The clock on my laptop says 8:03 a.m. MDT Saturday April 30, but it has already been a full day. Today is day two of the annual end of class celebration in which students from the University of Oulu, the technical university, and the secondary schools get alcoholed on the streets, in corporate-sponsored overalls. Think of it as an open-carry snow-pants day with mobile music provided by boom-boxes built into petro-powered couches. Things are supposed to pick up later tonight.

The luggage arrived today mostly in tact. The hand-written "RUSH HEL" and "RUSH OUL" suggest that the badness happened at CDG. The taxi driver didn't know what had happened.

Finnish supermarkets: Produce sells for twice the dollar figure, in Euros. Dry goods are priced comparably to Calgary. Green diet drinks do not appeal to the appetite in any language.

Finnish Italian seafood: Salt must be restricted to the underside of potatoes only. No spices or seasonings are tolerated elsewhere.

Notes: Long-toed dress shoes are incompatible with steering a tall road bike. Cooper was right about bicycles and hills in this part of the world: I've not been on a bike in over a decade, but easily powered past the locals going up slopes. Also, I bought a snowboarding helmet.

Remarks: No pictures until I find reliable internet access that doesn't regularly drop out.

I'll try a photo later today.

Cell phone coverage is interesting. I bought a Sonera SIM card (which my current cell phone can see), but neglected to unlock my Wind phone before leaving Canada.