illinois is as hot as Dallas this time of the year.... I am returning from Chicago and sitting on a MD-80 sweating like a pig.... O'Hare is a good place to return from as it is a major hub for American, and I was able to get an earlier flight.... Very cool... Getting home earlier than what I would have otherwise.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Chicago on my mind - May 2007

The spring in Dallas in in full swing. We had a Finnish golf tournament in Dallas on Saturday, with a beautiful green nature.

This morning, I am on my way to Chicago for a couple of days. I hope I will have a better luck this time than the previous when I had to stay for one additional night due to the weather.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

What is going on - weather is strange in tornado alley

Getting stuck in Chicago is not fun especially if one has to get back home to Dallas. I had to stay for another night in Chicago and as the planes were stranded in Dallas due to tornado warnings and heavy rain, I could not get a direct flight to Dallas... I had to fly via Des Moines, Iowa (with 2 hour layover).

We have had lots of bad weather in Dallas the last month or so and this is expected to continue to June or so. This is the penalty of living in the Tornado Alley.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Wake-up in Kerrville - it is raining!

Same thing as last year happened today! It was raining the whole morning (like last year when we stayed over night in Kerrville) and we drove towards west in the rain. Our first stop was to visit the famous motorcycle musem with a nice cup of coffee and a chat with the owners. After this, we headed towards the intersection where we have been each year (will have to get later with the names when I remember them). We also visited Garven store like last year and some of us got some beef jerky.

Our trip continued through Fredricksburg, the traditional Willow loop and then north towards Dallas on highway 16. The trip was 907.5 miles this time, so the last day was very long but rewarding. Fortunately the sun was shining from noon until late evening. We arrived around 08.00 PM to Trophy Club.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Kerrville, Comfort Inn -second night

We decided to stauy our second night in a pretty nice Comfort Inn in Kerrville. We got the last three rooms and the receptionist told us that there are 300 bikers in the nearby hotel. We run into them and they were the Honda Riders Association.

We had our dinner at Branding Iron Hotel in Kerrville and the service was sloooooooowwwww.... but the food was good. We had dinner in the same restaurant, same table 2 years ago, so I guess we did not initially remember the slow service.

We drove around 250 miles today.

Next stops Kerrville, Medina and Bandera

We had a beautiful drive in the afternoon.... We did not find a hotel in Bandera, so we had to return back to Kerrville. A word of advice... Make your hotel reservation in time... Everything is fully booked!

Lunch in Fredricksburg, Texas

We had our traditional lunch in a German restaurant..... I had my sausage plate which was unreal.... An beer of course..

Luckenback Hill Country - everybody is somebody in Luckenback

We visited the famous Luckenback that has only 3 people living there around the year.... According to the street signs.

First stop Becker Vinery in Hill Country

We did a tour at two vine yards in the beautiful Hill Country. We also visited Canyon Creek vine yard. First time that I have seen a vine yard in Texas.

First day - 200 miles

First day was 200 miles, the weather in Marble Falls in the morning is beautiful.... Some clouds but that is going to burn away. We stayed at the local Best Western hotel. There are 8 of us on this trip.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Hill Country trip - first night in Marble Falls

Beautiful weather, and our first night is in Marble Falls, Texas. This is a good landing to Hill Country.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

I can not believe it - it is snowing in Chicago

I am on my way to Chicago and just heard that it is snowing there. Dallas will have 80 Fahrenheit today, so talking about a difference in weather! This time of the year can be very different from rest of the country, and I did not even pack my coat with me...

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Heavy rain in New York is bad news

Here we go again.... It has rained thew whole day.... Very heavy and this is always bad news for business travelers. Multiple delayed flights, many cancelled ones and I am getting home to Dallas much later than expected. Well, better to get home than having to sleep in a hotel.

New York close to Eastern time

If you plan to be in New York close to Eastern vacation, expect to pay big bucks for everything.... My trip from Newark airport to Manhattan was around 65 bucks, my hotel room cost me 350 US and the room was like a small closet.... Cosy but small... If you want to visit a restaurant, make sure to leave plenty of time for your meal as everything was packed.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

New York on my mind - Meeting in Manhattan

This morning I am on my way to New York Manhattan for a meeting. One night in my own bed was sweat and now my hotel life continues, fortunately only for one night.

The mold levels in Dallas are very high this time of the year and this causes lots of allergic reactions to people. However, with 80 Fahrenheit each day and green grass.... Nobody can beat that.

Flight from Zurich to Dallas was eventless

The flight back to Dallas, Texas went smooth and I have to say that flying in business makes a big difference. The flight was almost 11 hours and one thing is for sure... If I do not get upgraded on transatlantic when flying Boeing 767, I will fly something else... The coach seates in American Airlines 767 flights are unhuman.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Charles de Gaulle - I can not get used to it

We were in time on the airport, but the confusing terminal 2 caused us grief.... The 200 meter line in the Swiss counter was horrifying and the same thing in the security lines. I am not sure how people that travel frequently can take the hassle. Let's see if our bags will arrivve to Dallas the same time.

Sunday in the beautiful Paris

We walked propably 20 miles in the beautiful Paris and the city was full of people trying to enjoy the sun that finally came after a couple of rainy days. The city architecture is amazing even if I have seen it multiple times and the Latin Quarter with Sorbonne is my favorite place of all. The day went by very quickly and we decided to spend the final night in Holiday Inn at the Charles de Gaulle airport. Clean and nice hotel but nothing around the hotel such as shops etc.... Purely for business travel.

Buddha Bar Paris - some feedback

The very famous Buddha Bar in Paris is a very interesting place and is very close to the Concord Place and hotel Crillon that Lance Armstrong used when he got his 7th consecutive win in Tour de France. The Buddha Bar has a Finnish founder (former model) and I have to congratulate her on the accomplishment!

However, I was not happy with a few things... I spent around 250 US in our dinner and the appetizer and my main meal did not taste anything and it was in fact very bad. I am by no means a culiranist, but they should do better with the money I spent. Also, the place is so dark that you can not read the menu and some people used thei cell phones to get some more light. And finally, they have a restaurant in New York which I have to test out to see how that is. I am not giving up on them yet.

Market Restaurant with a famous chef

We had a chance to visit the famous restaurant Market with a famous New York chef with the known "Black Plate" appetizer. Overall, very nice restaurant and we even had a chance to sit our dessert in the chefs table, which is very rare opportunity. Make sure you are prepared to spend serious cash when visiting this restaurant.

Hilton by Eiffel Tower, Paris - feedback

The hotel is built propably in the 70s, but has been renovated and is very nice internally. I had a corner room with a view of the Eiffel tower, so what can be nicer than that? The only "bad thing" is that it is pretty far from my favorite place which is the Latin Quarters close to Sorbonne. Other than that, very nice hotel and they also had very good service, polite and correct.

Paris, France - how to get to town with 20 Euros

I have never used a Yellow Airport cab when traveling from Charles de Gaulle to downtown Paris. I stayed in Hilton by the Eiffel Tower.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

France has issued a luxury tax on business class seat

A surprise at the DFW airport.... France has issued a luxury tax on business class travelers.... Guess what, I had to pay an additional 50 US to get my boarding pass.... Something that Expedia did not have a clu about....

Flight to Zurich in economy (this is torture)

I have had the luxury of flying in business class for the most part, but today I "enjoyed" the pleasure of a crammed economy seat. Before our departure, a guy in front of me took down his seat and I felt my knees go to pieces. American Airlines (the company I love) used to be known of the space in the economy class... Now they have reversed their decision and gone to the other extreme. There is no way that one can work with a laptop, so I am sitting here for 10 hours with my knees in my mouth. Wake up American Airlines.... This is not the way to treat a 2 million miles plus customer of yours....

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Paris, France; here we come

My travel takes me now to Paris, France via Zurich with American Airlines. This time I have with me my wife so it is going to be very nice mini vacation with some work. I will be opening the French IAMCP chapter with Microsoft France. The Zurich temperature is 44 Fahrenheit, hopefully Paris is different.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Tip for Silicon Valley travellers

If you ever have to travel along Silicon Valley, try the double decker train Caltrain.... It is cheap, you get to see scenery that you would not see otherwise and it runs smoothly. I took the train today from Palo Alto to Santa Clara to test it out.

Palo Alto - Stanford University and my favorite town

I am noty sure why, but each time I visit Palo Alto, I get to whitness a tremendous weather and the main University Avenue with bookstores etc is like heaven to me. I will visit this place often, that is for sure!

Santa Clara spring is beautiful

The Silicon Valley weather is very nice this week. Temperate weather, sun is shining and when compared with my hometown Dallas, this weather will stay moderate while Texas will get hot much quicker.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Silicon Valley, here I come again

My trip today takes me to the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose California. The flight according to American Airlines is 3 hours 50 minutes, so even from European perspective.... you get far in that time.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Beautiful Coronado Island

Today, we had a chance to visit the beautiful Coronado island judt before we left for the airport. The housing on the island is beautiful, with lot's of small shops to spend time on. The only distraction is the landing and takeoffs from the militarybase that is also located on the island. The sound of jets every 5 minutes is mindboggeling.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Manchester Hyatt hotel - close to the San Diego Convention center


I stayed in the beautiful Manchester Hyatt that is very close to the San Diego Convention center. The other very nice hotel close by is Bristol where I stayed in the past. I highly recommend this hotel as it serves business travelers well.

Our Journey down to La Jolla, California


I can not believe how beautiful La Jolla is as a place. We stayed in downtown La Jolla in a beautiful hotel and this place was in a very centralized location. Our trip from Long Beach down to La Jolla showed us many very beautiful places such as Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Monarch Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente, Carlsbad Del Mar and finally La Jolla. We had the chance to spend the evening in La Jolla and do some window shopping the following morning. The following destination would be downtown San Diego.

Marina del Ray Holiday Inn Express - our first night


Our first night was in Marina del Ray Holiday Inn hotel that is very close to the hotels where we typically stay. The hotel is recently renovated and had wireless connection, which is very important for me as I had to work with emails. The idea was to drive down to San Diego the following morning, which we did. Last year we had lunch in Long Beach local PF Changs and our kids requested the same thing this year.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Southern California - here I come

Two nights in my own bed... Vau... My allergies are killing me.... We are into spring in Dallas, Texas and some of the trees are just blooming..... Beautiful...

I am headed towards San Diego, Ca and then I towards LA this evening. With a car, that should be less than 3 hours.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Flight back to Sao Paulo - regional airport in the middle of the city.


We took GOL airplane back to Sao Paulo and it looked like it flew along the coast and then to west when it reached the level of Sao Paulo. The city is extremely large in area and according to my Mexican friend, he felt it was even larger than Mexico City (I will see if this is the case in April). There are thousands of skyscrapers on the route that the flight takes. GOL uses a regional airport when flying back and forth between Rio and Sao Paulo and it feels like landing in the middle of the city when comingv from Rio.

We stayed in Hilton Morumbi and according to locals, the US president is going to visit the hotel next week. This Hilton is byy far the best I have been in measured by any standard.

Brazil.... I will be back soon!

Second stop - lunch in a native place with ocean view


We drove for tens of miles along the coast towards south and ended up to have lunch in a native restaurant with no turists. The food was authentic, drinks unreal and the fish and seafood was very fresh. This is the way to eat in a foreign country!

First stop in Rio - Sugarloaf


We took the two stage cable car to the top of the Sugarloaf mountain and this gives the opportunity to take pictures of the Rio de Janeiro beaches, Copacabana and other famous places.

Landing to Rio de Janeiro local airport


The flight from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro was short, less than an hour and the landing to Rio de Janeiro was unreal. We circled to get down to the very short runaway and this gave us the opportunity to see downtown Rio de Janeiro from air and with sun already in full force, it was very nice to get the first feel of Rio. The regional airport is Aeroporto Santos Dumont and it is really nicely located in the downtown area.

Lessons learned - keep the right credit card and passport on your travel

We departed this morning very early to Rio de Janeiro. We had two issues on the airport. One in our group did not have his passport with him... and this should not have been an issue... but it was.... He took a cab to the hotel to pick it up.... he made it....

Secondly, keep your American Express with you as GOL airline did not accept international Visa or Mastercard, only American Express.... Typically it is the other way around. My friend had one with him so we got the tickets. These two suggestions are good to remember when you travel especially in Latin America.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Rio de Janeiro waiting on us


Tomorrow morning, I will be flying from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Rio de Janeiro for a quick one day tour. We will leave our beautiful hotel in the morning and fly with a local jet to Rio to withness all of the famous places I have seen in movies and TV. We will return in the evening and then fly back to Dallas as the flight is leaving late in the evening. Local flights to Rio de Janeiro are leaving from a municipal airport. This will be a cool trip with four good friends. One of them is from Mexico, one from Canada, one from Sweden. Talk about an international team

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Sao Paulo, Brazil is beautiful - I have to get back here soon

Two days in Sao Paulo, Brazil has made me a fan of the city. Tonight, I had the change to whitness a 360 degree view of the city from a skyline bar late in the evening. I have now had the change to have dinner twice in the city and the qualilty and the taste is awesome. I will be back to this city for sure and I have fallen in love with the place and the people. What is also interesting is the fact that it gets light 6.00 AM and dark at 6.00 PM and this is kind of hard to adjust specifically as the mornings are more dark in Dallas as of now.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Landing to Sao Paulo Brazil International Airport was unreal

If you have not seen the Brazilian nature, make sure you get to see out from the window when landing Sao Paulo airport early in the morning. I have traveled in different parts of the world, but the view that I saw this morning was very different. Lots of small hills and houses everywhere. Very interesting. The trip to our hotel, Hilton Sao Paulo Morumbi took around 45 minutes and one could see different types of living on the way...

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Sao Paulo, Brazil-here I come

It always feels strange to be leaving in the evening for a long flight, but that is the way it is with South-American flights. The weather in Dallas is like spring and that is very nice to finally have the kind of weather that a motorcyclist wants. The flight is almost 10 hours, but as one can sleep a regular night, it is different than compared with regular flights across the Atlantic.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Rainy weather in Zurich

This time the weather in Zurich is murky.... and the Dallas flight is delayed... which is the first time that I have had when flying out from Zurich.... My seat is 2A is the first row in business and unfortunately it is a seat where you can not have bags or other stuff in front of you.

Destination Zurich, Switzerland

Once again, I am on my way to Dallas, Texas via Zurich, Switzerland. The weather in Helsinki was -8 Celsius in the morning at 06.00 AM. The weather in Dallas has been very springlike with plus 80 Fahrenheit. On Tuesday, I will head towards South-America, Brazil.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Road trip in Finland on highway 2 towards Pori

I am on my way from Helsinki towards Sakyla, which is not that far from Pori. The highway two has a few known places that we are passing such as Karkkila, Forssa, Humppila, Huittinen.... The road itself is very, very boring.

Return flight from Vilnius, Lithuania - beautiful takeoff

The weather in Lithuania had been exceptionally cold, more than -20 centigrades. The flight departed around 6.00 PM, the sun was setting down and the Finnair plane was a brand new Brazilian plane and I have to say that this plane is very smooth and nice. What made the takeoff nice was a combination of cold weather, sun setting down and I could see the town of Vilnious clearly from the sky. I felt very unreal!

Friday, February 23, 2007

People in Lithuania are unreal

Two days in Lithuania and they have made an impression of life on me. Today, we had lunch at the beautiful hotel in the old town of Vilnious. I have to get back here soon! Highly recommended place for a visit!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Vilnius, Lithuania is a very beautiful city

I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful town of Vilnius today and I even got a roundtour by local businessmen that took me to a restaurant overlooking the old town and university and then finally a art exhibition in the national museum. This place is definetely a place worth the visit. I am staying in the highly ranked Holiday Inn Vilnius and I have to say that everything in this hotel works!

Helsinki weather in the end of February

Hesinki weather this week has been beautiful, but very cold..... Reaching -25 centigrades and that is very cold according to any standards. What is also interesting is the change in amount of light that Finland experiences when compared to last month the same time. It is like day and night.... and days are getting longer each day going forward.

Lithuania, here I come

This is the first time I get to visit Lithuania. I am flying from Helsinki to Vilnius and according the flight schedule, this is a 1 hour 45 flight. The flight is operated by an ATR propeller plane.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

DFW terminal is the most beautiful in the world

If you have not, it is time to visit the brand new D-terminal in Dallas Fort Worth International airport. I am here again, overlooking the planes from fifth floor of Admirals Club. Awesome weather, awesome place an soon I will board flight 38 to Zurich..... Boeing 767 with nice business class.

Friday, February 09, 2007

American Airlines - second time this week a cancelled flight

Here I am again.... My flight to Dallas was cancelled and I had to be re-booked. This is where Executive Platinum comes in play... Not only did they re-book me, they also called me to let me know the change...

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Back on the airport - now on my way to Atlanta

It was a quick trip home and I am on my way to Atlanta, GA. I have to say that the weather in Dallas is becoming more and more spring like and we had 70 Fahrenheit yesterday which translates to around 21 Celsius.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Chicago O'Hare not a good place during winter

Here we are again.... It is very cold in Chicago and it is snowing.. So three flights to Dallas were cancelled... One of them is mine.... Tomorrow I will have to be in Atlanta, so I hope my flight gets to Dallas tonight so I can catch my very early flight to Atlanta tomorrow morning.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Brutal wake-up to reality at 4.40 AM - Chicago here I come

I am here again at DFW airport, this time I will fly to Chicago O'hare and stay in downtown Westin hotel. According to the news, it is pretty cold in Chicago.... we will see...

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Finally home in Dallas, Texas after 770 miles

The rest of the trip went quickly and the weather was georgious. We spent 770 miles on the road and I have to say that FORD Expedition is comfortable for the driver. Tomorrow, I have to get up 5.00 AM to get to my Chicago plan that departs around 07.00 AM

230 miles in one go- Eastland McDonalds stop- 130 miles left

We are having a stop at a local McDonalds place in Eastland, Texas. This is the choice as we did not see any good steakhouse on the Interstate 20... so our hunger took power and anything would do at this point in time..... And once we have our luch, the nextdoor Starbucks will take care of the rest....

Waking up in the beautiful Odessa, Texas

The second morning in Odessa, Texas is a beautiful one... the sun is shining and I thing it must have been almost 0 Centigrades (32 Fahrenheit) during the night. Today, we will have to drive back to Dallas.... we are looking for 6 hours trip.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

I am in the center of oil wealth - Odessa, Texas

If you have not been, you have not seen what oil business is all about. Odessa is pretty close to New Mexico South-East corner. We arrived here very late last night, after midnight, and when we woke up in the beautiful sunny morning.... The place looked pretty nice. One thing that sticks in my mind is the smell of oil refineries, it is unreal an I am sure not healthy for anybody..... I guess it is the money that smells...... Out hotel the Fairfield by Marriott is very nice with excellent service.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Dallas- Abilene- there is nothing there

We are on our way to Midland/Odessa and Abilene is our midway stop. They have a nice Chili's restaurant here and I can get my Citrus Fire Chicken &Schrimp. We drove around Abilene... There seems to be a couple of universities... This is the first time for us in Abilene. The road here from Dallas is interstate 20

Winter is back in Dallas - we have snow




Talking about changes in atmosphere.... The decision-makers claim that nothing has change in the atmosphere... How do you explain the continuous snow falls in Dallas, Texas.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Dallas - Houston - Dallas with the car - was it worth it?

I decided to drive down to Houston from Dallas on Tuesday as I calculated that the time it would take me to drive to the airport, take the plane, fly to Houston, check the luggage, rent a car and get to the meeting I would have spent more time when compared to driving. The milage from my house to Houston was almost 300 miles and it took me almost 5 hours in each direction. When I returned last night, it was raining, lots of traffic and I have to admit that I was tired when I returned to Dallas. The question is.... will I drive there next time.... I do not think so... Ten hours in the car... it took me down..

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The most rare dog bread in the 60s - Little Lion Dogs Löwchen


I have had the opportunity to live with an amazing dog breed the last 17 years. Our oldest boy died a month ago; he was almost 17 years old. Our three other boys, Skip, Spot and Leo are here with us and they are all from a Finnish breeder in West of Finland (Pohjanmaa). Check out our lions... they will not like intruders.... Leo specifically likes to eat intruders alive... The boys are all one year apart from each other, so there is lots of activity in our house

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Weather in Dallas is dangerous

We went for the NHL ice hockey game today and I have to say that the icy roads made the trip to the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas pretty interesting. Schools have been closed today, we have got some snow and the temperature has been below the freezing point around 25 Fahrenheit. This is not typical for our dear Dallas, Texas.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

New York is getting winter

It is time to go home again. The weather in New York was very warm but now there is a cold front coming up.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have dinner in the restaurant owned by Robert de Niro.... Sweet....

I stayed in my regular hotel Paramount that is close the Time Square on the 46th street. The hotel has an art deco look and feel and I very much enjoy the way it is. I hope the new ownership does not distroy the atmosphere going forward.

I am on a direct American Airlines on my way to Dallas.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Hotel Paramount, New York - I am back

This is the third time I stay in the Paramount art decor hotel that is very close to Time Square, New York. The hotel is on 46th street and I even found my regular addiction Barnes & Noble on the same street (corner of 46th and 5th Avenue).

I also tested out a Chinese restaurant Wu Liang Ye that can be found at 36 West 48th Street second floor. The place has won awards and I do not wonder why... very nice food and I had the local hot and sour soup, Tsing Tao beer and their flavor or Kung Pao Chicken....

I can not believe it is January as the weather is so warm...

Dallas, Texas under ice storm attack

My direct flight to New York was cancelled, but fortunately I got a new flight through Washington Reagan. I checked the monitor of departing flights and it looks like half of them al cancelled, so I am very lucky. The traffic in Dallas might go to standstill today if the weather continues to freeze.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Flight Zurich - Dallas was very long

The flight was longer than expected due to strong winds. As before, business class in Boeing 767 is not bad and I got to have a good and long sleep during the flight. Unfortunately, I have only two days as I have to fly to New York City for a conference. It is going to be interesting to see if I make my flight as they are forecasting an icestorm to Dallas, Texas.

Beautiful weather in Zurich, Switzerland

The landing by Finnair was beautiful… I can not believe how green the grass is in January… it looked almost like summer. The sun is shining…. This time Finnair landed and pulled in the same terminal as my American Airlines flight is taking off… This is the first time and I have flown Helsinki-Zurich leg multiple times….

Train from Rovaniemi to Helsinki

The trip from Rovaniemi back to Helsinki was uneventful. The only improvement that I would like to see is the restaurant section on the train…. It is far too small and they have only one person servicing the whole train. We could see multiple people with no chance of getting food or to eat so they returned to their cabins. Other than that, we loved the train trip!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Hui Long Chinese Restaurant in Rovaniemi not worth a visit

Unfortunately, we had our second bad experience with Chinese food in Lapland, Finland. This time the experience was more on the service side..... Unbelievable in fact.... No interest in giving any type of service... And it became obvious why... They do not have to..... I believe the other restaurant in town is under the same ownership, so they might as well act as anybody having a monopoly.... Who cares to give service...

Pentik Studio factory outlet in Posio, Finland worth a visit

It is worth while visiting the Pentik Studio in Posio. They also have a nice historical display (museum) of different typical Finnish artifacts. Posio is 50 kilometers from Kuusamo on highway 81 that takes us to Rovaniemi.

Departure from Aurinkopaikka, Ruka

It's -6 Centigrades and time to depart to Rovaniemi.... The cottage was perfect and in fact exactly what we would like to have. The cottage itself is on a very deep slope and we really enjoyed the view to Eastern Ruka slopes.... Very nicely built and located!

Waking up in a foggy weather in Ruka

Our last morning in Ruka.... The weather is very, very foggy with almost zero visibility. Today we will drive the highway 81 towards Rovaniemi. Our train will depart around 09.00 PM towards Helsinki (we have sleeping cabins).

I have to say that our rental car from Hertz rental has been more than pleasant. It is a pretty new Ford Mondeo. I really like how it drives and handles in the snow and cold weather conditions. Good choice from Hertz as a rental car.

Monday, January 01, 2007

Kuusamo has not changed during the last 10 years

I have to conclude that the city of Kuusamo is exactly same as 10 years ago, which tells me that the travel industry is not giving Kuusamo much of the success as Ruka an similar places are enjoying. We had late lunch in a local Chinese restaurant, which was a mistake.... expensive and poor quality. I guess if you are the only Chinese restaurant in town, you do not have to worry about the quality.

Year 2007 opens in deep fog on the Ruka slopes

The first day of 2007 opens very foggy with a temperature very close to zero centigrades. Today we are headed to Kuusamo, a small city around 30 kilometers from Ruka.... a perfect day to check out whether the place has changed during the last 10 years.