Part 1: Mum & Dad; Kajaani - Kuopio

First, we explored Kajaani a bit, especially the landscape around the campus, but also the shops in the city, especially the second-hand shop, Cubus, and Dressman 😇

During the week, it got unusually warm again, nothing compared to the week when Daniel and Lara were here, let alone now.

I even had to enjoy the sun in a t-shirt at times (see 2nd picture). Unimaginable at the moment..

We took the lower picture because my team was the table leader without loss of points at the time - and still is 😌 I'm so proud of you, greetings to Lumdatal ♥

After Mom and Dad, although before their arrival, had spontaneously canceled their hotel stay in Kajaani, our mini road trip also started. However, we started in the south, to the so-called Lake District - a reason for Finland's nickname: 'Land of a Thousand Lakes'.

In Kuopio, our first destination, this name was impressively visualized. From this 75m high tower built on a mountain, we had a 360° view of the surrounding lakes. The view was indescribably beautiful, it doesn't come across so well in pictures because you don't have this panoramic view, but anyway...

Here is a rare picture of lost tourists in the Finnish forest...

And two picturesque pictures from Kuopio itself. The city is located on a peninsula and is therefore surrounded by lakes. Even a port is used there.

In the evening, we decided to eat at an Italian restaurant after we saw that many were closed during the week. However, I am more than glad that we persuaded Mom to go to Italian ('how boring'). The owner was quite taken with Dad, very open (invited us to his home for a few bottles of wine) and very communicative. In addition, the restaurant was visited by people from different countries, which also resulted in a very interesting conversation with an American-Finnish couple at the neighboring table. In between, the Italian always came by with a funny remark or put his one and a half year old daughter on his lap.

The evening was really entertaining!

We stayed overnight in a hotel in Kuopio (here's part of my breakfast 🌚).

Then the journey continued to the second destination - see part 2!