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How does one relax and recharge while waiting for Christmas dinner and Christmas sauna- head out and take a walk. So that’s what I did today. Went out walking around Rovaniemi, Finland for about 45 minutes I think, lost count, could have been half an hour but I had good company so it was hard to say for sure. But, it was great, got the blood flowing, it wasn’t terribly cold- in the mid 20s. It was perfect. Only thing to make it better would have been sun rather than the cloudy sky we had but, it was still nice. Here is a photo of the landscape from out outing in Rovaniemi.
Yesterday (Saturday) was our first full day in Rovaniemi, Finland and we did a little browsing and walking around. In downtown Rovaniemi last year they started building a new shopping center a year or two ago. Last Christmas they had one half of it done and this year, they have a large piece of it that connects over the highway. We only did a quick walk through and it was totally crowded with Christmas coming up but we saw a little of the new shops and the redesigned/open Lordi Rocktaurant. I’m sure I will be able to give a more detailed account later when we go sometime during less crowded times and I can take some internal photos and video but for now, the photo below will have to suffice.
Photo: Kauppakeskus Revontuli , Rovaniemi, Finland
During my time in Finland I always take a few relaxation essentials- books, tv shows I couldn’t watch, and the most essential: music. Being a graduate student I don’t often get much time to just sit back, relax and not think about research, classes or work related things so when I get time off I use it wisely and indulge. This break I have many entertainment sources:
Books (reviews coming later)
In addition to the Minnesota State Drivers license guide to study for our written drivers exams when we return. Below are a few books I plan on taking with me to Finland for leisurely reading.
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
TV Shows
Chuck- If you have yet to start watching this START NOW. Get the Season 1 DVD and then start watching Season 2 on Hulu. It’s awesome and a romantic comedy, they just adverised it really wrong. Don’t be fooled, it’s great!
Private Practice- I started it, it isn’t that great, but, I might as well try to finish it before it is canceled (sorry show producers, it just isn’t that good, but, I invested, gotta ride it out.
The Starter Wife- I have heard too many great things to not get started with this. I watched the first part of the intro miniseries and loved it, gonna try it out if I have time.
Music
Too many to list but tons of new albums out I’m going to finally take time to listen to on the plane ride over. Gotta love iPods!
On top of that I’ll be watching some movies from Finland (whatever happens to be in theaters- need to be BIG releases to make it to Rovaniemi, Finland). The only thing currently on our list is the Tom Cruise Valkyrie movie. Not sure what else might make it there but we think that one is all we’ll get.
FYI: As part of FinnFest there is a midnight run on Friday evening. Wanted to let you know that registration ends this Wed. if you’re interested. I won’t be attending but you all should if you’re runners. Thanks to a friend for referring me to this to post. Here are the details and a link to register.
http://www.salmelahomes.com/RACE/midnightrun.htm
The 2008 Midnight Sun Midnight Run starts and finishes in Duluth’s historic Canal Park. The course winds its way towards the shipping canal in the shadow of the Aerial Lift Bridge, then turns 180 -degrees and follows the shoreline of Lake Superior past Leif Erickson Park to another 180-degree turnaround before finish back in Canal Park.
This unique 5km running and walking event is meant to be for everyone of all abilities. It’s a peaceful, fun evening with fellow outdoor enthusiasts. The first 400 participants are guaranteed a T-shirt. Pre-registration is advised. Prizes will go to the top competitors in each division and overall. Come and join us as we celebrate with Finnfest 2008-a celebration of the land of the midnight sun. Don’t miss this great event! REGISTER NOW!
ONLINE REGISTRATION ENDS WEDNESDAY, JULY 23rd
Finland To Raise Gambling Age Limit:
Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Online-Casinos.com
Anyone who has been to Finland knows there are slot machines EVERYWHERE. Grocery stores, gas stations, pizza places, restaurants, malls; Just everywhere. Kind of like arcade machines or those small candy dispensers you find in grocery stores in the United States that are some how just put up everywhere. It’s like flying into Las Vegas and being greeted by a row of slot machines at the airport and indulging in gambling anywhere anytime. I tried to find more information on this new initiative but had little success. Feel free to post if you have found something.
Sunnuntai 3. helmikuuta klo 14:00 – 18:00 / Sunday February 3rd 2-6PM
Laskiainen / Shrove Sunday
Perinteinen Laskiaisjuhla pidetään Como Park Ski Chalet:ssa sunnuntaina, helmikuun 3. klo. 14.00-18.00. Pulkkamäen, hiihdon, laskettelun ja lumibandyn lisäksi tarjolla on tietysti hernekeittoa ja laskiaispullia. Jos haluat auttaa juhlan jarjestelyissä tai sinulla on kysyttävää, ota yhteyttä Ann tai Risto, suomikoulu(ät)minnesotafinnish.org tai 651-489-8036.
Traditional Laskiainen celebration held at the Como Park Ski Chalet on Sunday, February 3 from 2:00 – 6:00. In addition to the outdoor fun – sledding, cross country and downhill skiing, and some ‘lumibandy’ (snow hockey) – there will be pea soup and laskiaispulla in the chalet. Contact Ann or Risto at suomikoulu (at) minnesotafinnish.org or 651-489-8036 if you have questions or would like to help organize the event.
Paikka/Place: Como Park Ski Center, 1431 N. Lexington Pkwy, Saint Paul, MN. 651-488-9673 Map: http://tinyurl.com/2dbfqq
Lisätietoja/More information: Ann tai Risto, suomikoulu(ät)minnesotafinnish.org, 651-489-8036.
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
January 4, 2008
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080104-first-skates.html
Ice-skating—the oldest human-powered means of transportation—was invented in Finland not for fun but for survival, according to a new study.
Skates made from animal bones have been found throughout Scandinavia and Russia, including some that date back to around 3000 B.C.
The wide dispersal of the ancient artifacts has made it difficult for archaeologists to pin down exactly when and where ice-skating first developed.
Now scientists from Italy and the United Kingdom have calculated that people living in what is now southern Finland would have benefited the most from skating on the crude blades.
The researchers showed that people traveling across the region’s frozen lakes reduced their physical energy cost by 10 percent.
By contrast, skaters in other northern European countries would have had only a one percent energy reduction (see a map of Europe).
“People developed this ingenious locomotion tool in order to travel more quickly and by using not as much energy as if they had walked around all the lakes,” said study co-author Federico Formenti of the University of Oxford in England.
The study appears in this month’s issue of the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society of London.
Leather Straps
Southern Finland has more lakes within 40 square miles (about 100 square kilometers) than any other region in the world.
“I think ice-skating happened in [this] area because of the several long and thin lakes that people had to cross in order to get around, hunting for food or for any daily activity,” Formenti said.
“Those lakes froze during the long winters, when sunlight was there only for a few hours per day.”
It wouldn’t be a Finnish post without a mention of the Finnish Sauna! This is the one requirement my boyfriend has of our future home in the U.S. or Finland. A Finnish sauna is not a steam room just to make sure everyone doesn’t think it is something that is isn’t. It is a dry sauna. In the traditional sense a Finnish sauna is heated through a wood burning stove as you can see below in the video of a wood burning sauna being lit from start to Finnish.
Today, in Finland most saunas are electric. Electric saunas are easier, more convenient, faster to heat up and take up less space. I have experienced both electric and wood burning and wood burning is so much better. Wood saunas have become a luxury nowadays because it takes more time to build, it is measier because of the wood and the room has to be bigger to hold the stove but they create a better sweat and are less vicious. It is a calmer heat- for me, someone who has experienced for a few years and not my entire life, saunas took a little while for me to get used to. REALLY hot! It wasn’t until my second trip that I started making requests for saunas! Now I love them, especially in winter when I can’t feel my legs!! 
To note, a Finnish tradition is to run from sauna to snow/water and back to sauna. They call it the 200 degree club (with a little bit of fluctuation depending on the temp in the sauna and temp outside. I did this once…never again. I think parts of my body are still cold and it was three years ago. Many people are familiar with the Polar Bear running clubs…imagine starting in about 150 degrees F and heading out into -20 degrees…makes you want to cry!!
If you want to read more about the Finnish sauna check out the websites below. There are more photos on my flickr account and a video is on its way of Matti and I starting up a Finnish sauna. I’ll provide a link in the post when it is ready (or you can check back to my video page in the next couple of days!
Links:
Finnish Sauna, an Introduction
Wikipedia and Finnish Sauna
Sauna, A Finnish Institution (courtesy of Virtual Finland)
