Farewell Finland: The Scandinavian interlude has ended

As we get prepared to cross the pond and move back to California in a few days I reflect back on the wonderful experience of living 4 years overseas in Finland. It has been a very rewarding time abroad for the family and I in too many ways to list here. The kids learned the language and the culture while experiencing Finnish traditions. I personally will miss the clean air, peaceful forests, mostly traffic-free roads and kind, trustworthy folks. While there is no utopia in this world, Finland was a great place to spend these past years if you don’t mind occasionally freezing your butt off during the long, dark winters. :) However, I won’t deny I do miss my Californian spontaneity, awesome mountains and eternal sunshine. (Though I need to take some rain back with me to help the Californian drought)  I am really looking forward to seeing my family and friends back home. 

I thought to end this blog I would make a list of things I liked and disliked about living in Finland. Please don't take these too seriously.  :)  Also, thank you very much for reading my blog through these past several years.

Liked:

1. Peaceful nature and forests and picking berries
2. Clean, crisp air
3. Stunning archipelago
4. Clean and quiet bus system
5. Security for my children
6. Easy access to health care
7. Trustworthy people
8. Summer, though it's very short
9. Sauna
10. Cross country skiing
11. Access to the rest of Europe
12. Helsinki
13. Beautiful Finnish Lake land (Eastern Finland)
14. Music clubs in Helsinki for Concerts
15. Long Holidays

Disliked:

1. Expensive Gasoline and Beer
2. Cold, dark winters
3. Too many rules about everything
4. Lack of spontaneity
5. Boring Finnish lager beer
6. Very unpredictable weather
7. increasingly difficult economic situation
8. Extreme pickiness of Finns when buying used items
9. Lack of customer service in many situations
10. Minimal store hours on Weekends
11. Xenophobia
12. Lack of good ethnic restaurants, though it improved much lately
13. 50 varieties of the same boring Finnish sausage
14. Lack of smiling faces
15. Takes a long time to get to know your neighbors 

Restaurant Day in Finland

So you have a great idea on a food dish?  You always wanted to share your special recipe with others but never had your chance?  Well, you can in Finland, because Restaurant Day, which takes place approx. 3 x per year means that you can set up and advertise your "restaurant" and you don't need a license to do it.  The awesome concept of Restaurant Day is sweeping across Finland and other countries in rapid pace.  "Restaurant Day is a worldwide food carnival when anyone can set up a restaurant, café or a bar for a day. It can happen anywhere: at your home, at the office, on a street corner, in your garden or inner courtyard, at a park, or on the beach – only your imagination is the limit". - Restaurantday.org 

My wife and daughter always wanted to try to sell their own cupcakes, so they finally decided to make a batch of 100 for the final Restaurant Day of summer 2014. The menu for their cupcake stand in Espoo was 1) vanilla and lemon, 2) chocolate hazelnut, and 3) raspberry.  The cupcakes turned out very well and were purchased steadily during the few hours the stand was open.  To our surprise, even on a slower Sunday afternoon they sold 100 cupcakes in just 2.5 hours time, exceeding our expectations.  My son and I journeyed over to Helsinki for part of the day.  We went to one of the parks in downtown Helsinki where we saw at least 50 pop-up restaurants.  Countries from all over the world were represented in Helsinki.  There were treats from Turkey, falafels from the Middle East, bratwursts from Germany, tapas from Spain, burritos from Mexico, chorizo sausage from Argentina, Cuban food, ribs, sushi from Japan as well as many Finnish dishes and options. You name it, you could find it.  My son and I only covered a park which is just one city block in size, but that was plenty for us to choose from. The Restaurant Day map showed hundreds of pop-up restaurants all over Helsinki, so we barely scratched the surface.  This really cool concept is perfect for new entrepreneurs or folks just trying to have a bit of fun selling what they love to make.  The great thing is that you don't need a permit and can set-up shop just about anywhere you want during the day - even in shopping centers and other commercial (but public) areas.  I am excited that this Finnish invention started and is spreading over to other countries.  However, I would be pretty surprised to see it enter the United States, which has much stricter laws about who can sell what and where.  This grassroots organization is not for profit and definitely is giving back to the community in great ways.  I really hope that this amazing concept continues to grow and continues to encourage others to participate.  If you live in Finland or another country that participates, I definitely recommend that you visit during the next Restaurant Day.  For more information check: http://www.restaurantday.org/en.

Finnish honesty

A social experiment in the form of a  "wallet test" was recently performed in several major cities around the world.  The idea was to leave a wallet with cash and credit cards therein within a public place and then see how many wallets were returned versus taken. Helsinki ranked #1 in this test with the return of 11 out of 12 wallets. The worst was Lisbon, Portugal were only one wallet was returned out of 12, and the people who returned it were not even from Portugal.  I find it amazing how high Finland ranked, but after living here for almost 3 years I understand why.

Two separate recent personal incidents at the local swimming hall have helped cement my understanding of the honesty of the Finnish people.  Several months ago I was working out in the swimming hall's gym and was listening to music with somewhat expensive head phones.  Later into the work out, I placed the headphones back in their case, put them in my pocket and continued to work out. Following the work out, I headed back downstairs to use the shower and sauna.  As I was getting dressed I realized the headphones were missing.  I was pretty bummed after scouring the gym and not being able to locate them.  They must have fallen out of my pocket while exercising. I figured someone must have taken them since I was just there 30 minutes ago and they were no where to be found.  Then I thought I would give it one more chance by asking the front desk if maybe someone had returned them.  As soon as I asked the lady, she went back to get them and handed them over to me no questions asked.  So someone not only found them, but promptly returned them to the front desk.  Not sure if that would go over as smooth in the States.

My second incident also occurred at the swimming hall.  This time I was working out in the gym and had a loose car key in my pocket.  I guess I didn't learn how to secure items in my pocket the first time around. :)  Again, I finished my work out and went back downstairs to the gym and sauna.  As I was getting dressed I realized my car key was missing.  How would I get home, what was I going to do?  However, this time I didn't panic, I went calmly upstairs and searched the gym again, but it was not there.  Then I walked back over to the front desk and asked, and yet again, the lady returned the key to me.  So, someone in the gym had found it and promptly returned it to the "lost and found" at the front desk.  I went home later that evening with a smile on my face.

Finns should be really proud of themselves for living in a society which instills these values on it citizens. It makes for a happier society when people can trust their neighbors and officials.  I guess this golden virtue of honesty this might explain why Finns are not the best at Marketing and Sales jobs.  :)

You can read more about the social experiment test here: http://www.rd.com/slideshows/most-honest-cities-lost-wallet-test/#slideshow=slide1.

Zappa Plays Zappa Plays Helsinki

Frank Zappa was ahead of his time.  He was a musical genius who constantly pushed boundaries and never compromised himself for the status quo.  This eccentric showman would leave behind quite a musical legacy that has proved to be influential among many prominent artists.  Zappa's music is hard to define, but can be characterized as a mix of experimental, progressive, parody, rock, jazz and even blues influences.  He first born son, Dweezil has committed himself to bringing Frank’s music to a younger generation via his Zappa Plays Zappa group.

Zappa Plays Zappa would finish their European tour with a visit to the Kulttuuritalo (Culture house) in Helsinki.  Since all concerts are quite different, my friends and I had no idea what the evening had in store for us.  The venue was a few kilometers from the city center and the capacity seemed to be around 700 people. They kicked off the night with the first set which was done in honor of the 1973 album, "Roxy & Elsewhere".  It was the 40^th anniversary of this classic live Zappa album so they would play it from start to finish. The band consisted of a talented female saxophone player, a multi-talented lead singer who also played horns and rhythm guitar (among other things), a talented keyboard player, a talented drummer, an awesome bassist and Dweezil Zappa on lead guitar.  The band played through their Roxy set while taking time between songs to interact and chat with the audience.  At one point Dweezil noticed some children on the shoulders of their parents and asked them to come up and sit on the stage to make things easier for everyone.  This was a very nice gesture from Dweezil and the children seemed to really enjoy coming up on the stage.  Also during the first set, a few folks volunteered to come up on the stage to perform a few small acting sequences with the band.  It was awesome to see this kind of crowd involvement and clowning around during a live concert performance in Finland.  It seemed that everyone was in a good mood and the band was just having a blast.  They definitely didn't seem like artists who just go through the motions in order to make a buck.  They also briefly celebrated the birthday of their bassist by giving him a small "Happy Birthday" cheer.  Everyone was feeling groovy and digging the good old vibes of an old fashioned Zappa concert.  These were true performers and multi-instrumentalists who really enjoy their craft. The first set ended after about 1.5 hours and a small 15 minute intermission would follow. 

Since they already played such a nice first set, I had no idea what to expect from the second set.  I was thinking to myself that just 30-40 more minutes of Zappa hits would probably be plenty of value for the money and conclude this awesome show.  However, little did I know that they would perform another 1.5 hours worth of famous Zappa songs.  While the first set was a nice mixture of songs from the Roxbury album, the second set would be a stampeding tour de force of Zappa classic and instrumental pieces.  This was truly a special set and the fans got more than their money’s worth.   They even played some of my personal favorite Zappa songs which included the "Black Page" parts 1 and 2 and "The Muffin Man".  Frank Zappa was known for his long and creative guitar jams during his live concerts.  Dweezil, while not just copying Frank is one hell of a guitarist himself.  He displayed his guitar chops during many of the songs from the second set which included many killer guitar riffs noticeably on "The Torture Never Stops", "Watermelon in Easter Hay" and "Muffin Man".  It amazed me how relaxed all the band members were while playing through Frank Zappa’s collection of favorites.   Many Zappa songs are incredibly complex and feature many experimental elements and time signature changes.  The band seemed to have no problem recreating Frank’s music and kept smiling the entire night while performing.  Once the clock struck 11:00pm, the band finally completed the gig with a 3rd encore song.  Since the show started just after 7:30pm, the crowd enjoyed over 3 hours of non-stop music and entertainment from Dweezil and his amazing band of  musicians. I have been to many concerts in my lifetime and rarely have seen such a band playing so relaxed and giving the fans every penny during a very lengthy performance.  In summary, Zappa Plays Zappa was definitely one of the highlights of the year’s past concert calendar in Helsinki.   Frank might not have been on the stage, but he was there in spirit and his star will shine brightly on the music scene for long time to come.  Thanks to Dweezil and company for helping to make that happen.

Ryan Brown: Drums,Ben Thomas: Vocals,Scheila Gonzalez: Saxophone, Flute, Keyboards & Vocals,Dweezil Zappa: Guitar,Chris Norton: Keyboard,Kurt Morgan: Bass

Complete set list here:
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/zappa-plays-zappa/2013/kulttuuritalo-helsinki-finland-2bc430e2.html

All photo credits: Oded Zalmanovitch

The KISS monster rolls through Finland

I have seen many unique artists live in my lifetime, including many bands that might be considered some of the greatest of all-time.  In spite of that, there are still a few bands that I need to check off the bucket list and KISS was one of those.  The band's storied career now spans 40 years since they started in the New York city club scene.  Say what you will about KISS and their music, there is perhaps no other band that is so hard working and determined to give their fans their money's worth during their live performances.   KISS put on quite a spectacle at Helsinki's Hartwall Arena on June 3rd.

Founding members Gene Simmons "The Demon" and Paul Stanley "Starchild" were joined by Tommy Thayer "Spaceman" on lead guitar and Eric Singer "Catman" on the drums. There has been much debate as to whether KISS should allow non-founding members to wear both Ace Frehley's "SpaceMan" and Peter Criss' "Catman" personas.  I don't think it should matter that much because much of the genius of the KISS machine is keeping the comic book character personas alive no matter who might be behind the makeup.  This is perhaps what makes KISS so interesting and I think putting on their black and white make-up was a brilliant career move considering it seems to hide the fact that both Gene and Paul are over 60 years old now.  :)

KISS rolled into Helsinki as part of their "Monster" tour.  Having never seen a live KISS show before, I had no idea what was in store for me. The band kicked off the night by being dropped down on a platform from the ceiling of the arena.  The stage extravaganza seemed to never let up as countless flames, fireworks, smoke and explosions filled the night. Gene Simmons did his patented blood spitting and even blew fire during the night. Paul Stanley flew through the air and Eric Singer's drum set was raised high in the air.   These rock dinosaurs' stage set was on steroids.  The music also lived up to the legend as they played most of their greatest hits including "I love it loud," "Deuce," "Heaven's on Fire," "Detroit Rock City" and many other favorites.  I was never a huge fan of their music to be honest, but I think their music has a place in the rock world and it sounds great live.  During their long career they have done rock, metal, pop, ballads and even disco.   I thought the Helsinki show was great and probably beyond my expectations for a bunch of guys in their 50s and 60s.  I think the big question that remains is when is the band going to retire for good.   Perhaps the KISS machine will continue with different reincarnations of members in full make-up playing the same characters?  I kind of find it hard for them to continue without any of the original founding members.  What happens in the future remains to be seen.

Helsinki setlist below:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/kiss/2013/hartwall-areena-helsinki-finland-23d98047.html

The thriving music scene in Finland

I have always loved music and live concerts and feel lucky to have grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area with its thriving music scene. I grew up with endless opportunities to see live shows in clubs, arenas or large stadiums.  San Francisco provided a diverse scene and there was never a shortage of shows or venues.  It seemed that everyone in the music industry eventually came through the area.  I have seen my share of shows and have even bumped into some famous musicians along the way.  I thought moving to somewhat isolated Finland might have meant the end of my concert days.

Contrary to what one might think, it is not just tango and folk music here in Finland.  Little did I know that many Finns are crazy about music and they are especially known for their love for heavy metal.  Since Finns enjoy music and attending concerts, there are several places for artists to play here and many of the shows are well attended.  Finland, and notably Helsinki, has many differently sized venues depending on the artist.  Most famously known is perhaps the Olympic Stadium (home of the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics).  This stadium gets some of the most globally successful artists who come to Finland.  Some examples of bands that have played here include Muse, Bruce Springsteen and U2.  I was lucky enough to get a ticket to attend the U2 show during the Summer of 2010.  It was an amazing show despite a bit of pesky August rain.  The stadium shows are very seasonable, and the stadiums are not used during the frigid winters.  Next in the pecking order of venues is the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.  This Arena is also used for hockey and other events and seems to be the most popular venue for popular artists who do not necessarily want to play a stadium show.  Also, it works great in the worst of winter conditions when the stadium is off limits.  Examples of past shows that have been held here include Britney Spears, Madonna, Black Sabbath and Rush.  The last example and my favorite is the local club venues.  I am familiar with 4 of these clubs in Helsinki.  The largest one, which gets the greatest amount of international artists, is called Circus.  Steve Vai and Europe recently played here and the Smashing Pumpkins just sold out their show scheduled for this August.   In addition to Circus, other well known nightclubs are Tavastia,  Nosturi and to a lesser extent Virgin Oil (restaurant/club).  Tavastia Club gets a nice mix of local and international artists while Nosturi seems to have the metal market under its wings.  Tavastia recently had 2 shows by a Finnish favorite Von Hertzen Brothers and Nosturi recently had Scottish rocker Biffy Clyro and American guitar wiz Paul Gilbert.  Last, but not least on my well known club list is Virgin Oil.  Recent shows here included former Scorpion Michael Schenker and popular Finnish 80's rocker, Michael Monroe, formerly with the band Hanoi Rocks.

Also, Finland enjoys a nice summer festival music season.  There are numerous opportunities for music concerts during the summer.  Provinssirock in Seinäjoki, Ruisrock in Turku and the Tuska open air metal festival are a few of the larger rock events.  However, in addition to rock there are festivals for just about every music lover, including the Pori Jazz and Kaustinen Folk festivals.  Not to mention the "hipster" Flow festival.  If you are young and cool or old and established there is probably something that will appeal to your fancy.

My guess is that the Helsinki scene gets probably 80% of the international artists who pass through, however other major cities such as Oulu, Tampere and Turku get their fair share of gigs as well.  Last summer the Red Hot Chili Peppers came to Finland and decided to play the Ratina Stadium in Tampere instead of Helsinki.  I continue to be pleasantly surprised by quantity and quality of the artists who come to Finland.  Before moving to Finland I have would have never imagined that so many artists would decide to come to this country because of its relative geographical isolation.  In order to come here from central Europe one cannot just jump on a train, one needs to take a ferry or fly.  I think Finland has established a good reputation among artists and concert promoters as a place that really appreciates music and quite frequently sells out top shows in minutes.  For example, twice I tried to get a ticket for the Black Sabbath reunion show at the Hartwall Arena.  Both times (once in 2011 and again in 2013), I was not able to get a ticket because the show sold out in approximately 5 minutes online.   I once read an article that Finland has the highest per capita interest in heavy metal in the world. Hard rock and heavy metal are definitely the favorite genres among Finnish people, although there are many popular artists in various different musical categories.  There are different theories on why this true, but I think the interest in dark and heavy music comes from the fact that Finland is geographically isolated with its long and dark winters.  This environment seems to have given birth to many Nordic metal heads.

I personally like many different genres of  music and can enjoy many different artists.  I do appreciate the fact that many different bands make the trip to Finland in spite of its location.  This was a pleasant surprise for myself and I will continue to support and enjoy the music scene whether living in the San Francisco Bay Area or Finland.

Images:

(Circus belongs of within-temptation.com, Nosturi belongs to Microcuts.net, Tavastia belongs to Metro.fi and Hartwall Arena belongs to www.hartwall-areena.com)

Blissful Budapest

Those who have been reading my blog know that even though I enjoy living abroad in Finland, I really like taking an occasional  kid-free weekend getaway to other European cities.  It gives my wife and I time to get away from our daily routine while exploring new places.  We try to schedule in two "weekend getaway" trips per year and space them out accordingly.

 The spring 2013 adventure was a nice weekend trip to beautiful Budapest.  Budapest is the capital of Hungary, which is a landlocked country located almost directly in the middle of Europe.  Budapest is a city that I always wanted to visit and for some reason I neglected it during my post-college Europe whirlwind backpacking trip.  Back then it was a bit of an exotic eastern European destination and it wasn't always on the top of everyone's travel plans.  Now, along with Prague, Budapest seems to be a world class destination in eastern Europe.  We couldn't agree more and really enjoyed the city and all it had to offer.  Budapest is more or less broken into two distinct sections.  Those sections, split up by the Danube river, include the older section named Buda and the newer section called Pest.  The Buda castle, which sits high on a ridge, dominates the Buda side and is also the main tourist attraction.  On the first day we took the funicular up to the top of the high ridge to begin our exploration.  These activities included watching the changing of the guards, walking around the castle grounds and exploring the Fisherman's bastion while taking in the amazing views of Pest and the Danube.  It seems that every great capital city in Europe features a river or is a coastal town. The amazing Danube river splits the city nicely in half and greatly adds to the charm of this beautiful city.  The city also features many unique bridges, which allow people to easily access either side of the city.  The most recognizable of these is the famous Chain bridge.  We had an awesome view of the Chain Bridge as well as the Buda castle from our hotel room on the Pest side of town.

The Pest side is the more modern section of town which also has many nice features including the classic Parliament house, the Hero's Square and the famous Andrassy Avenue shopping district.  On day two, we explored this side of the town.  We kicked things off with a scheduled tour of the Parliament house.  The Parliament house seemed much more grandiose than a typical Parliament building.  The building was huge and you felt more like you were in some French palace than a government building.  One of the highlights inside is perhaps the most valuable relic of Hungarian history, the Holy crown of Hungary.  This crown which still appears in great condition is believed to be approximately 800 - 1,000 years old and a very important piece of their history.  It is guarded by 3 to 4 guards armed with swords.  These guards looked very serious and I think that one would not want to mess with them.  Later in the day we ventured down Andrassy Avenue to the "House of Terror."  This building, which is now a museum, features much of the tragic history during the last century when Hungary was dealing with Hitler and communism from the Soviet Union.  The house also was a prison and many Hungarians who were accused of not being patriotic to their government were tortured inside.  It was a fascinating but sad piece of history.  After leaving the museum we walked over to perhaps the most famous square in all of Budapest, the Hero's square.  It features large statues of all the past "Heros" of Hungarian history.  Interesting enough there was a dog training class going on at the same time we strolled the square.  The day would end with a long stroll down the shopping street Andrassy Avenue which would take us all the way down to Vorosmarty square which featured a large open air food and crafts market.  Many of the items in this market were Hungarian specialties geared toward tourists.  My wife grabbed a few souvenirs to take home and I bought a bottle of the famous Hungarian sweet dessert wine, Tokaji.

Budapest, while not Paris or Rome, is still an awesome city for a weekend getaway in Europe.  We had much to do, plenty of sites to see and good food to eat.  There are so many city getaway vacation options while living in Helsinki and Europe in general and if you are feeling a bit more adventurous than going on your typical London or Paris vacation, then Budapest makes a nice weekend.  I would recommend it, and probably sooner than later. While it is not nearly as expensive as most major western European capital cities, the prices are starting to creep up.  The values might be fading, but definitely not the charm.

March snow storm in Southern Finland

After several weeks of unseasonably warm temperatures and only light snow in February, March came in a flurry....a flurry of snow that is.  A snow storm of blizzard like conditions hit overnight and left an estimated 6-8 inches (15-20 centimeters) of snow on the ground in the morning all over South and Southwest Finland.  Mid to late February had been a bit warmer than average (for Finland) and when March rolled in many people thought that maybe Spring had sprung.  Little did they know that old man winter in Finland has a few tricks left up his sleeves.  My wife and I spent about 2-3 hours clearing our driveway and cars this morning.  Mother nature always provides the best workout.  :)

A few shots to near our neighborhood:

Chef & Sommelier - A little culinary gem in Helsinki

The restaurant itself is located in a very intimate house in the Eira district of Helsinki and seats about 20-25.  It is nicely decorated and comfortable on the inside.
The customer service is outstanding, the Sommelier Johan is full of knowledge and ready to please while Sasu, the main Chef, is energetic and excited to spread knowledge of all his organic specialties. He will actually come out from the kitchen and explain all the dishes (where he picked the herbs, who caught the fish, etc.)  This restaurant blew my mind from my previous expectations of Finnish restaurants.  They have service nailed.  Having coming from a culinary mecca such as the San Francisco Bay Area, my expectations are usually pretty high and this place delivers the goods.  I haven’t even mentioned the food, which is also outstanding.

They have a fixed price menu which is currently priced reasonably for a restaurant of this caliber.  They let you pick from 3 to 7 dishes depending on what you feel like, you can pick anything on their seasonal menu which changes 4 times a year.  Everything is fresh and organic and made with care.  I haven’t really had a dish I did not  like there.  Their wine menu, while priced a bit high, did have some nice selections from all over Europe.  I think it would be nice however, if they tossed in some California or Oregon wines to mix it up a bit.  I really look forward to every visit here which is more of a dining experience than just a dinner out.
Every time we have eaten here, we spent 2.5 – 3 hours which is quite nice if you like really taking time to savor the dishes and enjoy the surroundings.  So, if you are a local Finn, expat like myself, or tourist coming to visit Helsinki, please make a visit to this wonderful little restaurant.  You will not be disappointed.  For weekend reservations, I would recommend calling them at least 1-2 months in advance.

One year anniversary living in Finland

With nervous anticipation I left San Francisco with my son and a one way ticket on August 15, 2011 to join the rest of my family in Finland.  Today marks the one year anniversary of my move from San Francisco, California to Finland. What a year it has been!  I cannot even imagine all that has happened during the last year, it feels like 5 years were packed into one.

When I left San Francisco, I had ditched most of my material possessions, except for a few of my favorite items including my trusty road and mountain bikes.  Would Finland wait for me with open arms?  It would be a year of many adventures, ups, downs and cultural learnings.  It is definitely a year that I will cherish for the rest of my life and will never forget.  When I arrived in mid August, I was still working for a US company and worked remotely from home.  This "work from home" job situation would last till the end of the year.  During the later months of 2011 as the rain started to pour down and darkness reared it's ugly head, I was officially introduced to my first Finnish winter.  Would I survive having heard so many horror stories about the cold, ice and darkness?  I used several survival tactics which I wrote about in an earlier article on my blog.  I took the winter head on, by spending time outside the house cross country skiing, swimming and working out in the city gyms and writing my blog.  I absolutely was not going to spend my time locked up in the house, depressed, staring outside into the darkness. 

Trips were plentiful this year and first one included a visit to Stuttgart, Germany to see a friend and the Alsace region in France.  Later in 2011 a family trip to see Santa Claus in Rovaniemi, Finland.  Then in 2012 we went on several more trips taking full advantage of the convenience of living in Europe.  Trips included a beautiful "kids-free" weekend getaway to Paris, France in the Spring.  Later when the summer finally arrived, trips included St. Petersburg, Russia, Sweden, Norway and Barcelona, Spain.   I have stated in my blog before, even though it has been a wonderful and rewarding year in Finland, it is nice to take advantage of the convenient flights and go on some adventures elsewhere.   I hope to continue to be able to see more of Europe and the world using Helsinki as a base.  

The summer, even though a bit cooler than previous Finnish summers, (so I was told by many people) was still magical.  People were relaxed and the downtown work life was much slower than normal.  The BBQs started to pop up and everyone just had a better outlook on life it seemed. I even recall one night riding my mountain bike home at 3:00am and it was kind of bright outside because of the midnight sun and while riding through the forest,  I had  reached a total peace of mind.  The summers are great, just wish they were a bit longer and less wet. It seems that when August rolls around people are already talking about autumn season.  In California, August and September are clearly summer months and October kicks off the autumn season.  I am keeping my fingers crossed because it looks like the summer has returned to Finland during this mid-August week.

The past year has been a transition from working for a US based corporate company to working for a Finnish start up company.  I have been very enthused about the opportunity to work for a Finnish company, because I think to fully absorb and integrate into the society it is better to work for a local company.  I am still learning how the Finns do things and there are some slight cultural nuances that are different in Finnish leadership and management style.   I am here to observe and learn from the differences, not complain about them.  Though I do feel that it does definitely take a long time to gain full trust from a Finn,  once that trust is gained, you will probably have a friend for life (so they say).  That applies to co-workers and friends.

I have already written many entries in my blog about the differences between living in the United States versus living in Finland.   Of course there is no perfect society and I have some complaints about how Finns do things and how they never seem to want to bend rules, but I also respect their policies and the secure and safe society.  The key to learning to live in a new country is to acknowledge the differences and accept them for what they are.  Basically, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.  You should never move to a foreign country and live inside a little "bubble".  Try to practice the local customs, get involved, and try your best to assimilate into the society.  Even learn the language if you feel it is necessary, but good luck with that if you live in Finland.  :)   The first year in Finland has been highly rewarding, I have no regrets and can only hope the next year abroad goes as well as the last.

St. Petersburg weekend escape

 My parents have been visiting Finland these last few weeks and we had also planned to make the train trip from Helsinki to St. Petersburg.  We road the fancy Finnish "Allegro" train which has been in service for a year or so now, and makes the journey all the way to St. Petersburg in a quick 3.5 hours.  So, after filling out our Visa application and coughing up approximately 120 euros per person, we were ready to make the trip.  A post Soviet world doesn't mean that politics are thrown out the window, because they are charging Americans more than 3x what they charge Finns for their Visa!  Finns can make the trip on a mere 35 euro Visa.  I cry not fair!   But what to do, just suck it and try to not be an ugly American.  :)

The train left on the exact minute it was supposed to leave and we zoomed off on our first Russian adventure.  The ride was smooth, seats were spacious and it was relaxing.  The only real hassle starts when you arrive at the Russian border and the customs and passport control start coming around and asking questions.  In my best impression of an American trying to speak a foreign  language, I gave a polite Russian dobryi den "good afternoon" and then spasibo "thank you".  I actually got the Passport controller to speak Russian to me exclusively, so I felt proud.  :)  Finally, we arrived at the Finlandskiy station in Peter.  Anxious anticipation overcame our family as we stepped off our train and spotted a sign that would be our race car driver, who would drive us to our hotel.   He only spoke a few words of English, so I again did my best impression of Russian for the driver.  He sped off through the outskirts of town and headed toward our hotel which is close to the tourist center.  I cracked a few smiles from the front seat as my parents looked liked they were both about to have a heart attack as the driver floored through town, weaving in and out of traffic.  To me the wild ride so to speak is part of the overall adventure of exploring a foreign land.

After arriving at our hotel, we were soon ready to meet our Russian guide, Ania for a walk around town.  I decided since this was my first trip to Russia and I was with my parents that a guide would smooth things out a bit and help us get oriented with the city.  Ania was peppy and very friendly and soon took us out into the center of the attractions.  We walked by the several bridges connecting the Neva river to both sides of the city and then walked over to the St. Peter and Paul Fortress.  This Fortress had a small church that featured a mausoleum of the past Czars and Czarinas.  I personally am not an expert on Russian royalties, but since my mom was very interested in this history she was rattling off many facts while walked around.  We spotted the tombs of the famous Romanov family, as well as Catherine and Peter the Great.  Since we had a guide for only 4 hours and time was of the essence, we strolled onwards back across the Neva towards the Church of the Spilled Blood.  This Church with the infamous name is probably the only church in St. Petersburg that is in the traditional Russian orthodox style. This style is famous in Moscow and most people know of St. Basil's church.  After that visit, we ventured down to the Nevsky Prospekt via one of the many canals of St. Petersburg.  This is another European city claiming that it is the "Venice of the North".  One of numerous cities making this claim, hoping to get an increase in tourist dollars.  A list that includes Bruges, Belgium and Stockholm, Sweden.   I am not one who gets too impressed with shopping districts, so we all decided to ditch the famous shopping street (Nevsky Prospekt) and headed down an alleyway passage to get to the famous great Senate square.  This square is quite mammoth in size, makes the claim as the largest square in all of Europe.  The guide made that claim, so I guess it is accurate.  The day was winding down now and we were starting to hear a rumble in our tummies.  So, after visiting the famous square we strolled down past the Winter Palace and headed back to Vasilievsky Island were we were staying.  The guide showed us a restaurant that she recommended for dinner.   We didn't eat much Russian food on the trip, but tried the borscht soup at the German restaurant where we dined.

The second day of our adventure meant trips to the famous Hermitage museum and other random strolling around in the city.  We also had the guide for and additional half a day and she made the Hermitage maze easier to navigate.  The Hermitage is known as the second largest museum in the world, next to the Louvre in France.  It supposedly would take about 8 years to see every piece in the museum.  We weren't able to even attempt to see a fraction of the museum, so our guide Ania had a nice plan to see the main highlights in 3 hours time.  It was a nice museum, but very crowded as you can imagine.  Hard to compare it to the Louvre in Paris, but it definitely held it's own.  It even featured painters from the impressionist and post impressionist periods as well as Dutch, Spanish and Italian masters.  The museum itself is housed in the Winter  Palace of the Czars and Czarinas and many rooms were gilded in gold.  All in all, the Hermitage is definitely a must visit for art lovers and Royal family fans.

The afternoon was spent revisiting some of the sights that we saw on Friday with the guide, but didn't have a chance to actually enter.  For example, we went inside 2 churches that the guide just pointed out the day before.  We also strolled a bit down the flashy Nevsky Prospekt shopping street and again I wasn't all that impressed.  I guess fancy shopping just doesn't appeal to me when I am visiting a new city.  I like to get away from commercial aspects and take the time to actually soak in the city and the culture.

The third and final day in St. Petersburg was the journey to the famous Peterhof palace using the speedy hydrofoil.  Peterhof was the summer home to the Royal families.  This is perhaps the best way to get to Peterhof palace, but it is quite expensive compared to other street options.  We actually enjoyed the boat ride over and enjoyed seeing parts of the city away from the tourist center.  We arrived at Peterhof and paid our admission price and then started walking on the massive grounds with the gardens, water fountains, gold statues and buildings.  The shear size of the grounds were quite impressive, but then I started to make comparisons to the Versaille near Paris.  While this palace was quite expansive and serene, it just didn't have the overall charm and pristine gardens of Versaille in Paris.  I later learned that the Russians imported much of the French culture into their palaces.  We covered a decent amount of terrain on our feet but noticed that every building charged an admission fee.  Peterhof is very impressive, but the "nickel and diming" for entry into every single building was a huge letdown.  We decided against entering anything additional for a fee and just took in the peace and solitude of the gardens.  After strolling around for several hours we took the hydrofoil boat back to town and made one last walk around the tourist center before heading back to the hotel for the final time.  We later got our luggage and found our race car driver #2 for a lift back to the train station .  This time we got another Mario Andretti style driver as he floored the gas pedal and raced in and out of traffic making it to our train station in record time.  This had me wondering is it just a coincidence or do drivers in St. Petersburg truly just enjoy this kind of frantic driving?

Back on the train was again a pleasant and hassle free experience.  We arrived back in Finland around 11:00pm and were left with pleasant memories of a special weekend in Russia.  Even as an American who must pay exorbitant amounts for the required Visa, I recommend a visit to St. Petersburg, Russia.  The city was easy to navigate on foot and it felt safe, even safer and friendlier than I had imagined it to be.

Midsummer celebration at Seurasaari Island in Finland

Midsummer's eve is the longest day of the year and one of the most festive Holidays in Finland.  This was going to be my first Midsummer experience in Finland, so I invited some good friends from the United States (currently living in Germany) to take part in the festivities.

Fortunately, it was a gorgeous, sunny day with endless blue skies.  The Finnish weather has been moody these last few weeks and this day was just what the doctor ordered.  We left Espoo around 6pm to head over to Seurasaari Island in Helsinki.  Seurasaari is one of the larger Islands in the Helsinki metro area and the island itself has been converted into some kind of open air museum.  Upon arrival via bus from Espoo, we purchased our tickets, then ventured across the bridge entrance while fighting the growing crowd of Midsummer revelers.    The path from the entrance to the main area was littered with cultural tidbits, arts and crafts.  For example, at one stop you could cut wood with an old saw and at another stop you could walk on wooden stilts or play tug of war.  Many folks were dressed in traditional Finnish gowns while they performed traditional dances on one of the small stages.

Midsummer is perhaps the most special Holiday in Finland, because it kicks off the Summer Holiday season and it is a time of relaxation, parties and reflection.  Not having partaken in any previous Midsummer activities, we all decided that Seurasaari, although touristy might be a good place to experience our first Midsummer.  The main attraction of the celebration is the lighting of the bonfires.  Not having anything to compare the experience with, I was kind of expecting some mammoth "Burning Man" style bonfire.  However, in reality there were about 5 smaller bonfires waiting to be torched.  Each one of these bonfires varied in style and design.  They had one "Estonian" style, one "Ingrian" style and a few other varieties of bonfires.  Although they were impressive and neat to watch light up, the burning of these didn't evoke feelings of mass euphoria.  I was however caught up in a Zen like moment with friends and family sipping on a few cold ones on a rock overlooking the Bay while the fires were burning.  It was a perfect evening to kick off the start of the summer season and to reflect on life.

We actually left Seurasaari just past 10pm which is quite early for Midsummer events, but with tired children and a 30 minutes bus ride ahead of us, it was probably the right call.  All in all, Midsummer in Seurasaari was a pleasant, though commercial experience.

Work life in downtown Helsinki

I realize that I haven't posted to my blog in several weeks.  It is not writer's block which is ailing me, it's now a lack of free time.  Life has just become very busy again, and that is a good thing.  I started a new job at an Internet media start up in downtown Helsinki and I am very psyched about working there.  However, I have neglected this blog long enough so I hope you enjoy this entry.

My new job is located near the Kammpi and Punavuori neighborhoods in downtown Helsinki, which is very close to the city center.  I live in Espoo and luckily my commute is no longer than a 15 minute minute bus ride, 5 minute car ride and about a 5 minute walk.  It definitely beats my previous commutes in the San Francisco Bay Area which were roughly 1 hour or longer.  Working downtown is nice because I am engulfed in all the cultural and historical surroundings of the city.  Just steps outside of my office building are multiple restaurants, boutique shops, hair salons, art & design shops, and various other services.  This is a very bohemian and somewhat eclectic part of the city.  Helsinki has never been known as a "hot bed" of culture, but I sense things are changing and the city is slowly becoming more trendy and international.

What mystifies me the most are the amount and selection of restaurants in downtown Helsinki.  Finland doesn't have a reputation as a foodie city and Finnish food itself is less than exciting.   When I leave my building and meander a few steps outside I am surrounded by Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Nepalese, Turkish, Mexican, Italian and countless other ethnic varieties of food.  The choices seem to keep growing everyday as I discover more and more places.  The main issue in Helsinki has always been the scarcity of good/fresh ingredients for ethnic foods.  Also, I think the Finns taste in food was never really geared towards exotic ethnic foods.  Historically this has been a meat, fish and potatoes country.  The only spices Finns seemed to know are salt and pepper.  I am particularly excited about the two new Mexican restaurants that have popped up downtown.  In my previous visits to Finland I had never discovered a true Mexican restaurant and most of them are considered Tex-Mex (think Chevy's style without beans, fresh salsa or Margaritas).  These new places are truly Mexican and have fresh ingredients, and feature Mexican chefs.  Immigration to Finland has been occurring a greater pace now and perhaps that is why so many ethnic restaurants seem to be popping up on every street corner.

Now that the Winter thaw is slowing fading away and the Spring sun is making it's appearance, I look forward to taking lunch strolls along the old streets of Helsinki.  Within 5 minutes I can be at the center of the city and within 10 minutes I can be at Finland's most famous street, The Esplanadi.  The Esplanadi is a long street that features a picturesque park, and is a great place to hang out in the summer sun.  Just a few more minutes away I can be at the famous harbor that features a daily open air market.  Helsinki is a fairly compact city and one can navigate it fairly easily on foot alone.  I look forward to more adventures out and about in the Capital city as the Spring sun slowly turns into Summer's endless white nights.

Crazy Finnish bus drivers

I have to go on a small rant about Finnish bus drivers.  Well, I should say bus drivers in Finland, because they aren't all Finnish nationality, but that is beside the point.  Actually, the best experience I have had so far was with a Tunisian bus driver, but I will get to that later.

Finnish bus drivers are nothing at all like those that I have experienced elsewhere.  In Finland bus drivers always have the right of way.  That means that when they turn on their turn signal to leave the bus stop to enter back onto the street, they just proceed to drive without looking.  They do not care if you are passing them at the same moment or not, they will ram into you.  They have absolutely no regard in waiting for a car to pass them, they just think they own the road and that you should get out of the way.  I have had countless experiences of driving on the freeway when a bus comes onto the freeway and instead of nicely merging into the lane, just decides to cut me off as I quickly speed up and exit the lane before getting pummeled.  I am really scratching my head on why it is this way in Finland.  I am pretty sure that if a bus in the United States needs to turn back onto the main road, they will wait until no cars are passing and deem it safe before turning back into the traffic lane.  

Also, when I board Finnish buses I normally say "Paivaa" "Heippa" "Terve" or another Finnish greeting, but I never get anything back from them, not even a word.  They are not friendly or helpful in the slightest way.  Also, if I give them anything but exact change for my fare they normally will angrily shake their head at me.  I can understand that driving a bus is not the most prestigious of jobs, but a friendly smile and saying hello will go a long way in life.  

I did want to share one of my few pleasant experiences on the Finnish bus system.  I was coming back from Helsinki the other day and had gotten confused on the stop where I had parked my car on the way home.  I originally had asked the bus driver if his bus stops at a certain station.  When I got off the bus one stop before mine the bus driver actually stopped the bus and opened his door to let me know that I needed to ride one more stop.  So, I got back on the bus and he explained to me which stop to get off at and then we chatted for a bit about where he was from, etc.  He was originally was Tunisia but had been living in Finland for a long time.  I don't want to sound harsh towards Finnish bus drivers, but honestly the few positive experiences that I have had were with expat drivers.

I have had many positive experiences since living in this beautiful country, but the bus drivers have not been part of that.

The slow thaw

It is starting to actually thaw out a bit in Finland.  However, when it gets a bit warmer and the snow starts to melt, overnight chilling creates major ice and heavy packed snow.  The ground is definitely a bit slippery now and one must look out for falling ice/snow chunks in downtown Helsinki.  That might sound a bit strange to someone from sunny California as myself, but you must literally take caution this time of year when walking downtown.  Just last week a lady was killed in Helsinki when a falling ice piece fell from the roof on her head, so this is definitely a serious matter.  They do have people assigned to remove heavy packed snow and ice from the buildings, but accidents do occasionally occur.  Also, precautions should definitely be taken when walking around the iced over sidewalks this time of year.  It feels to me sometimes like I am walking on an ice skating rink when just passing over the sidewalks.

This was the 3rd winter in a row that they received major snow in the Helsinki/Espoo metropolitan area.  It makes for an awesome winter wonderland and the kids love it, but it also creates much snow removal work.  We are currently renting a house that contains a flat roof and snow must be removed in order to keep the roof, chimney and gutters in decent condition.  I spent roughly 2-3 hours clearing most of the snow from the roof.  Not exactly fun work, but great exercise!

March is just around the corner, meaning that Spring is almost here.  We could potentially have two more months of snow, but it really just depends on the weather patterns for this year.  When it gets even a bit warmer the grounds are just going to be covered in slushy snow, water and ice.  I guess I can say that almost survived my first winter in Finland.  :)

Ice sculpting at the Helsinki Zoo

Last weekend on Sunday our family went to the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki.   People living in sunny California might be thinking, Zoo in the middle of winter in Finland, really?  Yes, the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki is open year round, even in the coldest of winter days when the barometer is -20 Celsius or less.  We happened to go on a balmy 19 F (-7 Celsius) day, which actually wasn't all that bad.  We had been to the Zoo many times before and enjoy watching the animals, but the main reason for this trip was to see the Ice Sculpting contest, "Art meets Ice".


This International ice sculpting contest featured ice sculptors from all over the world.  They had both a solo and couples competition over two weekends.   The 12 competitors in the solo competition hailed from India, Mongolia, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Slovenia, Germany, UK, Portugal and Russia.  The 24 teams from the couples competition featured a couple from Norway and France as well as some of the solo competitors mixed with their fellow countrymen.  The solo competition challenged the competitors to commemorate the declaration of Helsinki as the capital of the Finnish Grand Duchy.  Its elevation to capital status occurred 200 years ago and represented the most significant turning point in the city's history.  In the couples competition international and mixed teams carved ice in celebration of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012.  Nature itself is a design incubator that has thoroughly polished processes and innovative end products

Since I have never lived in a Nordic country before, this was the first time I had seen a unique event as this one.  We first looked at all the amazing finished pieces sculpted from the prior weekend.  There were all sorts of interesting shapes and colors, including yellow and clear ice.  Later, we ventured over to the couples competition where we saw them creating their teamwork inspired masterpieces.  They were about half way into the process when we arrived.  The artists used chainsaws, chisels, hand saws, and all sort of other tools to establish their creations. They even melded some pieces together to form certain types of objects. It was quite amazing watching them turn inanimate blocks of ice into wonderful pieces of art.

Later the kids had their chance to be little artists in the Zoo's snow sculpting workshop.  Snow is a raw material that can be used in many ways.  I have been told it can be used to build playgrounds, slides or beautiful artwork to decorate your garden.  The kids had a blast carving away in the snow.  It was a very memorable day at the Zoo in the middle of Winter.