It is finally the time to leave Finland. Tomorrow morning we have to get up around 5am, get into our full packed cars and drive 360km south to Helsinki where the ferry is waiting to take us to Germany. Up till now we have done packing, packing and some more packing in the hope to get as much of our stuff as possible to Germany. It actually mostly worked out however my precious books have stay behind until my parents can take them next year with them in late summer. Looking at our cars it appears that we have done some tuning work to lower them as far as possible. No, it won’t be an enjoyable journey, the cars are so full that our seats had to be put more to the front, my wife will have her seat full of stuff and to make it even less comfortable she will have to carry both bunnies on her lap. Nathan’s seat looks like a cave, surrounded by boxes filled with our belongings (no need to worry, everything is fixed to their spot so nothing can move in case of an emergency full brake).
We have done all kind of different strange work since we arrived. Preparing some fire wood for next spring, fixing my grandparents tombstone and checking which poor trees will be cut down next year by my father. My dad is really good in cutting down trees but he really doesn’t like finishing the wood working as my mother in complaining for over twenty years that the firewood is always too big for the different wood fired ovens. We also got our boat out of the water and carried it to our little boat shed. As the boat is made out of real wood we had to do some extra work with it such as drying it first for a week and then applying some flaxseed oil to preserve the wood. The boat has been handcrafted few years ago by our neighbour who passed away sometime later, making it the last handcrafted boat in the area, perhaps even in whole of west Finland.
The past days have been restless. Awaiting our departure in the cottage while watching nature preparing for autumn. It has been getting colder here, only rarely the sun peeks through the mist which is hanging heavily upon the lake during most of the day. Somehow it feels like it is time to leave, start anew somewhere far away from the cottage, from Finland our old home. I am watching my father walking around our beach, in his own way saying goodbye to his little paradise. He and my mother will be back next summer whereas I will be most likely not be able to see Finland and the cottage for a couple of years, depending on my work.
I say farewell Finland, you have been my home for the past seven years. Life has been not always easy here but I met my wife here, Nathan was born here so not everything was all that bad. With our moving away I also take away one possible future burden away from you, Mother-in-law will be terrorizing Germany next time, not you Finland.
Crazy Chinese Family 
Wishing you and family all the best in the move. Looking forward now to your stories from Germany.
Thank you. There will be definitely something good to write about but I guess in the beginning I will use topics I have already prepared in huge past weeks as I will be rather busy during the upcoming month
360km is a long, long drive. I’m assuming you’re one of the drivers, Crazy, so I hope you rest well to prepare for your next adventure. I remember moving from Malaysia to Singapore as a kid by a Mercedes car. So many things in the car in the boot and in the front seats that my dad, the driver, found it hard to see anything in the rearview mirror. When we stopped at the highway resting pit-stops in Malaysia enroute to Singapore to go to the toilets, we always went quickly and rushed back to our cars. Mainly because we didn’t want strangers passing by and seeing our car filled with our belongings and driving our car away…yes, things like these often happen in Malaysia. I don’t think it’s like this in Finland/Germany, and the people are much nicer there.
I love that shot of the autumnal leaves on the green grass. Stay warm, I am sure your adventure will be so exciting that you’ll forget about the cold 🙂
The good thing is that it is warmer in Germany than in Finland 🙂
Yes, I was one of the drivers. Right now we are on the ferry to Germany and will arrive there tomorrow night.
The cars are soo full but no one really notice is usually as the back windows are tinted but it is a real mess nevertheless.
It was nice to take pictures in the last days as there were many wonderful shots and I hope to find time in the next weeks to process them on my PC. Now I just took the best few I could find and uploaded them straight
Wow that’s a huge move! It must be difficult saying goodbye to a country where you’ve made your home for seven years, but you’ve clearly got wonderful things to look forward to in Germany. Wishing you success and a smooth transition into your new life!
Wow that’s a huge move! It must be difficult saying goodbye to a country where you’ve made your home for seven years, but you’ve clearly got wonderful things to look forward to in Germany. Wishing you success and a smooth transition into your new life!
Thank you very much. We both (actually three but little Nathan won’t remember living in Finland ) are looking forward to our new lives. I have good chances to get a job I am actually interested in, something which was impossible before and we have a great new apartment to renovate according to our wishes 🙂
have a safe drive and I hope it will be even better in a new place 🙂 and that CMIL will get lost on the way or something, next time 😀
Thanks 🙂
I just heard terrible news from my wife. MIL said that she will come next year with granny to Germany! I think I take a three month vacation and hide I somewhere isolated and far away from them
we move out by the end of this year so with an extra room I can hide you, I know your pain bro 😀
Safe travels, good luck and I hope it will be a happy transition. At least, as much as it can be. I feel your stress, been there, done that! Looking forward to the next update. Cheers 🙂
Thank you. Somehow it was much easier when I moved to Finland seven years ago. I arrived just with my car and two bags of some personal stuff. Now, married and with a little baby our belongings are just too much and therefore create a lot of stress 🙂
I understand. See you on the other side!
Saying good-bye is always a little sad. Today I bought a beautiful new Toyota. Still, it was sad to say good-bye to my faithful Nissan Altima that served me so well for the past ten years.
Best wishes on your journey and your new life in Germany.
Have a good trip! And don’t be in a hurry, safety first!
We actually had to hurry as we had to reach this morning the german embassy in helsinki which closes at twelve to get Nathan’s german passport. But we managed and relaxed a bit afterwards 🙂
Have a safe drive!
Thank you 🙂
Best of luck on your new move! I’d find it hard to leave such a beautiful place that you have there in Finland. I wish it was colder too. Soon it will be here. It’s nice enough to open the windows now and not sweat to death. Looking forward to your stories about your new life in Germany. Take care! =)
The new stories will come soon I hope. Probably I will first write about some stuff from Finland first as I have still few things prepared. Just too busy here to sit down in front of my PC (which is somehere in the storage now so I have to get it first…)
It was a bit hard to leave Finland as everything turned to wonderful colors, similar to the Indian summer:)
Safe travels! I remember helping my parents move from the east coast of Canada to the west coast. It involved a 5-day trip in which we drove around 3000 kilometers! It was a long trip, but a fun one.
My only problem is that I generally fall asleep during car rides, so I was only able to drive for a few hours at a time. Then I needed a nap! Haha. Did you drive the whole way?
3000km!! That’s insane. I shouldn’t complain about my few hundred km then :p
Yes, I drove those few hours but the hardest part was to be stuffed in a small cabin on the ferry with my parents and the bunnies
No, you shouldn’t complain. 😉
I’m also not a big fan of sharing a small living space with other people. Hehe. Hopefully you didn’t have to do that for very long!