The first of May sees one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Finland, It's called Vappu and it's orgins are in the ancient pagen times.
Students who have graduated all line the streets in their white, graduation caps and many other, other people also bring out their caps to mark the occasion.
Taken from wikipedia:
'The celebration is typically centered on plentiful use of sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages.'
Many people told me that this festivals main purpose is to give everyone a good excuse to go out drinking.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Ash and Bev
Way up north, in the arctic circle (well almost the arctic circle) where the only sign of life for kilometres in any direction is a few moose and reindeer, there lives two exchange students, Ash and Bev. Ash is from the east coast of Australia and Bev is from South Africa. They had been wanting to come down and see southern Finland so they came down to stay for the long weekend so we could check out some sights around here.
Seija Drove into Helsinki on Wednesday night to pick them up from the train station, she had never seen them before but had no problem in identifying them, the only two loud foreigners with too much luggage in the whole station :P
On Thursday we went sightseeing around Lohja. We went to see the nearby Mustionlinna (Mustio's castle), then to a candy factory, to Risto's friend's house and then to the little town of Fiscars... Yes like the scissors. There we went to the Fiscars company museum and around the beautiful town.
On Friday it was to Helsinki for some casual sightseeing and the like.
On Saturday we had planned to go to Turku (another large city) and we found out that on the same day there was an exchange student meeting there, so we got to meet many of the people we hadn't seen before in a picnic on one of the islands near Turku (i think it was called ruissalo).
And then on Sunday it was back up to the desert with them.
Seija Drove into Helsinki on Wednesday night to pick them up from the train station, she had never seen them before but had no problem in identifying them, the only two loud foreigners with too much luggage in the whole station :P
On Thursday we went sightseeing around Lohja. We went to see the nearby Mustionlinna (Mustio's castle), then to a candy factory, to Risto's friend's house and then to the little town of Fiscars... Yes like the scissors. There we went to the Fiscars company museum and around the beautiful town.
On Friday it was to Helsinki for some casual sightseeing and the like.
On Saturday we had planned to go to Turku (another large city) and we found out that on the same day there was an exchange student meeting there, so we got to meet many of the people we hadn't seen before in a picnic on one of the islands near Turku (i think it was called ruissalo).
And then on Sunday it was back up to the desert with them.
Eesti (On My Mind)
On the 25th of April my host parents, Seija and Risto took me over to Estonia, this time to stay the night and then come back the next afternoon.
So we woke up at the crack of dawn (i think it was about 10 actually) on Saturday and packed the car for our journey. My parents wanted to take the car so that we would be able do do more sightseeing...
After a short and pleasant boat trip we were in Tallinn and after some well needed lunch and some shopping we went to a terrace to soak up some sun (i wasn't drinking obviously). It was beautiful to just sit as the temperature was a scorching +18C. That night we went to an awesome 17th century style restaurant, aptly named 'Peppersack', this is quite appropriate as hanging from the front of the building is a large sack of pepper. The food was delicious.
That night we were checking out the town and watching some awesome karaoke annnd some not so awesome karaoke (it was horrible).
Our first stop on Sunday was Tallinn's beach but we moved on pretty quickly because it was damn windy. After that we found a massive old monastery where the roof had collapsed, it looked quite beautiful. Then we killed some time in the Estonian Botanical Gardens before an awesome lunch in 'Scotland Yard' an English restaurant and then back to the boat home.
"Eesti,
Eesti,
kaipaan sinne
perkelesti"
So we woke up at the crack of dawn (i think it was about 10 actually) on Saturday and packed the car for our journey. My parents wanted to take the car so that we would be able do do more sightseeing...
After a short and pleasant boat trip we were in Tallinn and after some well needed lunch and some shopping we went to a terrace to soak up some sun (i wasn't drinking obviously). It was beautiful to just sit as the temperature was a scorching +18C. That night we went to an awesome 17th century style restaurant, aptly named 'Peppersack', this is quite appropriate as hanging from the front of the building is a large sack of pepper. The food was delicious.
That night we were checking out the town and watching some awesome karaoke annnd some not so awesome karaoke (it was horrible).
Our first stop on Sunday was Tallinn's beach but we moved on pretty quickly because it was damn windy. After that we found a massive old monastery where the roof had collapsed, it looked quite beautiful. Then we killed some time in the Estonian Botanical Gardens before an awesome lunch in 'Scotland Yard' an English restaurant and then back to the boat home.
"Eesti,
Eesti,
kaipaan sinne
perkelesti"
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Pääsiäinen (Easter)
When it came to Easter my host mum told me that their family wasn't very religious and in Australia this would mean that we spend the weekend eating too many chocolate eggs. And while people in Finland also over-indulge on the eggs for Easter they have a few interesting old traditions.
Mämmi (Easter cuisine which looks like s***) is made from mouldy rye and dark molasses and has roughly the same colour, consistency and smell of human excrement. It has been eaten since about the 13th century and is supposed to be the complete opposite of the Jewish sour-dough bread. With a healthy dose of cream and sugar it tastes quite nice but it is still difficult to get over its appearance.
Pääsiäiskokkoja (massive Easter bonfires) were traditionally burned to ward off evil spirits and witches which may come during this time. This tradition comes from the Pohjanmaa region of Finland and these fires are most common there. So on Saturday night we went into Helsinki to visit the one there. It was absolutely huge and within about 10 meters of it was almost to hot to stand.
Virpojat (kids that dress up and wave sticks at you, demanding candy) are children which dress up like witches and evil spirits and then come to your door and wave decorated sticks at you while s´chanting a spell, which usually goes something like this:
"Virvon varvon
tuoreks terveks
tulevaks vuodeks,
vitsa sulle,
palkka mulle."
This is basically wishing you good health and good luck and then demanding candy in repayment for their hard work.
So we woke up on sunday morning to knocks on the door and soon after opening it my host mum, seija realised that we had no candy and had to turn the dissapointed children away. But after a quick trip to the shops we had candy to give to the young'ns when the came.
Mämmi (Easter cuisine which looks like s***) is made from mouldy rye and dark molasses and has roughly the same colour, consistency and smell of human excrement. It has been eaten since about the 13th century and is supposed to be the complete opposite of the Jewish sour-dough bread. With a healthy dose of cream and sugar it tastes quite nice but it is still difficult to get over its appearance.
Pääsiäiskokkoja (massive Easter bonfires) were traditionally burned to ward off evil spirits and witches which may come during this time. This tradition comes from the Pohjanmaa region of Finland and these fires are most common there. So on Saturday night we went into Helsinki to visit the one there. It was absolutely huge and within about 10 meters of it was almost to hot to stand.
Virpojat (kids that dress up and wave sticks at you, demanding candy) are children which dress up like witches and evil spirits and then come to your door and wave decorated sticks at you while s´chanting a spell, which usually goes something like this:
"Virvon varvon
tuoreks terveks
tulevaks vuodeks,
vitsa sulle,
palkka mulle."
This is basically wishing you good health and good luck and then demanding candy in repayment for their hard work.
So we woke up on sunday morning to knocks on the door and soon after opening it my host mum, seija realised that we had no candy and had to turn the dissapointed children away. But after a quick trip to the shops we had candy to give to the young'ns when the came.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Pori and Anna
About 10 years ago at primary school (year 2 maybe) there was a girl from Finland, called Anna in my class at school. Well she went back home a few years later but i thought since i was here it would a good chance to see her.
So on the 4Th of April i went up to Pori to see her. It's about a 3 hour drive northwest(ish) on the and it sits on the beautiful west coast. When i got there, after a nice long catch-up chat we went for a look around town. Pori is about twice the size of my town but still not overly big. The city however is very beautiful and i got the full tour of it. We did most of the sightseeing by car though because the weather was terrible. This included doing what is apparently a common passtime in Pori, the 'neste round'. Well neste is a brand of petrol station and neste round, you guessed it, consists of driving around the petrol station (slowly of course).
After that we took a short drive to the frozen beach of Pori. Frozen and beach, not two words you often hear in the same sentence. It was an amazing thing to see because it looked almost like an Australian beach except for the snow and ice all along the shore where the waves should be lapping in. From there we went further along the coast to see a lighthouse and a nice spot on the rocks.
That night we went into the centre of town to check out some places. Pori has a big market square right in the centre of town so it is easy to take in a lot without much walking.
It was great to see Anna again, she is just as awesome as i remember her.
So on the 4Th of April i went up to Pori to see her. It's about a 3 hour drive northwest(ish) on the and it sits on the beautiful west coast. When i got there, after a nice long catch-up chat we went for a look around town. Pori is about twice the size of my town but still not overly big. The city however is very beautiful and i got the full tour of it. We did most of the sightseeing by car though because the weather was terrible. This included doing what is apparently a common passtime in Pori, the 'neste round'. Well neste is a brand of petrol station and neste round, you guessed it, consists of driving around the petrol station (slowly of course).
After that we took a short drive to the frozen beach of Pori. Frozen and beach, not two words you often hear in the same sentence. It was an amazing thing to see because it looked almost like an Australian beach except for the snow and ice all along the shore where the waves should be lapping in. From there we went further along the coast to see a lighthouse and a nice spot on the rocks.
That night we went into the centre of town to check out some places. Pori has a big market square right in the centre of town so it is easy to take in a lot without much walking.
It was great to see Anna again, she is just as awesome as i remember her.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Tytyri Mine
Well I'm sure when it's on in Australia but in this season of 'The Amazing Race' they go not only to Finland but to my little town (it has about 50,000 people). The episode was just on TV in Finland last week. In the show they came to Helsinki and then had to drive to Lohja and find Tytyri mine to complete a challenge.
The Tytyri mine museum is situated in the original site of the mine which opened in 1956 and still in operation. At the moment about 20 men work, 350 metres down mining limestone.
We needed a group to go so i went with my parents, my brother Teemu and his girlfriend Jenni, Mamma (my grandmother) and her boyfriend Eikka. When we got there we donned hard hats and got into a van for an exciting (and slightly scary) drive down a steep and winding road to where the mine is, 110 metres below see level. In the museum there is a display of many mining vehicles and machines as well as a huge open cavern about 100 metres wide and deep.
The Tytyri mine museum is situated in the original site of the mine which opened in 1956 and still in operation. At the moment about 20 men work, 350 metres down mining limestone.
We needed a group to go so i went with my parents, my brother Teemu and his girlfriend Jenni, Mamma (my grandmother) and her boyfriend Eikka. When we got there we donned hard hats and got into a van for an exciting (and slightly scary) drive down a steep and winding road to where the mine is, 110 metres below see level. In the museum there is a display of many mining vehicles and machines as well as a huge open cavern about 100 metres wide and deep.
Tallinn - Just a Ferry Away
On the 21st of march a man from rotary, Simo Laurila, his wife and two of there grandsons, Miika and Santeri took me over to Estonia on the ferry.
It took only 3 hours to get there, which i thought was pretty amazing because to get to another country from Perth takes about 5 hours in a plane!
So before i knew it (partly because i slept for most of the journey) we were there and after working our way through their 'honesty system' customs... ie. a sign that said exit we headed for the 'old town'.
The old town is where old buildings have been left to stand, mostly from the Russian empire in the 18th century but some of the oldest have been there since the 16th century. It is an amazing place to see, with so many old and historical buildings in one place. When Simo's wife saw me taking a picture of the amazing Russian Orthodox church there she told me that i shouldn't and quickly led me to an equally as impressive 'non-Russian' church up the road (a lot of Finns aren't so keen on the Russians). We spent most of the day looking around the old town and visiting old churches and buildings. For lunch we went to a little cafe in an alley of the old town and there i got this awwwesome hot chocolate which was basically just melted chocolate.
After that we left the old town and went to check out some markets. Simo had told me to be careful about my wallet because there are many pick-pockets in the markets. Luckily i still had it when we left.
At about 5 in the afternoon it was time to head back to the ferry. Once we were on the boat we took advantage of the duty free shop to buy some energy drinks and candy (because we're so cool :P).
I really liked Estonia which is a good thing because i'll be back there in a couple of weeks with my host parents :D
It took only 3 hours to get there, which i thought was pretty amazing because to get to another country from Perth takes about 5 hours in a plane!
So before i knew it (partly because i slept for most of the journey) we were there and after working our way through their 'honesty system' customs... ie. a sign that said exit we headed for the 'old town'.
The old town is where old buildings have been left to stand, mostly from the Russian empire in the 18th century but some of the oldest have been there since the 16th century. It is an amazing place to see, with so many old and historical buildings in one place. When Simo's wife saw me taking a picture of the amazing Russian Orthodox church there she told me that i shouldn't and quickly led me to an equally as impressive 'non-Russian' church up the road (a lot of Finns aren't so keen on the Russians). We spent most of the day looking around the old town and visiting old churches and buildings. For lunch we went to a little cafe in an alley of the old town and there i got this awwwesome hot chocolate which was basically just melted chocolate.
After that we left the old town and went to check out some markets. Simo had told me to be careful about my wallet because there are many pick-pockets in the markets. Luckily i still had it when we left.
At about 5 in the afternoon it was time to head back to the ferry. Once we were on the boat we took advantage of the duty free shop to buy some energy drinks and candy (because we're so cool :P).
I really liked Estonia which is a good thing because i'll be back there in a couple of weeks with my host parents :D
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