Winter break week has arrived in Finland

Where has all the time gone?  It seems like it was just Christmas and now suddenly the ski week also known as the "winter break" has arrived.  Every school in Finland has one week off in February and that week changes depending on what part of the country you live in.  The goal is that that everyone doesn't take the week off at the same time.  Seems like a reasonable plan and then one would expect that every ski resort or vacation spot is not surrounded with millions of screaming children.  :)

What does the typical Finnish family do for a winter break?  That really depends on the family's budget and its interests.  It seems that there are two distinct types of vacations that people take during the Finnish winter holiday.  There are the sun seekers who just need a break from the long Finnish winter and there are the snow lovers, who enjoy skiing, sledding, ice skating and other outdoor winter sports.  There might even be a lucky few families who manage to do a little of both during the week long break.  The sun seekers from Finland have a few favorite destination spots.  The most popular by far seems to be the Canary Islands.  The folks from the United States might have no clue about this small cluster of Islands off the coast of Northern Africa owned by Spain.  I haven't been there myself, but it seems the Canary Islands have taken over as the Hawaiian Islands alternative for Europeans.  There are a few other sunny options in February, but none quite as popular as the Canary Islands.  Other prominent destinations for sun seeking Finns include Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in Northern Africa.  For those more adventurous with additional time on their hands, some might even venture all the way to Thailand.   There are direct flights from Helsinki to Thailand and those are growing more popular with Finns. The southern European countries of Spain, Greece and Italy are beautiful and pleasant in the winter, but also might be a bit cool this time a year so they are not as popular.

Then there is the snow sports seeking crowd. There are a multitude of options for these folks.  Many loyal to their country decide to fly or drive up to Lapland for a pseudo downhill ski vacation.  I say pseudo because if you aren't really that familiar with Finland, it is a very flat country.  The northern part of the country (Lapland, etc.) gets a bit steeper, but I think the largest mountain is Halti at only 1,324 meters.  I am from the San Francisco Bay Area and we have a 1,024 meter mountain alongside my little home town.  Suffice to say there are many 1 kilometer mountains in California and we even see mountains in the 2 and 3+ kilometer range.  Others may choose to go exploring the Alps and other wonderful ski places throughout Europe.   There are many choices scattered throughout Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and other countries.   The budget minded stay home and hit the local cross country trails, sledding hills and some small downhill resorts.  For example, within 5 to 10 minutes from my home there are hundreds of kilometers of cross country ski trails, sledding hills and natural ice rinks.  Our kids should have plenty of activities to choose from if we stay local.  I prefer to cross country ski when I have the time because it is such a great overall exercise and it is a great way to get out to the nature at the same time.  My kids enjoy skating, sledding and building snowmen.

Winter is cold, winter is long, winter is horrible.... Yea, you have already heard it all from many Finnish blogs, and I have been guilty myself of repeating similar thoughts.  In spite of everything, winter is also a joyous time of the year and the snow scenery can be captivating and magical.  Make the most of it and then take the pleasure to know that once old man winter decides to crawl back into his cave there will be bright days ahead for many months.

Ski break week and Shrovetide cake day

This week commenced the annual ski break week in Southern Finland (Helsinki metro area).  Finland rotates this ski week with the rest of the country so that everyone doesn't go on break at the same time.  While it traditionally is time to get away and hit the slopes, it seems that many Finnish families enjoy this week by seeking out sun in order to escape the winter doldrums.   It becomes a mix of families heading up north to Lapland to hit the downhill ski resorts and some flying off to the Canary Islands or Thailand to soak in some sun.  What most people in the US don't probably know is that Finland is not a downhill skiing paradise.  Just because it snows here for a solid 3-4 months, doesn't mean that the country is loaded with chairlifts and ski resorts.  Actually most of the substantial downhill ski areas are in Lapland to the north and they are not very convenient to reach via car.  One must drive 7-10 hours north to get to Lapland where most of the resorts reside, so most Finnish families end up flying.  Finland is definitely more of a cross-country skiers wonderland as there are copious amounts of trails for this in just about every city. For many Finns it seems that cross country skiing is exercise to replace walking in the winter.

Our family enjoyed 2 consecutive days at a designated cross country ski area in Helsinki called Paloheinä.   This place featured many kilometers of cross country skiing in very diverse terrain.  There was a mix of fields, forests and some kiddie practice tracks.  The coolest thing about this ski area was the huge sledding hill.  This sledding hill was long and wide and resembled a small downhill ski run minus any major bumps.  Daring kids were whizzing down this gargantuan hill at breakneck speed, seemingly immune to any danger.  My son and daughter went tandem most of the time and avoided collisions with the other sledders. They are slowly getting their confidence up on these sledding hills, while it seems that the Finnish kids have courage in their DNA makeup.  

This week Finland also just celebrated a quirky little Holiday called Laskiaispulla paiva or Shrovetide cake day.  Laskiaispulla is a cardamon spiced wheat bun that has it's top cut off and the insides scooped out, and the resulting space filled with a mix of the scooped-out bread crumbs, milk and almond paste, topped with whipped cream.  The practice of Shrovetide, or Shrove Tuesday was originally a Catholic tradition known for eating pancakes and other sweet things before the start of Lent.  In Finland and other Nordic countries the feast day was strictly held on Tuesday, but the Protestants relaxed the tradition and Sunday became the traditional day for the feast. I tried a few of these tasty treats freshly baked right out of the oven.  Very nice, you should try pulla when visiting Finland!   

Finnish Shrovetide cakes

The ultimate Finnish outdoor winter experience

There are many reasons to come to visit Finland.  Unfortunately, not all visitors discover the inner circle of Finland's ultimate winter treats.  The trick is not just to visit this beautiful country in the summer time, (although that is my favorite season here).  Darkness and cold weather tend to be on people's mind during the winter months in Finland, but beyond the melancholy is a winter wonderland waiting to be explored.  One does truly need to step off the beaten path at times and dig into the local's world, in order to experience the magic of old man winter in Finland.

Sledding in Jyväskylä    

Our family journeyed up to Jyväskylä this last weekend.  It is about a 3.5 hour drive North from the Espoo/Helsinki area.  We visited some cousins who now call Jyväskylä their home.  The weekend called for skating, skiing, sledding and a bit of hiking.  So after arriving later that evening, we got dressed in multiple layers in order to keep Jack Frost from causing too much damage.  Soon enough we were dressed up in our winter clothes and ready to take a hike into the vast woods for dinner.  Dinner in the woods in the middle of winter in 23 degree Fahrenheit (-5 Celsius) weather with the snow coming down?  Huh, is something not quite right in this picture?   We started off on the path through the thick woods and about 1/2 kilometer later we reached the bonfire site near a frozen pond.  The first task of the night before dinner called for clearing the fresh snow from the frozen pond so that the kids could skate on it.  So, we shoveled and shoveled and finally about an hour later the ice rink was clear and ready to skate on.  The kids all laced their skates up and were raring to go.  Even when dressed up appropriately, nothing keeps the bite of coldness away like being active.  So, soon enough the bonfire was lit and the kids were skating by only flashlight and fire.  I had always heard about skating on a frozen lake when I was younger, but I never imagined I would actually be doing it some day.   The little pond made an excellent rink and the children were just thrilled zooming around in circles.  

Skating on the frozen pond

Soon enough appetites needed to be satiated after all that skating and shoveling, so we gathered by the bonfire which had now turned to hot coals.  A metal grate was placed over the fire and the Finnish sausages were thrown on.  It was quite surreal as we were all sitting out in a clearing in the dark forest by the fire watching the sausages cook as the snow fell harder.  I don't think a sausage ever tasted better in my life.  Sitting outdoors in the woods with a bonfire, snow covered trees and a frozen lake is quite the setting for dinner. Soon after dinner we packed up and trudged back via the forest path to their home.  I noticed my fingers were now starting to freeze even in my gloves and my mind was already drifting to thoughts of a warm Sauna that I will be thawing out in upon arrival.  We made sure to leave no trace behind so that mother nature will appreciate our visit and welcome us back.  A winter's walk through a snowy forest to a frozen lake by the fire, skating on the lake, sausages eaten outdoors, then a cold beer and a Sauna.  Can't think of a better way to spend a cold winter's night in Finland. :)  

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