Adventure (and Work) in Finland

New Year's in Lapland!

2008-02-03T12:29:00.000+02:00

Christmas in Europe - Back to Helsinki

2008-02-03T12:07:00.001+02:00

After Germany we returned to Finland so Aaron and some visiting from Germany could get a taste for Helsinki. Sure, it would be dark, but everything should be open again so why not revert to playing the tourist role in earnest?

Well, one reason is that I severely underestimated the effect of...dark. While it did make the work week difficult, it doesn't make touristing much of a picnic either. For one thing, many tourist attractions assume no one will come visit them in the pitch black of early afternoon so they choose to close early in the winter. One example was the castle of Hammelinna (above), which we drove an hour to get to. Bummer. The floodlights were nice though, especially when one of our friends used the darkness to relieve himself over the side of the wall. Too bad I was up on the wall as well -- might have made a truly interesting picture from below.

Since our friends had rented a car, we explored the countryside a little more on the way to see Tampere. One stop took us to a sculptor's house on a lake. Again, despite multiple signs posting their opening hours as starting 15 minutes before we arrived, they were in fact still closed. So, we just hiked around the grounds for a while with no one to stop us. Beautiful house and setting...

...and gorgeous setting, right on the water...

...though perhaps modern life intruded a tad into the setting for some of the art work...

Once in Tampere (one of the three largest cities in Finland -- the others being Helsinki and Turku) we had trouble finding much to actually entertain us. The highlight for us was probably the Moomin Museum, celebrating the comics and books of Tove Jansson. Pictures aren't allowed in the museum, which basically just has a number of large collages depicting scenes for various Moomin books. However, there were no regulations against acting out with the Moomin figures on the outside door...

Between walking around Helsinki and driving to Tampere, we had four days of typical tourist experience. We even managed to find our German friends some reindeer (to eat -- not to take home). And despite my many walking tours, I also managed to find new monuments. Such as the "Independence Tree" to celebrate Finland's independence from Russia in 1917.

Unfortunately, though quite a tall tree, it did seem a bit of a letdown for a tree with a name as grandiose as "Independence Tree". Perhaps that is just another indication of the Finnish culture -- modest and somewhat reserved, but still standing tall.

World's most beautiful sentence

2008-01-09T22:42:00.000+02:00

I was told by someone at work that a Finnish sentence once won a contest for "world's most beautiful sentence".

The sentence was "Aja hiljaa sillalla" which apparently means "drive quietly on the bridge".

Aside from how cool it would be for there even to be such a contest, I was able to independently verify this little tidbit by finding a similar post on Yahoo! Answers. Therefore, I deem that it must be true.

Christmas in Europe - Berlin

2008-01-08T21:54:00.000+02:00

As noted earlier, our Christmas in Berlin unfortunately started with a trip to the emergency room. On the plus side, it could really only get better from there.

Even on arriving in Berlin with crippling stomach pain and the all-over aches of a slowly simmering fever, we couldn't miss the 4-story tall Christmas tree in the train station. According to the guidebook, it was decorated with 40,000 Swarovski crystal ornaments. Unfortunately, the guidebook fails to mention that even pretty and expensive transparent ornaments don't photograph well in daylight, although apparently large corporate logos in windows do just fine.

We also enjoyed the strange German adult fascination with Legos. While not quite as tall, this tree did still have its charms.

Moving on to more meaningful sightseeing, we went to Breitscheidplatz to see the "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche" (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, I think). It combines the ruins of the original church which was bombed in WWII with a new modern octoganol church built on the same site.

Ok, so what I wrote above wasn't strictly true. Yes, there is a memorial church at the square which is a popular tourist destination. However, what drew us to the site might have been the large Christmas market. No, we weren't eating anything (at least, not anything fried in lard) but it's still fun to look.

Look, they're large, pretty, delicious, and fun to eat!

One of the joys of touring a world-class city is that they tend to invest heavily in public art. I really like this sculpture. I don't know if it's because it reminds me of the simple joy of two people being together, if it makes me think of Sesame Street, or if it makes me think back to when I studied karate and watched movies where action heroes would routinely punch their hands into someone's chest and rip out their hearts. Which is kind of what it looks like is going on here.

Of course, not all investments were in "public" art, as noted by the Erotik Museum we happened to walk by. No, really. We particularly liked the rotating "69" sign on top.

Much of the rest of Berlin (or the little we saw while staggering around doped up on painkillers and various stomach-settling medications) was highly grandiose in a style I will now attribute as German. Large, towering, even overwhelming...but frankly not really that attractive. Many buildings or monuments look like good places in which to decide someone's fate or monitor the private activities of millions (a la Big Brother) but they don't really speak to me of interesting cultural attractions.

One such example is the Brandenberg Gate. Built in the late 1700's, it symbolizes peace and has a very interesting history which you can read about on Wikipedia but which I wasn't that interested in as I was looking up at it. Mostly I just craned my neck way back and said, "huh. big."

As another example, see the Reichstag, below. It's the seat of German parliament, and also unfortunately so freakin' huge that I had to slowly step backwards for about a half mile in order to get the whole thing in frame. Barely.

Despite my initial negative attitude, the truth is that there were some large and grandiose monuments with which I could identify. The controversial and expensive Holocaust memorial in the center of Berlin was one example. Composed of essentially an entire block of tall stone squares rising out of the cement to different heights, I think it is meant to convey the masses of people who died. It also serves as a maze through which you can walk, sinking slowly deeper as the heights of the blocks around you rise to block out the sun and make you feel very very alone.

The remnant of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz well less effective at evoking feeling. It just looks small and insignificant. Mostly it just serves as a useful backdrop for tourist photos -- like this one!

The cobblestone path running through Berlin conveys the message of the former Berlin Wall much more effectively. It traces out the path of the Wall throughout the city, cutting today's highways and sidewalks in seemingly random places to remind people "what is on the other side of this line might be beyond your reach".

All this talk of memorials and war is depressing. So, I end this entry with a Christmas message kindly delivered by our nifty four-star hotel: a pretty (and fancy! check out the peacock feather) poinsettia which arrives in our room on Christmas Eve.

Clean train bathrooms are important

2008-01-05T22:10:00.000+02:00

One of the many things we enjoyed eating at the outdoor Christmas markets in Cologne were these delicious potato pancakes. They were like hash browns deep fried in enormous flat troughs of oil, so the resulting "food" contained a minimum 30% pure fat content (note: I am making up the exact number, but you get the idea). Just in case we wanted to deceive ourselves into thinking that the oil was sliding off the potato pancake back into the frying vat, employees would periodically carve off another chunk of solid white lard from a big bucket and drop it into the vat to melt, presumably replacing all the greasy goodness that was making its way into the potato pancakes and from there, into our stomachs.

I wouldn't describe these 'lard cakes' in so much detail except that I hold them entirely responsible for the crippling stomach infection I came down with on the day we tried to leave Cologne. Sure, Aaron got sick too, but not nearly as badly so this story is all about my misery and pain (sorry, hon).

The key aspect was that the 4.5 hour train ride from Cologne to Berlin is now known as "the worst travel experience of my life". I threw up four times in the first 90 minutes, which is why I cannot stress enough how critically important it is to ensure that there are clean bathrooms on any long train ride when you think you might be really terribly ill. Fortunately, Deutsche Bahn came through for me, but given the misery of the overall ride this was really a small upside.

The remaining three hours of the ride were spent moaning periodically in a fever-induced pain haze (which might have discomfited the other passengers somewhat, but as should be clear from this description, I truly did not give a damn) and wishing that the train would go a lot faster. Though as you can see, it was going pretty darn fast already.

The end of this story is that I ended up in the emergency room at the excellent Charite hospital in Berlin, with an IV jutting out of my arm to provide both saline and some kind of painkiller. Two days later I was able to eat again, which put a dent into our sightseeing plans but did manage to save us a little on the food budget. It's all about the silver linings.

Christmas in Europe - Colone (Köln)

2007-12-25T10:57:00.000+02:00

En route to Berlin we took to a train to Colone (Köln) to catch some Christmas spirit the German way. Clearly, it was available in abundance.

The other reason to see Köln was the Dom - the monstrous cathedral that appears to dominate the center of the city. While beautiful, it is also made somewhat more accessible during the holidays by the multitudes of stalls dotted around its base, all selling delicious German fried foods, warm knitted items, and random fruits and marshmallows dipped in abundant layers of chocolate. What's not to like?

The Dom did have some quirks, like this one statue that appears to be trying to escape from the wall of the cathedral, much like an alien bursting from the stomach of its host. You might have to click on the picture for the larger view to get the full, rather startling, effect.

However, I guess these things have to be expected from a building that took 632 years to build. People can get quirky with these long-term projects.

One quirkiness example - this stained glass. Where is the traditional religious scene done up in colored shards? Instead, we have a modern example of what looks like a computer screen that can't quite render the screen correctly so just gives up and displays its favorite colors instead. Maybe this is just what happens when the real stained glass is sent out for cleaning.

One final anachronism I noticed -- the nearby "Chicago Steakhouse" within sight of the Dom. I guess it's true that no matter how far you travel, you can find a way to feel at home.

Christmas in Europe - Amsterdam

2007-12-24T18:40:00.001+02:00

Apparently, Finland shuts down for the Christmas holidays. Everyone spends time with their families, which means that lonely expats such as myself would be left with no movie theaters, restaurants, or gyms to entertain us from December 24-26th. However, since I was already in Europe, traveling someplace else (someplace warm, for example) wouldn't make much sense either -- or at least, that's what I was told -- so Aaron and I are spending Christmas in Europe.

Our trip started in Amsterdam on December 17th. It got off to a particularly bad start when Aaron's messenger bag was stolen on the train from the airport to Central Station. Fortunately, the most valuable (and difficult to replace) item was his passport, but the bag also contained a multitude of gifts to Aaron from previous years: an ipod and camera (from my parents), a book and leather gloves (from me -- as well as the bag itself). Also, the customized christmas cards I was supposed to write in Amsterdam and mail in time for Xmas were in the bag, so no xmas wishes from me to my friends -- though at least that provided a handy excuse.

Anyway, the net result was that our first couple of days were spend either dealing with crime bureaucracy at the Police Station or the American Consulate (both of which were great and very helpful, incidentally) or consumed with anger/frustration at being taken advantage of by random petty criminals who didn't understand the meaning of Christmas. But then we knew we had to get over it so we could actually start to explore Amsterdam.

First thing we noticed -- lots of water! (See one of our many canal pictures, above). Second thing we found -- the Bloemenmarkt. Basically one long set of stalls on a canal bank which is probably beautiful in the summer, but in the winter sells primarily tulip bulbs, cacti, orchids, and various touristy knicknacks.

Interestingly, in Amsterdam one such touristy knicknack is...Cannabis. Aaron posed with a display of what claimed to be ten different kinds, as well as an easy "grow it yourself!" starter kit.

Another easy-to-identify difference about Amsterdam -- bicycles. They are everywhere. It was a glorious testament to a non-car culture which we would have participated in had it not been so freakin' cold. Amsterdammers are brave and hearty people, clearly, for even the snow flurries and rain didn't seem to stop them. Bikes were lined up on every canal edge and propped in front of every storefront, and apparently they even make for a handy way to walk your dog.

The canals are definitely the centerpiece of Amsterdam, though. Some people like them so much they live on them all year round, as evidenced by the number of houseboats we passed.

I also liked the idea of canal intersections, though there was a noticeable lack of canal traffic lights. Are there ever canal accidents? Aaron is sure there are, but more due to the number of cars parked right on the edge of the canal with no protective barrier to keep them on land. In a city known for an active bar life, it does seem likely that a car takes a tumble in every once in a while, though sadly there was no evidence available to back this up.

We also admired the many large windows on all the canal houses, while also being impressed by the heating bills these windows surely generate. Apparently the windows are an architectural necessity because the ground cannot support the weight of these heavy brick multi-story houses, so large windows are carved into the buildings to lighten the overall load. Either way, the windows help to open up buildings which might otherwise look rather oppressive if all this tall brickwork was combined with very small windows -- I think that would actually look rather jail-like. Of course, it still looks a little oppressive if one of the windows appears to be holding Homer Simpson prisoner.

Of course, we saw all the typical Amsterdam sights as well. The Riksmuseum (currently being renovated so only the "highlights" are available), the Van Gogh Museum (fabulous for showing the range of work Van Gogh actually produced rather than just sunflowers - I would never have known he also painted a skull with a cigarette dangling from its mouth), and the Anne Frank House, among other things. But it is the canals, the bicycles, and of course the delicious pastries sold conveniently on street corners which I will remember most. So far, it ranks as one of my favorite cities, which says a lot given how miserably cold I was for the full four nights were were there.

Helsinki Christmas Market

2007-12-24T18:24:00.001+02:00

As is common in many European cities, Helsinki has a Christmas market which ran through December 23rd. There were a multitude of little brown stalls each selling hand-knitted gloves, scarves, hats, sweaters, and shawls, as well as kiosks with traditional Christmas ornaments. Of course, they also sold traditional Christmas food and drink (ginger cookies, spiced mulled wine) and some not-traditional-outside-the-Nordics Christmas items (pickled herring, smoked salmon, fish pastries).

All the lighting on the stalls, trees, and nearby shops made everything look especially festive since there was barely any daylight to compete with the twinkle twinkle of holiday-induced electricity. Unfortunately, that made it hard to take very good pictures -- this was the best I could do.

The store lighting came out especially poorly...

Snow

2007-12-24T17:49:00.000+02:00

Despite the mental images conjured by places like "Helsinki" or "Nordic countries", to date there hasn't actually been much snow in Helsinki. Mostly just flurries that turn to rain, or which get quickly stomped into ice after landing on a sidewalk.

I took some pictures from my apartment window of one of the more significant snowfalls -- it was maybe 2 inches.

Lack of snow doesn't mean lack of preparation. Check out the serious snowplowing machinery they have just for the sidewalks!

The snowplow doesn't mean that all sidewalks are safe, unfortunately. I thought snow and ice would be cleared off walking areas much faster than they are back home in Chicago, but this isn't true. In order to be more environmentally responsible, they use gravel instead of salt on the sidewalks so walking around can still be quite dangerous.

However, on the main downtown streets it is quite safe because the sidewalks are heated. All the easier for hordes of Christmas shoppers to descend.

Working Without Windows

2007-12-09T19:56:00.000+02:00

I have recently learned about some very interesting differences between work environments in the U.S. and Finland:

In Finland you need special permission to be open on Sundays. Generally this means only food stores under a certain size (e.g., the corner mini-marts) can stay open. Exceptions are made during the summer and the winter holidays, when Downtown becomes a shopping bonanza filled with people who are either eager to do their Xmas shopping, or just eager to get out and do their errands on a day when they are normally consigned to sitting at home and watching soccer.
Stores that stay open on Sunday have to pay workers double. Someone at work told me this so I'm not sure if it's true, but it does fit in with the general trend of "be nice to workers at all costs".
It is illegal to give someone office space without windows or other access to natural light. Interestingly, I learned this from a client who popped his head into the conference room which has become the de facto BCG work area. Needless to say, no windows or natural light of any kind. Apparently, even factory foremen with working space in the middle of the shop floor must have some kind of "window" from which they must be able to see the actual window of the factory and thereby get at least indirect access to sunlight. No such consideration for the overpaid consultants, of course.

Despite the evidence of the care given to workers here (and I haven't even begun talking about the vacation time, maternity leave, paternity leave, tax-free lunch coupons, or other benefits of being a working professional in Finland), there are some behaviors which don't seem to fit in. Like the number of emails I get from clients on Sunday night -- apparently logging back in to get stuff done for the week ahead is pretty much standard, at least with middle management and above. Or the number of people who have told me how much they wish that stores would be open on Sunday all year round, even if it clearly means that people would have to work the weekend to serve them.

I think that some of the Sunday rules actually result from the not-separated relationship between government and the church, itself somewhat ironic given how very very few people actually head to church on Sundays here. Makes me wonder if these aspects of Finnish society will change in ten or twenty years -- continuing the progression towards increased productivity and convenience at the expense of work-life balance and a "standard" 40-hour work week.

Viva Paris!

2007-12-08T15:34:00.000+02:00

A month ago (because I am lazy about updating this blog) a group of women from the Helsinki office headed to Paris for the weekend and I joined. Why?

Because...well, it shouldn't take much of an excuse to head to Paris! Home of beautiful art...

...and truly extraordinary cookies!

I found these in Le Marais a short while before heading back to Helsinki, at a bakery called Pain de Sucre. They helped me to recover from a truly miserable flight experience. What kind of sadomasochistic airport shunts you into a gate area with neither food nor bathrooms? Charles De Gaulle, that's who. But back to the interesting stuff...

We found a fabulously affordable place to stay in the 5th arrondisement called the Hotel de L'Esperance -- only 71 euros per night with my own bathroom! And near a subway! The street was quiet --
but not too quiet to have that all-important French accessory -- the bakery! Unfortunately, that bakery wasn't quite as creative as this one...

I spent Saturday morning walking around with my "TimeOut Paris" guide and, of course, getting lost. For example, I don't think this church was exactly on my itinerary -- I was actually trying to find a recommended tea house -- but I was glad to come across it just the same.

I also stumbled (literally) across a set of bike racks for the much publicized public bike rental scheme. The Velib program has 750 locations across the city and lets you rent a bike for a euro per half hour and return the bike to any other location. Perfect as an alternative form of public transportation, or the only form when all the bus and train drivers go on strike as they did again two days after I left.

Despite the seemingly random meandering, my actual goal continued to elude me: the Sacre Coeur church in Montmartre. Then, a couple of hours (and one pot of tea and two scones) later I hiked up a few dozen stairs to the church itself.

Unfortunately pictures aren't allowed at all inside the cathedral - presumably that would impact the sales at the gift shop. They actively practice herding inside as well. Proctors of some kind quickly gather people as they enter, chastise them for being loud or camera-wielding or just tourists, then not-so-gently guide people to the left and tell everyone to follow the arrows as they encourage you to take a quick pass-through on your way back to the exit.

Despite the general air of disapproval I got from anyone associated with the church itself, the experience was...wonderful. Easily one of the most beautiful cathedrals (technically a basilica) I have ever been in, mostly because it was so accessible. Most cathedrals are long and narrow in an effort to inspire awe and knee-dropping in loyal church subjects. But the Sacre Coeur is just one large dome with another square area in the front, leading to an overall feeling of community and sharing rather than "bow before me, weaklings!" attitude.

This generally peaceful feeling I left with helped convince me that paying 5 euros to climb to the top of the Basilica was a good deal. Nearly 300 steps later I still thought it was a good deal but I would regret it the next day when my legs essentially stopped functioning. However, it was worth it for the incredible views...

...though the stairwell itself could use some loving care, or at least a paint job in a brighter and more church-like color.

Other notable sights that day included the River Seine (where we took a rather unspectacular tour boat cruise)...

...and a street sign that instantly helped convince me that Harry Potter is not fiction after all. Nicholas Flamel lives (or, lived)! He was a real person! With a real street named after him!

This blog entry is now becoming quite long, so rather than bore you with the rest of the details, I will finish with some unusual sights from the Botanical Gardens I accidentally happened across while lost on my way to yet another subway station:

Dinosaurs!

And even better...dragons! Oh, those kooky Parisians!

Images from other Helsinki landmarks taken on cold November days

2007-11-25T19:49:00.000+02:00

After a recent increase in time spent wandering about Helsinki, I finally managed to squeeze in visits to some of the last official landmarks (as noted by the Lonely Planet and my occasional local guides, anyway).

Most notable landmark I continued to miss for the first 3.5 months of my Finland stay: the Orthodox Cathedral. Rather pathetically, I managed to somehow not find it even though it sits high on a hill a mere four blocks from where I work. Yes, apparently I really am that clueless.

The cathedral boasts an imposing deep-red brick external facade which unfortunately means that most visitors who end up seeing the inside of the cathedral are cruelly disappointed. Or at least, I was. On the inside the cathedral is rather dark, drab, heavy and overly-ornate with dark paintings and cluttered decorations surrounding a small square internal area. Worth a visit for the outside, though.

Another landmark was even closer -- a mere two blocks from my home and yet routinely ignored by me for weeks. Temppeliaukio Church was build about 45 years ago directly into rock, with the walls rising above the rock line to let light into the church from all directions. I thought this church beautiful and am looking forward to maybe hearing music played there sometime. The relatively low ceiling (compared to cathedrals, anyway), excellent light and contrast between traditional materials (rock) and modern (the copper strands composing the ceiling) were fabulous. Unfortunately, my picture (below) can in no way do it any justice - you're better off checking out the pictures on the websiteinstead.

Another landmark missed until quite recently - the Olympic tower. Though perhaps not that impressive to other Chicago-ites used to peering up at the Sears Tower, the 72m of the Olympic Tower do offer nice views of Helsinki. Plus, at 2 euros, it's considerably cheaper to access than the Sears Tower or other similar landmarks.

One last thing worth noting -- the houses on what is apparently the most expensive street in Helsinki. While somewhat more colorful than the other row-houses that seem to make up 95% of residences here, I think this street's status primarily comes from proximity to the ocean. The house on the end is just across the street from the water. Not that exciting in November, but during the four weeks of summer it is probably quite nice.

Finnish and Swedish

2007-11-25T19:33:00.000+02:00

Despite what one might think, Finnish is not the official language of Finland. It is one of the two official languages - the other is Swedish.

Apparently a small but vocal (and wealthy and politically influential) Swedish minority in Finland continues to maintain the importance of speaking Swedish in Finland. Learning Swedish in school is mandatory, and it appears that most or all official signage gets displayed in both languages.

Street signs are a good example - all are shown with Finnish on top and Swedish immediately below. For the native English-speaking expat, this can actually be a good thing. Oftentimes the Swedish version has roots closer to familiar English words and can also be shorter overall, though this isn't true nearly often enough given the difficulty of the long street names...

And other street names only show minor differences between the languages...

Viva Malta!

2007-11-18T19:22:00.000+02:00

One of the benefits of joining an international office (even temporarily) is that you get to go along on their office outings, which are...a little more exotic than the (every nice) outings for a traditional US office. This year, the Nordic offices all banded together to go to...MALTA!

Below, some scenes of the harbor from the capital city of Valetta...

While peering over one of the stone walls, we caught a regatta kicking off.

Malta has some beautiful churches...

And also some rather unorthodox ones...

Though pretty, there actually wasn't much to see or do in Malta other than wander around the capital and maybe sit on the beach. I got the distinct impression that most visitors come to hang out in nightclubs, which seems like rather a long way to go for a cocktail and to hang out with some foreign tourists.

Of course, not everyone comes to stay for even a night. While exploring Valetta we managed a few calm minutes...

...before one of the cruise ships regurgitated its contents onto the city for a few hours.

Below, something that hasn't seen much use in modern times, but which I think could be aimed at a cruise ship or two with few ill effects...

And of course, there are always some familiar signs of home.

Walking tour, part 2

2007-11-18T19:03:00.000+02:00

Though I love to walk/run around the small bay near my house (Töölönlahti), I hadn't spent much time walking around the actual seashore yet. And of course, Helsinki is surrounded by water:

View Larger Map

Plenty of paths cross the seashore for Helsinki residents to use during the warmer months (or for the hardier of residents to use all year round, if they have spikes on their shoes to dig into the inevitable ice). The first stop on the seashore tour: the Sibelius monument.

Jean Sibelius is the best-known Finnish composer, with his name gracing pretty much anything that is both Finnish and music-related. His monument, below, caused some controversy.

Some people apparently felt that the monument did not clearly convey Sibelius' genius, or perhaps at the very least, that the set of organ pipes was actually a monument to a man. They commissioned the artist to create a mask of his face to sit alongside the monument to clarify the matter for all those unused to seeing monuments to people that were not actually pictures of those people. Though I am from the Washington DC area, it has never occurred to me to check if there is a similar little statue of Washington sitting alongside his monument, which doesn't really resemble him as a person either.

That was pretty much it for the monuments on the seashore, but there was plenty more beauty to be seen.

Walking tour, part 1

2007-11-18T18:55:00.001+02:00

A friend came to visit for a few days and managed to see more of Helsinki in about twelve hours of walking than I had seen in the six weeks before she arrived.

Shamed, I started hoofing my way around the city, alone and with friends, to catch up. Below is one of the main streets in Helsinki, notably NOT during Saturday afternoon when all streets in the city center are crowded with people gleefully shopping away the last week's worth of salary.

First stop: the Lutheran Cathedral, also thought of as the center of Helsinki. Location: approximately 1.5 blocks from where I work.

There are some nice statues in front...

Including one which shows that Finns do in fact have a sense of humor...

Crazy Days!

2007-11-18T18:40:00.000+02:00

Stockmann's, the main department store where everyone in Helsinki seems to shop, goes out of its way to prove that a Price Club/Costco outlet in Finland would make a killing.

Twice a year they host "Crazy Days" for Wed-Sat, where literally all of Helsinki turns out to shop at Stockmann's and try to save a few euros.

Rather than mark down things in the store (though there is some of that as well), they instead truck in large quantities of lesser brand names and sell them off big pallets on their ground floors (sound familiar to any Costco shoppers?) To help stir people into a frenzy, they also advertise bargain-basement travel deals and other attractive sales, fill the store full of friendly and unrattled salespeople, and blanket the store with the signature bright yellow of Crazy Days: signs, bags, clerk aprons -- it's all done up in Big Birds' signature sunshine color.

I walked past on the first day they were open at 8:30am, thirty minutes after Crazy Days started, and literally saw a stream of people flooding out of the store with their yellow bags. These were the smart ones who tried to avoid the crowds. I wasn't able to get a good picture because trying to extend my arms away from my body during the busy times wasn't an option, so I could only snap a few pictures near closing time.

The Fish Market

2007-11-18T18:05:00.000+02:00

As you can tell from the five-week gap in blog posts, I have gotten quite lazy recently. What follows now is the first of many attempts to catch up.

One sunny weekend (several weeks ago, when the sun was still strong enough to create days qualifying as "sunny" here in Helsinki) I wandered down the street where I work and discovered a crowd clustered around a gaggle of fishing boats in the harbor. Apparently, for a week or two, these boats stop in Helsinki to sell their wares...

Though it was quite scenic and fun, the products they were all trying so hard to unload were completely unidentifiable to a native English speaker. The only fish I can identify in Finnish are salmon (lohi) and tuna (tonnikala) so the smorgasbord of tiny fish in every possible kind of sauce (well, color of sauce) was a seemingly hopeless case.

Despite many attractive eating opportunities (small mystery fried fish, anyone?) I settled for a salmon pastry and a Belgian waffle for breakfast instead.

And of course, what self-respecting fish market would be complete without a kickin' band of Finnish folk singers? Still not sure if looking like a cross between Eric Clapton, John Denver, and Steven King was an actual requirement for the band...

Weekend 7: Turku - the previous capital of Finland

2007-10-07T16:12:00.000+03:00

Last weekend a friend and I went to visit Turku, the previous capital of Finland. The two-hour train ride from Helsinki passed uneventfully, at least once we realized that seating is assigned on trains so we couldn't just plop down wherever we wanted (as, in fact, we originally did). Fast, clean, efficient...a little expensive, but otherwise a very easy travel experience.

First impression of Turku: cities with rivers running through them are nice.

Also, big cathedrals on the waterfront are a big plus.

One oddity about cathedrals in Finland: they all appear to have ornate model boats hanging from the ceiling as part of some tradition I don't yet understand. Here's one.

I guess if I were paying more attention I would probably know more about the boat story. As a really poor student of history, I also wasn't paying enough attention to remember this guy's name, though I do remember that he created the written Finnish language. Any guesses as to his name...anyone?

Another highlight of the trip was a visit to the Handicrafts Museum -- actually more like a Handicrafts Village with ~30 huts where people continue to produce crafts as they did in the ~1800's.

We got there right before closing so there weren't a lot of handicraft-makers still about, but we managed to see an original paper-printer and the room where the violin-maker works. The crafts produced here are actually used or sold throughout Turku (and possibly beyond), no doubt carrying a significant premium for the additional amount of hand-labored work that went into them.

Finally, we walked about ~30 minutes down the river to check out Turku Castle.

The castle primarily consisted of mostly-empty rooms, sometimes with a small display of furniture or old knick-knacks from the appropriate time period. They did make some efforts to jazz up some of the displays -- not quite sure what the short witchy-woman in the frayed dress is doing here by this desk, but I'm sure whatever it is, it is historically accurate.

And the strange "hanging boat" tradition continued in the castle church as well.

One of my favorite "knick-knacks" was this small statue of a knight totally kicking the ass of this one poor dragon. Take that, dragon! And that! Yeah, that'll teach you to mess with Turku!

Really fresh vegetables

2007-10-07T16:01:00.000+03:00

Buying salad greens and herbs is a different experience here. To make sure they are fresh, many items (including lettuce, and basil which is far more common and cheap here than back home) are sold still growing in their own cute little plastic pots, complete with dirt and roots.

I would have thought this was a gimmick and a little ridiculous, but the truth is that back home we end up throwing out a fair amount of salad greens because they don't get eaten fast enough. Two weeks ago I bought too many greens for a dinner party I was hosting, and yesterday the remaining greens (still with pot and dirt) were doing just fine in my fridge. Some gimmicks work.

American food invasion at Stockmann's

2007-10-07T15:54:00.000+03:00

Another funny picture from the "New York State of Mind" theme at the Stockmann's, the major department store here. Outside one of their entrances they have a window with a detailed display of all the American-style foods they are selling to get people into this New York State of Mind.

I notice that most of these foods are junky and not of particularly high quality. When did we become more known for our graham crackers and cheesecake-in-a-box than California rolls, avocado salads, and canned-soup fixation? (I mention the last because it didn't occur to me earlier than canned soup would not be international, but the only canned soup I can find is some kind of pea concoction. In fact, cans are used so rarely that my apartment doesn't even have a can opener, forced me to pry open canned tomatoes once with a corkscrew and a small knife when I was preparing for a dinner party and didn't have time to hunt down an appropriate can-opening substitute.)

Weekend 5: Crayfish party

2007-10-07T15:36:00.000+03:00

In Finland there is a ritual celebration known as the Crayfish Party, known in Finnish as Rapujuhlat and in Finnish translated to English sometimes as "the crab feast". It turns out to actually not be that different than a regular crab-eating picnic you might have in the Chesapeake Bay area, except in this case the crabs are really really small, bear some resemblance to insects, and to have very little meat within them that qualifies as food.

For our work party they rented out a nearby villa so everyone could take a traditional sauna prior to the eating festivities. Even the setting for eating these little critters differs -- a combination of formality and paper bibs.

Given how many of the pesky things you have to eat to feel remotely placated, the dining process takes a while. To ease things along, you have a wide assortment of beverages at your disposal, including Koskenkorva, a dry Finnish Vodka drunk at toasts.

Perhaps as a result of much Koskenkorva drinking, or perhaps also from happy Nordic tradition, there is also much singing at Crayfish parties. One person starts and then everyone else (who speaks Finnish or Swedish) joins in to a rousing chorus of songs that appear to be about anything and everything. And then the eating and drinking continue. All in all, much fun, particularly when the crayfish are gone and they let you hit the buffet where the real food was secreted away.

More scenes from Helsinki

2007-09-16T15:06:00.000+03:00

It is starting to get colder, rainier, and a little darker now in Helsinki. A friend and I had drinks on top of a historic downtown hotel, Hotel Torni, with a spectacular view of central Helsinki.

As a testament to the upcoming cold, the outside balconies keep a stash of communal blankets available so you can continue to sip your martinis and ciders outside, even as the temperature starts to edge down to 0 degrees Celcius.

One way to cope with the darkness is to...just ignore it. A week ago I went for a run around the "lake" (actually more pond-size, and actually neither a lake nor a pond but a small bay) near by apartment. It was quite late, about 9pm, and dark by then, but the trail was full of joggers and "Nordic walkers" and bikers resolutely getting in their exercise. Impressive, and comforting to know that the outsides won't become lonely just because the sun chooses to be elsewhere for most of the day.

The "lake" is called Töölönlahti and I love having it nearby. The opera building and several restaurants overlook the water. It's a far cry from Chicago, where we live 1.5 miles from the lakefront and a few square meters of grass still qualify as a park.

Weekend 4: Viva Estonia!

2007-09-16T14:30:00.000+03:00

On Saturday September 8th I decided to take a day trip to Tallinn, capital of Estonia, for fun, city exploration, and perhaps even a little non-Euro shopping experience.

The trip didn't start propitiously. In a not-unexpected example of over-ambitious behavior, I decided to try to catch the 8am ferry on a Saturday morning without pre-booking a ticket and without actually knowing exactly where the proper ferry terminal was located. I almost forgot my passport. I didn't have any tourist information about Estonia at all. I arrived at the ferry port exactly seven minutes before the ferry was supposed to leave, saw an enormous line at the passport control, and was told that they couldn't sell me a ticket less than 10 minutes before departure.

Then someone took pity on the glazed-eyed American and they let me buy a ticket, I was the last person through Passport Control, and...I was off!

On arriving in Tallinn, of course I immediately got lost but that turned out to be a good thing. It was still early and the Old Town was quiet, letting me wander down cobblestone streets looking up at church steeples in peace.

Of course, later on in the day it got a little more crowded.

I also spent some time in the Kumu Art Museum, located in a beautiful new building which is unfortunately nowhere near the Old Town. I signed up for one of those audio bus tours to get there, but of course missed the return trip and had to taxi back to the land of the tourists. However, I think it was worth it.

There was one exhibit filled only with sculptures of famous people's heads, and they had piped in audio clips of (some?) people talking such that, as you approached the room, it sounded as if there were a large cocktail party going on.

And of course, there was other art. I really liked this drawing.

There are also numerous smaller museums scattered about the city and especially the Old Town, but frankly they weren't that interesting. Mostly exhibits of period costumes next to plaques listing historical facts in several languages (English was usually fourth). However, there was one piece of Estonian history which caught my eye: a figure of a Don Quixote-lookalike titled: "Old Thomas". Perhaps I have more roots in Estonia than I realized.

New York in Helsinki

2007-09-09T18:04:00.000+03:00

Stockmann's is the premier department store in Helsinki and you can buy everything there. It combines elements of Macy's, Nordstrom's, Target, Best Buy, and your favorite grocery store, not to mention a coffee shop and an ice cream stand. More importantly, it is conveniently a block from where I work, so I have gone there at least twice a week (and occasionally, twice in one day, since arriving.)

However, it has been a little less appealing in the last week or so, since they undertook this extensive new ad campaign for fall. After traveling all this way to experience Nordic culture, Stockmann's is doing its best to indoctrinate everyone into...New York culture. Or, frankly, anything that is associated with the U.S.

This means that the candy area I reliably count on for my Fazer chocolate fix is now filled with Hershey's, Pepperidge Farm chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, and marshmallow creme. The men's clothing area sports Timberland and Tommy Hilfiger. "It's a New York state of mind" by Billy Joel is on constant replay on all seven floors of the store. And enormous ads with "New York" in meter-high letters are everywhere.

I don't know if it makes me a little homesick, or just makes me feel as if I shouldn't have bothered coming all this way. Plus, it is a little sad that a people with access to such absolutely excellent chocolate should ever feel they have to buy Hershey's. What a tragic waste.

My new favorite drink

2007-09-09T17:57:00.000+03:00

I have discovered something wonderful about living in Finland. Well, there are many wonderful things, but this is about a drink. Sadly, not a fancy alcohol drink, but something easily available in the drinks closet at work (well, until someone, usually me, runs through the stash.

I am referring to delicious, fruity, calorie-free Apple-Pear Fanta. It's like someone knew that these were my two favorite fruit flavors and put them them into this one drink so they could live together in joyous and refreshing harmony. It could only be more perfect if that someone had remembered to add some caffeine as well.

Weekend 3: Fireworks exhibition

2007-09-02T09:50:00.001+03:00

I really scored with my apartment location. Not only am I within easy walking distance of downtown and work, but there is a pond/lake nearby which is perfect for running and also for viewing any number of cultural goings-on. On this last Friday night, for example, it was the site of a fireworks shakedown between four competing companies vying for the "best fireworker" title (...ok, I made the title up, but I think it would be appropriate.)

Unfortunately, I didn't realize how many other people like fireworks -- the streets were a madhouse. Several thousand clustered in front of the Parliament building for a good view...

(What you can't see is that every single one of those people is either holding a bottle of wine or standing by a convenient twelve-pack. There is a lot of public alcohol consumption during festival-like outdoor events.)

I had a great view of the fireworks on my way home. Apologies for the crappy picture quality -- it's a new camera and I don't know where the "night" setting is yet.

Weekend 2: Suomenlinna!

2007-09-02T09:28:00.000+03:00

Suomenlinna is a fortress whose original name (Sveaborg) meant "Swedish Fortress" but now, for obvious reasons, it is called Suomenlinna instead ("Finnish Fortress"). It is the pre-eminent cultural attraction in Finland and the 2nd-most-often visited tourist attraction (after a water park - no joke).

A breezy 15-minute ferry ride takes me to Suomenlinna, where in the grand tradition of all my other travel experiences to date, I get lost. Suomenlinna is a collection of 5-6 islands (two original islands were bridged together some time ago) connected by narrow wooden bridges. Due to my poor sense of direction, I only actually made it to two of these islands, but according to the tour guide they were the most popular and interesting islands anyway so I'll leave it at that. (note: the tourist website says 8 islands but I stick with what the tour guide told me... :)

There are 850 permanent residents on these islands, as well as a plentiful supply of tourists during the non-dark months. As it is a popular picnicking destination, there were also crowds of university students arriving in small mobs laden with 12-packs of beer they don't have to bother carrying discreetly here -- public alcohol consumption is just fine!

Among the interesting bits of trivia I learned:

The fortress wall was originally supposed to be 40 kilometers long and take only four years to complete, but 40 years (and eight kilometers) later they finally backed off of that plan. Turns out the rock is really really hard on Suomenlinna.
The soldiers who were staffed to build the fortress wall had a tough life. They slept three to a mattress for warmth, with mattresses washed every six years and only replaced after 18 years. Needless to say, disease was a problem.
Suomenlinna is now a UNESCO World Heritage site - hurray! One down, several hundred left to go...

Suomenlinna screams "picnic here!"

Some courtyard building were painted in bright colors while the fortress was under Russian possession...

The quintessential image of Suomenlinna is this helmet and sword which covers the tomb of the first commander of the fortress.

Food food food

2007-09-02T09:05:00.000+03:00

My eating experiences in Helsinki have been a little sporadic to date. Despite my self-acknowledged status as a foodie, the crazy-high exchange rate with the Euro ($1.38 to one Euro) compel me to save money wherever possible.

So, I have been buying lots of groceries, scavenging food from the substantial repositories kept at work, and otherwise avoiding restaurant meals entirely. (To date: three real restaurant meals eaten with coworkers at lunchtime, one take-out pizza and two rather-mediocre takeout Thai meals for dinner.)

Despite the not-quite-monklike asceticism of my new eating habits, I find the scavenging options suit me well here. Smoked fish is delicious, salad makings are easy, and even the smallest of kiosk-like grocery stores carries a plentiful and varied supply of yummy delicious cheese.

A typical meal is below: Arugula mixed with "slightly salted" smoked trout, and served with these delicious whole grain rye crackers that not even the most whole-earthy of US grocery stores seems to deign to carry. I love them. What you don't see is the thick layer of cheese I am about to dab on those crackers.

Unfortunately, the second picture shows the reason why I will not be returning to the US a sprightly 20 pounds lighter. The chocolate here is fantastically better than US chocolate. In this case, they wedged a full fruit-filled chocolate on top of a shortbread wafer and marketed the whole thing as a typical cookie. I choose to keep secret the number of these so-called cookies that I ate in one sitting...

Moving in....

2007-08-26T20:20:00.001+03:00

I moved into my new apartment six days ago. It's about ~50 square meters, one bedroom (well, one bed without much room other than the bed) with a large living room and kitchen/dining room combo. The apartment is on the sixth floor of a wonderful vintage building with an elevator that looks as if it were one of the very first ever batch of elevators made in Finland (or anywhere). It is an iron cage which moves slowly but very smoothly. So far my biggest concern is making sure I open the inner cage door without getting my fingers squeezed off through the grate.

I love having a real place to live here in Helsinki. Though hotel life is nice a few days a week (and is something you just get used to as a consultant) the room service/housekeeping/cable tv/etc... just doesn't make up for the freedom of being able to really unpack, cook, and just know that there won't be someone coming in every day between 10am and 2pm to pick up after you and potentially look through all your things.

The apartment is so conveniently located to downtown and work that I felt guilty even buying (or using) a pass for the tram, though I'm sure that will change once it gets COLD and DARK DARK DARK. It only takes 15 minutes to walk all the way in to work, even carrying the dreaded laptop bag and wearing the dreaded work shoes.

Other problem: Remembering the name of the street I live on. You try it. Caloniuksenkatu. Try it again: Ca-lo-ni-uk-sen-katu. Sheesh!

Anyway, enough rambling. There are pictures of the apartment below. It really does look surprisingly this nice (well, it did before I moved my 100+ kg of crap in!) but apparently the pictures were taken for some architectural magazine in which the apartment was featured. It's always nice to be reminded that other people have such much better taste than us normal folks...

First weekend in Helsinki

2007-08-26T13:55:00.000+03:00

(too lazy on the first weekend to write this entry, so it's now the second weekend)

I spent my first weekend in Helsinki trying to get comfortable with my surroundings. I mostly did this by walking around the same shopping district I had walked around during the week (because it's also where my office is), but this time without an enormous laptop bag and with much more comfortable shoes.

Selected views from my weekend:

A street hockey league had some kind of championship right outside my hotel. Isn't this normally played with some kind of skates?

There is a lovely park on the street where I work (Pohjoisesplanadi), with a number of Spanish sculptures parading down the center of the park. It also seems to be a serious tourist haven, and, as noted by "The Lonely Planet" is also the most expensive shopping street in Finland!

That weekend also turned out to be the running of the Helsinki Marathon, the largest marathon in Finland. It felt a little decadent to be eating an enormous scoop of Rum Raisin ice cream while watching these poor saps on mile 20+ of their ordeal, but I managed...

...though to be fair, the runners had a classy cheering section not typically seen in the U.S.

And to continue the anti-healthy-marathoning spirit, there is a wide variety of ice cream available here -- including a very familiar brand from home!

And below, some random images of people in Helsinki. They do love their cafes during the (short, few) summer months...

Welcome to Helsinki!

2007-08-15T20:21:00.001+03:00

Well, I'm here! After a 14-hour travel ordeal across two flights, I have now been in Finland for approximately 29 hours. Summary: so far, I love it. More details: read below.

Getting here certainly wasn't easy. Lessons learned to date:

Avoid Heathrow at all costs. While the shopping is good, you're forced into constant alertness during your layover (rather than vegging out in a haze on one of the uncomfortable seats) because they won't tell you your gate until 30 minutes before the flight. Also, the new 'one carry-on bag only' rule resulted in my starting a fight at security between the nice security guards who wanted to let my oversized bag squeeze by and the nasty mean security guard who wanted me to go ALL THE WAY back out to the main entrance to check it. It's a bad sign when your first experience in Europe makes you long for US airports. Fortunately, my team (the nice guards) won.
They don't tip in Finland. I only found this out about 20 hours after the airport shuttle driver gave me a long befuddled look when I tried to give him 10% for his trouble lugging my 200 pounds of luggage into and out of his van.
Go ahead and pack boring comfortable shoes when you come to Finland. Unlike many other European countries I have been to, which all made me feel like some kind of peasant girl due to my unsophisticated clothing and strictly basic sense of shoe style, Finns dress for style and comfort, and the majority of women appear to be wearing flats. Sure, flats are in right now, but still. I love this country already.

That covers my impressions up through my first hour in the country. Everything after that has basically been a fight between me and jet lag. I managed a nice workout in the hotel gym (which appears to be approximately 1/3 the size of the nearby saunas), then took a short walk around the city.

Finns really do want to live it up during these days of mild weather. Every cafe and restaurant seems to have outdoor seating filled with people happily laughing and eating as if the days of 21-hours-of-darkness aren't fast approaching.

My walk did reveal a few cultural differences:

Design of common household items is sassier. Check out this knife block found in a store next to my hotel:
Some foods here have interesting ingredients, such as "mojo". I thought "mojo" meant sex drive or sex appeal, a la Austin Powers, but then what is "mojo gratin"? Maybe everything is better with cheese...

Finally, I started work in the Helsinki office early this morning, where I was laughingly admonished for coming in early (8:30am!) Most or all of the ~30 consultants and ~5 staff came over to personally introduce themselves to me, and in the afternoon they held a coffee and cake (mmmm...cake!) to welcome me. Incredibly nice people. Also, stylish, as evidenced by my sleek new black desk (abutting two other desks -- no cubes or offices for lowly consultants here) and the gorgeous flowers they placed on my desk. It would all be enough to make me look forward to going to work tomorrow...if I weren't so darn sleepy.