Hop to Tampere

Caught the turboprop puddle jumper to Tampere. Fell asleep on that flight too, right after taking that pic I think. It was just a 30 min jump but by the time we got there it was dark. I haven't flown on one of these in a while and when I do it still reminds me of skydiving. Same kind of buzz and style of taxing on the runway (a bit more jumpy than a jet). Then the same kind of fast liftoff; I think their rate of ascent may be higher than their forward movement in comparison to jets.

Tampere is a pretty small airport—one building, but nicely decorated. They're kind of big on reindeer and Santa Claus. I didn't know this, but apparently Santa is Finnish. Not sure if that's because he lives in Lapland or whether he was "invented" by a Fin (at least I think that's what I read in one of those in-flight magazines). From the airport it was a few minutes to the hotel, which I think is a few minutes away from the University of Tampere, where I'm going to visit tomorrow.

My room is a typical Scandinavian-style room. No frills, but nicely appointed with everything you need. And a normal shower (unlike that goofy half-height thing in Prague). The showers are a bit strange in that you don't get into any kind of elevated basin; instead it's just a square area of the bathroom floor in a glass enclosure. Every time I have a shower I can't help fearing that I'm flooding the bathroom floor. But it's all tiled anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter much. My view at night I think is above a shopping mall located next door.