Hello Everyone,
Once again I apologize for not being able to update sooner. To start, I'd like to say that so far my adventure in Finland has been amazing. Turku is an awesome city and there are plenty of things to do and places to see. Also the people in Turku have been great, everyone, even people who don't know me and Dan have been so accomodating and have done a great job at speaking english and helping us out. I amazed at how easy its been to communicate with everyone here, the "language barrier" is practically non-existent. So, to everyone that has helped me out, kiitos.
Now, to recap the first six or seven weeks. Right away when I got here I knew it was going to be a fun place. The weather was great and the city was beautiful. By my second day I had already made a trip to the river boats, and so far there have been many trips back. Sometimes me and the boys are just getting some sun and other days we have a few drinks...or alot of drinks.
Probably the most memorable night so far has been the night that Lordi won the Eurovision contest. Dan, myself, our offensive coordinator and some other friends had just watched Canada lose to Sweden in the ice hockey World Championships at Olkku, while watching the game, the bar was busy but it wasn't full. Then we changed the channel, and within minutes there wasn't a seat left in the house. The place was packed. Every time Lordi got a vote the whole bar went nuts, and by the end of the night Dan and I were going crazy because Lordi had won, and the whole bar was singing along to "Hard Rock Halleluja".
The other big night was most definately the three day festival in Rauma.I won't say much, but I will say this, I have never seen anything like the Juhannus festival. There were so many people, and there was so much partying and music. It was an amazing and awesome experience. For all the details check out our Midsummer festival page, which also has a link to a Kodak gallery with some pics from the weekend.
Even though the Juhannus festival was great I must say I am glad to be back in Turku. Now its time to get re-focused on football. We have a couple of big games coming up, and we will keep you updated as we go.
Kippis
Chuck
Hey again,
You can read the update of the game on the football page, but this past weekend we lost to the Helsinki Roosters. The loss was disappointing. We had control of the game in the first half, and we moved the ball very well, unfortunately we could not punch the ball into the end-zone late in the third quarter. Also our passing attack did not come through when we needed it, and that was personally very frustrating. But such is football, and now we have some very important must win games coming up.
Sunday afternoon, Dan and I went down to the Turku Medieval festival. It was quite the experience. At every turn there was something new to see. From the booths where you could buy food and souvenirs, to the sword and weapons booths, there was plenty to look at. Also the set up in the old great square was awesome, it almost made you feel like you were in the 12th century. A big part of the atmosphere were the actors in the street who were demonstrating what life would have been like in the middle ages. They recreated medieval times very well and it was interesting to see the things that might have taken place several hundred years ago. It was a really neat experience, it reminded me of a place back in Calgary called heritage park which portrays the early days of Calgary. Of course Turku has a much longer history than does Calgary but the feeling was similar. For photos of the afternoon go to our pics page.
One last thing, I know its a little late, but to everyone back home... happy Canada Day!
Chuck
Moi (or in English hello),
I know it's been a long time since my last update but there is an explanation. About 2 weeks ago, my girlfriend (Laura) came into Turku to see me, and we did a little bit of travelling so I haven't been able to do updates, and then Dan and I went to the Pori Jazz Festival so it has been difficult, therefore I apologize.
With that out of the way I have some cool stories. When Laura first got to Turku we had a chance to take a tour of the Archipelago. Thanks to our outstanding tour guide (teammate Seikko Vennela) we had a chance to see some amazing sites. The Archipelago, which for those of you who don't know is a group of islands that are close to the shores of Turku. There are literally hundreds of islands and there are winding roads that lead to ferries which cross to the next islands. It is absolutely beautiful. Seikko took us through several different towns and we saw some amazing homes...and we had a lot of ice cream. Also we saw this huge open air mine, which we were told by Seikko is the largest open air mine in Scandinavia. Its an unreal site. For pictures of the Archipelago day, go to our pics page.
After our game versus the Wolverines, Laura and I spent the night in Helsinki. We had a chance to see some sites, and later the next day we headed off to Estonia for a few days. The old city in Tallinn is beautiful. The architecture is unique and the whole atmosphere is impressive. We had a chance to climb up to the top of an old church tower, which was high above the city and it was a great view of both the old and the new city. On the advice of our running back Teemu Paukkula, we went to a medieval themed restaurant Olde Hansa. The people who work there are dressed in medieval stlye clothes and they call you Lord and Lady, its a really neat experience, and should you go to Tallinn, I don't think the trip would be complete without a trip to Olde Hansa or one of the other medieval themed restaurant. After a few days we went back to Helsinki. One other interesting thing: neither myself or Laura has ever been on a cruise ship before and the Galaxy cruise ship, which we travelled on, was something else. It was like a floating hotel or casino. There were ten decks and at least 4 were covered with stores, restaurants, bars, you name it that ship had it. So all in all a very cool experience.
As I breifly mentioned Dan and I went up to the Pori Jazz Festival on wednesday and returned today. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the live music was awesome. At most places you could see a good band and sit and relax while listening to good music. This festival wasn't as wild as Rauma, but the experience was every bit as good, and one night Dan myself and the boys went out for a good night...and I won't lie, I made an early exit, its tough keeping up with the Finns, even after two months its tough. Before I finish I want to give out a big thanks to all my teammates that worked the festival. Me and Dan worked one night as security and to be honest I don't know how you guys do it. It can be tough work and you lose a lot of sleep, so thanks guys.
Despite the good times that we had I must say I am glad to be back in Turku. Its my home away from home and it was a site for sore eyes when I returned. Hopefully I will be a little more regular with my updates, so till next time.
Chuck
Hey all,
Well we've reached the half way point of our stay in Finland (well a little over halfway - but who's counting?), and things are pretty sweet right now. One of the things that I was afraid I was going to miss back home was barbeque season. Back home, in Calgary, one of the things that is synonymous with the summer is the BBQ. I guess that is the same everywhere you go, but it was awesome to just sit back and relax on a patio here in Turku and do up the BBQ. Meat off the grill and a beer, what more could you ask for?
For everyone back home, the weather here has been great, nice and hot, but not too hot. There have only been one or two weeks since I have been here that haven't been warm. To be honest, the week has been really relaxing because we haven't been too busy, it has been nice to calm things down a little and just relax. WIth little more than a month remaining Dan and I figure there are a few things we have to do, hopefully we can make it down to the Old Bank. The Old Bank is a pub that apparently has over 150 brands of beer, so if there is Canadian there you can bet I'll have a few in honour of everyone in cow town. We are on the road this weekend so I'll update some time later next week.
Chuck
Well, my time here in Finland is flying by. I was astonished to wake up this morning and realize that it was August. It was a strange feeling to know that in just about a month and a half I would be back in Calgary. With that in mind there are still many things that I want to do. There are things in Turku, like going to the Caribia Spa, that I still haven't done. Also high on the list of things to do is make a trip to Stockholm, Sweden.
Last night Dan and I had a chance to check out Superman Returns, and for those of you who haven't seen it, I recommend you do. The movie picks up on a lot of things from the original movies with Christopher Reeve. All in all, its a good flick. And at last I made it to the Old Bank. To my dismay there was no Canadian beer. Not to complain, but come on, what kind of establishment that boasts 150 different beers doesn't carry at least one brand of Canadian beer? I am joking of course, the place was pretty awesome, and for everyone back home, yes it actually is an old bank. Despite their not having Canadian beer, I was satisfied as they did have a great Belgian beer...HOEGAARDEN!!!! Yes that's right Hoegaarden, they even had the big Hoegaarden mug. So yeah, I was pretty happy.
However first and foremost is getting prepared to play Porvoo this weekend. I have been told that Porvoo is an exciting atmosphere to play in and we know they are a good football team. As we come down the stretch, its crunch time. Like we said in our recap of the game against the Border Knights, we need to put together a full effort from all phases of the game. Therefore, our goal is to play a complete game and we need to if we are going to continue to compete. I think that this game should be a good one to watch.
Take care everyone,
Chuck
P.S. I said my rabbits so lets hope for some good luck
Well, its official, Dan and I are now true members of the Turku Trojans. Our rookie "night" took place on the bus ride back from our game against Porvoo. Although the mood was a little somber after the loss, the guys all had fun as a team initiating the rookies. And to be perfectly honest I felt a sense of pride as I passed from being a rookie to a real player. It was really fun, and the bus trip was pretty hilarious in general. In true canadian connection style, Dan and I did our song together, we were pleased to see that our song was a hit. It was entitled the 12 Days of Finland, we poked fun at a few teammates, and ourselves and in general had a fun time with it.
On a football note, I said last week that we needed to put together a full game in all aspects to come out on top. Offensively we did some good things, and defensively we played fairly well. Unfortunately they had a kickoff return touchdown, and we had trouble with converts. However, aside from those few mistakes our coverage teams were pretty decent, and we had a few decent returns. Again we had some penalties, but there were far less in this game than in previous games. We played fairly well, and we were missing some key players, but the truth is we still did not play a full game in all three phases, hopefully we can improve upon this goal as the season goes on.
Take care everyone,
Chuck
Sometime in the second or third week that I was in Turku, I had decided that I wanted to go and see Turku Cathedral (The Church of Doom). It may have taken me 3 months to get there, but I finally made it. Me, Dan and Tuukka went to see the church, and I was amazed at the size of the Cathedral. From the outside it looks big, because the bell tower is so large, but I failed to realize that the inside would be so large. The Architecture was quite stunning, and I was impressed by the stained glass murals. Some of the stained glass windows and paintings were beautiful. There was also an 81 stop organ placed high above the rows of pews, all in all it was quite the experience. It was very calm and peaceful inside the cathedral. I took several pictures, and you can find them on our pics page.
Last week we also had the fortune of going to a preseason TPS game. For those of you who don't know, TPS is Turku's professional hockey team and they play in the Finnish elite league. Our team's webpage designer, Kari, got us tickets and took us to the game, so a big thankyou to Kari. Dan and I got a tour of the building. We went into the sports bar and there were NHL jerseys of several of the Finnish players that had played for TPS, including Saku Koivu. There was also a statue / wooden structure of the ski jump in Calgary that said Calgary '88 on it with the Olympic rings painted beneath the structure. I am not sure of the significance, but you can bet I took a picture anyway.
As for the game there were a few players that everyone back home might recognize. In net for the Swedish team was Tommi Salo, also on the team was one of the Kariya brothers, Steve Kariya...it was good to see some Canadian flavour. Kariya had a goal and an assist, and he was pretty fancy with the puck along with his linemate Martin Pluss. For TPS, Aki Berg, the former Leaf was playing defense, and also the older brother of Flames goalie Mikka Kiprusoff, was paired with Berg. And you can bet I got a few good pics of Kiprusoff for everyone back home. All in all, going to the hockey game was awesome, and to top it off the home team, TPS, won 5-4.
The end of last week was pretty busy, so I am looking forward to having a relaxing start to the week.
Take care,
Chuck
Dan's brother Chuck came into town and so far its been a blast. One tough thing is figuring out who Dan is talking to. Sometimes he'll say Chuck and both myself and Dan's brother will respond. Although we lost the game on saturday and that solidified the fact that we are not in the playoffs, we had something to look forward to. We went to Stockholm, Sweden this past week and it was amazing. To get to Sweden we took one of the famous cruises from Turku to Stockholm, and this boat was like a floating hotel, we started in the sauna and hot-tubs, then we had a buffet dinner. From there we cracked a few and headed down to the "disco" on the boat. It wasn't that busy at first, but things picked up. We spent most of the night there and met some Rusky's. It was pretty insane to be on the boat. After some late night gambling we settled in to the cabin and got ready for Stockholm.
The city was great, the buildings and atmosphere reminded me more of a central European city. Also, there were several parks in the area of our hotel and the city in general was beautiful. And for everyone who hasn't been there, yes, it is true there are tons of good-looking girls there. Blonde haired and blue eyed, these girls are hot. I think that they must put something in the water or maybe they genetically engineer them, regardless it's something else. As for our time there, we did some shopping, bought a few things and of course had some good nights out. The food was great and the drinks were better.
This week has been awesome, not only did we go to Stockholm, but we also had a chance to head to this great little cabin in a sweet location. It was right on the lake, and there was no one in sight. It was just the guys, taking a sauna and cooling off in the lake. Before that we climbed up a 23 metre high structure. Its base is four huge wooden pillars and there are two observation decks, the top one being 23 metres above ground, and 40 metres above sea level. So basically we were at the top in a little box about 8 feet by 8 feet staring down at the ground 80 feet below us. The view was fantastic, and we had a glass of champagne to top it off. From there we met up with Teemu and went out on his sail boat. Its about 9 or 10 metres long and we were on the Baltic somewhere in the Archipelago. The landscape was amazing and we all had a turn at the rudder so we had a chance to sail. There wasn't much wind but there was some and we caught the wind long enough to get a feel for sailing. It was a great feeling to be out on the ocean, it was invigorating and also its something that I have always wanted to do.
Only a few more days to go, but I'll wrap it up after the last game,
Chuck
It has been a long tim since I came to Finland. Looking at some of the pictures I can see that I have truly been in Turku for three full seasons, spring, summer and fall. I have had some great times and made some unforgettable memories. I have also had the opportunity to meet some people that I won't forget and I have made many friends that I am sure I will stay in touch with. Each week there was something new, even if it was as simple a thing as a new word in Finnish, I have been amazed by the entire experience that is Turku. We had a chance to do some travelling and I was so happy to see different parts of the world. And lets be honest more stamps on the passport just looks good. This was a great way to spend the summer and I will never forget all the awesome experiences that I have had.
Not only did I get a chance to see what Finland was like, the people and the culture, I also had a chance to play the sport that I love with some great guys. Although the season didn't pan out the way I had hoped I was still happy to play. We had some real close competitive games and if lady luck had been on our side a little more, maybe this weekend wouldn't be our last game. It's frustrating not to make the playoffs, but such is football and such is life. This team has some great players, old and young, and with some hard work and dedication to practice, the Trojans will be contendors in '07. Playing American style football was a change as well. It's really not that different from Canadian rules, but I enjoyed seeing how the game was played. I also enjoyed playing both ways, sometimes its nice to hit the other team instead of being the one always taking hits.
Another great thing was getting to know Dan, we had only met once before and we didn't know each other at all. Dan and I have had some awesome times and I am sure they will continue when we get back to Canada. I also hope that time and money permitting I will see a few of my fellow Finns over in Canada sometime in the future. It is wierd to think that in only a few days I will be back in Canada, the whole experience is going to be surreal. I have had a whole different life here than I have had back home and I am thankful for the chance to do something different. I am going to miss "living the dream", and I am going to miss all the fun and crazy things we have done. All that being said, I am excited to see everyone back home. I can assure everyone at home that I will have many stories and tons of pictures.
Well I think that is all I have to say, we are going to put up one or two more photo galleries of our last adventures. As for all my teammates good luck in all that you do, and please don't hesitate to send an email. I'd love to hear what is going on in your lives. Take care, thanks to everyone who took the time to read our page and I hope you enjoyed it. Kiitos.
Moro, and till next time,
Kippis
Chuck
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