Luminous Finland at Turku Castle

#Finland100 turns out not to be quite as exciting as #Gunilla50.

After a very early morning start and frantic typing to get the draft of my grant proposal finished to pass on to my colleagues back in Edinburgh (while Mr hazelh programmed and went for another run), at 2:30pm we met Gunilla and jtiitanen.

Our mission for the afternoon was to explore the Finland centenary celebrations in Turku. First we walked to the old market square and watched and listened to a classical music performance on a big screen broadcast from the nearby concert hall. There were surprisingly few people there, but for us the biggest thrill was to see jtiitanen's cousin playing in the orchestra.

Then we wandered along the river looking for a bar that served the Finnish equivalent of mulled wine. As soon as one was identified we took our places inside, and ordered a couple of rounds of delicious grogi.

Warmed up once more, we headed back out into the cold to find the car and drive to the Castle for a visit to Luminous Finland. Although the blip might suggest otherwise, this display turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, perhaps because we have been spoilt by other shows such as the Enchanted Forest and Botanic Lights. Nevertheless, it was still fun to spend time with Gunilla and jtiitanen, and we were determined to make the most of it because we don't know when we will next see one another.

After supper this evening Mr hazelh and I have followed the Finnish tradition of watching the great and good arrive at the President's Independence Day ball. I understand that if I become a veteran, join the Finnish parliament, or win an Olympic medal some time soon, I may be offered an invitation to pop along myself in the future.

I'm now officially off work until next Wednesday - hurrah. Tomorrow we head to Helsinki to visit ArcLight and alfthomas - double hurrah!

Exercise today: walking (11,711 steps)