Picture: Main staircase heading up Harju taken by Meggie. Skiers were jumping across the width Sunday.
Coming to Finland? After 4 whole days in Finland I have to raise a glass (empty as alcohol is very expensive here) to some great Apps and innovations we’ve discovered that make life much easier in a different country. The first is an App called HereWeGo which links to your location and can be used to find stores, addresses, museums, pretty much anything in your area. It seems to be a worldwide App and is both easy to use and free. The next is an App for the buses in Finland called Linkki which will use your location to find a destination you enter similar to google maps. The difference is that it will select the bus route and give you options on times. Then it will show you how to walk or drive to the right stop. Super useful if, like us you have only a basic understanding of where you are in a new town. You can also purchase different ticket packages or re-up existing cards. Our favorite though has to be the flexible ‘crampon’ style rubber grippers that stretch over the sole of your boots, such as YakTrax (or one of several generics available on Amazon.com or stores such as REI back in the states). With the risk of falling on ice or compressed snow, these give a great feeling of security and can easily be pulled on or off when entering a building. I’ve seen runners wearing training shoes with these built in, but I’m not there yet…Our next purchase will be personal sauna seats that you can carry around in case you get invited into one. I guess they also give peace of mind rather than whipping out some sanitizer. (Awkward;)
Just in case you feel like visiting us (or somewhere warm if you’re sensible), I recommend getting an international plan so that you can confidently use your phone. The charges can be severe I’ve heard. Some folks from the states here have brand new phones and can use a dual sim card, but the system is new and seems to have bugs that are leaving them unsupported and unable to use their phones properly. We use What’s App to either text, call, or videocall as it’s free and works better than Skype. Lastly, Google Maps always a no-brainer as who wants to be the only person walking around with a paper map? By the way, I should note that this is actually tricky to use in Finland as cell phones die very quickly in these temperatures if your walking around holding it to guide you. Mine was very sad yesterday afternoon. I guess the formation of ice on the screen should have been a clue.
Lastly, you’ve got to love Pulla which is a sweet bread liberally sprinkled with cardamom (sometimes called cardamum). It sometimes resembles a sugary loaf and at others a long Danish pastry. Very tasty and not too sweet. However, as a local told us, “Pulla makes people fat.” I guess that was either a warning or a challenge. Another favorite is a beverage served warm called glögi. It’s a spiced drink that can be either non-alcoholic or with wine. I’ve read that it was originally used to revive postmen or workers who have been outside in the frigid cold for too long. I’m surprised that it didn’t take off in England as the weather can be dodgy all year round. Is the weather in Santa Barbara dire enough to warrant a quick glass of glögi I wonder? A slippery slope there, I fear.
Anyway, we are enjoying all aspects of life here so far. In fact, we have a sauna and assigned weekly use schedule in our apartment building. We put this to good use a few days ago. It was our kids’ first time in the heat and they fared pretty well. Liam and I opted to do it right and so after every 20 minutes or so we went outside in our shorts and flip flops to cover ourselves with snow. It’s not as bad as you think; very refreshing to stand there steaming and red-skinned in -10’ celsius weather! I have also made a startling discovery: Kebab houses everywhere. Usually a guilty pleasure in England after a night out, but now readily available in our own backyard. Of course, now the age-old question of what type of meat exactly is it molded on to the vertical pole can be speculated upon in new country. Ah well, mystery meat is always good.