WorldTravelReynolds

Helsinki Cathedral – Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral

Since we left Florida, pretty much everywhere has been too “cold” to us. Or so we thought until we reached Finland. It was 42 degrees, windy and cold! Even the bus was cold and Chuck asked him to turn the heat on a little bit. Our tour is taking us to a Finnish Countryside and a visit to an old home built in 1869 that the family still lives in. The drive is about an hour away so the tour guide with a very thick Finnish accent talked the entire trip.

Panoramic view of the senate square of Finland

She started out telling us about the saunas in Finland. That they are everywhere. People sit in the sauna, pronounced sah oona (oo as in boo). These saunas are similar to a dry sauna yet it has about 20% moisture and the temperatures are up to 212 F. Thats boiling point. Apparently because of the type of moisture it’s not really boiling.

Bad photo but this is one of the large Saunas used by both men and women but on different days! No co-eding

They also take leaves from a birch tree and make a whisk and after exiting the sauna, you take these whisks and slap each other with it. Considered herbal medicine and good for you. Ok, I’ll pass! The birch trees are also harvested to make xylitol sugar. During winter months, there are only 5 hours of daylight so their headlights are on 24/7/365. If you don’t have them on, you will get a ticket!

The owner dressed in the Finnish attire for farmers.

She did say most people shop and work during those 5 hours as much as possible. Due to these short days, their growing season is short as well. I’m sure the long hours of darkness are depressing. Right now we are headed into spring. She said it was about 2 weeks late. I believe it! The sun rises around 4:30 am but it starts getting light around 3 am. I found that out one morning when I couldn’t sleep due to Chuck’s snoring! And, the sun sets around 9-10 pm. Good thing the ship has blackout blinds!

Finnish goodies with coffee and tea.

House was in great shape to be built in 1863

Their language is both Finnish and Swedish due to the amount of Sweds in Finland and the words don’t always mean the same thing. Up until 1863, the main language was Swedish then after the Winter and Continuation wars and migration to Finland, they settled on having the two languages. So, what you’ll see when visiting Helsinki especially, is two names for streets, businesses, documents, etc.

The farmhouse looked cute.

A heater in each room. Mostly wood burning. Saw a few electric ones.

We stopped at a Church that had the burial place of some very young soldiers of the Winter War, also known as the First Soviet-Finnish War. A war between the Soviet Union and Finland that ended in 1940. An interesting fact, since it is so cold here is they have ice breakers in the water. The water freezes because the baltic sea is only 50% salt water like the oceans. One in seven people own a boat here so during winter months, they must pull the boats out of the water or the ice will crush the hulls. They are all made of wood. Due to the type of water, the hulls stay in good shape. No worms to eat at them. And they are beautiful wooden boats.

I don’t see how those huge horses fit in here.

Finnhorse – Finnish draft working horses

Our next stop was the home visit. What a beautiful area and home. To be built in 1863, this house was in wonderful shape. The family that owned it lived in it. The son is the one in the main house now. His parents moved into a home on the property when the son took over maintaining the home and farming. Wheat is the crop they produce. We were served wheat cookies and given the recipe. Sooo good. We had wheat rolls, hot coffee and hot tea. One breakfast roll had a tomato and some type of seasoning in it. Chuck saw the red color and thought it had jelly in it. The look on his face when he bit into it!

In the bathroom. So cute!

My favorite part was seeing the Finnish Draft horses, called Finnhorses. Talk about beauty. These horses are very strong. They make homemade collars for them and they are used in competition to see which horse is the strongest. An average horse in draught work is capable of pulling about 80 percent of its own weight, while a Finnhorse can pull as much as 110 percent. 

Double names on street signs.

After leaving the delightful farm, most of us slept until we got back to town. We got up way too early today. We stopped at Senate square. Such beautiful architecture. She said the Finland president, along with the Swedish Prime Minister was in the USA with Biden after Finland and Sweden issued papers to join NATO. Something both countries said they would not do but that tells you how much Russia’s war with Ukraine is affecting them. Each of these countries talks about their support of Ukraine.

Hymnals in two languages. Chuck also found some prayer books.

Old Chapel in Sipoo built during the winter war. Soldiers are buried in graves here.

We asked about wild animals here and she said there were moose but they are people shy so its very rare to see one. We did see a fox! It was a fun day albeit colder than the other days during the week. Tomorrow is our last day on this ship so we will be packing and finalizing all our transactions and saying goodbye to all our new friends. 

Just love the homes and their red roofs here.

May God Bless you and keep you safe!

Chuck and Lea Ann