Turku and Rauma, rolled into one!

Minna and Mika, some friends that I met through the microbiology channels, took all of us around Turku and Rauma. We visited not only the old downtown (Vanha Rauma), but Sammallahdenmäki, another UNESCO site that was home to... someone during the Bronze Age. Most of the remains consist of rock burial grounds. But there's also a nice little hike that was complemented with some unbeatable spring weather. My camera unfortunately ran out of batteries midway through the trip, but I'll show photos from the first part of it. The initiator of this trip was the Jr. World Championships in hockey, which were being played in Rauma. We ironically saw the U.S.-Canada game. It was my first hockey game ever, and I was impressed by the quantity of physical contact. Those guys really beat the heck out of each other! While I would be more hesitant to start playing hockey, I really enjoyed watching it.

These pictures are from the nuclear power museum in Eurajoki (right next to Rauma). It's super fancy with interactive science exhibits that appeal to a wide variety of ages. There's also a nice view out back of the area where the cooling water is extracted and expelled back into the sea. I suppose the museum was constructed along with Nuclear Power Plant Number Three in this area, to keep the community happy. The construction is huge and will bring international workers to Eurajoki for the next few years. It is projected to provide twice the power of either of the existing nuclear power plants. They will use enormous concrete-lined copper pipes that weigh something like three tons each to store the spent waste in the bottom of the sea.

On to Turku:
We went on a short walk along River Aurajoki (not to be confused with the similar sounding town that Minna and Mika live in-- Eurajoki), ate ice cream, and gave the Turku Castle a good solid run for its money.





























Thanks for the wonderful hospitality Minna and Mika!!

Back in Tampere, Sarah and Kevin were remarkably eager to put their vegetarianism on hold while they tried things like Tampere's blood sausage specialty. Good job guys!