returning home...

White nights are those when it never gets dark. It feels like the sun was on its way down, then, just as it began to disappear beyond the horizon, it changed its mind and came right back up again. Like a pogo stick. Down and up, down and up.

If you have a flight that has you waking just before 4 a.m. (after going to sleep just a couple of white night hours earlier) so that you can catch a ride to the airport at 4:30, then you really appreciate the light gently coming in through the window. You don't want to wake the little girl still sleeping in the big bed, so you dont turn on the lights. And still, you can see everything. You tuck your cream and night-wear into your big bag (to be sent through), zip up everything, and hop into the shower, from where you hear that soft sweet voice -- hi gaga... I'm going to miss you...

Go back to bed, Snowdrop. You dont need to be up for hours!

I will, I just want to stay up a little to say good bye. 

 

 

 

Leaving Helsinki. Down the elevator...

 

 

 

... to the front desk for a quick check on my account. The hotel told me that since I'd be missing breakfast, there's be coffee and croissants available at 4:15 for me to take. I was going to pass, but the croissants were warm and smelled so good...

A quick ride through the quiet city, and I am at the airport.  

Helsinki Airport. It is the culprit here, responsible for this middle of the (white) night wake up. My airlines of choice flies out of there, but to connect to U.S. bound flights the same day, you have to leave by 7. I contemplated over-nighting in Amsterdam, or even Paris, just to give me a decent night's sleep in Helsinki, and a last breakfast with the young family (they are flying to Chicago, so they have no connection issues), but thankfully I decided way back when, at the time of booking everything, that I'd just want to get home. And that is just so true! I do want to get home. (And I don't want to stop even for a minute in sweltering Paris or overheated Amsterdam.)

Breakfast, therefore, is at the airport and it consists of that croissant and fruit picked up at the hotel, and the world's worst coffee, straight from a machine that asked if you wanted coffee with a whitener. Sounds ominous, no? Whatever it was, I would not call it milk. I did add to my tray something that will be my Helsinki breakfast gift: yogurt with juicy squished berries. Possibly lingonberries or maybe bilberries. The flavor is tart in a pleasant sort of way. Had they granola, I would have sprinkled it on top. I picked up a love of croissants from France, a love of muesli in Switzerland, and now, from Finland -- a real fondness for creamy yogurt with a juicy berry mixture (and granola, once I'm home). You might wonder -- what breakfast love did I bring back from Poland? Really not a whole lot since Poles tend to favor savory breakfasts. White cheese with radishes and maybe chives, over dark bread, a soft boiled egg in a glass, lots of meaty cold cuts. I suppose from my grandmother, I did pick up a love of oatmeal with fruits and honey. My winter staple!

 

 

The flight to Amsterdam took off on time. And it arrived on time. That is really good news: I need to go through passport control in Amsterdam and the stories of lines there have been harrowing and my layover is unusually short, again, picked because the choices were poor: just one hour to connect, or wait 4.5 hours for the next flight. I went with the risky one hour and this time at least I won.

The flight to Minneapolis, on the other hand, did not take off on time. Something about numbers that needed balancing. An hour past scheduled take off, the soft spoken captain finally proclaimed it to be okay (whatever it was that was not okay), but of course, there was that lost hour, and once again, I had a short connecting time in Minneapolis: originally one and a half hours. -- to clear customs, pick up luggage, transfer it to the domestic connection, go through security once again and get to the gate which in Minneapolis is no small feat, and now I had that cut to under an hour. It was stressful, hurried, and I had to budge a few lines, and move along at a fast clip, but in the end, I ran up to the gate just as the last passenger was boarding. It was that close, but I made it.

Ed is waiting at the airport. Your beard needs a trim -- I comment. Yes, my hair too. 

I had asked him to come over and hang out with me tonight, but I changed my mind and told him we need to push that to a later day. I have a lot to do before I pick up Millie tomorrow and, too, I am still coughing up a storm. After listening to my raspy voice, I'm sure he was relieved to return to the farmette (where, as of yesterday, the mosquitoes are horrible!).

I drive by Steffi's House. The garden looks pretty good. Lots of rain made for light work for my watering person. But it's not all perfect. Some plants have fallen, some chips have been washed away. Worst of all, the fencing people put up a mini fence inside so that Millie wont be able to squeeze through the posts and in places it looks plain horrible.  They need to redo it. They wont be happy to hear this. Sigh...

And then I'm home. 

But is it really home if I'm to move out of it in a week?  My to-do list for the return is not to unpack and put away, but to throw out and downsize once again. To take stock of the plants. To bring boxes up from the basement and start packing and stacking stuff in the garage. And to get Millie! But not until tomorrow morning. For now, I sit back and drink my perfect milky coffee. And I think about it all. It was such a grand trip! Possibly a "best ever!" Which makes me not just content, but plain old happy.

with so much love... 

one last day in Finland

Yesterday, around a campfire in Nuuksio National Park, I asked our hiking leader Emma about happiness here. Finland was ranked this year as the world's happiest nation. Reasons for it are ample. Emma listed a few: Finnish people are humble. They don't have high expectations and are satisfied with simple things. They trust their government to take care of them and are willing to pay high taxes for the benefits that are provided -- good free education, health care, family care. If you have more money, you pay more. They think that's fair. One new fact that I learned -- traffic tickets are tied to your income level. You can get a whopper out there on the road if you're rich.

The list of things that Finnish people find to be joyful is predictable enough: time in nature, a frequent trip to the sauna, time spent with family and friends, quiet time. They expect to achieve (and they do achieve it!) an excellent work-life balance. But really, the word used to describe them is "content" rather than joyful. In this contentment lies their happiness.

*     *     *

We meet up for breakfast at 9. This day has a purpose to it. One that was set months and perhaps years ago. The dad is to take the three kids to Moomin World.

A word about that: my son-in-law has a long standing fondness for the Moomin books, written by the Finnish author Tove Jansson between the years 1945 and 1970. [If you haven't read them -- they're about the magical adventures of an eccentric family of trolls. And yes, they do have some adventures, but the books also have a philosophical quality to them, as they dive into themes of friendship, community, nature. These kids and especially Snowdrop, have loved them all.]  I should note that Jansson was a Helsinki born Finnish author, but she wrote the books in Swedish because she belonged to the Swedish speaking group of Finns. This was news to me -- I learned yesterday that English is not the second language here. Swedish is. Only about 5% of Finnish people have Swedish as their first language, but Swedish is mandatory in schools. Of course, you know how that goes -- at the end of the day, school learning being what it is, only about 20% of the people are at a conversational level of Swedish. By comparison, more than 90% of the people here can speak English, even though it is not mandatory in schools. Practicality rules. In Finland, you must pick an additional language in school and 99% of the students pick English.

So, my son-in-law rented a car and the plan is for him to drive the four of them, kids and dad, to Moomin World -- a theme park that picks up on the stories of Jansson. It's a two hour drive, so they will be gone for the day.

But first, breakfast with the sweet threesome and their parents.

(all my favorites here... one last breakfast for me!)

(Off they go!)

*     *     *

 

Perhaps I've said this before -- my older daughter is a reluctant traveler. This travel aversion, of course, has been exacerbated by the growth in her family. With three kids, one of them still quite young, even the most happy camper is going to feel like a day far away is going to present challenges. To get her to go along on this very complicated trip, where she hops from Krakow, to Warsaw, to an isolated island in Estonia, and finally to Helsinki, her husband offered her freedom in Helsinki, where she gets to do what pleases her, with me to keep her company if she wants it, while he hassles with the kids and their Moomin fantasies. After ten days of making sure every kid is bathed, dressed, fed, packed and unpacked, kept quiet, treated fairly by the others, rested at night, respectful during the day, she was ready for a day to herself! 

And so here we are, just my girl and me, in Helsinki. 

My daughter needed some small items at the drugstore and bookstore, I wanted to check out Finish berry creams and Finnish products in general, and I wanted to experience the classic Helsinki coffee shop. We both wanted some downtime. 

Off we go then, on our lovely walk together. 

We start with a tourist item -- a visit to the Helsinki Cathedral. Built in the early 19th century, in the days of Russian presence here, it was dedicated to Emperor Nicholas I. (It's often called St. Nicholas's Church.) 

My daughter likes seeing interesting church interiors far more than I do, but this one incensed her. You had to pay, quite a bit actually, to go in. "But if you just want to say a prayer?" -- she asks. Then you go down to the side entrance and go into the crypt.

We did that, if only to see what the faithful are left with. It was, in fact, a crypt.

We leave.

And now we head to the main commercial artery in downtown Helsinki. At the Finnish bookstore there, she finds plenty of English language books, but of a certain time. Romance, Sci Fi. A couple of bestsellers she'd already read (she is such a speed reader that it's frightening! I get very jealous at how many books she can put away in just one day).

We leave.

Next stop -- the department store Stockmann. Here, I again have to put in a plug for the staff at the Kamp Hotel: truly, they get to know you despite the hotel's size. And their helpfulness is just plain awesome. They directed me to most everything today. 

At Stockmann's I can look at Finnish creams and lotions. And wouldn't you, too, be tempted by stuff that has the essence of birch, or cloudberry in it? 

At the store, too, the staff was helpful and when I needed sunscreen for the summer, they pulled me away from the big commercial stuff and pointed me to small, often organic producers. Creams with ingredients you can recognize! Just like in food! We spent quite a bit of time here. So much to look at, sniff out, admire.

And then we leave..

It is nearly lunchtime and I have the idea we should go to a classic Helsinki coffee shop. For this, I made the mistake of searching out places on the internet. Should have asked instead.

This particular stop is important to her -- she loves a good, reasonably light lunch. And to me as well -- I eat lightly too, but I am especially curious about Finnish pastry. There appear to be no pastry shops in Helsinki. No bakeries either. I was told the Finnish people are serious coffee drinkers and will order pastry along with a coffee in a cafe. I'd read about a place called Johan & Nystrom. It's supposed to have a classic Helsinki vibe. 

A short walk later we find it and go inside. I dont see any interesting or uninteresting pastries, but there are definitely sandwiches. My daughter asks about the prosciutto one in the display case. 

"We dont have any at the moment. We only have an avocado on toast."

I look again. They have avocado on toast. They have prosciutto and cheese. They have some other one as well. Are these other ones stale? Did I misunderstand?  I ask again: is it possible just to buy the prosciutto and cheese sandwich? Same answer: "We don't have any at the moment"  she tells us from behind this same glass case.

At that point we leave. 

I suggest we go back to my first night's Kappeli. With outdoor tables and goat cheese salads, it is quite perfect.

And now we search out the (recommended by the hotel) Finnish product gift shop -- Taito.

And it is beautiful! The birch wood products, the ceramics, all of it! I pick out a simple tray for the coffee table, my daughter finds something as well.

(my purchases)

 

And we leave.

What next? Well, we're still hankering for a coffee shop experience. We try one place. Just coffee, no place to sit.

We leave.

We try another -- it's really more about self-service sandwiches.

We leave.

Finally, up the street of our hotel, there appears to be a cafe with lovely outdoor tables. Inside, you can pick up coffee and pastries. Yay!

It's a wonderful exhale for us.

We stay.

From there, it's two steps to the second recommended bookstore. It has the name "Akateeminen," which is daunting. (It means Academic.) 

We needn't have worried. It is a fabulous bookstore! And huge. And full of English titles. Even I find stuff that tempts me no end, and I'm not looking!

I also find a few book tote bags for sale. Truly, I do not understand this one!

 

 

 

After a while, I leave. Even if I wanted actual reading material, I really should just add it to my kindle. I'm not collecting books anymore and the kindle does allow me to read at night easily. Still, all those beautiful, beautiful books...

 

At the hotel, I approach the front desk with trepidation. I have an impossible request this time. I start in on it: I have this painting, poorly wrapped. I've been carrying it in my bag. I need the bag now for extra purchases (creams, a book, two trays, chocolates... etc). Could you tell me where I could take my painting so that I can wrap it well and perhaps make a little carrying handle for it? Is there a place like that nearby?

Their response -- we'll do it for you!

And they do it and it's perfect. I am deeply content. 

 

*     *     *

The four Moomin fans return just in time for dinner. 

(someone here was very persuasive in the souvenir department! Does it count as a separate carry-on? Does it need a seat assignment on the flight tomorrow?)

 

 

I'd booked a meal at Lappi -- a traditional restaurant serving foods that one might find in Lapland. Think salmon tartarte, reindeer -- both in dried meat form, sausage form, and roasted. (Think also baked smoked salmon for the non-meat-eaters.) Oh, and Lappish flat bread -- easily seen in the photo below!

 

 

The kids are in fabulous moods. Lovely for the entirety. Is it that we're winding down? I think more that they have adapted to the changing venues, demands, the new foods, the active days that they woke to each morning. Good travel takes practice. They've had a lot of it on this trip!

Dessert? Rhubarb crumble, pancakes for those who love pancakes, and Lejpajuusto cheese with cloud-berries (familiar from yesterday's lunch). 

(too busy writing a postcard to cousins to focus on dessert)

 

 

  

 

And because it is our last meal together in Europe, we take the two group photos: one I do of them (and yes, it's a bit strange to be sitting below a big picture of these beautiful animals, munching on their meat, but on the other hand, I'm told that reindeer meat is tasty and surely the people of Lapland appreciate having it, especially  in the dead of winter.

 

 

 

 One last photo, of all of us!

 

 

I can't believe this long desired, long planned, long anticipated trip is officially at an end! 

We walk back to our hotels, say our good byes (except for Snowdrop who comes back to my room) and thank yous, to everyone for everything. I finish packing and try hard to fall asleep. For a few hours anyway.

With so much love!!!!! 

 

a day in Finland

Oh, the weather! You try to make do with what comes your way (as the Danish people will tell you -- it's not the weather that's the problem, it's what clothes you choose to wear for it). You try to shrug it off and find beauty in what's thrown at you, but at the end of the day, it really can make or break your travels. I learned that early on when, newly married, I wanted to show my then husband my beloved Alps. We went to Switzerland for a week. it rained for 5 out of the 6 days we were there. We saw very little of the Alps. 

Since then I've been cautious. I try to meet the weather moment and have a plan B if the weather does not cooperate. Rain in Paris? It can be lovely! A cold spring in Nice? Pack a jacket! And so on. But sometimes it's all just out of your hands and you roll with the dice and your trip can be grand or it may completely fall apart, because of the weather. Take this year -- there is no way I can think of to enjoy a Paris where it is 106F/41C there. You can enjoy your air conditioned hotel and spend time wondering if the country will be investing in more air conditioning units elsewhere any time soon. 99% of apartments in Paris do not have central air. The architecture doesn't easily allow for it. All 4 and 5 star hotels are required to have AC, but 3 star ones are exempt from this, and budget options only provide fans. Open air cafes? Some spray mists on you. And here's the worst part: only half of the metro fleet provides some cooling. The rest? Open windows, which, during a heatwave provides no relief.

Conversely, great weather can absolutely make you fall in love with the world. And really, though it was cool and momentarily wet in Warsaw, overall, we have had great weather on this trip. I am in love with the world, or at least my place in it.

*     *     *

Breakfast at the hotel. Here's a reason to appreciate this place: there is one very special table in the restaurant. Surrounded by windows, it can accommodate several diners, but it is especially intimate for a couple. Yet they gave it to me at breakfast time. Because it was empty then. It's not often that a solo traveler gets directed to the prime table in a restaurant.

(sunshine pouring in from all sides)

 

 

*     *     *

I want to go to the Finnish countryside. I love the forests, the lakes -- all of it. (The lakes don't have algae, the forests aren't infested with mosquitoes.) But to get to a National Park (an obvious choice for a walk in the forest) using public transportation isn't easy, because you have to change buses and then carefully time your return. And more importantly, you have to know the park. The trails are numerous and I would have no idea which ones are good. So I did what I normally would avoid at all costs: I booked a trip to the Nuuksio National Park (a close one to Helsinki) with a small group. Just 8 of us, plus our guide who is supposed to be focusing on the environmental aspects of our hike. (It's with Wild Frame Adventures -- surely the name tells you something...) It's billed as requiring moderate stamina, with some ups and downs and a distance of just a handful of miles. I do wonder what "moderate" means, but I think I should qualify, no?

I hurry to the meetup point. We leave promptly at 10 (it's a 45 minute drive to the north of Helsinki).

Let me just tell you the bottom line first, and then I'll take you along for my hike.

The adventure had some of the downsides of hiking with people. Walking in a group, even a small group, in a forest, feels too confined. And you can't lag because our guide was prone to taking twists and turns along new paths, so you could easily get lost if you didn't stick with the rest.  

Another downside: when you live to be 73, and you love nature, you get to be pretty familiar with the basics. Add to it your plant identifying apps, and your bird apps, and there's nothing you can't learn on your own.

I was by far the oldest. Our guide was 25, the rest were sprinkled between 20s and 40s, with one outlier at 55. (Touchingly, a young man in his 20s extended a helping hand occasionally. Either he was unusually attentive to his elders or I looked really old in his eyes. I didn't need any of his help, but still, it was very sweet. I would say that compared to the walks all over Warsaw, the planting of my garden a few weeks back, the nonstop travel we've had -- this hike was small potatoes.  

 

And the upsides (for there were many!)?  The guide, Emma, was charming and she tried hard. I'm not sure I would quite call her a knowledgeable environmentalist, but she was an earnest nature lover and it showed. 

The route she took? Fabulous! Just absolutely wonderful. Stunning. The park fulfilled all my wild side yearnings. 

And the add-ons were also fun. In Finland, parks leave you with logs to use for campfires and an ax with which to chop them. (Can you even imagine an ax being left for your use at our National Parks? I'd be terrified someone would pick it up and come at me with it!) Emma, our guide, brought with us Finnish lunch foods for a campfire, and water bottles filled with water that was lightly touched by berry juice. 

In all, I was extremely happy to have done this. 

So, now for the photos, mostly of the lakes, because they just stood out for me on this gorgeous day!

(water lilies, but no algae)

Emma explains the rules: you can pick berries (blueberries which grow in abundance, and lingonberries which are also numerous, you can pick mushrooms, flowers for yourself, but you cannot touch lichen (a protected plant which reindeer love), you cannot litter, and you must respect the need for silence, because Finnish people apparently like to enjoy nature in serious silence. We didn't see many people at all. Shocking, given that it's a holiday weekend. They must all be in their cabins or in a sauna somewhere.

 

(Emma points out a not so small anthill; indeed, ants were crawling around everywhere in this area)

(lichen: a sign of a healthy forest and very pure air)

(dense berry bushes)

At a place where they bring logs should you need wood for a campfire, Emma asked who would like to split the logs for our fire. Several of the men volunteered. None of the women did. So this 73 year old granny took to the ax. (And then she promptly sent the photo to Ed. And the daughters. She can be a bit of a show-off!

 

 

We hiked with the wood and pieces of birch bark to a beautiful fire pit by the water. Some of us tested the lake while Emma prepared lunch.

What foods? Our guide reminded us that Finnish people like simple foods. We had meat (or veggie for me) buns, grilled, sausages (pork or veggie), and Leipaajusto -- a baked cheese that I actually see at our farmers market; Wisconsin has a sizeable Finnish population. Emma served the cheese with cloudberry jam.

 

 

(a climb to the highest summit in the park -- which isn't very high, but still, it has an impressive view)

 

 

On the walk back to the van, we pass a few cottages. Emma tells the park is young -- just 32 years old (a reminder -- Finland as a country is young. -- just 108 years old). People who had cottages here when the park opened were allowed to keep them.

 

 

And then we're in the van, heading back to Helsinki. Except that this one annoying passenger -- the 73 year old grandmother type, is too enchanted with the lupines blooming everywhere and asks for maybe a quick stop so that she can take just one photo?

 

 

 

Okay, just two photos...

 

 

Once in Helsinki, I hurry a]back to the hotel. I want to greet the arrivals from Estonia! 

*     *     *

Within a few minutes, the Estonia travelers arrive. It's so good to see them again!

 

 

 

We walk over to the Brasserie Lione. It has a few things going for it -- our hotel recommended it as a not too formal place that's open tonight with well liked food. And it had room for the 6 of us.

 

 

 

Half of our table had Arctic Char, which swims in the colder Scandinavian waters. But we didn't have dessert, thinking maybe we'll pick up some ice cream along the way. 

 

 

That didn't happen. Finnish people are early-to-sleep types. And it is a school night! All the ice cream stands were closed. As we turned back to the hotel, we passed the last of the Harbor fruit stands. They, too, were closing up and heading home. They had just a few pieces of fruit left. The sweet, sweet vendor handed them to me. Enjoy! -- he said. And we did enjoy! All of it -- the evening, the weather, the satisfying foods, and of course, reuniting in Finland now.

 

 

 

(the chocolates are a gift from Estonia) 

 

 

with so much love...