It's December!

Really tall tree at the Turku Cathedral

 

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday back home in Concord. The bad thing was one week just wasn't long enough! We were very thankful to see Kristen and Scott, my parents and other relatives. Just sorry I didn't get to see any of my Concord friends -- will make up for that over Christmas when I am home for three weeks!

In all our years of travel, we have never had our luggage lost. Until this trip. Well, it wasn't lost exactly, just sent to the wrong country. When we landed back in Turku last Monday, our luggage didn't come with us. Instead, it went to Stockholm. To the credit of Scandinavian Airlines, they flew our luggage on the next plane to Turku, then an airline employee drove the hour to Rauma to deliver our bags to our apartment that night. So, it really wasn't a big deal.

Turku Christmas Market

 On Saturday, I drove to Turku to the annual Christmas Market. The market wasn't as good as the one I went to in Copenhagen. I hope the one in Helsinki is better. I actually did more shopping at my favorite Stockmann's Department Store. Love that place! Got some great furry earmuffs, among a few other things.

 We are getting about six hours of daylight. The sun rises just before 9:30 a.m. and sets around 3:30 p.m. It is really weird. It makes you want to stay in bed longer, because it just doesn't seem like morning. The afternoon darkness doesn't bother me that much -- yet, anyway. And the forecast this week is calling for snow showers every day -- although it was sunny today. We'll see.When it does finally snow -- and I know it will! -- I will post some photos.

Looking forward to the Areva Christmas party this Friday and the U.S. expats party this Saturday!

What's a Christmas market without sausages?