So far, we're doing pretty good on updating our blog every day. Today was a PACKED day with the Somero Rotary Club and we had a great time! Today was Ascension Day and a state holiday in Finland, so all businesses were closed, except for the those the Somero Rotary club arranged to meet with us :)
We started the day off with some shopping at Somero Pellavakeskus - The Linen Centre. After shopping, we went to the forest to watch some forestry. It was amazing to see this $1 million machine cut and process 20 year old trees in less than 15 seconds. The hippie inside me almost started crying! But the cool thing about Finland is that for every tree they cut down, they plant 3 more trees. Trees are Finland's "Green Gold".
Next we were treated to the home of famous Finnish writer, Kaara Utrio. Mrs. Utrio was a very gracious host and treated us a complete tour of her home and printing business, all complete with a glass of champagne! At the end of our tour, she presented each of the GSE members with one of her books (in English, of course!).
After the tour, we walked a few hundred yards to the Red Waterlily Resturant (Ravintola Punainen Lumme). We were treated to another traditional Finnish dinner of boiled potatoes, smoked salmon, homemade sausage, salted Baltic herring, sweet potato casserole, lettuce salad with cucumbers and tomatos, fried Pike fish, salted ham and a few other delicious dishes I'm forgetting to mention. The meal was completed with a sour cream dessert with fresh blueberries, cloudberries and lingenberries (my favorite!) and coffee and tea.
We took so much time for lunch (did we mention that we Oklahoma girls really like to eat?) that we weren't able to view the old wooden Lutheran church in Somerniemi until later that afternoon. Instead, we went straight to Hiidenlinna. Hiidenlinna is one man's dream home, take a look at the pictures to see for yourself. The owner did not speak any English and from what our Rotary hosts relayed to us, he was fond of telling dirty jokes that "didn't translate from Finnish". We also saw our first critter after arriving...Robynn stepped on a small snake. Amy also had her own scare with a snake...a small, crooked wooden snake
Our time at Hiidenlinna didn't take as long as planned so we went back to the old wooden church in Somerniemi. This was a gorgeous church that was more than 200 years old. It's crazy to think that this church was twice as old as the state of Oklahoma!
Then as true Fins, we ended our day at the sauna by the lake at the Somero parish camping centre in Siikjarvella. The sauna/locker rooms were split for males and females. And in true Finnish tradition, we did sauna the proper way. After you get nice and sweaty in the sauna, you walk into the lake for a quick dip in the frigid water (today is was around 40F) then go back to the sauna to warm up and repeat as you feel necessary. I'm not gonna lie, that water was COLD! but the feeling you get when you return to the sauna is really great. Every Finnish home has it's own sauna. When the winters get so cold, it's one way they can stay extra warm. Also, the mixing of hot and cold is one way to really relax your body. As I felt the sweat droplets slide down my body, I realized that Americans could really take a lesson from the Fins and take an hour or so twice a week to de-stress and relax.
I've already decided that if/when I can afford to build my own home, it won't be complete without a sauna. You're more than welcome to come over and sauna with me, but please bring your own towel or use a disposable butt towel to keep your germs to yourself :) Oh and traditionally, men and women do not sauna together and suits are optional in your own home sauna, hence the reason for separate sauna facilities!
Lynn
We started the day off with some shopping at Somero Pellavakeskus - The Linen Centre. After shopping, we went to the forest to watch some forestry. It was amazing to see this $1 million machine cut and process 20 year old trees in less than 15 seconds. The hippie inside me almost started crying! But the cool thing about Finland is that for every tree they cut down, they plant 3 more trees. Trees are Finland's "Green Gold".
Next we were treated to the home of famous Finnish writer, Kaara Utrio. Mrs. Utrio was a very gracious host and treated us a complete tour of her home and printing business, all complete with a glass of champagne! At the end of our tour, she presented each of the GSE members with one of her books (in English, of course!).
After the tour, we walked a few hundred yards to the Red Waterlily Resturant (Ravintola Punainen Lumme). We were treated to another traditional Finnish dinner of boiled potatoes, smoked salmon, homemade sausage, salted Baltic herring, sweet potato casserole, lettuce salad with cucumbers and tomatos, fried Pike fish, salted ham and a few other delicious dishes I'm forgetting to mention. The meal was completed with a sour cream dessert with fresh blueberries, cloudberries and lingenberries (my favorite!) and coffee and tea.
We took so much time for lunch (did we mention that we Oklahoma girls really like to eat?) that we weren't able to view the old wooden Lutheran church in Somerniemi until later that afternoon. Instead, we went straight to Hiidenlinna. Hiidenlinna is one man's dream home, take a look at the pictures to see for yourself. The owner did not speak any English and from what our Rotary hosts relayed to us, he was fond of telling dirty jokes that "didn't translate from Finnish". We also saw our first critter after arriving...Robynn stepped on a small snake. Amy also had her own scare with a snake...a small, crooked wooden snake
Our time at Hiidenlinna didn't take as long as planned so we went back to the old wooden church in Somerniemi. This was a gorgeous church that was more than 200 years old. It's crazy to think that this church was twice as old as the state of Oklahoma!
Then as true Fins, we ended our day at the sauna by the lake at the Somero parish camping centre in Siikjarvella. The sauna/locker rooms were split for males and females. And in true Finnish tradition, we did sauna the proper way. After you get nice and sweaty in the sauna, you walk into the lake for a quick dip in the frigid water (today is was around 40F) then go back to the sauna to warm up and repeat as you feel necessary. I'm not gonna lie, that water was COLD! but the feeling you get when you return to the sauna is really great. Every Finnish home has it's own sauna. When the winters get so cold, it's one way they can stay extra warm. Also, the mixing of hot and cold is one way to really relax your body. As I felt the sweat droplets slide down my body, I realized that Americans could really take a lesson from the Fins and take an hour or so twice a week to de-stress and relax.
I've already decided that if/when I can afford to build my own home, it won't be complete without a sauna. You're more than welcome to come over and sauna with me, but please bring your own towel or use a disposable butt towel to keep your germs to yourself :) Oh and traditionally, men and women do not sauna together and suits are optional in your own home sauna, hence the reason for separate sauna facilities!
Lynn
RSS Feed