Summer vacation part 1, Dubrovnik, Croatia

My family recently completed a nearly three week tour of Eastern Europe.  We spent the largest percentage of our time in Croatia, which included an entire week in Dubrovnik.  Dubrovnik is sometimes called the pearl of the Adriatic and it features a beautifully preserved city with medieval walls built along the seashore.  We stayed in a wonderful villa just outside the downtown (Lapad district) with my extended family.  Old town Dubrovnik is relatively small and can be explored in one day, however the Southern Dalmatian coast is very scenic and stretches a long distance and can take several days to see. The prices were cheaper than Finland and central Europe, but not as cheap as you might expect considering it is the former Yugoslavia and suffered a major war just over 20 years ago.  During the week in Croatia we relaxed around the pool and beach most of the time, although we did a few day trip excursions to both Mostar in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and a trip to a few beautiful coastal cities in the small country of Montenegro.  We had a wonderful stay in Dubrovnik and enjoyed several trips to the medieval walled city soaking in the gorgeous seaside views and spending equal time relaxing by both the villa's swimming pool and nearby beach.   Capitalism has hit this area hard since the war tragically rocked the city in the early 90s.  68% of the city was destroyed, but it has been beautifully restored now. Now you can expect fairly expensive cab fares, souvenirs on every corner and vendors ready to sell you a trip to a nearby Island or day excursion to a neighboring country.  However, relatively speaking Croatia is still much cheaper than Finland, but you probably already knew that.  :)   Stay tuned for more blog posts from Eastern Europe.

Summer vacation part 2 (Greece)

After the first portion of our summer vacation we spent a few nice sunny days in Finland with a few of my cousins from the United States and later got ready for the main highlight of the summer, a trip to the Island of Crete.  Greece had been on my wish list for many, many years and for some reason we had never made it down there.  There are so many possibilities in Greece and various Islands to explore, it was overwhelming just trying to decide on the best itinerary for a one week trip.  After doing our research on the Greek mainland and many of the Islands, we decided on the largest of the Greek Islands (Crete).

Crete offers so much variety for the visitor and it seemed like the best choice for a family with younger children.  Sure there are more romantic smaller Islands to explore as well as the main land with it's distinct culture and many archaeological wonders like the Parthenon.  With the Greek crisis still going on we had no interest in going to Athens for now and wanted to avoid the smaller, touristy Islands like Mykonos, Naxos or Santorini.  Crete features a bit of everything, gorgeous beaches, special Cretan food and wine, many archaeological ruins from the Minoan era and gorgeous canyons and mountains.  Our family stayed at a Scandinavian sponsored resort near the city of Chania.  The resort had a mix of Swedes, Finns, Norwegians and Danes.  I think I was the only American in the entire resort and our kids were probably the only children who spoke English.  That wasn't a problem and the Greek staff was very friendly and curious about our mixed Finnish/American family.

During the week we visited two of the most well known beaches on the Island (Elafonisi and Phalasarna).  We also journeyed half way across the Island to visit the famous Minoan ruins of Knossos which feature ruins of a civilization that dates back as far as 3400 BC!  It was amazing to think about a civilization even older than the Greek and Roman periods while I was walking around their ancient city with my family.  We also spent a few days exploring the famous city of Chania which features a wonderful old town and Venetian port from the 16th century. However, perhaps the best part of the trip was just relaxing around the sandy beaches and swimming pool while soaking in the sun and enjoying the wonderful Greek food and drink.  In comparison to Finland where it costs roughly 100 euros for our family (4 total) to enjoy a decent dinner with food and drinks, it was about half of that or 50 euros total.  I am still going through Greek salad burnout now, but while there I was thoroughly enjoying those tasty fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and Feta cheese in the classic Greek salad.  The week was very special and raced by quickly, but the pleasant memories are forever burned into my mind.  Crete is a special place and I definitely plan on returning to Greece in the future.

Stayed tuned for the final portion of our summer vacation, part 3 which will be featured in my next blog post! 

Summer vacation part I (Estonia & Latvia)

There is nothing I love more about living in Finland than the long summer breaks.  Many people, including our family, take the entire month of July off (plus or minus a week).  It means lots of long sunny days, adventures and travel.  Our family appreciates both adventure and relaxation and we decided to kick off our summer vacation with a ferry/car trip across the Gulf of Finland to Estonia and Latvia.  These two Baltic countries are in close proximity and since they are relatively cheaper than Finland, they make a nice getaway.

Kuressaare Castle

We started by driving from the capital city of Tallinn to the island of Saaremaa in the Northwest corner of the country.  This easy drive included a 30 minute ferry ride to get to Saaremaa.  Before arriving at the hotel we explored the Kaali meteorite crater.  This 110 meter wide crater is estimated to be 4000 years old.  I can only imagine the power of this crater when it hit the earth and created a impact comparable to the Hiroshima bomb.  Next stop on the Estonia tour was our hotel located in the idyllic city of Kuressaare.  The hotel was very nice and located right next to the bay and the Kuressaare castle.  This little city, the capital of Saaremaa county, dates back to the 13th century.  Our family enjoyed the brief stay in this region of Estonia before packing up and driving down to Latvia.

Kaali Meteorite Crater

My wife and I have been to Tallinn, Estonia several times because of the close proximity to Finland, but never had ventured further.  Latvia is the next country in line and it is only a 4-5 hour drive from the top of Estonia to the border. All 3 of the Baltic countries are tiny in comparison to major European countries and are easily navigated through by car.  We stayed in Latvia for a brief visit to the capital city of Riga and a few surrounding cities.  Riga is a very nice city situated on a river and like Tallinn also features an old and new town.  What makes Riga unique is that it features art nouveau and 19th century wooden architecture.  The historic center is a UNESCO world heritage site and the European cultural capital of 2014.  Riga seems to be pointed in the right direction these last several years.  However with that said, Riga is still not in the European monetary community as they are still using their local currency.  While gasoline was significantly cheaper than in Estonia and Finland, I didn't think overall prices were that much less.  At least not in the capital area.

Riga, Latvia

After Riga, we would begin our drive back to Estonia and spend our final day of this journey in the capital city of Tallinn.  During our drive back to Tallinn from Riga, we encountered an large parade of cars that were headed North at fast speeds with police following at the rear and front.  We wondered what famous dignitary could be driving with so many cars following?  My wife was driving behind them and kept following at speeds of about 120 km/h (75 mph).  Finally after an hour or so as we approached the Estonian border, the policeman at the rear stopped in front of us and told us to wait 5 minutes before proceeding.  Then as the Latvian police car drove back away from us, we noticed the other police pointing his finger and scolding us.  I guess we must have followed them too closely and they were not too happy about that.  Finally, we were on our way and passing the Estonian border back to Tallinn.  The next day in Tallinn we would see the German president's wife having lunch with the Estonian president's wife and finally figured out that the German president, Joachim Gauck, had been visiting the Baltic countries.  Next time we know to be careful when following a 15 car entourage.  :)  The visit to Tallinn was fun as I always enjoy this bustling little medieval city just 2 hours via ferry from Helsinki, Finland.  It used to be a cheap paradise for Finns coming to save a little cash, but today prices have risen and it is also in the European community. Other places we visited in Tallinn were the very interesting KGB spy museum in the Hotel Viru and the Maritime museum at Seaplane harbor.

Trailing German President Gauck from Latvia to Estonia

Overall, we had a very nice time for leg # 1 of our summer vacation.  Summer trip leg #2 to be continued in part #2.  Stay tuned!

The frustrating art of predicting Finnish weather

If there has been one thing that I have learned after living in southern Finland for nearly two years, it would be the unpredictable nature of the weather.  The first winter we lacked snow in December (2011) and didn't have a white Christmas and everyone complained.   I guess the snow gods woke up because the rest of the winter brought loads of snow and by April people were wishing for spring.  Then the 2012 summer arrived or did it?  May was pretty decent, then June rolled around and the rain started.  I had mentioned to a good friend of mine that Midsummer (summer solstice) would be the best time to visit Finland.  You would think late June with its eternal sunshine would also be the safest chance for good weather on a visit to Finland.  Wrong!   I took him and his family to Linnanmäki amusement park on a rainy day.

At the park the umbrellas came out, but the rides didn't stop.  This is Finland and here people just go on with their days.  We made the best out of the day and enjoyed our time at the amusement park despite the conditions.  Looking on the bright side, the rain meant the ride lines were about half the size of normal.  Spring 2012 was promising, but the summer was one of the coolest that locals could remember and that had everyone complaining and thinking that they needed to get out of Finland for the next summer (2013).

The year flew by and then again old man winter was upon us again.  The winters in Finland can seem a bit like Bill Murray's character in "Groundhog's Day". This time a blizzard came during the final weekend of November dumping snow everywhere. Snow came a month earlier this winter and assured everyone of a magical white Christmas that was sorely missed the prior year.  The winter of 2012-2013 turned out even longer and brought more snow than many had imagined.  The final snow storm didn't arrive till the first week in March and the snow lasted on the ground until just about May this year.  It was quite a long and cold winter.  Interesting enough, March 2013 had many days around -10 Celsius (15 F) and was considered the coldest March in 50 years.  April was still a bit cool and then Vappu (May 1st "May Day") came.  Vappu wasn't that warm, but since it was sunny it was deemed a success.  Which brings us to Mother's Day (May 12, 2013), the day I wrote this post.  What can I say, yesterday it was 22 Celsius in Espoo (71 F) and it is predicted (if one can actually predict weather in Finland) to be quite warm next week, with temps rising past 23 C (73 F) by the end of the week.  Surprisingly enough, this little warm streak in early to mid May will perhaps make it a much warmer month than last June of 2012.  May, June, July, August.  In Finland these months could be cold or warm, stormy, or sunny, you just never really know.  The summers in Finland can be outstanding, but they are typically short and sweet.  According to the calendar summer is from June 20th - September 22nd, but in my mind, I would have to say Finland's "summer" is July 1st - August 15th, plus or minus a week on either side.  :)  So after suffering through 4-5 straight months of cold, snow and ice, the pay back is 1-2 months of summer.  Now you can understand why Finns cherish the long, warm summer days.  That is life at latitude 60' North, and one should never have any expectations about the weather because it will be an exercise in frustration.  The key to happiness and success here is just to go about your day and forget about the weather and the predictions.

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.

Moody Finnish weather

My intention is not to go on a negative rant about Finnish weather, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.  :)  We just hit the month of June and in Finland you would have thought it was the middle of Winter minus the snow.  A storm came to town for the first weekend in June and just in time for Graduation ceremonies which are occurring all over Finland this weekend.  Non stop rain overnight left swollen gutters and nasty surprises for those early morning drivers.  I know that the weather is not always perfect in Finland,  but they have had their share of warm summers, and Summer rain normally just means a small passing shower.  This weekend's storm caught me off guard to say the least.  Looking on the bright side, Finland which is about the same latitude as Alaska, is spared the very harsh weather by having the Gulf Stream warm up the air.  If it wasn't for the generous Gulf Stream, Finland's climate would be way less desirable.

Last weekend I did the Tour d' Espoo bike ride.  This 110 kilometer bike ride (cycling) featured nice views of the Baltic Ocean as well as scenic countryside and many lakes. The weather for this ride was just what the doctor ordered.  It was about 73 degrees and sunny, and I even got sunburned!  It was a really neat way to tour Espoo via bike.  Espoo is one of the largest cities in Finland in both size and population, but since Finland is so sparsely populated, even Espoo has it's share of open countryside and farms.

Anyhow, being a spoiled Californian, I could easily predict the Summer weather and seasons.  We barely had a drop of rain during the Summer and you could pretty much plan on having nice weather from early May through October without fail.  There are even streaks of warm (20 celsius or more) weather during February and March where I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I knew coming to Finland that I would have to make some sacrifices on the weather front.  They say that you can get used to things, but after 40 years of living in California, the adjustment has not always been easy.  So, when you decide to visit Finland, just remember that the weather is a bit of  "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".  It can be restrictive at times, but with a good attitude, you should do just fine.  :)

Time off, Finnish style

In Finland and most of Europe, people know what it means to really take time off.  Time spent away from the office relaxing with family and friends is highly regarded in Finland.   With summer vacations approaching soon, people are starting to get excited about their longest stretch of time without work.  In Finland, since the summers are precious and short, most people take off several weeks in July.  I don't just mean 1 or 2 weeks off, but 3, 4 or even 5 weeks in a row.  Finns know what it means to truly relax from the stresses of the workplace and recharge their batteries.  Some spend 2 weeks traveling, then 1 week relaxing at a summer cottage, then an additional week just to recover from their vacation.  The goal is to totally decompress and get work out of the mind and the system.  Having worked in the US for most of my career, I recall struggling just to reserve 2 or 2 1/2 weeks off without interrupting the work schedules.  If I wanted to take off more than 2 weeks in a row, I needed upper management to sign off on my vacation request.  US bosses always say to take your vacations, but when it comes down to it, they care more concerned about keeping the business running like a well oiled machine.  In Finland, almost all businesses completely shut down during the month of July, so managers are not running around with decreased staff trying to keep the business at full speed, but they actually relax and take the time off themselves.  It makes sense since the summers are short and precious, people should not be wasting them in the office.

Most US companies start with 2 weeks of vacation and increase to 3 or even 4 weeks when employees reach a certain level of seniority.  In Finland, most companies start with 5 weeks, however many other Holidays and  extra days off can taken during the year.   I was lucky enough to have 4 weeks of vacation in my last US company, however that was kind of exceptional. Good luck if I was ever going to get off 4 weeks off in a row.  I normally took off 2 weeks during the summer and spread the other vacation days around throughout the year.  It will be nice talking off long stretches during the summer now and feeling guilt free about it.  I am truly looking forward to vacations, Finnish style.

Summer dreaming

The sun is starting to shine again in Finland.  As the barometer rises, the days are lasting longer and the smiles are returning to people's faces.  :)  Actually, it's no joke, now that the daylight is lasting past 9pm and the warmth is returning,  I am really noticing a change in my daily interactions with people.  We have lived in Finland now for 9 months and have only met a few of our neighbors.  Now, just in the last couple weeks a few families have stopped by to say  "hello".  Many Finns are an introverted  for let's say 8 months out of the year, but when the sun shines bright, they seem to awaken from their winter slumber and will surprise you with a smile or a "hi".  Nothing like the assistance of long, bright days to bring them out of their shells.

I am starting to get excited by the prospects of the Finnish summer.  I have been teased by a few weeks of Finnish summers while on vacation in the past, but never actually spent an entire summer residing here.  In addition to seeing smiling faces again, the summer terrace culture is kick starting soon.  People tend to avoid most indoor activities and soak in the sun rays at the city's many bar terraces and parks.  They truly relish the short summer season and supposedly frequent the terraces multiple times per week.  In other words, they truly take advantage of the small window of time that is the magic of the Finnish summer.  I for one, having been spoiled by Californian sunshine have taken advantage of every Spring day here where the clouds decide to go on strike and allow the sun to beam bright. It is already light till past 9pm and we are still in April.  Once late June rolls around we will have a few weeks of endless sunlight.  These endless nights are also known as the "White Nights" or "Midnight Sun".

After having completed my first winter in Finland and seeing the weather slowly evolve, I can now truly appreciate the sun I perhaps took for granted in California and now have some insights into the psyche of the Finnish persona and how they truly come back to life like a bear that just woke up from his long winter's nap.

Here's to summer 2012 in Finland and everywhere else in the world, may it be the longest, most magical, summer ever.

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.  ~Celia Thaxter