Travel to Oulu 2008

[Ravvy]

Hi everybody.

You folks were such a big help in planning our trip this past summer, that I decided to go back to the well for another drink.

My daughter and I have decided to take another trip to Finland next summer. This time the target landing location is Oulu. My grandmother's (on my mom's side) family came from Ii (on the Gulf of Bothnia north of Oulu), so I intend to spend some time researching church records in Ii for family history purposes.

I also have a list of possible destinations/ activities for our vacation. I would love to hear any comments/ recommendations/ reviews/ etc. from you. Thanks in advance!

In Oulu:
City Park Hupisaaret
Tietomaa Science Center
North Ostrobothnian Museum
Nallikari

Near Oulu:
Liminka Bay Nature Center
Hailuoto
Turkansaari open-air Museum

Other trips:
Kierikki Stone Age Center (between Ii and Yli-Ii)
Ranua Arctic Wildlife Zoo
Suomussalmi (Raate Rd, Winter War Memorial, & other)
Rovaniemi (Arctic Circle, and ...?)
Syöte National Park & Visitor Center

And a couple other carrots to dangle:
What the heck kind of a name for a town is Ii ?
What would it mean to me that there are a lot of Laestadians in that area, and do I need to know some insider information about the "way things work" around there?

[Hank W.]

What the heck kind of a name for a town is Ii ?

Dream job of a lazy sign painter...

What would it mean to me that there are a lot of Laestadians in that area, and do I need to know some insider information about the "way things work" around there?

...they're not horse & buggy Amish types.

[sammy]

What would it mean to me that there are a lot of Laestadians in that area, and do I need to know some insider information about the "way things work" around there?

...they're not horse & buggy Amish types.

Indeed not... I don't think you'll notice 'them' in any particular way... except maybe, if you see a whacking big tent and loadsa people in and around it, it isn't necessarily a circus.

Nor should you be surprised if a laestadian home has no telly

Here's an article on the laestadian movement - history, etc:

http://www.uta.fi/FAST/FIN/REL/jk-laest.html

[Ravvy]

Sans outside inputs, here are the proposed sites so far. We are in agreement to spend much less time in a rental car than we did last summer.

“A” list
Oulu Hupisaaret Park
Tietomaa Science Center
North Ostrobothnian Museum
Hailuoto
Liminka Bay Nature Center
Kierikki Center
Ranua Arctic Wildlife Park
Arktikum in Rovaniemi
Lordi Restaurant in Rovaniemi

“B” list
Nallikari Beach
Turkansaari Museum
Suomussalmi Winter War sites
Syöte National Park & Visitor Center

We will probably make a big deal (at least photo-wise) of crossing the Arctic Circle.

We have also committed to just relaxing and “hanging out” around the cottage. The place has a DVD player, and I’m taking along Attenborough’s “Planet Earth”, Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”, and Jacob Bronowski’s “The Ascent of Man” series on DVD.

[Hank W.]

And the DVD player works with your DVD's?

[Ravvy]

And the DVD player works with your DVD's?

Good point, and yes they should work.

Thanks to Amazon.com.UK I can get DVDs other than region 1. "Cosmos" is region 0 from the UK, and "Planet Earth" & "Ascent of Man" are region 2 (which should play in Finland, correct?) Last year I got an all-region DVD player at home so I can watch any DVD from anywhere(?).

FYI my work laptop will also play any region DVDs, so on this trip I'm taking it along to watch DVDs on the plane. Tyttäreni gets kinda stir-crazy on the transatlantic flight.

Anybody familiar with Dell laptop battery life when playing DVDs?

[Karhunkoski]

Now is that mini stonehenge thing in Oulu or Kemi?

[Ravvy]

Now is that mini stonehenge thing in Oulu or Kemi?

What is that?

[Hank W.]

öööö... this?

[EP]

Sorry, no suggestions. I have only been to Arcticum (recommended) and Hailuoto. Had a lovely week there ages ago.

[Karhunkoski]

Now is that mini stonehenge thing in Oulu or Kemi?

What is that?

Yup, just the thing Hank posted a pic of.

Oulu or Kemi?

[raamv]

Anybody familiar with Dell laptop battery life when playing DVDs? roll:

Depends on how many other programs are open!! and what other processes are running on the background..( Task manager to kill all non essential processes)
Depending on what kind of seat you have and the kind of plane, you could potentially get an electrical outlet for your laptop. Another way is to buy n take a spare battery!!

[Ravvy]

Now is that mini stonehenge thing in Oulu or Kemi?

What is that?

Yup, just the thing Hank posted a pic of.

Oulu or Kemi?

OK, so I found the stonehenge-like picture on the Kemi website, but no description of what or where or why. Any more clues from the educated viewing audience?

[Ravvy]

Sorry, no suggestions. I have only been to Arcticum (recommended) and Hailuoto. Had a lovely week there ages ago.

Hey thanks, and no reason to apologize; those are the only two comments I've received on any of the proposed sites to visit!

[Ravvy]

FYI my work laptop will also play any region DVDs,

I want to correct some inadvertent misinformation from me.

When I tested my laptop movie compatibility, I didn't realize I was using some DVDs marked region 0 (region free). When I loaded some actual region 2 DVDs, a pop-up asked me if I wanted to change the region setting on the laptop. I get a total of four region changes; after that, the laptop stays permanently at the last setting and can no longer be switched.

Leave it to Dell and/or Microsoft to come up with that arbitrary market limiter.