Seinäjoki - Tampere

The snow covered boots are a better clue to the temperature in the hut rather than the fire

Esa and the beers.

A guys night out in the fire hut of a hunting camp in the forests surrounding Seinäjoki.. not the cliche Valentines scene but the one I found myself part of on my last night in Seinäjoki. After picking up the necessities; beer, sausages and fire wood.. Esa and I went on a little adventure to find the hunting camp a friend of his had recommended we travel to. After a few dead ends and  emergency consultation, we found the fire hut and Esa taught me how to make a fire the lumberjacks way. Esa is from a farm in the country and during our conversation, recommended I find a host with a similar way of life to discover the 'real' Finland. So I took his advice and found a host who lived in an old house on family land next to a lake.. perfect.

Anni's house.

I met Anni outside her house in Lappajärvi and inside I found a house full of family antiques and, of course, a sauna. The area she lives in shares her family name.. a connection that reminded me that some families and some people haven't had to move from their ancestral lands to find work in towns, cities and factories. I had wanted to go for a walk in the forest and after checking with Anni that I wouldn't be attacked by any bears or moose I set of walking towards the snow covered trees. I was competing with about a metre of snow wherever I was walking but the struggle was worth it as after an hour of wading I discovered I was surrounded by nothing but nature for as far as I could hear.. silence.

Horses aren't known for their kisses.

The next morning I was asked by Anni what I planned to do. 'Probably go for a walk towards the lake and enjoy the scenery' I answered. Anni replied 'Well I could give you a horse riding lesson if you'd like?' I immediately dropped my plans and the next thing I found myself doing was grooming Kukka, the horse who I placed my trust into giving me a good introduction to horse riding. 'They say the world looks more beautiful from horse back' Anni told me as we were leading Kukka outside after a quick lesson on the basics inside the maneesi and I don't know if they were right or it was just particularly beautiful in Lappajärvi but riding around the fields and roads was a supreme pleasure.

I'm on a horse!

Next on my agenda was an activity not too dissimilar from "late night bathing in the arctic sea in the middle of winter in sub zero temperatures". Anni told me of a sauna club just a couple of kilometres away from the house so I grabbed my trunks and headed for the sauna. I opened the sauna door to be greeted by four old Finnish men were clearly surprised to see a young foreigner speaking English at them. None the less I managed to communicate it would be my first time walking from the sauna to the hole in the ice just outside and climbing down the steps into it.. a prospect they all seemed to be excited for. As one of the men lead me outside the others gathered round to watch and as I stepped down into the water I realised why.. involuntarily panicking because of the dramatic change in temperature, my breathing raced and I forgot how to think. I tried to stay in for the 30 seconds the men had told me to aim for but I managed around 5 before I had my sights set on the warm haven of the sauna. The pain was about to increase as the men said to 'get the full experience' I had to roll around on the snow before I could return back to the sauna.. that felt like being stabbed by a thousand tiny needles because of how sensitive my skin was feeling after the dip in the ice. Then, finally, I returned to the sauna - heaven. I repeated this (crazily) twice more and by the 3rd time I actually could bare the water and stop myself from panicking.. and once I returned to the sauna for the final time I was overcome by an odd emotion that I haven't yet been able to describe and retrospectively I'd probably do it all again to experience that emotion again.

The next day I left Lappjäarvi and Anni for Tampere. Arriving in a big Finnish city on a Friday I had one thought on my mind.. party! It would turn out I was to hit the jackpot. I had been told by my host Veera to meet her at the amateur theatre she volunteers with and I discovered there is something particularly odd about being welcomed to a city by a whole troupe that knew my name. Veera later joined us and it was explained to me that it was the premiere of the troupes latest play and I was invited to watch the show and join the after party once it had finished! Watching the Importance of Being Earnest in Finnish is a stranger phenomena but one I wouldn't say avoid. IT was good fun to compare what I thought had happened to what had actually happened after the show and besides, horny priests and drunk waiters are funny in whatever language.

Veera having some fun with her guitar.

The next morning, or should I say afternoon, I woke with the characteristic symptoms of a hangover an not before long I was being introduced to the commune Veera lives in and the city of Tampere. The commune looks as if it hadn't been renovated since the cities and my explorations of it would suggest it hasn't. Amoughst the 60s furnishings and decor I've found all sorts of fascinating odd bits and bobs.. including an old gas mask - just in case.

Classic pose.

I had been in contact with Toni since I had met him at the ice hockey game in Vaasa and he had invited me over for lunch with his girlfriend on Sunday afternoon. His girlfriend works at as a freelance translator which basically means she gets paid to watch tv shows and movies at home all day everyday. Toni is a history masters student but also works as a guide in a couple of the museums inVaasa so invited me to the museums the next day... but not before he invited me to his winter swimming club - meaning that once again I plunged myself into the cold waters of a frozen lake for the sake of immersing myself in the Finnish culture. This time there was no sauna to warm me before or after but I somehow convinced myself to get up early and join him for a morning swim. Once I got that tourture out the way we headed for the ice hockey museum where Toni introduced me to the history of the Finnish game along as showing me the virtual ice hockey simulator. We pounced upon the simulator when, for a rare moment, it was abandoned by children and I proceeded to prove how useless I was at the sport.. and I wasn't even wearing ice skates!