Marg's 3rd entry - Fire in Finland
This semester is passing by so quickly. I don't know if it's because I have so much work to do in such a short space of time or because I'm having so much fun!
Last week I was in Lapland on a trip organised by TaiK. We were joined by a group from the Sibelius Academy which is the only music university in Finland and one of the biggest music universities in Europe. It took 14 hours to get there by coach which was fine for me however the Europeans who aren't used to travelling more than three hours weren't so keen. We stayed in a fairly basic old lodge which which was heated by old wood stoves and had it's own sauna by the river.
We cut a hole in the ice so we could later jump in during sauna time. The sauna was also heated by a wood oven which we had to keep stoked between 80-120deg and then our bathing ritual became sauna, river, sauna, roll in the snow, sauna, river etc. There were a few Finns among us who taught us to pour a small amount of beer mixed with water on the stones, this produced a delicious smell of the grain the beer was brewed with.
Aside from sauna two days were spent skiing, snowboarding or snow shoeing at Ylläs which is in the Arctic circle near the border of Finland and Sweden. It had been 13 years since I last skied so I have been quite sore since but it was definitely worth it. It was really nice to go cross country skiing and not see anyone for an hour or so, just skiing in the snowy forest looking out for reindeer. On the last day we visited a snow village which is rebuilt each year. There were some amazing ice sculptures and lighting effects. Although it was the end of the season and some of the formations were looking a little worn.
Next week is Vappu, the first of May which is the celebration of workers rights and university students graduating. It's a public holiday on the Thursday and there will be a parade in the city, many picnics and a lot of very drunk Finns!
Until next time,
Margs