Finland

Upon arrival in Finland, a most momentous occasion occurred. Yes, it was the 26th anniversary of Josh's birth.

It only seemed natural to celebrate in super Finnish style, as we happened to be in Kuopio, Finland. Here is our guide to a successful Finnish birthday.

Step 1: Traditional lakeside lunch of kalakukko (bread baked with fish inside).

Step 2: Finnish smoke sauna (80°C with no chimney) followed by a swim in the nearest 10°C lake. Repeat until satisfaction is achieved.

Step 3: Classic roast dinner accompanied by live accordion music and 50 septuagenarians singing along to their favourite Suomi folk songs.

Step 4: The birthday must be finnished with a lumberjack show.

Finland's Got Talent!

If you've ever looked at a map of Finland, and seen its 187,000 lakes you will agree that it is indeed silly.

Of all the lakeside towns, our next stop, Savonlinna is one of the prettiest.

St. Olaf's castle, a border fortress used by both the Swedes and Russians in defence of each other. Those little rooms that jut out from the towers are of course toilets.

From there we took a short hike to, you guessed it, a lake.

Finally, we made it to Helsinki.

The market square, or Kauppatori, with reindeer, mink and fox furs (bottom left) and birch for hitting oneself in a sauna (bottom centre).

Helsinki's main churches: Left: The Russian Uspenski Cathedral, Top Right: Helsinki Cathedral, Bottom Right: Temppeliaukio Church which is built within a rock.

Architecture in Helsinki

Helsinki has been named the 2012 World Design Capital. Because of this we went into more shops than we've done in any other city, i.e. more than two.

We also went to the Design Museum, in which the most interesting exhibit were these three Nokia phones. From left to right: Mobira Senator, 1982, 9.5kg;  Mobira Talkman, 1985, 5.5kg; Cityman 900, 1987, 760g

A cannon at the Suomenlinna sea fortress.

We boogied our last night away at the Storyville Jazz Club.