Finland!

Hei hei from Finland! This past weekend I took a trip to Finland to meet up with my Aunt Cheryl who was there for ‘work’ ;) I flew in on Thursday afternoon to a cloudy and brisk Helsinki. After finding my way to the hotel, my aunt and I headed up to the Temppeliaukio Church to attend a concert. The circular Temppeliaukio Church is made from stone and sits underneath the ground. The ceiling is rounded and looks like it is spun from thin copper wires. Beautiful, simple, and inviting, this first stop proved to be a nice little taste of what the rest of my glimpse into Finnish culture would be like. 

On the program was the Brahms Violin Concerto, Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto, and Beethoven 4. The orchestra was a chamber group called the Kymi Sinfonietta made up of only 31 musicians. During the first notes of the concert, the beautiful, gentle opening tutti of the Brahms, I realized that in a perfect world, I would just travel the world, listening to different musics and ensembles. It’s so exciting to see how music can transcend borders but also carry its own distinct flavor in each new place. Put the touristy things on the back burner and drop me off at a concert hall. 

The violinist, Kyoko Takezawa, reminded me of a favorite piece of advice Rich likes to give. He says: “Brahms was a fat man. This is a fat man’s allegro.” Her interpretation was broad and indulgent. Every note was beautiful and lush- not a single harsh tone came from her Guarneri (hmm not too much of a stretch to imagine right?). The Stravinsky looked like pure fun to play, and the Beethoven was really dynamic.

The next day was a day trip out to Porvoo, a small, medieval town about 50 kilometers outside of Helsinki. The day was spent strolling through it’s cobblestone streets, wandering in and out of local stores. Let me just say that the Fins know how to do Christmas. I mean I hear Santa and his reindeer are from the Laplands, so it makes sense. All the stores were selling the most wonderful presents and decorations. Since Finland loses light so early in the winter (cars have their headlights on at 14:30), they have the most beautiful candles. Every shop had tons and tons of gorgeous candles and decorative candle holders. After a light lunch in a little cafe, it was back to Helsinki. That night we had dinner with my aunts friends and coworkers whom I got to know a bit over the course of the trip. Even though she kept teasing me about being stuck with the old bitties, it was a nice change of pace to have a different sort of company.

That brings us to my last day in Finland. We started the day off at a market by the water. My favorite purchase of the trip was from a man selling yarn in a booth there. It is a hat/scarf love child and is the warmest, coziest thing I’ve ever put on me head. His wife spins the wool and dyes it herself with dyes made from mushrooms and berries- pretty freaking awesome, Finland, pretty freaking awesome. On our way back from the market, we passed by two of Helsinki’s beautiful churches and one very, very large Christmas tree. We also finally triumphed in our quest to find Gloggi, courtesy of a man, his daughter, and his little food cart. In the front of the shed was one fire roasting chestnuts and one making candied almonds (smelled amazing!!) with a pot of Gloggi on in the back. So what is this mysterious Gloggi? Well I’m still not entirely sure. It was reminiscent of warm apple cider with berries, spices, and wine. It was cozy and very Christmas-y. Next we walked up to the Sibelius monument. Something like a forest of organ pipes, it was awesome to see a monument to this country’s beloved, rock-star status composer.

As we walked back along the water, we grabbed lunch at the most amazing little... well I’m not really sure what to call it. Nestled right along the water, it was a cafe about the size of a shack and was packed to the brim with coziness. It seems to me that the Fins like things cozy. We first ate outside- split pea soup and some sort of sausage from a grill on the back of a station wagon parked out front (delicious). Then we went inside for tea and pastries. I really can’t do this place justice- soft lighting, nice and warm, there were 3 or 4 dogs laying on the floor and a bunch of locals crammed in next to each other. There were loads of pictures, instruments, and china hanging from the walls and ceiling, each I’m sure with their own story to tell. If you were leaving the cafe with your hands full, there was a pulley system from behind the counter with a rope running across the ceiling to open the door for you. And when you wanted to come back in to return your plate, the handle was an axe wedged in the door. Packed to the brim with Finnish comfort, I spent the rest of the trip spending nice quality time with my aunt.

From what I saw, the Fins are warm, inviting, intelligent, and appreciate simplicity in life.  This was a great trip to open my eyes up to a very different and beautiful culture. But now, I must say I am ready to go home to London and all of its craziness.