If you are born in southern Europe then, possibly, night will mark the end of your day, darkness will gently reset your thoughts every time you lay your head down on the pillow, and like with a book you'll turn the page, ready to face another day.Coming to Finland during summer season turns this certainty upside down inviting you to embrace a all new dimension of time...
While leaving the city behind and driving north toward the lake region you perceive the real soul of this country expressed through the vast birch forests sprinkled with countless lakes showing off their beauty by steeling the colours of the sky and getting dressed with colourful little cabins along their bushy shores!
The few days at Sanna's cabin have been a regenerating experience, it felt like time stood still the moment we stepped in: the fish (fished in the lake by Matteo and Dennis), the wood boiler to be lighted every night (this was Kristiina's job), the night boat ride, and most importantly the sauna...
Finland is the land of sauna and the Finns are a nation of sauna-enthusiasts. I read somewhere there is one for every three inhabitants. Although it's not a Finnish invention, they have kept the tradition alive and adjusted it to their modern lifestyle and I think that as conservers, developers and intermediaries they have the right to spread the sauna round the world under the trademark ‘made in Finland’.
What you feel after jumping into the freezing lake after a sauna is hard to describe and everything is amplified by the feeble light, the still waters and the light fog rising up on the surface... in a little while you find yourself ejected into a PD James book and only your freezing legs will bring you back to reality like a slap in the face, and while your heart slowly pace back to normality a shiver along the spine forces you back into the sauna where everything starts again...
Going canoeing along the one of the many rivers introduces you to a very peaceful experience, while you row in calms waters you can enjoy a spectacular view of the green shores defined by beautiful nymphs plants and guarded by groups of lively ducks; on the other hand the summer storm (which forced us to seek for shelter under a tree) and roasting sausages on a stick for lunch felt very wild!
These relaxing days put us on track for some fun on a sailing boat, thanks to the impressive hospitality of Helena and her family.
What it's impressive is how you rely completely on wind to move forward without any engine noise, compromising the sounds of water!
We spent the night docked in a private island, and after a tour around it we enjoyed a late night sunset, the colours were so vivid and bright to appear surreal! The night was crowned by a very tasty salmon pasta cooked by Helena which was unparalleled!
On the way back I got my turn to drive the boat, after few indecisive moments at the beginning I started to understand how to use the wind power
Once back to Helsinki we parted ways with half of the Italian group, and after a shower we took a brief tour of Helsinki with Helena and Kriistina and Tony afterward, we had dinner in a very questionable Chinese restaurant (what we actually ate is still a mystery....).
Before leaving we had an interesting glance at Finnish art-painting, where again shine through the beauty of this country expressed in the wild nature.
Here are the pictures.
Thanks to Sanna, Helena and her family, Denis, Matteo and Kristiina, it's been a remarkable experience!
