Finland Ski Trip

By Steve Abrey, Mary Lou Alford and Kim Hampton

Who ever heard of alpine skiing in the village of Levi, Finland? Just ask Tanja Poutiainen, the Finnish Olympic silver medalist, or......, you could ask any one of the 27 brave DSC members that joined the Texas Ski Council trip a total of 62 Texans.

The pre trip to Copenhagen included Dave and Carol Coughran, Sue McAlister, Thetis Hilliard, Charles McNatt and Tony Whittemore. Fine dining, some interesting sights and a fabulous city tour was the tale of the day. They were also lucky enough to witness the changing of the guard.

The rest of the DSC group Pam O'Dell, Scott Doane, Mitch and Pam Womble, Doris Autrey, Vonne Solomon, Gus Tramp, Bruce Barton, Janet Gast, Charlene Cottingham, Tom Keever, Wayne May Arthur Whitlock, Lynne and Steve Washington (our Paris connection Pam's sister), Kim Hampton, Steve Abrey, Mary Lou Alford, Harley Mimura, Allan Logan, Marianne Cannon, and Joe Ruf enjoyed a leisurely flight from Chicago to Stockholm where we connected up with our pre trip group. Then off to Lulea, Sweden and an interesting bus ride through Rovaniemi, Finland (Santa Claus Village) and the Arctic Circle as we continued to head to the "Far frozen north." We finally arrived in Levi, our Lapland destination, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Our hotel and spa, the Levitunturi, was fabulous with beautiful rooms, great food and marvelous dancing! Just ask Marianne! Our activities in Levi included downhill and cross country skiing and snowmobile safaris to reindeer and husky farms where one could ride or "mush" their own team of playful dogs. Skiing at Levi or Yllas Fell (large hill) also included a tour of the largest Ice Hotel in Finland, accommodating 65 "cool" guests!

Thanks to Lela Whisnant, our San Antonio connection to Levi, DSC members were treated to a special night and a home cooked local dinner at the Raekallio Gallery. Reijo Raekallio is the most famous living artist in Finland and we certainly enjoyed spending the evening with Reijo, Maria (his wife) and Lela.

The Finnish people spoke wonderful English, understood our humor and certainly made us feel very welcome and warm...even if the temperature never got above freezing!!

From Levi, the entire TSC group spent a couple of marvelous days in Stockholm, Sweden. We toured the city, including "old town" with many buildings dating back to the 1600s. A special treat was our visit to the Vasa Museum, home to the Regalskeppet Vasa war ship, lost during her maiden voyage in 1628 within 20 minutes of her departure from the Royal Palace! Then it was off to the Ice Bar at the Nordic Hotel. Vodka served in pure ice glasses will never be the same in 100 degree temperatures in Dallas! As a finale to a wonderful trip and wonderful adventures with wonderful friends, the entire TSC group was treated to a farewell dinner at a local jazz club. Great food, music and dancing!

Six hardy DSC souls (Mary Lou Alford, Marianne Cannon, Allan Logan, Joe Ruf, Harley Mimura and Charles McNatt) waved goodbye to the rest of us in Stockholm as we made our way back to Dallas. They headed to the dock to board an overnight ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. They were delighted to see that the "ferry" was a brand new, huge cruise ship with all of the amenities you could imagine! They dined, danced and enjoyed the midnight cabaret show while cruising through the ice ladened Baltic Sea.

In Tallinn, although their hotel was modern, they were taken back to the 15th century during their walking tour of the "old town." Narrow cobblestone streets, gothic buildings and the aroma of restaurants serving up medieval feasts just like in the old days. 500 years ago....check out www.oldehansa.com to see how they feasted on pig knuckles and wild boar.

Their second day in Tallinn allowed them to poke into shops, visit the summer palace of Peter I and enjoy walking through the village in light snow at 25 degrees below(centigrade)!

Like serfs, they were forced back onto the ferry..(read "party boat").. for another evening of feasting and fun before returning to Sweden. Their last day in Stockholm was spent visiting the museums they had missed earlier, catching the Royal Swedish Opera and just reminiscing about their wonderful Nordic "Winter Wonderland."