A Visit to Eura

Posted by: Julie

This post is a couple of days behind schedule due to "technical difficulties."

On Thursday, we all had our individual programs in the morning. I met with the marketing department at Oras Oy, a company that manufactures beautifully designed faucets and showers. The family-owned company was founded in 1945 and has distribution all over Europe. I found my dream bathtub in their showroom. It costs a mere €6,500 if anyone is interested. Mary went to Nordea Bank and Kari went to the fire and police departments. Patti went to Toivontalo ("The House of Hope"), a place where people are encouraged to get back on their feet following drug or alcohol abuse or incarceration. Surprisingly, she met a man from Colorado...and another man who claims to be her new boyfriend. I'll let the other ladies elaborate on their individual programs if they so choose.

Following our programs, we drove to Eura where our gracious tour guide, Johan (John), took us to the sacred grounds of Sammallahdenmäki. There were many burial cairns from the Bronze Age and is the first Finnish prehistoric monument to be named a UNESCO World Heritage List site in 1999. The most impressive structure at the site is called the "Church Floor." The folk story behind this structure is long, but it involves Christians and giants - use your imagination...or Google. We also went to Naurava Lohikäärme (The Laughing Dragon), a museum of Eura artifacts and culture.

After such a busy day, the sauna was calling our names. Luckily, our evening host, Jussi, from the local insurance company invited us to their guest house for sauna and dinner. We had a great time and headed back to our host families feeling refreshed and exhausted all at the same time.