Mikkeli, Finland October 2009

This was the first time I went to Mikkeli, located in the heart of the so called lake district of Finland. I found it a bit annoying that to get to Mikkeli, one has to go around in a circular route, either from the east or from the west. There is no straight way to get from Turku to Mikkeli (by train, that is). My route to Mikkeli was from Turku via Helsinki-Lahti-Kouvola and on the way back home I wanted to have a pit-stop in Tampere, so I went Mikkeli-Pieksämäki-Jyväskylä-Tampere. I ended the circular route the following day by taking the familiar route from Tampere to Turku.

Finland's railway route map,
Turku in the south-west, Mikkeli in the southern parts,
in the middle (a little to the east). Find it?

Welcome to Mikkeli!

I was going to participate on behalf of the Pohjola-Nordenin Nuorisoliitto (Pohjola-Norden Youth league) as their representant in Pohjola-Norden's annual meeting. I met with some politicians and members of the city council, and of course regular members of the Pohjola-Norden association and attended the theatre show, the lectures and the meeting itself. In this annual meeting I was elected to be a member in the Pohjola-Norden's council for the period 2009-2011, as a representant for the P-N Youth League, together with my fellow youth league frieds Silja, Janne and Sampo.

Luxurious accommodation for just lil' ol' me!
(All expenses paid by the Youth League:)

Silos of Mikkeli, pt I


Silos of Mikkeli, pt II


Silos of Mikkeli, pt III.
Guiding me towards the city centre...


In the lively city centre of Mikkeli they had decided
to build an underground parking space.
Turku can't make up its mind, wheter it also want one or not...
In my opinion such a thing is completely unnecessary in Turku...

The Pohjola-Norden meeting was held at the congress centre Mikaeli (click on this link).

Our Nordic flags welcoming us to the meeting.

All in all, this was a nice trip. Met with other Pohjola-Norden people with an intrest and love for the Nordic countries: networking is also a central word one could use in this case. The theatre play, dinner and the meeting itself were a good combo. I can still remember the crispy freshness of the first autumn mornings in Mikkeli...

..This leaf was still green, but soon winter came..