Swan update

The swans are still in the canal and it's nearly time for them to head south before the water freezes over. They go to warmer waters of the Baltic. A woman in my conversation group said not to feed them now as it encourages them to stay. Unfortunately we did see someone feeding them yesterday and over the last week we had some freezing in the canal, but it's melted now and warmer temperatures in the low 30sF are forecast this week. So maybe the swans will be fine for now - something must tell them the right time to go. I watched one of the big gray babies glopping through the slush right at the shore line and he didn't seem too pleased, so that may be part of the signal to go. The one standing tall is the dad I think. They spend a lot of time splashing about as they preen. Then they go upside down to grab seaweed snacks. And my favorite is when I see them sleep/floating late at night - so peaceful. It's all very amusing.

I saw my first Lucia Maid procession at a work reception Friday evening - a Swedish/Finn tradition to bring light to the darkness. We gathered at the language school for glögi - which is mulled wine and berry juice and delicious. The lights were dimmed and two girls started the procession by singing some carols. Then they sang a particular Santa Lucia song (with the Italian song as base) and four young girls came in, each carrying a single candle and wearing long white dresses, while the Lucia Maid among them had a wreath of candles on her head (electrical, for safety I assume). They all sang a few more songs and then the older girls sang a particular song as the four proceeded out again. It was totally charming. They scooted back in the room soon after in their normal attire to grab some treats.

I have to share a funny interchange with a student the other day. We were practicing small talk - a common request in language classes here - and she was telling me how she raised 'ducks' and got awards for them and all, and so I asked was this on a farm, and did they raise them for food - for eating? She looked totally aghast that I could ask such a thing, and I wondered that someone could become so attached to water fowl. And then it came out that she raised 'dogs', Borzoi hounds actually - a beautiful large Russian breed, and we all had a good long laugh. Proves that I can be of some use in pronunciation, those g's can be tricky. Since the second language company hired me, I will now be teaching a total of seven classes a week after the holidays. I travel all over the Helsinki metro area and so I'm learning fast how to get around. It's challenging but also giving me a window into the working world here as I meet with engineers, bankers, and executives who I doubt I would meet otherwise. They are all insistant on working with a native speaker so I am in demand for once! And they do need help with fluency. They will speak very haltingly with me and then a moment later read a bit of text with almost no errors. So I will blog as much as time allows with all this welcome work, and certainly we'll have some holiday pictures when the girls arrive in just five days now!

Here are some dogs--I mean--ducks among the swans.

Independence day

On December 6th, Finland will celebrate its 90th year of independence. It's a national holiday with the main event being a formal reception and dance at the president's palace. Here is an excerpt from President Halonen's website - www.presidentti.fi/en/ - which is where I obtained the coat of arms above too:

"As in previous years, invitations had been sent to all members of the Government, Members of Parliament, the Finnish Members of the European Parliament, senior civil servants and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Finland. Also among the guests will be Finns who have distinguished themselves in some way or another and persons whom the President and Dr Arajärvi have met in the course of the past year. About 1,900 guests have been invited in all."

Other people joke about not receiving invitations and they stay home and watch the reception line on TV for hours, to see and judge all the formal gowns, and I plan to do the same. I think we also put candles in the window in remembrance of war veterans. Ninety years seems so young, particularly when Finland has such ancient roots too. And of course it's a day off!

Another sunset

Here's the sunset on November 28th, near its 3:25 official time. We are at 6 hours 35 minutes of daylight, whereas most of you have about 9 hours and 25 minutes. It's hard to gauge the time in the evenings and we tend to want dinner too early. Just a few more weeks of these shortening days. Hibernation is tempting. Gerald is resisting the cave tonight though, out bowling (!) with his coworkers.

That jet in the picture looks to be heading straight for the North Pole.

Museu Serralves, Porto

We are back in Helsinki, arriving at 2am Thursday with an inch of snow to greet us, which was a huge contrast to how I had spent the previous day, touring the contemporary art museum and grounds in Porto - the Museu Serralves. I didn't even need a jacket and I was just awed by the beauty this park right within the city.

Serralves garden

Here are more pictures from the garden, including a Claes Oldenburg trowel sculpture, a school project of container gardens, and the working farm with a school group.

Porto houses

Here are some of manor houses I saw on the main boulevard in Porto, such a contrast to the empty shell of a building posted here, also on the main boulevard. The old church features the azulejos tilework typical to the area - you'll notice some on the manor houses too. And here also is an Art Deco storefront in the historic center area. Some buildings of that era have been maintained very well, including cafes I'll need to catch on a future visit. We were too busy being wined and dined by Gerald's company - one night having a private port cellar tour and then a dinner in their dining room too - quite an elegant evening.

We're at day 5 of our trip to Porto, Portugal, and we've luckily had unusually nice weather, according to the 'tripe-eaters'. That's what the Porto denizens call each other given it's a local delicacy, so hopefully it's not too rude for me to use the term too. I haven't had the tripe yet and probably won't, but I've had lots of nice grilled fish, and we were amused to watch a little girl eating a little octopus (served whole) a few nights ago, obviously a perfectly normal dinner for her. It's a confusing city of great opulence beside sad decrepitude. It seems the really old buildings in the center of town are often abandoned as people opt for more modern housing and there are many shells of buildings everywhere. We did go up the coast and find a wonderful beachside community - Foz do Douro - and it's as nice as can be with a long seaside park and cafes right on the beach, some with couches and also lights on the surf at night. Gerald loved the rugged rocks and there were sandy beaches too. Further up the coast was the main port and unfortunately some factories spurting dark smoke at regular intervals, but it wasn't pervasive into Porto - I don't think. The pace is very nice - people don't speak English all that much but with sign language and rusty Spanish, we're easily making our way.

We won't have time to explore up the Douro Valley (the New York Times ran an article in Sunday's paper on this area's wine-making, which was fun to read sitting just downriver) but that is certainly a future trip for us as we do find this area intriguing. Gerald was in heaven on Friday when we went for lunch to the Taylor & Fladgate Port warehouse across the river for a tour of the warehouse and then a first class lunch. He could even have a Cuban cigar with his tawny port, right at the table - yes it's that different here. So - see how he just fits right in?









We were very surprised to hear Finnish instead of Portugese as a young couple were seated near us - we chatted a bit as they left and they were very pleased to welcome us to Finland, while in Portugal. We left Finland just after the school shooting tragedy and it was such a shock to everyone in the country, so quite a sad time there. They all lit candles in their windows as condolences the night afterwards and I was sorry to miss participating in that.

We are enjoying a reprieve from the Helsinki weather as Gerald's boss called today and said it was snowing and raining there. I was out in a sweater this afternoon, and had to use sunscreen yesterday. It's chestnut days in Porto and there are sellers roasting them on the streets this week - an event marking autumn here.
I'll add more posts with pictures now.

Here are three pictures from the beach community just north of the city center - Foz do Douro, plus one of a small cafe where we had dinner in the center, the first night in town.

Here are boats on the river from the walkways on the bridge and beside the river, plus one of Gerald with the port warehouses in Gaia behind him. Gaia is just across the river from Porto. Then a rooftop shot from the bridge. That was quite an exhilarating walk.

Bom dia de Porto!

Here are pictures from our first visit to Portugal, and to the Taylor warehouses across from Porto in Gaia. We had to walk up a stone street to get there. The cask markings are Arabic in origin and the top one is based on how much a woman could carry in a bottle on her head - something like that - and the other is how many cart loads - ask Gerald - he'll do the math for you. It was very fragrant in that warehouse - and I wondered about the effects of osmosis. And those are lemons I found in their gardens.

Helsinki at noon

It's starting to look very different up here! We did turn our clocks back one hour last Saturday night so we are now considered to be in winter. Here's a view at noon on November 2nd, looking down our street at a new sports dome they just put up last month, and yes, that bright object low in the sky is the sun.

Notice the long shadows of the trees and in the canal shot. By 4:30 (16:30) the sun is past the horizon and by 5pm (17:00) we are mostly dark. The dome was a suprise when I returned from the US. Previously there were old modular school buildings in that spot. Over a few days right after we moved in, they were disassembled and carted away, and the very next day they had already laid sod and kids were playing sports - not a moment wasted to repurpose the space. I'm guessing they will use the dome this winter for indoor play but they are still clearing the area around it now. It's starting to sound really different too - the wind from the sea was slamming the building last night and was still pretty strong early this morning, when I left to teach my first English conversation class. And yes, I have now passed over the frustrating hurdle of being trained for a job but not yet having experience when all postings require it.

One custom new to me is the use of small reflectors - they are actually required for people walking around after dark and you see them strung onto purses and backpacks. Reflectors were created by a Finnish farmer, though his purpose was to locate his livestock. I got myself a Moomintroll version yesterday. The Moomintrolls are charming and very popular children's book characters from a Finnish series that I found years ago in New York for Claire back when she was small. They have a whole theme park here too but it sounds overly commercial - the books are great though.

At least we have brilliant sunshine today - it really helps. And it's currently 45F which must be the high for today. We keep getting warned about the weather to come so we do wonder - I'm hoping life in Michigan and Utah has prepared us to some extent. They are forecasting flurries tomorrow - but Kaliecia already beat us with snow in SLC weeks ago. Our apartment, like most here, is very well insulated with double windows and doors and is often a bit too warm, as are stores and other public buildings, but it seems a preference to be warm and cozy (big concept here) inside to conteract the chill outside. And just as we begin to acclimate now, we'll be off to Portugal to confuse ourselves further. I'm not complaining!

[3:30pm update - the sun has very gradually lowered but has moved due west so we have sideways sun this time of year! Luckily our apartment has lots of windows facing west so we get a good deal of light - so far anyway.]

Happy Halloween!

Here is our first Finnish design attempt. Rather a retro 60s looking lamp I'd say and also appropriate for Halloween being black and orange. We are definitely experimenting and it's fun. Come over for dinner - we can see the food now that we have light. Halloween is somewhat newly celebrated in Finland, but I don't think we'll have trick-or-treaters come by. They do parties for the children instead.

Here's a sunset Gerald captured last weekend when we had several sunny days in a row. Now we are socked in with a mist that would like to be rain, but it just can't manage it. Not wet enough for an umbrella but almost. We may not have too many more sunsets to share in the near future.


Work news: upon returning from the US, I interviewed at at language school and they've hired me on a freelance basis, to teach a small English conversation class at a bank, so no more lady of leisure waiting for Gerald to replenish the bon-bon supply as I recline on the chaise. This nicely coincides with my also leading an conversation group for one of the women's clubs in town too, still to be arranged, and now I can start tapping into the ESL training I got this summer. We've been here just over two months now, and in our apartment one month. We now have a TV so we can catch up on news with the international channels, and I do enjoy the Finnish news too - it's a different way of watching but I'm getting a little more out of it each day. And Gerald has a new expresso machine so he can now get a decent cup of decaf - not common here. Sounds like we are getting more and more stuff - but most will be sold when we leave Europe because of the wiring differences. Still, we are circumspect about accumulating.

Gerald got his car upgraded to the Finnish standards this week. They had to install small sidelights which are extra turn signals on the front fenders and also an extra red light in the left brake light that's a fog light for low visibility conditions. So he's ready to pass inspection now, and then we'll put the Z to bed for the winter in its indoor parking spot. We just passed an apartment house door where someone was bringing their studded snow tires out of a storage room. Harbinger of what's to come.

We're off for a quick trip to Oporto, Portugal in a few weeks, as I tag along with Gerald on a work trip. It's ranging in the 20sC there while here we are 7C today so we'll enjoy the warmth (although it won't compare to the 91F when I arrived in Michigan just two weeks ago!) I'll be sure to get some pictures to share.

Our neighborhood

Here are a few pictures of our new neighborhood. The container port is just a few blocks over and so we can watch the machinery at work. It's interesting and not at all annoying. It will all be moving to the other side of Helskini within two years and this area will get more built up then. And we learned we are across the canal from the energy company's coal bins, when we were surprised the other morning by a big coal ship that arrived in the night. They spend the day unloading with their onboard shovels and it's somewhat mesmerizing to watch. Saturday morning it was about 54F and cloudy, and I looked out to see a water skier. More posts soon after we both return from quick visits back to the US - Gerald for a conference and me to celebrate my mother's 84th birthday!

Moved in

We are in our new apartment in the Ruoholahti neighborhood of Helsinki finally. There was a different container outside the apartment when we arrived on Wednesday, up on stilts, and our stuff was all in there. We are almost out of boxes now on Saturday and are dealing with the chaos of how to use the extensive closets in this place. That will take a while. One thing that's quite different is the Finns take their lighting - all of it - when they move. So I was on the hunt for lamps all week, and we'll be back at it today. I think it's that lighting here is of very particular designs, and mostly very expensive, so it's assumed you'd want your own style and to hang on to your investment. We'll be more frugal. I'm talking overhead fixtures too! We had lights in the kitchen, hall and bathrooms the night we moved in - plus candles that resurfaced in a timely manner for our first dinner.

The next night was the first wow sunset, as the clouds broke on the horizon and filled the place with mauve light.



We are at the end of the block and by a shore walk so we see all the dog walkers, which is great. Then we also have a resident swan family with four cygnets that naps right outside our windows. They are very tame here. Plus a guy who does a quick dip in the water every morning. I'm curous to see if he also does this through ice in the winter - it's very common here!

As to water fowl, here's the loon looking out over the canal - see the boat too? If you want to view pics larger, you can click on them - but they may get huge, fyi.

Until Monday, I thought we were going to be sleeping on the couch as we did not bring a bed due to the different European bedding styles, but after much internet research, I found this whole bed at a great sale price (ale in Suomi) and a store I could actually find right in town. So I was able to buy it and have it delivered Wednesday evening, and Gerald got it put together before the sun set completely too. It will take a while but each thing is coming together, bit by bit.

Kahvila dinner

We have been lucky to find ourselves staying across the street from a nice cafe, the Kahvila Suomi, which also happens to have been the location of a popular Japanese film (Kamome Shokudo aka Kamome Diner aka Ruokala Lokki) a few years back that draws a lot of Japanese people in to take pictures and have a meal. It's a small place that is very relaxed with great people running the kitchen, serving typical Finnish dishes.

The Finns like a big lunch and this place serves that mostly, though if we can make it before they close at 6 we can have early dinner. They already know us and kindly help us translate the menu. Tonight we both had the smelt plate with bean soup and salad to start - all delicious. People have asked about the food so I thought I'd share pictures here, plus Gerald helping the tourists record their pilgrimage to the diner.