Fast-forward Finnish Summer
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 6:41 AM by lauranen
We're freshly back from our first trip to Finland this summer. This year, actually, although it's hard to believe.
I flew over last week with Lukas and we stayed a night in Tampere with one of the nearest and dearest of friends of mine that I see way too seldom. After a romantic ride into town in an orange genuine 60's Beetle, some frantic shoe-shopping and a lengthy play at the legendary Pikku Kakkosen Puisto playground, we took the train to Jyvaskyla to join my dear childhood friend Anna's hen party.
It was lovely to see "the girls", ie. the few best friends I had in school, and we even managed to catch up again during the week, just the four of us. We couldn't help noticing there was someone missing from the crowd but I guess that's what sometimes happens - people drift apart, against their will or intentionally. It would be nice to get back in touch with other important people from the past too, but where to start and how?
The first few days in Jyvaskyla were somewhat hectic with Lukas and my sister's kids Sara and Sofia ruling the roost. We managed to cart them to the summer house, load them onto the boat and do a little spin on the lake. Lukas and Sara (who were born only a month apart) soon drifted off to the sweet humming of the motor. After we got back on the shore, they were splashing away in the lukewarm water, Lukas acting the Vesipeto (Water Monster) that he is and trying to actually swim, dive and whatnot.
One thing I miss about Finland (that never thought I would) are the 'Markets. It's not strictly a Finnish institution to build massive hypermarkets outside the city centre, but Jyvaskyla has definitely more than its fair share of those. The attraction for me is that the markets are packed with all things Finnish, and if I got my way, I would air lift all 6 of the 'markets to the field next to our house.
I thought I had managed to avoid going crazy when it comes to shopping, but still Lukas got a full set of Rukka raingear (including dungarees, rain coat and waterproof gloves), authentic Nokian Footwear wellies, Finnish editions of Bob the Builder (Puuha-Pete) and Teletubbies (Teletapit) DVD's. We also managed to cart over a children's table on a Ryanair flight without any extra charge, which I consider our biggest achievement of the week.
The week literally rushed past, and before I knew it, it was Friday afternoon and time to pick up Ronan from the train after he flew into Tampere and made his way to Central Finland. Because his visit was such a short one, it was one packed full with action. My brother collected him from the station and we drove to our summerhouse and headed out on the boat with a couple of his friends. The lads did some wakeboarding while I tried to keep Lukas at bay in the cabin, and after the water sports we drove to Katja's summer house for some sauna, swimming and a dish of excellent quasi-Philipino grub, enjoyed al fresco by the lake, in good company.
On Saturday we had a chance to have a sneak peak of the prospective wedding venue in Uurainen which was very exciting! I was mildly disappointed to see that there was still lots to be done, but overall the place was a positive surprise. The setting is beautiful and I'm sure it will be stunning once the renovations are completed.
The real reason why we were in Uurainen was the cousins' meet-up, which was definitely my highlight of the summer so far. It was great to see all the cousins I grew up with and that are still so close to me. The night was over too quickly, even though Jane, Tarzan and Cheetah (ie. myself and the two cousins closest to me in age) managed to stretch the night far into the following morning. Lots of Mother's Conciliatory Punch was had and lots of karaoke sung, we of course watched the statutory nostalgic slideshow of chilhood photos, performed a play (albeit a little less improvised than in the olden days) and had a post-dusk BBQ.
It was both nice and sad to return home. Lukas and his Mummu are both already missing each other, but luckily they will see each other soon again. I miss everyone too, and I miss how happy we always are in Finland. Luckily we're very happy in Ireland too! I can't wait to go to the summer house in Clare tomorrow, now that the sun is finally out.
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