16th February
2100
We walk to the car and I load up my luggage. The drive to my new home is uneventful; we do not crash, the car does not get stuck in the snow, we don't even slide. Not even a little. Everywhere is covered in snow and the wind is blowing it across the road somewhat limiting our speed; we drive along at a steady 60km/h. We follow a snow plough for a while blowing out the white stuff but it turns off and we drive on in darkness.
Tiina's father is mostly silent, a male Finnish trait perhaps or probably just a language barrier thing. He looks tough and rugged. I ask Tiina how old he is. Nearly 70! He exercises regularly and had skied over 25km that morning. Cross country skiing of course; Finland is mostly flat. I will learn at a later date that as a young man, he and his brother had cycled more than 100km to go and get a piece of fish. Then cycled home again. They're pretty tough, these Finns. They fought against the Germans in the Winter War of 1939 and then held off Stalin for four years.
Tiina had told me the journey of 67 kilometers would take about an hour and a half. We talk all the way back and I lose track of time. I didn't check my watch when we set off so I am unable to confirm how long we are in the car.
We arrive at my new home and I carry my bags upstairs. Tiina opens the door and turns the lights on. "It's a bit Spartan", she says and shows me around. There's a sauna! Tiina shows me how to turn it on and is gone. There's some food in the fridge and some stock in the cupboards. The bed is made up and there's a tv, table and a couple of small benches.
I set the sauna and an hour later I am enjoying its pleasures Finnish-style; chucking scoops of water onto the hot rocks. Now that's a nice way to round off a journey.
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