Really delayed message from Tampere

This is what I wrote already on 18-Dec (but only managed to post 10 days later):

Watched Finland lose to Russia 2-0 in ice-hockey on TV. Then Virpi and Antti started singing karaoke. Went to sauna and rolled naked in the snow, because somebody had this great idea. We don't do it very often, but it makes for an excellent story (a real ice-breaker at parties.) It is an exhilarating feeling to be so terribly cold that the skin starts to sting and then go to the warm sauna. The temperature difference between outside and sauna is at least 80 degrees centigrade. It takes a while to warm up but it really makes the blood flow.



After the sauna we played Carcassonne until 3AM. It is a fascinating game. The rules are fairly simple. The board is every-time different because it is built as the game progresses.



Woke up at noon, the sun was shining, the snow was glistening, went out for a walk and took some breathtaking pictures. The colors were so pure, although there was only blue and white. The sky is so clear and blue that I think the pictures won't do it justice. The snow was white and clean and sparkling in the sunshine.