Trip to The Summer Cottage

This weekend we took a trip to the summer cottage in Savonlinna, Finland. After school on Friday, Helmi, Lotta, my host mom, and I began the three hour drive from Lahti to the east.
We arrived in the small town of Savonlinna and picked up my host grandma before driving the rest of the way to the summer cottage.

 The summer cottage has been part of the Höglund family (Marjatta's Family) since she was one year old and doesn't have a neighbors nearby. The main house is very old, and the land was once used as a farm.

 Each of the Höglund kids (there are four of them) have their own room in which their families get to sleep in while they are at the summer cottage. Each room has beds and shelves, and electricity, but for plumbing you had to go to the main house.

 We met a lot of family there at the summer cottage; five cousins and several uncles too. One of my host cousin's was an exchange student in Australia, and she even did my hair (as it is above). It was a lot of fun and everyone was so friendly, there reminded me a lot of my own family.

Each day we hiked around in the surrounding forests, picked berries, and even mushrooms sometimes so that we could make fresh, delicious meals. Then at night we went in the sauna, but it was so dark that I never managed to get into the pond. By the time the week ended everyone and their dogs (three others besides Laku) departed.
The weather was so great while we were there, and we left just on time, because it began to rain just after everything had been packed into the car. I really liked being at the summer cottage, so hopefully we will be able to go again before the end of my stay here in Finland.