Sting Take Europe Day 3

Sorry for the delay.  Internet was hit and miss at sea, and it is hard to type in a Kareoke Bar......  But I am getting ahead of myself.

We had a great supper to round our day 2 with our Finnish guests.  It is fun to see that 15 and 16 year old girls really are the same everywhere regardless of nationality or language.  Girls are girls.  They all looked their best, and laughed lots.  We presented our Finnish friends a new set of Sting practice jerseys, and some Canadian Olympic mittens.  They looked awesome in them.

Day 3 started off with another great breakfast at the hotel.  Lots of the usual North American food, and also lots of fresh bread and many cheeses.  Nice!  Many of us took another short stroll around the hotel and enjoyed the warm, fresh air.  The Swedes also enjoyed the beginning of spring and many were walking or jogging in the park near our hotel.  A wide variety of strange birds, but they were all singing which is nice since many of our songbirds have not returned to Central Alberta yet.

We boarded the bus again for the short trip to the rink.  Ulf our driver is very nice and friendly.  At the rink we caught the tail end of a game between the Swedish team that we had played the day before and our Finnish friends.  The Finns won by a wide margin.  I hope that we will get to play them in Finland.  It will be a very good game.  Their girls also skate well and make great passes.

Our game this time was a little longer.  Four (4) 15 minutes stop time quarters.  Flood at half time.  National anthems to start the game again.  It feels like we are in the big leagues now!  The game started slow and was 0-0 after the first quarter.  3-0 Sting at half.  8-2 Sting after three and a 12-3 final score.  Now we know for sure - Sting Rocks the House in Sweden!  Players of the game were Kelsey Guse and Kirsten MacGregor.  It is tough when you want to win, and want to remain respectful of your hosts.  Ringette is certainly not as popular in Sweden as it is in Finland and Canada.  They are still trying to grow their game at the grassroots level and we realize that for the game to grow, we must be good ambassadors.  Our girls were awesome!  Respectful and good sportsmanship throughout both games.  Lots of eyes are on the Canadians here!!!!!

One interesting thing that I forgot yesterday was their "souvenier"table in the lobby.  The usual stuff: rings, hockey tape, programs, ringette trinkets, waffles with berries.  I think everyone had to look twice - then the orders started.  Not a bad idea I guess.

After our game we jumped on the bus again and made the trip to the ferry terminal.  Ulf used our time well and gave us an extended round-about way to the ferries.  Stockholm is made of of thirteen (13) islands.  I think we saw them all, as well as a 3 km tunnel under the city.  After many tears and promises to write - we finally bid adieu to Ulf and boarded the ferry to Helsinki.

What a boat!  Thirteen (13) levels.  Shopping mall on the promenade deck and lots of lounges.  Something for girls, moms and dads!  The cabins were tight but comfy.  Private bathrooms - great for an overnight cruise.  We had a portion of the buffet restaurant reserved for us and our Finnish friends.  Good supper and a self-serve beer tap.  Again the girls are awesome.  Alcohol is easily accessable to them on the boat - but they all stayed out of trouble and again did us proud.  After dinner many of the girls and their new friends seperated and explored the cruise ship (in groups of four or more!).  The adults also had fun and visited with many of their new Finnish friends, but both groups of parents were always watching the girls.  Then the kareoke.  Top floor under the stars as we crossed the Baltic sea until 1:00ish.  What a time!  The girls had a blast singing together and with their new friends.  Parents joined in as well.  Who knew Barb could sing?  In Finnish?  I guess we'll never know if it was just the Finlanii vodka.

As much as the girls are similar - so are the parents.  The Finns are very nice and though they seem shy about their english - it is actually very good.  They are all easy to understand.  They also offered to store all of our equipment (18 bags) in one of their garages to dry out rather than have us carry them onto and off of the boat - then stink up our hotel rooms.  We joked that they would remove the blades from our skates.  They are really very nice - and I'm not just saying that because they are following our blog too.

Only a few observations after day 3.

• Dwayne kindly offered to assist and ref a few games while in Sweden with us.  I think we all agree that his hand signals are as awesome in Swedish and Finnish as they are in English.  Way to go Westy!
• If I am ever on a cruise again - I'm looking for some Finns.  They are a lot of fun.
• If I ever need to recommend someone to look after teenage girls - again the Finns.  They knew how to have a great time but never lost track of their kids.
• That when you try out your limited Finnish vocabulary, Finns are very polite and don't mock your attempt like 15 year old Canadian girls do.
• Finally, I learned the word "Sisu".  It is not in an English-Finnish dictionary, but it is a special Finnish word that seems to embrace the strong national pride they all have.  As best as I understand it means "guts" or "grit".  It's roots trace to the Winter War with USSR in 1939. They seem to be a very proud people.

C.K.