With only one full day left in Finland, I decided that I’d embark on a small journey around the area and capture some photos of Finland and what it has to offer. Here are my favorite photos from today, with hopefully more to come tomorrow.
Lotilan Järvi
Evening at Lotilan Järvi
Well, my time in Finland is coming to an end soon. Saturday, my friend Matti and I fly out from Helsinki-Vantaa (a day after my dad leaves for Manhattan) and head for Reykjavik for three nights. We’re staying at a guesthouse (Snorri’s for anyone in the know) and have booked a trip to the Blue Lagoon as soon as we land as well as a six hour journey into the wild on Monday. Midday Tuesday, we’re back in the airport for our flight home (at least in my case) and almost two weeks of sightseeing in the ‘city.
Karjalan Maja
The picture right above was taken last night at Karjalan Maja, a small, shared cabin without running water or electricity about 14 km from the town where I stay. It’s really a wonderful experience going there. If a sauna hasn’t already been made, the first hour or so is spent lighting a fire and building it up until the sauna is somewhere around 65 or 70 C. The water is almost always perfectly clean and usually quite warm too. After several trips to the sauna and then a swim to cool off, it’s time for dinner - usually consisting of some sort of grilled meat (sausage … makkara in Finnish or perhaps meatballs), enjoyed with a nice cold Karhu or Lapin Kulta (Finnish beer). Tonight was perhaps the best time this summer. Before going, I biked to the nearest town and round trip, it was a good 45 km trip (27 miles) on nicely paved bicycle roads. So, by the time we went this evening, I was ready for a good swim and the sauna that had been made was perhaps one of the best I’ve ever had.
Two weeks have almost passed since I last wrote an entry so I guess now is a pretty good time to write about my journey home to Finland for the summer. I arrived on July 4th in good spirits, ready to get back to the land of saunas, makkara, karjalan pirakkas, and of course, kalja. For those that don’t speak Finnish, these are the highlights of my time here: 80+ C saunas followed by a swim in a fresh water lake, Finnish sausages that put Nathan’s hot dogs to shame, Karelian pies filled with rice, potatoes, or carrots, and of course, Finnish brewed beer.
The first week progressed slowly while my friend Matti was still in the army. Lots of biking, some running, and plenty of time with the parents. After many swimless days, I finally got to Karjalan Maja, a shared summer house for Karelians nearby, for my first sauna and swim (both were perfect). This past week has been busy and won’t let up until Monday, at the earliest. Twice I visited Tampere, the second largest city in Finland and spent the days there walking around, people watching, and doing odd-jobs. Twice I visited Forssa, about an hour away where Matti will begin his studies at the end of August to help search, and later sign for, an apartment. However, the highlight of the trip took place this past Thursday when all four of us piled into a car at 7:00 to drive an hour and a half to Helsinki to take an almost two hour express boat to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
Photos of Tallinn, Estonia
While researching at Hamilton over this summer could have been considered a quasi-vacation, especially with the large amount of free time after a days work, my real summer vacation officially began yesterday. On Friday, I rode the train down from Utica to Penn Station, tired and ready to just get away from the ‘hill. Of course, being Amtrak, the train was delayed not only before it arrived at Utica, but during the journey. Nonetheless, it was a relatively easy journey as there’s plenty of room, air conditioning (a change from hot, humid Babbitt), and power ports at every seat. Now, if only it could run on time!
I know I talk about this each time I arrive in New York but it’s worthy of repetition. The difference between laid back, quiet Clinton, N.Y. and the bustling, mayhem of 34th Street makes me cringe each time. I love the activity of New York but it truly is unnerving to arrive. When you’ve got a duffel bag, messenger bag, and a camera bag all over your shoulder, the last thing you want to do is be jostled around in midtown. It truly is a wake up call!
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