This video slideshow accompanies a travel feature in The Atlantic called Saunas and Silence: The Finnish idea of a perfect vacation. It’s writer/photographer Trevor Corson’s take on Finland where, he claims, solitude is a national pastime.
The pictures are lovely and he’s done a good job capturing that back-to-nature instinct that Finns cherish, myself included. Admittedly, a good portion of the rest of the world probably considers going to a rustic cottage on a mosquito-infested lake to be a difficult and boring sort of vacation. But hey, that’s where the beer comes in, and it’s really, really good for your soul. The nature stuff, not the beer.
Finnish food was not really featured in the story like I wanted it to be, it’s as simple and boring sublime as getting away to the cottage. I suppose it’s possible that the author doesn’t find pickled herring on hard rye bread a mouthwateringly irresistible breakfast food and was trying to be nice by not mentioning it, but, I really wanted a few more mentions of tasty Finnish eats.
Overall though I’m digging this self-produced video slideshow. Good inspiration for the ones we’ve been working on for Mālamalama, as mentioned here and here.
“I just thought you might be interested in this band, if you haven’t heard of them already. They bring a brand of Finnish funk that is both joyous and soulful. It’s really easy for these new funk bands to sound cheesy but they definitely overcome that. Also look for Didier Sound Spectrum it was an older release from the 90′s that recently saw a reissue. More amazing funky Finnish music.”
No I hadn’t heard of them, thank you for the recommendation, girl!
Here goes the video for “If this ain’t love (don’t know what is).” Yea it’s a few years old, but this can bump all summer long.
Turns out Nicole Willis is originally from Brooklyn (with a solid musical resume), but has apparently studied in Lahti, Finland and blogged about her schoolwork, including philosophy essays and paintings she’s done?! I’m listing to the songs on their myspace and it is enticing me to order their album for real… oh look, here’s a link!
From ice bar to sauna bar plus communist kitsch in Cuban and Russian flavors, Helsinki drinking establishments are not lacking in novelty. This of course means they are slightly corny and very expensive! A recent travel-section article in USA Today confirms that this trend of theme bars is on the upswing.
After reading the article, I can’t say I’m sad that we didn’t actually make it to the Arctic Ice Bar when we tried a couple years ago, at my insistence. The hours were all messed up and then our party of eight balked at the cover charge. Didn’t even know at the time that the room only seats 12 and has an average visit length of 20 minutes! Sheeeeeeeeeit.
As my charming cousins had already shown us, there are much better places to have a drink in Helsinki. This sounds good tho:
“The most intriguing offering is the $7.25 Fisu shot, found throughout the city. It’s a blender drink made by mixing chilled vodka with pastilles of Fisherman’s Friend, a menthol-flavored cough drop. The result looks filthy brown-black, but the taste is all fresh, Arctic icy burn. It has supplanted in popularity the similar but far more vile [lies!] salmiakki shot, made from vodka and salty licorice candies.”
IDK about “Arctic, icy burn” but it sounds yummy to me, like mentholated Jägermeister, maybe? Or maybe not. This blogger Cracker Lilo from whom I, ahem, borrowed the “fisu and sisu” line (but who is wrong about fisu meaning fish; I think it’s probably based on the name Fisherman’s Friend?), tried it at home after reading the article, even going so far as to try other kinds of cough drops like Sucrets and Halls. LoL!
Another blogger at Necroblogicon was less inspired but equally LoL-able. “The body of a Finn seems to be immune to the nigh-magical hangover inducing quality of this concoction. As a weak American, I spent the next two days dancing on the razor’s edge of vomiting and contemplating suicide. I didn’t cough at all, though, although that may have been because of the acid reflux ripping my esophagus to tiny mentholated pieces.”
In related news, the stereotype of Finland as a nation of alcoholics remains undiminished.
Why are there so many ways to make a simple, hard-boiled egg? Ice baths and timers, are they really necessary? Then when I find the perfect recipe, why do I tell it to my sis wrong, when she’s just trying to eat?
And why did my guestbook, attract so much comment spam? Every day a dozen messages about sex fetishes and drugs, when all I wanted was a place for fam to show me love. (I had to kill it.)
I’m not sure if singing about these minor irritations would really make me feel better, but apparently some folks in Finland feel it does.
Another clever Finnish invention: complaints choirs. Anyone who wants to can join the choir and submit complaints. Then the gripes are set to music and performed for fellow citizens and videotaped to post on the internet. [Source]
Here is the Helsinki Complaints Choir in action.
Apparently the concept is catching on in some other parts of the world, but the complaints of the Finns are just hilarious to me, especially the ones about public saunas and why our ancestors didn’t chose a sunnier part of the world in which to settle.
Thanks to my wonderful sister for listening to all my complaints, and not being mad even tho I made her mess up half a dozen eggs. :~j
