Woke up around 8am and made our way down, walking, the side of the hill to breakfast at Best Western Hotelli Savonia - a 20 minute walk. Breakfast was delicious but once it turned 10, you better have had all you wanted to eat, otherwise SOL - all the food disappeared. They had these amazing rice pastry things that were exactly like those potato things, but with rice instead. They were warm and you are supposed to put butter on top...so good!
Now for the unforgettable adventure! Eugenia had been e-mailing a dog sled company, Tassu Taival, that she was referred to by the tourist office. The man said that he would be able to pick us up in Kuopio and take us 60km north to his home, for a price of course. We took him up on his offer and shortly before 11am, he arrived at the Best Western. A very nice man, we talked a lot about what he does and the whole idea of dog-sledding. He has about 40 huskies, however he has only 25-30 working ones, and they aren't the typical husky you think of. He has Siberian, Alaskan, and Seppala Siberian to name a few. He also breeds his own almost every year, but does it only for himself, not to sell, and has been giving rides for about 7 years.
We got to his house and he had a huge cage that had 10 little cages, all outside with 3-5 huskies in each cage. He separates those that he knows don't get along as well, but also to keep them all cooperating with each other. We were able to go inside the main cage and we met Kisses (not sure what it was in Finnish, but that's the translation). She is a 10 year old husky that has also had a couple litters while he's had her. She is also an excellent leader for his rides, so she always goes in front and we would get her on our ride.
She was so much fun and would always lean against you so you would pet her. We met pretty much all of the dogs, or most of them, by petting them through their cages. They were so fun and so excited! When we first arrived, they started howling and barking and I heard recently that they do that to get the attention of the owner so that they get picked to run. I recorded a couple videos of them howling away and maybe I'll figure out how to post them somewhere. It was so funny! They actually get to a point where they get so angry and start fighting with each other. Wasn't too bad for the most part.
He had a few females either in separate cages or in their own area outside the cages because they were "in heat" so they couldn't be with any males. At one point, a male went running outside the fenced area and was going straight to one of the females. Pekka said that if he doesn't get him within a few seconds, we'll have more puppies! Guess it can happen that quick!
There was also a cage with at least 6 month old puppies! They were adorable! Soon after, he got 8 dogs ready to go. I don't remember all of the names, especially in Finnish, but I remember one he named Shadow because when he was a puppy, he'd follow Pekka around everywhere.
It was really neat how Pekka was so into each and every one of his dogs and they absolutely adored him. Put them all in their correct positions - how he remembers, I have no clue! Eugenia and I sat in the sled, her in front of me, and we were off. Because there was such little snow, Pekka said it was really hard to brake and dangerous because it's all operated by feet and if he would hit a rock or stump, it could really wreck your knees. The ride itself was such an amazing experience! The dogs were so great and it was interesting to watch how it really works. All Kisses really does is run without working too much, but she has to lead the other dogs. Pekka will yell left, right, stop, or go and she almost always listens, except she sometimes gets a mind of her own and decides to go her own way. She did that once while we were riding otherwise, she was good. 5 kilometers later and after stopping every once in a while for the dogs to rest, we were back at Pekka's place. Said good-bye to all the cute puppies and we were taken to a little tepee where he made a fire and then coffee, crepes or Finnish pancakes, and this excellent tea-like drink with red or white currents, raspberries, and cinnamon. I guess this is something that he does with all of his guests and it's so nice and fun!
A while later, we were in the car on our way back to Kuopio. When we got back to the center, Pekka showed us around a little bit more so we would get to see more of Kuopio. Pekka dropped us off on one street close to the main center and went on his way. Once again, Eugenia and I wanted to find souvenirs, but being 4pm, there was nothing open. Walked around in some bigger department stores and other retail, but other than that there was nothing. It was dark at that point and we were so cold that we found a restaurant. We each got a pasta dish (much better than fish...) and found a taxi to go back to the hostel. Were dropped off and we went inside Puijon Tower. Would have been better to do it during the day, but we definitely could figure out where the lakes were because there were no lights visible! Didn't do much for the rest of the night and were in bed by midnight! A fantastic day!!
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