The Fin(n)ish

Before arriving in Finland I was warned by the rest of Scandinavia that the Finnish were a strange people. They liked to drink. They didn't say much. They were a little bit 'not quite right in the head'. Sounded interesting.

There certainly does seem to be a certain aminosity between the rest of Scandinavia and Finland - much of it of which I'm sure is in a joking way (in the same way Britain and France have a certain 'rivallry'.) The girls I met in Bergen though said Finland liked to think they were part of Scandinavia... but really they weren't. They were 'different'. I guess a big thing is the language. Whereas Swedish, Danish and Norwegian are all very very similar, to the point where the people from each country can all talk with each other with relative ease (similar to the difference between a London and a Glaswegian accent- it takes some getting use to, and each use some slightly different words, but it is completely possible to understand each other) Finnish, on the other hand, is utterly different. It has been most likened to Hungarian (something which I'm not entirely sure how has come about) and is about as different from the other Scandinavian languages as English is. I guess another thing which has made everyone else look at Finland a bit funny has been its proximity to Russia, and the long histories of wars and conflicts there. My Swedish friends complained that the Finnish people are generally very withdrawn- almost sullen. My couchsurfing host in Rovaniemi told me about how the Nazis razed Lapland to the ground. And then there was another war with Russia. And another. Finland has had a very long war history, and those kind of things really must make a difference. Especially compared to Sweden who simply does not have any kind of experience of war.

Nevertheless, I didn't like Helsinki. It was cold, it was tired looking, there was not that much to do. In the top 10 'things to do in Helsinki' list, number 4 was 'Go to Tallinn (Estonia) for the day!'. So that's what I did.... Just a 2 hour ferry journey away and I was in the beautiful little old town of Tallinn. Helsinki did have some nice spots, and a stunning cathedral. I also couchsurfed with a lovely couple who lived by the sea- I cooked my vegetable lasagne for them (classic) with mushrooms that they had picked from the forest the previous weekend and we laughed and chatted and took their cute dog for a walk around the area. I met up with Connie- the girl I had met in Bergen, and we spent an afternoon taking funny pictures in the city centre. But.... I was eager to leave. Helsinki struck me as a place where you lived, or worked. But not a place eager for tourists.

Helsinki Cathedral

Wonderful couchsrufing hosts

Tallinn

So I decided to get out of there a day early and, rather than get the train, grab a cheap flight up to Rovaniemi- the gateway to the Arctic circle, the capital of Lapland, but more importantly- the home of Santa Claus. I arrived with the announcement on the plane “Welcome to Rovaniemi. The weather here is.... well the same as Helsinki. Wet and cold.” Nice. I dislked Rovaniemi as well. It was concrete block after shopping mall after concrete block. I'm sure the wet and cold didn't help matters but it was a depressing place. Even Santa's village seemed a little bit sad- but that was probably because I was the only person on the 'Santa Express' that runs from the town to his village, and it was just kind of grey and drizzerly outside. Not the best for Christmas cheer or winter wonderland vibes. It was a cool experience though- all of the people that work there in the shops are dressed in little elf costumes- my couchsurfing host there actually used to work as one (she complained bitterly about having to smile and be a jolly elf in the face of rude spoilt kids). There's also even a postroom where you can write a letter to Santa, and you can also pay for him to send a letter back! I then went on through Santa's workshop to meet the man himself. A polylingual genius, Santa can seemingly speak any language- he was chatting away to a Japanese couple in front of me, and when it was my turn to go through to his study he turned what could have been a rather awkward few minutes of sitting with a random Finnish man to a hilarious experience.

A photo with Santa? 25 euroes. A video? 50 euroes. Taking a picture of your video when the elf's back is turned? Priceless.

Rovaniemi.... I visited a very good Arctic museum, I ate at the Northenmost McDonalds in the world, and visted 'Lordi Square', dedicated to the Finnish heavy metal band from Rovaniemi who won Eurovision about 5 years ago. My host took me to a Short Film cinema club she'd organised, and a club night where I got poured the poorest excuse for a pint I have ever seen. It was nice, but I wouldn't go back.

My impressions of the Finnish people were a little mixed at the this point. I wasn't sure if my Swedish friends had an point afterall... But hey, I thought, let's see what happens. My next stop was my final stop for a couple of months- playing with huskies and horses in Inari, Lapland, 6 hours north of the Arctic cirlce!