Finnish Trip June 2009

Presentation Day - June 30th
Today was a successful presentation day - Sally did her poster presentation, then Sally & Shirley did their scientific demonstration - and modified by "going live". It went well and there were many compliments to the presentation. We should have full times jobs attending conferences just doing presentations.

Duane and Shirley joined us for a celebratory dinner at the hotel and we made plans for heading downtown Helsinki tomorrow. All in all a very successful day!

Finland Photos -

A small selection of photos - Tom at his poster, the ladies' sauna, home for the next 11 days, the conference center, and arrival at the airport.

Finland 2009

Monday, June 29th: Today Tom exhibited his poster and the main conference began. The speakers were excellent. Tonight we are meeting Shirley (my fellow speaker) and her husband Duane for dinner. I believe we are going to head out to their hotel downtown. Tomorrow Sally & Shirley presentation and Sally exhibits her poster.

I could live here in Finland - much cleaner than the US, better roads, better public transportation, and great coffee...plus a sauna every night!

Finland 2009

Sunday - June 28th: It was a relaxing day in Helsinki! We started the day with brunch at the hotel, then picked up our registration packets for the conference. We decided on a walk to explore the other direction today - the opposite of yesturday. We found a beautiful park (many singing birds) complete with a dog park (and dogs). Dogs seem to be welcome most everywhere - including the train station and the malls. We decided to investigate the train system/station and found out how to manuever around downtown Helsinki on the train - we are set for Thurs when the conference ends and we are free to investigate and play tourist.

The opening ceremony was entertaining - good speakers and even better Finnish entertainment - folk singers and an organist. We concluded the evening with a reception, followed by a sauna at the hotel. Tomorrow is Tom's day to present his poster so he is off to bed early.

Finland 2009

June 25th: Travel day. Left Hibbing, MN at 5 pm – to Mpls – to Amsterdam – to Helsinki (arrived about 10 pm on Friday, June 26th). Taxi from the airport cost approximately 25 Euros. Checked into the Holiday Inn at the Convention Center. Went to bed about midnight and slept through until 12:45 pm on Saturday (6/27). We were very tired!

June 27th: Woke up about 12:45 pm. Headed out to do some exploration near the hotel. We found several small grocery stores and a mall. Had a quick lunch at a hamburger joint and had a nice walk. Weather was overcast and looked a bit like rain. Temp was about 71 degrees and getting cooler throughout the day.

Returned to the hotel and dressed for an authors’ reception sponsored by Connie Delaney, Charlotte Weaver, Patrick Weber, and Robyn Carr, editors of the Nursing Informatics for the 21st Century text. A group from CSS contributed a case study to the text (Sally, Shirley Eichenwald-Maki,Janelle Wapola, Sue Hyndman, Beth Donahue, and Marty Witrak). Nice reception with cocktails and appetizers provided.

Finished the day with a trip to the hotel sauna – a beautiful spa-like series of rooms. Men and women sauna separately. The suite also includes a huge glass and tile shower area, a reception area with wicker furniture, and lotions, creams and shampoos. A cold beer and a wonderful piece of chocolate filled with raspberries was a great way to finish our first day in Helsinki.