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This morning I got picked up from the hotel by an airport shuttle bus. There was only one other passenger on the bus, but he was certainly an interesting one. The youngish family man was a member of parliament, for the social democratic party. At some time in the past, he was the party's environment minister. I learned that his family lives in Savonlinna, but works in Helsinki. He had been doing this same commute for over 20 years. A very nice fellow, it nicely filled in the 15 minute ride to the airport.

The flight was uneventful, and broken into two legs: Savonlinna to Helsinki, Helsinki to Kemi. As we approached Kemi I noticed a huge, symmetrical pattern in the ice. I wondered if this was the path of the famous ice breaker ship, the tour I came to Kemi to experience. Unfortunately I spent too long trying to confirm my suspicion, looking for the ship in the distance, and missed a great photo opportunity.

That evening I was to stay in Finland's Snow Castle.

Ice breaker ship as seen from the plane