Memories of Finland

Well, we arrived back to Colorado Sunday night very late, and the past couple of days have been spent very jet lagged. I finally slept very well last night, so I have plenty of energy to blog this morning. I didn't have luck blogging during the remainder of our trip because internet was scarce, and typing on the ipad was rather painful. After we left Helsinki we spent time with Aaron's family, and we ventured up north towards the Arctic Circle for three days in the wilderness. Here are some of my favorite memories of the remainder of our trip.

Meeting Paivi and Kaarlo in Jokela (30 minutes from Helsinki).
Paivi is Aaron's distant cousin, and Kaarlo is her husband. They're both in their early sixties. She is a very unique Fin because she has lots to say, while her husband is the more typical Fin. He speaks very little. Their home is in the woods surrounded by birch trees and evergreens, and there are plenty of hiking trails all around. We walked with Kaarlo and found a variety of berries and lichen. The forest was still damp from recent snow melt, and the ground floor was covered with green moss. We could only hear the sounds of our voices and the chatter from the birds above. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. The remainder of the evening was spent eating Paivi's delicious homecooked dinner, conversing about Finland and current events, drinking fine wine and taking a sauna.

Paivi is a funny woman. She and I hit it off very well, and we never had a moment of silence. Aaron had predicted this as usual. He and Kaarlo sat quietly while we chattered away until our throats were sore. We talked so much that she would frequently lose her concentration while cooking. Several times she poured the wrong ingredients into the dish she was preparing and had to start over. It really was good fun to get to know Paivi, and she even invited us back before leaving for home. We spent our last night in Finland with them again. It was another fun-filled time, and a perfect way to wind down our trip.


Venturing North to Tampere
We spent one night in Tampere as we were making our way to Kuopio. Aaron had visited this city before. It has about 200,000 residents and is surrounded by lakes. We stayed in a hostel in the center of town and just spent time wandering the city and enjoying the views of the lakes. Paivi's daughter Hanna lives here, and we spent part of the evening with her. Aaron had only met her once in the past, but she seemed very pleased to have us over for a walk and treats. She is around our age and lives in the hippy area of Tampere where there are plenty of organic coffee shops and community gardens. A sweet little neighborhood that has a very different feeling from the center of town. Her apartment was quite small, but decorated beautifully. We had traditional Finnish pastries and talked about our lives. She recently spent time in Africa working at an orphanage, so we had plenty to share about our experiences there. Many of our stories were quite similar, but she didn't have the roach problem that we experienced. Lucky her! Anyhow, Africa changed her life and she has returned to school to study social work. I am really glad she made a little bit of time for us in her busy schedule because it was an evening well spent.

A Perfect Weekend in Kaavi
Following Tampere we made our way to Kuopio to meet up with Tuomo and Eila for the weekend. Eila is Paivi's first cousin, which means she is also Aaron's distant cousin. It all gets a bit confusing after a while. Tuomo and Eila are a bit more quiet than Paivi, so our conversations were fewer, but we still managed to find lots to talk about in our two days with them. We left Kuopio after arriving by train and headed to the small village of Kaavi where they have their summer cottage. It is a beautiful lakefront home with plenty of porch space to sit and enjoy the scenery. The neighbors live several miles away, so it is perfectly quiet and peaceful. Aaron and I felt right at home!

During the weekend we experienced some really fun times. We watched Finland beat Russia in the hockey world championship finals. Aaron caught a nine pound Pike with Tuomo's son Janne. I went out into the forest with Janne's girlfriend Hanne in search of 'korvasieni' (fatal mushrooms to eat for lunch). We ate 'korvasieni' for lunch without dying. We played Molecky, which is a really fun game similar to bowling but involves wood cylinders. We ate like kings and queens thanks to Eila's fine cooking. We locked ourselves out of the house in between taking a sauna and jumping into the freezing lake. That was especially fun since we were completely naked and had to knock on the window. Poor Tuomo, he wasn't ready for that. We also met up with Eila's sister Helena and had a delicious meal at her summer cottage. The fun was never-ending, and we were all incredibly sad when Sunday evening came around and it was time to leave.

Meeting Ritva
Ritva is Eila's sister, and she lives in Nelsiaa, which is about 35 miles from Kaavi. Tuomo and Eila dropped us off at her house on Sunday evening after leaving the summer cottage. She is a lovely woman who has known some very hard times. She lost her husband several years ago, and she recently suffered from a very serious stroke. When she talks about how sick she was last fall, it is amazing how well she has recovered since then. Her English is flawless. She was so happy to see Aaron and even got a little tearful at times during our stay. Her twenty-two year old twin sons were at home for the night, so we all sat around the television and watched Finland beat Sweden to win the Hockey World Championship. It was pretty exciting even though the twins would much rather have been at the pub instead of at home. They said, "cool Americans, lame situation." After all, Ritva would only allow them two beers each! It was a fine evening spent with Ritva and her boys. She is a very special woman.

Traveling to Kuusamo
After spending some time with the family we decided to rent a car and head up north close to the Arctic Circle and rent a cabin for several nights. We rented a little Ford Fiesta for four nights and head on our way. It was a beautiful drive on two lane roads through small towns and the countryside. It took us about five hours to get to Kuusamo, and it was very easy to rent a cabin. Our only request was that the cottage have a sauna. After purchasing some groceries and a fishing pole in town, we head about 15 miles north and found our quaint little cabin in the woods. It was a lovely little log home nestled in a quiet forest. Perfect! We spent three days wandering through the woods, catching fish, cooking our own meals, talking and taking saunas.

Oulanka National Park was nearby our cabin, so we took a day trip there and spent time hiking and watching birds. The woods were silent except for bird chatter, the rapids of the Oulanka River, and the sound of our footsteps tromping along. After hiking Aaron fished for a while and caught a few trout to cook up for dinner.

Our meals were superb as usual when we travel abroad and cook for ourselves. We dined on pickled fish, lots of potatoes, pork chops, fresh trout, a little bit of mystery meat, and plenty of sweets. It was so much fun to eat and listen to music while sitting in front of the fire.

Our time in Kuusamo was just what we needed. All kinds of crazy things could have been taking place in the world, and we would have had no idea. Sometimes it is refreshing to be cut off from the world for a few days.

A Night Out on the Town with the Cousins
Once we returned to Kuopio from the north we spent an evening with Aaron's cousin Janne and his partner Hanne. They cooked up the pike that Aaron caught, and we had a lovely dinner with them at their home. We even got to drink Motorhead wine! It is an Australian of course. Ha! After dining and chatting we head out on the town and visited several pubs. We even got to hear an excellent 80's cover band along the way. The sun did go down, but it never got completely dark outside, which made it easier to stay awake. The time spent with Janne and Hanne was really good fun, and we ended the night around four in the morning at McDonald's. After a quick Big Mac, it was time to say goodbye and head back to our hostel for several hours of sleep before traveling back to Helsinki. We're very hopeful they will visit us in the States one of these days.

So this is just kind of a synopsis of our time spent in Finland. We had a fantastic trip, and it was very bittersweet to say goodbye to Aaron's family. They are fine people, and I can't wait to spend more time with them in the future.

For the past week we have been in Colorado recovering from jet lag and spending time with Aaron's family. We drove to Flagstaff yesterday, and we're visiting some of our favorite friends before heading back home. It has been a very nice month spending time with our families and friends! Pictures to come!