Finland is not like Europe. They are in the EU, but they have trees, open spaces, and new buildings. It reminded us of Raleigh, NC! We visited the Baarmans. Some of you may remember that Mika and Magnus have visited us a few times over the years. We stayed in their house outside of Helsinki, and we went to their island on the Baltic sea. We also spent a day in Helsinki (shopping) and a day in Estonia. We took a neat boat across the Baltic to Talin, Estonia. The boat raises up out of the water on skiis. It was a bumpy ride. We crossed the Baltic in about an hour and a half, which is about half the time of the ferry. The best thing that I saw in Finland was a family of wild moose in a field along the beltline of Helsinki! DOH! No camera! Mika said that was a pretty rare event, but that they do sometimes find their way into the city. They have moose fences along much of the freeway. The kids especially loved visiting Finland - the pictures will show why:
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