Thursday, 12 July 2012

Sleeping with Finland

As some of you may know, that during the Summer, Finland is a bit like living in a TV sitcom. There is way too much sunlight for a normal day and at night, dusk seems to be the only setting. The faded light seems to come in just after eleven at night and it kind of feels like you're in the worst scene of an alien abduction film.

No, Finland is not filled with anal probes.
All of Finland is quite lovely, especially out in the countryside and the night's are even more spectacular. The worst you'll hear is a kid ringing their bell on a bicycle. I'm sure it's like being in the country for many other...continents, but the best part is you don't understand anything. It may sound like a hindrance, regarding the language barrier, but when you have no idea what people are yelling or talking to each other about, it just fades into the rest of the ambiance of the night with the crickets and owls of the night.

Hey, did you hear a Finnish person?
And because of that, the nightlife doesn't really exist during the summer. During a short stay in Helsinki, a small nightclub was down the road from where we were staying. My girlfriend and I were heading home from an amusement park at ten at night and saw many a goth and biker lined up in pure daylight. The only other time you see these folk is when they run out of milk, make up, pig's blood or motor oil. It was quite an amusing sight to see: Two young lovebirds hand in hand, holding a small Yoshi under one of their arms, which they'd won and a group of slightly tipsy and surly people dressed in all black standing in line and smoking ahead of them; 'twas indeed a contrast.

I thought goths sparkled in the daylight...or do they just hang out in trees?
But I do love the Finnish people. Despite my own very loud heritage reminding me weekly of how Finnish I was, the people of this cold and forest filled country are quiet and friendly. To put it this way, the first people we stayed with are the, and try and take it a step at a time, the cousin of my grandmother's, wife's sister and her boyfriend.

Totes related....
Also should mention that there is an odd satisfaction saying that you're at an amusement park til closing time, especially when that closing time is 10pm. I should also classify that I hate amusement parks. I'm awful with heights, being upside-down and I think perpetual motion is a crime against nature, so rides are often not that great for me, but I had a hell of a time at Linnanmaki. 
Eat a dick, Dreamworld.
Linnanmaki is an amusement park in Helsinki that is over five decades old and looks like it was made only a decade ago. There are hardly any kids when you go late at "night" and the lines are so short for the last hour, you practically get a ride every three minutes. We also met a really cool guy there Matias who told us just as we were leaving that we could pay five extra Euro and come back tomorrow. That's it. There's no extra bit of money or anything else. That's the rule, you pay for this extra ticket and the only problem is you have to wear the wristband for an extra day, like that is ever a problem.

I own you now.
Finland has been an exquisite country to be in and the hospitality has never ever gone to waste. Their menu is quite diverse and we've had everything from Pizza, to Steak, to Hamburger, because we're horrible tourists. I think Finland is a place people avoid due to a lack of knowledge or thinking it's just cold, but in the summer climate, the worse it gets down to, even in the night, is about 15 degrees. The days are at worse, a good Australian autumn day and I have seen barely a sliver of snow, sadly, since I landed. I really do love it here and while I will probably not write much more about my travels. I will say this, Estonia is a hellhole.

Hell is other prostitutes, right?
This is a fraction of my entire time I've been in Europe, but I just thought I might as well write about something I've been thinking a lot about today, which is how every blog post begins. Sleeping with Finland is like being a bed and breakfast with a cute quiet girl who keeps wanting to give you potatoes at every meal. It's a stunning country and even if you speak five to ten words, you can get by.

Meidän ei tarvitse tehdä mitään tänään, me?
 Estonia is still a hell hole...

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