Photo TR: Chuck Does It Scandi Style

The makers of McNasty Meals in no way endorse the previous picture. We are against dressing up cats in any sort of "cute" outfits. Or was that a dog? It's rather difficult to tell.

If we'd known about that picture, we would've withdrawn our sponsorship. Unfortunately, Chuck already used the money to buy a six pack.

On to Power Park.

[rollin_n_coastinDon't put that donkey on the floor!]

Chuck, that's great stuff! I remember now ever so clearly that no one can out "Arrrr!" you. I tried and lost horribly after our Piraten pirate sword fight lol

McNasty Meals come in many flavors. Your feline will flip for "Rat and Squirrel Tuscany," "Vole Giblets in a White Wine Sauce," or "Robin Guts Salsa Verde."

McNasty Meals--if Angus can kill it, you can eat it.

Here's some more Power Park.

McNasty Meals--dinner the McNasty way!

It's like Angus always says: "If you don't kill it, how will you know how good it tastes?"

One last look at Power Park.

The hotel. The food at the hotel! The Mini TPRix. Power Park. Booster!

That was a really great part of the tour. The timing was perfect for everything, including a great non-sunset we could see from our prix track view balcony window. Great part of the trip.

Sorry you didn't like Booster, Chuck. I loved it and rode it 5 times! I think it helped that this was a slightly smaller version than the biggie that's here, at Playland (Revelation). And that it was included in the park's admission (ours is an UpCharge) made it a must-ride for myself. And, I really enjoyed it, LOL!

Excellent play-by-play of this near-end of the tour, Chuck. Looking forward to more, right up to the.......... <g>........Finnish.

Chapter 13: Again, at the Edge of Wetness--Sarkanniemi

It was raincoats and ponchos again for at least some of the day at the second-to-last park of TPR's Scandinavian tour: Sarkanniemi. Being as this is an aquatic park, sort of a mini-Sea World, it was pretty good weather for fish and ducks--but the day was hardly a washout.

This is another urban park, but with a difference. The city is ringed by some rather large lakes, and the view from the park's sky tower was excellent, despite the gloomy clouds. The park itself isn't particularly fancy. It has a very 1970s feel to it (the station and queue for Tornado, an Intamin invert, look positively industrial), but there's a good mix of attractions here, and the staff treated our group very well (ERT on a number of rides and access to an unenclosed section of the sky tower that's closed to the public).

The coaster mix is quite eccentric:

Tornado--This is the invert with the zero-g roll in a tunnel, and it's great. The ride itself isn't very fast, but it's very smooth, and I like the layout. Even in the pouring rain, I rode it five times. As I said, it doesn't move at record speed, but it never really lets up, either--a totally different feel than the B&M inverts.

Jet Star--We nearly missed this old Schwartzkopf due to rain, but a break in the deluge and some fast work by the ride's crew made sure that quite a few of us got to ride. The whole structure looks rather rickety, but that just adds to the fun. This was my first Jet Star.

Half-Pipe--Is it a flat? Is it a credit? Depends on who you ask, I guess, but it's fun. This was my first experience with one of these things, and it is a bit hair-raising when you reach the top of the spike.

Trombi--My first Zamperla Volare was, let's say, an "interesting" experience; after all, I've never ridden in a suspended rat cage or iron maiden before. If the Spanish Inquisition had had access to this technology, we'd all be Catholic now. Not as painful as I'd feared, but very awkward and uncomfortable.

Korkkiruuvi--Hey, who's up for a Vekoma Whirlwind? Anybody? Hello? (Actually, not horrible, but not really good, either.)

I skipped the kiddie coaster.

There's a good-sized collection of flats here, as well as a very strange ghost train that combines goofy cartooniness with flat-out gore (everyone needs to ride it at least once). All in all, I enjoyed Sarkanniemi, even if I did skip the dolphin show, which I heard was quite good.

Step right up and have a look for yourselves.

The makers of the Sugar Syringe remind you to use our product responsibly. Never, ever share a Sugar Syringe!

Back to Sarkanniemi--that park that Chuck can't pronounce.

Have you tried our newest product? Non-Sugar Syringe! Yes, it's just like the Sugar Syringe, only without the sugar!

One last look at Sarkanniemi.

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

I deem Peena Puu worthy of inclusion in the Park Index as its' own attraction.

Thank you for including the fabulous singing tree of Finland.

Chapter 14: A Dry Last Day--Linnanmaki

Finally, the last park of possibly the greatest TPR Trip ever--Linnanmaki in Helsinki. "Last parks" are always a study in contrasts. Everyone feels a bit melancholy because they know they'll be saying good-bye to everybody else that evening or the next morning, yet everybody also throws themselves into the experience to get the most out of the last day.

And Linnanmaki was a good park to finish (no pun intended) on. This traditional, urban amusement park rests on a hill in the middle of Helsinki and, like Grona Lund, Liseberg, and Tivoli, makes excellent use of its limited space. You can get some excellent views of the city here.

Although the coaster selection isn't top grade, Linnanmaki has a lot to recommend it, including an unusual "haunted" mirror maze, an excellent ghost train, and quite a few flats (one of which is particularly crazy). As for the coasters:

Linnunrata--This Space Mountain knockoff was my favorite coaster there. There's nice "space" theming in the queue, and the ride itself is good, cheesy fun (if a bit short). No Space Mountain or Eurosat, but it'll do for a family ride.

Kirnu--Call this one "Insane, Jr." It's a mini-version of the Intamin Ball Coaster, and is still fairly intense despite being smaller (and even more phallic looking) than its big brother at Grona Lund.

Vuoristorata--This was the slowest of the trip's side-friction woodies, but still enjoyable--plus, it was the site of the "Egg Challenge."

Salama--A spinning mouse that doesn't really spin all that much unless you load the car just right. But the layout is still fun even when it doesn't spin.

Tulireki--Pointless. The idea behind this Mack E-Motion Coaster is that the train is supposed to react in some way during the ride (such as lean way over on the curves, I think), but it really didn't do much of anything except buck around a bit. Bad, not to mention uncomfortable.

There was a Premier Water Coaster, too, but since I was fighting a cold and didn't feel like having my shoes filled with water, I passed--turned out to be a good decision (I did do the rapids ride, though). There's also a bit of nightmare fuel involving clowns and elephant dung.

Shall we amble about and enjoy our last day? (Hmm--that sounded rather grim.)