Christmas trip to Iitti by intercity train

This is the second time that I used the train... this time it was an intercity train that took us from Helsinki to Lahti. The new track has shortened the trip to only 55 minutes, which is nothing. The speed of the train is respectable, 160 km/hour and we had a cabin of our own.... the only negative side is that there is hardly any snow in Southern Finland.... with Christmas on the horizon

Finnish train infrastructure works

The early Helsinki morning is beautiful..... It had snowed during the night and I believe the temperature is around -5 celcius.

I am on my way to Turku by train... a beautiful city in the south-west part of Finland. The Pendolino (Italian make) is very smooth and fast and with all the stops, it only takes 2 hours from Helsinki.

The beauty of having an apartment in downtoen Helsinki is to be able to move ariund without a car. This morning I was able to walk to the train station. How cool is that.... In my home town.... Dallas... a car is needed to move anywhere... mainly due to the distances.

Helsinki afternoon is beautiful

I justed landed to Helsinki International airport, and the weather is nice... although it is already getting dark even if the time is slightly before three in the afternoon.

Security lines in Frankfurt in like slow motion movie

I am not sure why, but it amazes me why the security lines in Frankfurt are so slow.... I have to consider of changing my route through Zurich in future. Security is good, but when it is ineffective, it disturbs and upsets people....

Finland calling - Helsinki in my mind

Once again time to jump on a plane, now to Helsinki Finland. My partner is already there and I look forward to our joint Christmas party.... Hopefully in a Russian exclusive restaurant. We have quite a few of them in Finland. This time I will fly through Frankfurt, which is a good connection to Helsinki. They even gave me a boarding card here in Dallas for the Helsinki leg which typically does not happen. It is very mild weather in Helsinki, so we will see what the Christmas looks like.

Direct flight from Milwaukee, WI to Dallas, Texas

The Milwaukee International Airport (General Mitchell International Airport) is very nice and seemed to have been renovated recently. They have a nice hub of shops, restaurants so ideal for business travelers. Much different to many other airports. American Eagles has a direct flight from Milwaukee to Dallas and that is what I used this time. My flight to Milwaukee had a change in Chicago, which always makes the trip harder… I can recommend the route to anybody!

Milwaukee, WI was a pleasant experience

My trip to Wisconsin is over and as this was my first trip, I think it is good to explore how I felt about Milwaukee. Milwaukee is around 75 miles northwest from Chicago and is located by the lake. I stayed in downtown area; very close to the conference center. The hotel, Holiday Inn was clean, included a gym and the service was good with clean rooms. The hotel had a restaurant, a bar and it seemed that people liked the place in general.

The weather was not as cold as I expected, when I arrived to Milwaukee, there was snow on the ground, but when I left, the snow had melted away. The downtown area is around 20 minutes from the airport and it looks like that the area is undergoing huge construction.

Good experience, highly recommended place to visit, even for families.

It is winter in Chicago

I landed in Chicago, I had the opportunity to sit with an American Airlines captain. Chicago is covered with snow, which was nice to see. My change of plane was really close.... I had to run....

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - here I come

I am on my way to Milwaukee, WI for an academic conference. I have never been in Wisconsin, so it is going to be interesting to see how it is. The conference - ICIS 2006 is the number one conference in information systems science, so I am very excited about it. I am flying via Chicago and then a 75 mile jump to Milwaukee.

Finally home in Trophy Club - 3.30 PM CST

The trip is over, overall 1086 miles, 314 today. The last 200 were boring as there was really nothing there... We drove at least 100 miles on the Oklahoma side from east to west and then using E35 south to Dallas.

Overall, this was a wonderful trip and very nice to spend three days with good friends. Also, this is my first "winter drive" and I have to say that Honda Gold Wing is the king of the bikes in such weather.

North Arkansas is much further in the autumn, so next year we have to do this at least 3 weeks prior to see the full colors of fall. Also, we learnt that April would be a good time to visit Arkansas to see all of the beauty of spring.

Final stop just before Durant, OK

Now 173 miles under our belt today.....final coffee and 121 miles left.

Third day - first stop Talihina

The Talimena pass was beautiful but I have to admit that it was cold but we were able to get to Talihina for breakfast at Circle Jay traditional steakhouse

We have now driven sixtyfive miles and we are well of on our way to Dallas Texas

Mena - temerature 43 Fahrenheit

Departure, the hotel did not have any breakfast, only coffee so we have to find a place to get breakfast. It is now 7.55 AM in the morning.

Wake-up iin Mena, Arkansas

It is 07.00 AM and the night in Sun Country is over. This inn is pretty new and the rooms are nice. We will be departing towards Dallas and hopefully we will be there in good time so we have a few hours with our families before it gets darlk again.

Decision has been made - no Louisina State this time

Due to the beautiful northern Arkansas mountains and our multiple stops, we decided not to push too hard to cross the Lousiana border....

This was therefore a four state trip and tomorrow we will continue our trip to west over Talimena State Park and continue our trip to Oklahoma and then finally down to south towards Dallas. Our estimated arrival to Dallas is 03.00 PM.

Mena to be avoided if you want beer with your food

The worst possible scenario has happened. There is no beer here.... Closest private club is 5 miles away.... so you are supposed drink but eat in one place and eat but not drink in another. Fortunately, Jallu saves us for the evening.

There is not much in Mena, AR

We just arrived to Mena, AR and it looks like there is only one motel... and no restaurants besides McDonalds and Sonic.

We have driven 325 miles today, 767 miles together so 140 miles less than yesterday. The road from Hot Springs to Mena was beautiful and we could see the sun setting down in the horizon. Darkness came real quick and now at 5.52 PM it is completely dark and the temperature is around 46 Fahrenheit.

Hot Springs, AR i- here we are

Hot Springs is not even close to the beauty of Eureka Springs. We tried to stop at our regular coffee shop... but did not find parking space.. We found another one so my icecream treat is taken care of. We have now driven 275 miles and only two hours left of light.... So we have to head towards Mena....

Russelville lunch stop

We have now around 175 behind us and it is time for Chinese buffet in Russellville. The highway 7 from north going south was unreal, beautiful mountains and the sun is shining again. It is around 60 Fahrenheit. I have been in Russelville before and overnighted. This is a dry county, so bring your beers with you if you want to have a drink.

Second day - first stop Harrison

It is cold, and murky.... 37 Fahrenheit and we have our first stop at a local Shell station and we are enjoying a greasy donut and hot coffee. We crossed the Missouri border and now we are back in Arkansas. We have now driven around 65 miles.