Trip to Finland

One of the many benefits of being a Tabler is the opportunity to travel the world and connect with likeminded people in all corners of the planet. My wife, Kim, and I were fortunate to be hosted by Round Table Suomi Finland for their AGM in May 2023. I organised to meet up with some friends in the days leading up to the event so on the Saturday we departed; while checking in for our flight to Heathrow it was then we were informed that my wife’s Schengen Visa doesn’t allow her to transit through the UK, long story short, we had to cancel her British Airways flight and find her another flight to Helsinki through an EU country. I continued on the flight to Heathrow as our luggage had been checked in already, Kim got on an Air France flight and we went our separate ways.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING ON A SOUTH AFRICAN PASSPORT ON A SCHENGEN “C” VISA YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE UK –EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST CHANGING FLIGHTS AND STAYING INSIDE THE AIRPORT.

Anyway, I arrived the following morning and was met by Teemu, Helsinki 60 Tabler who took me to drop our bags, have lunch and enjoy some much needed refreshments. On the way back to the airport to collect Kim we did a city tour. Kim arrived and we caught the train back to our accommodation, at some stage we climbed on the incorrect tram and we enjoyed another tour of the city. We eventually found our way and by this time it was now 8pm, but the sun was still high in the sky!?!? Something that took some getting used to but we enjoyed a lovely walk on the promenade and saw the beauty of Helsinki in early spring.

The following morning we went off to check out the sights and sounds of the city, a great experience. That afternoon we boarded the ferry to Estonia and went to spend a couple days with Kristjan, Estonia IRO. He met us at the ferry station and we went back to his house to meet his family and relax with a BBQ and a couple drinks. Now I’d heard about the Scandinavians and their love of the sauna (pronounced sow-nuh) and a lot of them have one in their home, a few hours later there I am kaal-gat in the sauna with a man I had just met!! A very interesting, but enjoyable experience.

The next day we went to Tallinn Old Town, an unbelievable experience and I recommend anyone with the opportunity to go and see this amazing historical place; it was like nothing we expected and the mix of first world and centuries old architecture was quite a sight.

The next morning we took the ferry back to Helsinki and a train to Hameenlinna where we met up with Lauri Takala, Past Finland President, and he showed us around his home town. That evening we went to a bar and watched the Finland Ice Hockey team defeat the French in a World Cup, very cool to be there for that.

On Thursday we continued up to Ikaalinen Spa, the AGM venue for both Round Table and Ladies Circle Finland, and surprise surprise the opening night theme was sow-nuh and pool party. Lots of fellowship and making new friends followed.