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

The Finnish Easter Experience

Easter (Pääsiäinen) in Finland is a distinctly different experience than what is celebrated in the United States.  The Palm Sunday before Easter the kids dress up like witches and go door to door collecting sweets.   Reminiscent of the trick-or-treat tradition in the British Isles and North America, this practice is believed to be a mixture of Orthodox Easter blessing customs from Eastern Finland with pre-Christian rituals from Western Finland and Scandinavia.  The kids must recite a rhyme in Finnish and they exchange a decorated branch before receiving their treats.  The Finnish rhyme is: Virvon varvon, tuoreeks terveeks, tulevaks vuueks, ison talon isännäks. Vitsa sulle, palkka mulle.

I really enjoy the long Holiday weekends in Finland and Easter is no exception.  Both Friday and Monday are official Holidays, making Easter a 4-day weekend in Finland.  In the United States some people get "Good Friday" off while others just have a normal 2-day weekend.   In Finland, most of the businesses shut down on the long weekend (with exception to Saturday) so many people leave town for vacation.  In Finland most people already get 5-6 weeks of vacation, so these long weekends are a nice addition to the already generous time off policies.  Many folks I had spoken to decided to go downhill skiing in Northern Finland and there is usually still plenty of snow up there at this time of year. 

In addition to eggs and chocolate sweets, traditional Finnish Easter dishes include Ham, Lamb and Mämmi.  Mämmi, a distinctively Finnish desert dish is made from water, rye flour, and powdered rye malt, seasoned with dark molasses, salt, and dried powdered Seville orange peel.  Some are afraid to eat Finnish Mämmi because of it's consistency and dark brown appearance.  It really isn't that scary and besides being kind of thick and filling, doesn't taste all that bad.  It is traditionally eaten with cream and sugar.  Give it a try if you are ever visiting Finland during Easter time.

It recently got a bit colder and snowed a little bit on Palm Sunday and remained cool (25-38 F) during the entire week leading up to Easter.  The Finns said that these brief returns to Winter during Spring are common, and they call them "Takaisin Talvi" or "Back Winter".  Old Man Winter may have reared his ugly head again and placed Spring on hold, but the days are longer, the sun is out and the snow has almost all melted.  You can definitely feel Spring in the air, and now I am just waiting for the warmer barometer to stay longer.

A Parisian Interlude

Iconic bookstore

While I have enjoyed living abroad in Finland, sometimes one has a need to escape the country and go on a little adventure.  Luckily, living in Finland has the benefit of being a 1-4 hour plane ride from just about every country in Europe.  Direct flights and minimal time changes mean that you can be up and running in your destination city in a few hours.

Louvre Museum

We are lucky enough to have friends living in Paris for one year, so we were able to stay with them for a long weekend.   Their apartment was perfectly located in the left bank's 6th arrondissement.  You couldn't ask for a better location that is central to many of Paris's cultural highlights.  They live just a 5 minute walk to the Notre Dame cathedral and a 15 minute walk to either the Louvre or Orsay museums.   Ernest Hemingway once said (after living in Paris in his 20s) that Paris is a moveable feast and I couldn't agree more.  It doesn't really matter which direction you walk, you will find something interesting on every street corner.  Compared to compact Helsinki, Paris is quite an enormous city and consists of 20 arrondissements (sections).  The sections are by no means small, you can walk for 10 minutes and still be in the same arrondissement.  During our stay in Paris, we focused on the 6th and 7th arondissments.  On the first day we practically raced through the Louvre which features famous pieces such as the  "Mona Lisa" or the "Venus De Milo".  Later in the day we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and had a small picnic while gazing at this famous landmark.  On the way back from the Eiffel Tower we stopped by the Rodin museum, which features his famous "Thinker" sculpture.  The day was topped off with a perfect dinner with our friends in the Latin Quarter.  

Rodin's "The Thinker"

On the second day we continued our adventures by heading over to what is arguably Paris's second most famous museum, The Orsay.  Ironically, one of the featured exhibits in the Orsay was a Finnish artist named Akseli Gallen-Kallela who's work is considered very important to the Finnish identity.  So, we traveled from Finland to one of the most famous museums in Paris to see a Finnish artist.  :)  However, in my opinion the highlights of the Orsay were the French Impressionist painters, which include Monet and Manet, not to mention many works by Van Gogh.  Later in the day we meandered across the Seine to an almost equally famous museum called the Orangerie which features Monet's enormous Water lilies paintings.  By this time I think we were going through slight museum burnout as our brains could barely process all the pieces we saw in 2 days.

Unlike Finland, people in Paris are not so eager to speak to you in English, so knowledge of basic French is a big plus.  My French is really bad, but I still attempted a few conversational polite words.  In Finland, unless you speak perfect Finnish, you will most likely get English spoken back to you from the beginning.  This is likely not the case in France where they expect you to try to speak French, and if you do, they will be more willing to try speaking English back.

With it's great museums, amazing architecture, famous cathedrals and other distinct monuments, I cannot think of a better place to escape the reality of your every day life and and enjoy a feast for all the senses.  Paris is really an amazing city that has thrilled people for decades and will most likely keep it's stature as one of the greatest cities in the world for a long time to come.

P.S. - My top three movies featuring Paris as a backdrop are 1) Midnight in Paris (2011), 2) Before Sunset (2004) and 3) Paris, je t'aime (2006)

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.  :)

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