Finland, Finland, Fin....

By Belinda (with help from Monty Python)
Finland, Finland, Finland
The country where I want to be
Pony trekking or camping or just watch T.V.”
And its this outdoor life style that makes it such a great country to visit

Leaving Santa’s house and the arctic circle we initially planned to stop early so we could do slow cooked lamb dish for dinner, however nowhere was proving suitable to stop. It was raining and unpleasant so we just drove on, the lamb would have to wait. In the early evening we found a larger lay-by on the road suitable for us to pull off and free camp for the evening.

The next day we headed into Kuopio and found a small rustic campsite on a lake. Pete set up the dutch oven on the bbq for our slow cooked lamb shanks. We now had the rest of the afternoon to relax. It was nice and sunny so we continued with the polishing of the van and removing more of the decals.

Finland has an abundance of lakes. In fact, there are 187,888 lakes in Finland larger than 500 square metres, about 57,000 of them are over 10,000 square metres and most of them are situated in the “mid-Finland area”. We meandered between some of these lakes toward Jyväskylä where good friends live and had invited us to stay at their lake side, summer house.

OMG we were overwhelmed with their hospitality. It is times like this, spending times with friends, especially locals that really add that something special to travelling. We had it in Denmark and now again in Finland.

Our friends house was just gorgeous, we wanted to move in straight away. They had a gorgeous balcony that overlooked the forrest and lake. It was so peaceful. Just breathtaking. In the early evening Pete rowed us all to a little island picnic area that is popular with of the locals. Pete had to earn his keep. The island is a great place kick back and relax in nature.

They have communal bbq, and several groups were already BBQing their dinner, we put our Finnish snags on the barbie and joined in on the fun, chatting to the locals, it had a great community feeling. Truly special. We were told that people often camp overnight there and as we left a young group rolled up with their sleeping bags with that very intention.

After admiring the local blueberries that were being baked in a homemade pie. We were taken, beer in hand, foraging for more berries and also mushrooms (getting a lesson in what was and was not poisonous!)
Our lovely hosts, lit up the fire in the sauna. We were complete novices at sauna-ing! Girls went first, it was admittedly, very relaxing - hot and very sweaty but good. A quick dip in the freezing lake in between the sweating certainly gave the heart a good jolt!
Dinner was a great Malaysian spread, which was divine as we had both been craving some spice. Lots of laughs, great conversation and of course great wine. Later that night we headed back outside to look at the stars It was great to have a beautiful clear night, in the country without city lights and see the milky way so vividly. I love gazing up at its distinctive spiral, something I haven’t really been able to do since the Australian outback.

The next morning we woke to a spread of traditional Finnish delights, open rye sandwiches with cold cuts, cheeses & rollmops, yogurts with fresh berries and delicious rye tarts with a rice & potato filling (Karelian pies), on to which we added salted buttered eggs. The breakfast was so good we ended up stopping the next day to buy our own supplies. Thanks so much Siri & Ilpo for a wonderful time.

Eating breakfast or dinner
or snack lunch in the hall (fall)
Finland, Finland, Finland
Finland has it all

We drove into Jyväskylä, the home of famous Architect, Alvar Aalto, a bit of a legend when Pete was studying. Pete was keen to see the University and visit the museum dedicated to his works. The museum was small but very interesting, even from a non-architect point of view! I’m still sure one of his vase designs was in my Mum’s cupboard whilst I was growing up (sadly I’m sure it isn’t there now). (Note from Pete, I cant believe my mother-in-law had anything that cool in her cupboard ;-) )

We reached our campsite on the southern shore of Lake Saimaa. Lake Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland and the fourth largest freshwater body in Europe. It has a shoreline length of 8,500 miles, which is the longest lake shoreline in the world. I was starting to think how the landscape really reminded me of Russia, it had such a similar look and feel. I have to admit, I was really surprised to learn how close to the Russian border we were.. In fact, the Campsite at lake Saimaa is just 30 mins from Russian border, and reminded us how far we have come and how far we still have left to go.

You're so near to Russia
so far away from Japan
Quite a long way from Cairo
lots of miles from Vietnam

We were on our way to Helsinki when I read about a small town, Porvoo, worthy of a visit, so the guides said, just outside Helsinki. I had seen a few thumbnail photos on the web but it hadn’t prepared me for what to expect, another charming old town with colourfully painted timber buildings, cobblestone streets and an unpretentious atmosphere. It was one of those great finds. We walked around admiring the buildings and small streets, dodging tourists from a cruise ship that had taken a day trip from Helsinki. I love that feeling when you discover an unexpected gem like this.

We arrived in Helsinki early in the afternoon and found a campsite close to the city area, with a metro stop right outside the gates, a perfect location. We went exploring the nearby area, bought a few supplies for the van then spent the evening lazing around and catching up on our blogs. Dinner that night we went traditional Finnish with open sandwiches and our recently purchased delights.

We were taking the ferry Helsinki for Tallin, Estonia in a couple of days but there were only a couple of ferry’s a day, so for peace of mind we took the tram to the harbour to purchase tickets, luckily we did as when we left it was pretty much full.

From the ferry terminal we strolled the headland to the old harbour . A very cool and hip area, with some great looking and hip restaurants. The harbour was full of sailing ships, which we admired and secretly wished we were part of the crew. We continued through the city visiting various buildings and sights including the Red Cathedral, Church of Light and the market square.

In the last few days Helsinki’s new library had won the award for ‘Best Library in the World’, the latest amongst many accolades that had been bestowed on it, so Pete was keen to visit.

It was pretty impressive. Inside was quite incredible too. They had so many facilities on offer such as 3D printers, sticker printing, poster printing, T-shirt printing, button making, sewing machine, irons, high powered computers for graphic design, meeting rooms, study spaces, open spaces encouraging interaction and relaxation etc etc... just incredible, certainly not the libraries that I remember.

There was a coffee shop on the curvy balcony, not only an interesting design (don’t fill your coffee mug too full), but with a great view. They do have books - yes books! I learnt there are libraries in each community and are extremely popular and well frequented. In fact one problem they encountered when they first opened was that people would visit the library, borrow a book, but return it to their local library... leaving the main city library short on books!

As we strolled trough the city centre we were surprised by the sheer number of tourists, our local friends had all commented on the increased tourism over the past few years.

You're so (you were) sadly neglected
And often ignored
A poor second to Belgium
When going abroad (but not any more)

In the afternoon, we decided we had to do the ‘in thing’ and have afternoon tea at Ekberg Cafe. An establishment that has been going since 1852. We sat and had a coffee and their traditional cakes - Napoleon and Thousand Leaves. As you do!

That evening we caught up with Razi and his lovely new wife Anna. We know Razi from Bangkok and now he and Anna have settled back in Helsinki. Razi & Anna booked us in at at KuuKuu, local restaurant in (sub)urban Helsinki known for its local traditional food with a modern influence. We had so much to catch up on. The conversation and wine was flowing, the poor waitress struggled to take our order! I eventually ordered the salmon soup followed by Poronkäristys a traditional dish of thinly sliced sautéed reindeer with a lingonberry and potato mash - very hearty and so delicious. Pete had the prawn skangen followed by beef tenderloin. We had such a great night. So easy, comfortable and such a good time.

Every 6 months the Helsinki council designates a ‘clean house day’ allowing residence to set up stalls in parks and common areas to sell any unwanted goods. We stumbled upon one as we headed to Alvar Aalto’ house and studio. In a corner park several people had set up their stalls, even a few stalls run by kids selling their much loved unwanted toys and fancy dress. It had a great community atmosphere.

In fact, over the side of town, Razi and Anna were doing exactly that. Having travelling so much and previously living in 2 large places, they had many items they needed to get rid of as they moved to one, much smaller, apartment. It appears they were somewhat successful. A step towards being able to enter their spare room!

After visiting and admiring the Alvar Aalto buildings, we headed back to the tram stop via a short stop at a great local corner cafe. So nice to be in a local area, just enjoying the Saturday morning vibe. It did remind us of a local hip Melbourne suburb on a sunny day.

Getting back into the centre, we made our way the Finlandia hall, another Aalto building. Then on to the library again to take a few more photos,

Through Scandanavia ‘share ride’ electric scooters are a popular method of urban transport and we had been wanting to try them so we took the opportunity. They were a lot of fun and surprisingly I stayed upright! When we parked them up 15mins later we discovered that it had cost 12euros! We also discovered our love of walking!

We met up with an ex-colleague of mine. Hang used to be in our Vietnam office when we were Talent Plus. She was a hyperactive and positive nutter... and still is! I love her to bits. It was so lovely to catch up with her and her new husband Juhani. They took us to Cafe Bar No 9, which was a great local Italian cafe institution, After lunch we all walked down to the harbour area, via the main park where more ‘clean your house’ markets were set up and people were out just purely enjoying the Saturday afternoon sunshine. Such a great vibe.

We sadly parted ways at the harbour, it was so cool to catch up, even though Hang was extremely disappointed with me for not giving her longer time. She kept trying to get Pete to promise to come back!

We took the ferry to Suomenlinna. An inhabited sea fortress built on 8 islands. With many walking trails, museums and cafes. I had just expected 1 fort on one small island. Apparently Suomenlinna was shaped by three historic eras when it helped to defend first Sweden, then Russia and ultimately Finland. It was originally built midway through the 18th century, when Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom and in 1991 was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.

That evening we caught up Razi and Anna at Teurastamo, a former abattoir precinct that has been redeveloped into an arts and restaurant space. There were a couple of alternative theatrical events happening in the centre square, very hip. We had cocktails at the Helsinki Gin Distillery. OMG great local gins! Then on to B-Smokey, a local smokehouse that specialised in ribs, wings and pulled pork. After a great feed, we wobbled back to the Gin house for a final nightcap. By then the long day of sightseeing and second hand stall selling was taking its toll and we sadly parted ways. Yet another amazing display of hospitality that has made our trip so memorable. We are so privileged to be able to have several friends in various countries over here that have been making our trip special.

We do try to learn a few words of local language in each country we visit. Finland with one of the best... Kalsarikannit! Which, apparently translates to “getting drunk at home in your underpants!” Thanks again Razi and Anna!

We crashed into bed with an early start to catch the ferry to Tallin in Estonia.

Finland Finland Finland
The country where I quite want to be
Your mountains so lofty
Your treetops so tall
Finland, Finland, Finland
Finland has it all
Finland has it all.....(Fading)

(Apologies to Monty Python)