Women who had just met on social media couple of months earlier!
....How did it all get started? How did this fun ride begun? Well, I was born in...
Nah, just kidding. Let's not go That far... only few months back.
So, what happened? How did I end up hosting these amazing two women?
Well, I came across with this fun, versatile, interesting travel chat, namely #TRLT on Twitter, in April or May I think. The founder of said chat is Savannah Grace, this lovely, always smiling and happy looking Canadian young woman who nowadays lives in Amsterdam with her partner.
We started chatting and emailing with each other after I had attended to few of her #TRLT chats and quite soon noticed that we come along quite well.
At the end of this blog you find Savannah's bio
Trust me, it's absolutely worth reading! This woman is a true adventurer, so far, she has visited 108 countries - and she is not even 30 yet!
#TRLT = The Road Less Traveled - indeed!
She has also written wonderful memoirs, which I briefly introduce too. Also, at the end of this blog, there are links to order one of her books to yourself if you wish - I can warmly recommend at least the first one, because I'm reading it! Amazing true story of an amazing trip!
So, back to our story:
TBEX, i.e. Travel Bloggers Expo was in Stockholm in July and Savannah attended that event - which I was actually supposed to do as well but wasn't able to after all. While she was planning her trip, I happened to post great photos of Finland to one of her travel chats. She was commenting on my photos something like:
"You have a sauna and you never even invited me for a sleepover!." - obviously she was joking. Little she knew, this crazy Finnish girl wasn't when I said: "Hey, you're welcome anytime!".
Things started to roll and only about 1-2 months later she decided take my offer and she and her mom came to Finland. And just like that, I had just made two new friends.
All of the following events took place in 3 cities; Helsinki, Espoo and Kirkkonummi, which are all in about 30-40 radius from Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
For your information: Most of photos presented here have been taken by Savannah Grace (as most of the times I was behind the wheel...). Thus rights for the photos are either hers or mine, no copying without permission is allowed.
It really, still, feels a bit unreal that I invited unknown people to my home and yet, was so excited about it! I get to show these women Finnish hospitality along with Finland's wonderful nature, since it will be their first trip to Finland. Now there is something that doesn't happen to me every day - well, actually, never before... There is a first for everything, right? Based on what I have planned, there might be many of those coming to us in the next couple of days... "first times" I mean.
Of course, I wanted to provide them with a visit to remember - and based on the feedback, so I did!
The first meeting
We decided that it's best if we meet in Helsinki, so that they can leave there car to my (free) city parking lot for a few days, and I'll drive them around and they can just relax and enjoy the ride.So, on Monday morning, around 11 am I got the call - they are here!
I met them, finally! We had never seen each other before and yet, when we met we hugged each other as if we were old friends, and that really is how it felt.
We took their luggage, put them into my car and started our tour.
I had planned parts of the tour in advance, just in case if, for example, the weather gets bad - which is not that rare in Finland, even on summer time - we've even had snow during the summer sometimes - just a fair warning for you who plan a trip to Finland...
Before we took off, I gave them folders wherein they had small information package about the places were were going to see.
HELSINKI - Capital of Finland
(http://helsinkithisweek.com/articles/kaivopuisto-park-seaside)
At first, we drove around the coast line, and on our way we saw the iconic, wonderful
Kaivopuisto, which is a beautiful park by the ocean south from the center of Helsinki. Lots of boats and happy people strolling around... and yes, it's as idyllic as it sounds. Also, in Kaivopuisto area (or Kaivari as we locals call the place) has the most beautiful buildings wherein some lucky people get to live, with an amazing ocean view. I wanted to show them all this, just to show that our capital is more than just the busy city center. Uspeski Cathedral and COFFEE!
(http://www.sacred-destinations.com/finland/uspenski-orthodox-cathedral)
When I planned the "tour" I decided that I want to show them Uspeski Cathedral, as I knew that my guests wanted to see some architecture and I hadn't seen it from the inside either.
On our way to the cathedral I showed my guests "Kauppatori", marketplace by the ocean, wherein farmers and locals sell their products, very popular place, full of tourists during the summer. Opposite to Kauppatori is President's Castle (although, it's not an actual castle, it is actually relatively modest building). You can tell whether the President is there by checking out if there are guards standing by the gate, if they do, he is inside. He wasn't.While we were driving there via harbors and getting to know each other and just chatting, all of a sudden Savannah says:
I really need my coffee!
What did she say? Coffee? It's almost noon...
Ok, why was I so surprised?
Yes, we do drink coffee in Finland - lots of it, actually (although, I don't). It's not that.
...it's just that they just came over to Finland from Sweden by cruise ship and one of the most enjoyable things while traveling across the ocean on those ships are their buffet breakfasts, wherein you certainly can have coffee among so many other things.
It turned out that they didn't have the breakfast on board, wish I had known this. We would have had picnic baskets with us! Ok, let's solve the problem: we drove to Katajanokka and I saw this very little kiosk/stall wherein they sell coffee, tea, ice cream and some sandwiches etc. I dropped them off there and went to park the car (which by the way is insanely difficult in Helsinki, especially during peak holiday season).
 |
| Savannah and her happy coffee & Maggie, just happy |
Now I get it. She REALLY needed her coffee!
Of course seeing my dear guest so happy made me happy, even when her happiness had nothing to do with anything I did - well, I did drive them there, but other than that...
Then she almost whispered: "Is this coffee something really special or is everything this expensive in Finland?" I totally forgot to warn them. I know Europeans aren't used to our price level. That small little cup of coffee was 4 eur.
So I had to tell them, yes, in Finland, everything is pretty expensive. Not the most expensive city in Europe, but on top 10 I'm sure, especially on tourist areas...
Thus, another fair warning for you who plan a trip to Finland, Helsinki is quite expensive. Smaller cities aren't quite that pricey but still, not even close to central Europe's relatively low price level.
Well, despite the price, she wanted to have another cup of that fabulous coffee, good for her! If you really like something, go for it! If it makes you happy, it's worth it!
Now that we got this out of the way, we walked up the hill to see the actual cathedral. And it was, indeed, absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, its doors were closed, although it was supposed to be open. Well, typical, when you plan something, it never really goes quite as planned. But no worries there, we kept on going. Besides, best things happen when plans don't.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_Senate_Square
http://www.visithelsinki.fi/en/see-and-experience/sights-and-attractions/helsinki-cathedral
After taking some lovely photos we drove around the Helsinki city area. Next stop was Senaatintori and Helsingin Tuomiokirkko. Didn't surprise me at all that I couldn't park anywhere. There are only few parking spots in city area (except for the ones under ground) that the only way for my guests to see these places was to jump off while I decided to drive around and then come back to pick them up a bit later.
Fair warning though, to those who come to Helsinki by car:
Traffic rules are insane even for a Finn around Tuomiokirkko and Senaatintori area, and every time you drive around it, you see police cars somewhere. In Finland, you get a ticket relatively easy, so I'd suggest that you park your car to the harbor (if you come here by boat), or near the railway station (there is a big underground parking space there, quite expensive though) and walk around. Everything is in walking distance anyway.
And again; be prepared for some showers. After all, you are in Scandinavia, not in hot tropic and here, weather can, or most likely, will surprise you at least once while you're here.
I drove around about 20 min, during which Savannah and Maggie got some great pics of Senaatintori and Tuomiokirkko, and also got to sit on Tuomiokirkko's steps, which pretty much every tourist does. Lovely day, lovely people and lovely new friends. Couldn't ask for a better start for this unique visit. I was a bit nervous though, how would these two women, mother and a daughter who've seen over 100 countries feel about me, my country, my house, and would I be a good hostess for them or would they be totally bored here as after all, they've been in Africa, China etc.. and Finland isn't really THAT adventurous. I guess my fear was unnecessary. We all had a blast, oh, well, at least I did!
Next stop: Seurasaari
(http://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/seurasaari-openairmuseum)
After cruising around, showing places around Helsinki city area we decided to head to Seurasaari, which is an open-air museum, located on a beautiful, green island just a few kilometers from the heart of Helsinki. The island is a tranquil oasis in the midst of the city and at the museum the traditional Finnish way of life is displayed in the cottages, farmsteads and manors (of the past four centuries) that have been relocated from all around Finland.
There is a bridge from the mainland to the island and right after the bridge there were MANY Canadian geese, how convenient considering that my guests are Canadians (who just happen to live in Amsterdam). Lots of birds right there so if you are afraid of birds, just walk straight through the bridge. It's not the same on the island, just the bridge area wherein people feed these birds.
I was quite thirsty once we got there so I bought a little box of juice - yes I asked if my guests wanted something but they didn't.
I had fund when I saw Savannah getting so excited because of this tiny little, cute juice box, of which Savannah even wanted to take photo of, because it was "so cute".
Ok, maybe it is a bit cute - I just never looked at it that way....
For me it was just juice. But for people who travel a lot with open minds and hearts, even the smallest of things can bring great joy. And now that little juice box reminds me of them and their amazing attitudes forever. Love it!
We saw these cutest little cottages that we had to - of course - take photos of. They really were small, but people had actually lived in them! They had different kinds of purposes, the one on top of the pole was for the food, protection from wild animals on winter time.
Did I mention that Savannah and Maggie LOVE animals? They even have an howl as a pet! Yes, you read right. Based on photos that I've seen, it's actually really cute.
The further we walked the more we saw more old huts/ cottages, and some of them were so small that we couldn't help wondering how an earth people were able to live in them back in the days (oldest were, I think, from 1700-1800 i.e. about 200-300 yrs old).
Here is a photo wherein Maggie and Savannah are in one of these cottages. The two women aren't giants, these cottages are really just small, and roofs low - which was a bit strange as after all, people are pretty much same size regardless of the century they live in.
Before my dear guests came to Finland, I had told them that I have separate guest bedrooms ready for them and explained that our house is pretty average Finnish house - didn't want them to expect too much, after all, it's no mansion, just a nice, normal house. Although, for someone who's never been in Finland, "normal Finnish" doesn't say much...
I was playing with an idea (in my head) of telling my guests: Here is your bedroom (on the left) and here is the house (on the right) and see if they believe me and how stunned their looks had been.... Then I gave up the idea, maybe that would have been too bad?
No, I think these women would have just laughed at it, they can take a joke, after all, we did joked around all the time while they were here! Love people with great, and similar sense of humor! That's probably why our time together was so full of joy. We had plain FUN.
After all, they didn't know me at all, for all they knew, I could have been some crazy Finn who is just about to hoax them. Lucky for them, I wasn't - on the contrary.
But seriously, it was amazing and fascinating to think that people have, indeed, lived in these houses only few centuries ago.
There were many places in Seurasaari that we just had to skip after being there for a few hours as we started to get hungry so it was time to get back to the car and start driving towards my home.
Maybe I should ask my guests what were their thoughts after seeing these houses on the island - were they afraid that I'll be accommodating them into some tiny little hut like these... poor women! Oh, perhaps that is, indeed, what they were afraid of, and that is why they seemed so happy when they actually saw our house - yay! It's a modern, proper house!
While we were driving it started to rain, which luckily was just a shower... I guess my new friends brought the sunshine with them.
@ HOME!
Finally, at home! It's been an amazing day with wonderful women. Now the actual nerving part: Bringing them home. What if they hate it? Don't like it at all?Oh, yes, I admit, I was a bit nervous because who knows what their expectations were... I hope they like everything, not for my sake, but for their own sake. After all it is their first visit in Finland and I want them to enjoy it and I personally feel like I failed as their hostess if their accommodation arrangements aren't good enough.
So, I gave my guests a tour around the house, showed them their rooms, restrooms, showers, back yard etc. Thank goodness they seemed happy with their little rooms!
Oh, maybe that's why they were so pleased with everything?! Smart move from my part to take them to the museum island first!
Our house must have looked very modern, comfy and nice after those shabby huts! What a smart woman I am! :)
The other room has full sized window to back yard, and the other has a beautiful forest wall paper that makes you feel like you are actually in the woods, it looks so real. They also had their own toilet that they could use.
Strangely enough, we all felt so relaxed and normal, as if we had known each other for a long time already - not just a few hours, really.
It was time for me to start preparing our dinner.The dish is called Poronkäristys - free translation: reindeer stew and potatoes, often served with some jam, this time I served it with (hand picked!) lingonberries (some call them huckleberries) and also cranberry jam. For desert I made smoothies out of some Finnish berries and other secret ingredients, which I won't reveal here, it's my secret recipe, let's just say that it was Good.
This stew is very simple, very traditional Finnish dish. Just meat, butter, salt, pepper and some water and you let it simmer at least for an hour.
I'm originally from Lapland wherein people eat lots of reindeer, in many different forms. Reindeer is very common ingredient here. The meat is very healthy, rich in vitamins and low in fat. So, naturally, I know how to make an excellent Poronkäristys and I was, to be honest, pretty happy to be able to serve them that.
After all, these women have had meals around the world; Mongolia, China, Peru.. and I managed to serve them something they never had before! Yay!
I also served them Finnish breads: Rieska and Saaristolaisleipä, which they both really loved - or they were just really hungry...
After the meal we all relaxed a little before our next little adventure...
EVENING ACTIVITIES
After relaxing after our meal I told my dear guests that it is time for a little adventure.
I was almost a little ashamed to call it an adventure, after what they have seen during their travels around the world. But then I decided, I don't care. This is my home, my country and my plan, I will proudly show them what I had planned, whether they like it or not.
So, I told them to put on some proper clothes as we would be going to the woods. They looked a bit suspicious, I have to say, but being good sports they, of course, acted accordingly. Then I gave them hunting knives, I had one too.
If only you had seen their faces!
They seemed to be confused and also a bit scared... hey, we did have hunting knives!
They probably asked themselves at this point whether coming here was such a good idea after all...What does this crazy Finn have in mind? Woods, knives, string?
But, I didn't want to reveal immediately what it is that we were about to do, it would have ruined the surprise.
Now I lead the way, guided my guests to the woods behind our house. I can see Savannah and Maggie becoming more excited than scared.
They look curious! Good!
Although, they were walking directly behind my back... sure, I'll protect my dear guests from the monsters of woods!
 |
| Crazy bunch - women with knives, in the woods... |
Oh, and I didn't tell them that just some time before their arrival our neighbors found a huge viper right there where we walked... and by the way, it's illegal to kill them in Finland, so you can only imagine where that viper is now...
When we walked deeper into the woods, we really must have looked like a crazy bunch. 3 women with hunting knives - 2 of which look like they are ready to use them at any point as they had no idea what was going on...
Vihta vs. Vasta
I thought it's better to reveal them what it is that we are doing before they really start to question my mental status... So, I told them to relax, we are just hunting birch branches, preferably ones with lots of leafs. I showed them how to do it, and told them to get about 15-20 branches each and then we tied those two bunches (bundle) of branches together and that's it - they had just prepared their first "vihta" or "vasta". It depends on the area whether you call them "vihta" or "vasta" - which one is the right one? Well, that debate has been going on about tens of years and will go on probably as long as we have birches and we make vihtas...
So now they have bunch of branches tied up together and that is called vihta. Ok.
What do we do with it? You'll see...
I went to our sauna. I put in wood (small logs) into the fire pit, which is underneath the stoves, and about 30 minutes later sauna was ready for them, i.e. HOT!
Sauna
Another experience that they never had before - wooden heated sauna!
I lid some candles for them and, as they felt a bit shy, I gave them separate towels for the sauna. For those who don't know: Finnish people go to sauna naked as that is the best way to get all the physical benefits of sauna.
However, we completely understand also that it's not for everyone. For Finns sauna is a substantial part of our culture. After all, there are about 5,5 million people here and about 1 million saunas! Sauna is a place to relax with friends, family, alone... place for total relaxation - both physical and mental.
For us, Finns, sauna is not a luxury thing, it's just another amenity in our houses. Few words for you who have not been to sauna: There are stones on top of "kiuas", certain type of stove we use to heat up the sauna and water is thrown on these very hot stones in order to get hot air and steam to spread around the sauna. This action and reaction is called "löyly".
You have to experience it to completely understand the
sauna mentality!
So, to the sauna we went.
Someone might have said: Cool!
But that's one thing it is not - it's really hot!
Dope might be the word younger generation would use.
Now what?What do we do with "vihta"?
So this leafy, fragrant bough of birch is for beating/whipping ourselves. Yes, you read right! Really! If only you had seen my guests' faces when I explained this! I never forget the surprised looks they had. But being experienced travelers who love to try new things, they went for it, of course!
Especially when I explained that it has a relaxing effect on the muscles and also helps in calming down and it has nourishing, refreshing effect on the skin.
Naturally, I offered them cold drinks while ladies were in sauna. Savannah got to try Finnish apple sider and Maggie had some, not so Finnish Dr. Pepper soda, as she really likes that.
I know people who really dislike sauna, they consider it to be agonizing. But certainly not these women! They seemed genuinely love the sauna experience! (Or they were just being overly polite and told me so just to be nice...) I felt happy though, yay! Yet another Finnish thing that I managed to show my guests and they sincerely (seemed to) liked it.
There is no actual English word for a verb "saunoa" ("doing the sauna thing - being in there) meaning the time when people are in sauna and just doing their thing, i.e. some sitting, some lying, some whipping themselves with bundle of birch branches...
So let's just say that these well-traveled women really knew how to "saunoa" since they lasted there longer than I did!
After the sauna and the shower, the first thing these two women with really red cheeks and big, big smiles asked:
"Can we please do this again tomorrow?"
Yes, of course we can! Anything to my amazing guests!
By the end of the first night they had already experienced things in Finland that most tourists never get a chance to do.
Day two of two women's adventure in Finland
The next day we wanted to see nature. However, we needed something from the supermarket so we drove to Kirkkonummi city first. Surprise! Everything was closed, which was strange considering it was about noon. We heard that the electric cable had been cut so all the stores had to close their doors and the power failure was supposed to last at least another hour... not very promising.
Since my guest needed to sort out some insurance matters, we decide to drive to Espoo, Iso-Omena shopping center. (http://www.isoomena.fi) which was all right, after all I got show them that too. They didn't get the answer they were looking for but at least they can now say that they visited Espoo too and I got to buy us some refreshments for our next adventure...
There would've been couple of interesting places to check out near by the Iso-Omena (Big Apple), however, my guests really wanted to go to Porkkalanniemi because I had told them that it's the real deal, pure, pristine nature with some wildlife etc..
Next stop: Porkkalanniemi
So we drove to Porkkalanniemi, which is a peninsula in the Gulf of FInland, located here, in Kirkkonummi. The coasts of the peninsula are popular bird watching areas so I wanted to take Savannah and Maggie there to climb up to the bird watching tower.
On our way there we saw some amazing Finnish country side, it really is so pretty there!
Once we got there, Savannah and I, funny girls that we are, noticed these carriages there. I happened to know that they have been used for transporting milk churns back in the old days, but now they were there so that hikers can take their gear to the woods with them.
Of course we had to try them! It was so much fun! We were pulling each other around the place, Maggie was laughing, we were all having a good time, although, probably not what these two had expected to experience in Finland - heaps better, I bet!Ok, we probably looked like misbehaving kids, but who cares, that's perfectly fine at times to let loose! Finns aren't as stiff as some may think - well, at least I'm not! (I can be, but when I don't have to, I'd rather crack a joke and fool around, life is much more fun that way!)
Ok, sorry, back to the story:
We started to walk towards the woods, wherein the bird watching tower was supposed to locate.
On our way we saw these cutest little Finnish outhouses for campers/ hikers to use.
Can you believe that a toilet that is built of wood can actually be pretty?
Finnish woods are very rich in sources of food, lots of berries and mushrooms. I showed Savannah and Maggie blueberries an told them that in Finland it is allowed to pick and eat berries basically anywhere (as long as it's not in someone's yard.) So our walk wasn't the fastest as we had some blueberry delicacies on the way...
Finally we saw the tower, and it was a decent sized tower...
For me it was a small challenge having a fear of heights. On the other hand, it helped having these women with me, I almost forgot to be scared, except maybe on top it was little scary as the tower was slightly wobbly...
Climbing all the way up was totally worth it! The view was spectacular! I think I forgot to mention this to my guests but it's only tens of kilometers from Estonian coast line.
I wonder whether it was the adrenal rush or just the company, but once again, we were having heaps fun!
Here are the results of our photogenic moments: That's the best part having guests like these two women, everything is fun, nothing is too stiff and formal. We all were able to be as we were, no faking, just joking and having fun!
Ok, calm down crazy hair girls, it looks like it might rain soon, it's time to head back to the car...
Nature surprises!
As always, best things happen when you least expect (or plan) them.
The road to Porkkalanniemi is very curvy, you can't drive more than about 40-50 km/h there. And a little warning (again), if you decide to drive there, don't bypass other cars, it's not safe!
I was just explaining my guests that they should keep their eyes open while I'm driving as there's plenty of wild animals here, and right that moment, I hit the break - LOOK!!
For us, Finns, sauna is not a luxury thing, it's just another amenity in our houses. Few words for you who have not been to sauna: There are stones on top of "kiuas", certain type of stove we use to heat up the sauna and water is thrown on these very hot stones in order to get hot air and steam to spread around the sauna. This action and reaction is called "löyly".
You have to experience it to completely understand the
sauna mentality!So, to the sauna we went.
Someone might have said: Cool!
But that's one thing it is not - it's really hot!
Dope might be the word younger generation would use.
Now what?What do we do with "vihta"?
So this leafy, fragrant bough of birch is for beating/whipping ourselves. Yes, you read right! Really! If only you had seen my guests' faces when I explained this! I never forget the surprised looks they had. But being experienced travelers who love to try new things, they went for it, of course!
Especially when I explained that it has a relaxing effect on the muscles and also helps in calming down and it has nourishing, refreshing effect on the skin.
Naturally, I offered them cold drinks while ladies were in sauna. Savannah got to try Finnish apple sider and Maggie had some, not so Finnish Dr. Pepper soda, as she really likes that.
I know people who really dislike sauna, they consider it to be agonizing. But certainly not these women! They seemed genuinely love the sauna experience! (Or they were just being overly polite and told me so just to be nice...) I felt happy though, yay! Yet another Finnish thing that I managed to show my guests and they sincerely (seemed to) liked it.
There is no actual English word for a verb "saunoa" ("doing the sauna thing - being in there) meaning the time when people are in sauna and just doing their thing, i.e. some sitting, some lying, some whipping themselves with bundle of birch branches...
So let's just say that these well-traveled women really knew how to "saunoa" since they lasted there longer than I did!
After the sauna and the shower, the first thing these two women with really red cheeks and big, big smiles asked:
"Can we please do this again tomorrow?"
Yes, of course we can! Anything to my amazing guests!
By the end of the first night they had already experienced things in Finland that most tourists never get a chance to do.
Day two of two women's adventure in Finland
The next day we wanted to see nature. However, we needed something from the supermarket so we drove to Kirkkonummi city first. Surprise! Everything was closed, which was strange considering it was about noon. We heard that the electric cable had been cut so all the stores had to close their doors and the power failure was supposed to last at least another hour... not very promising.
Since my guest needed to sort out some insurance matters, we decide to drive to Espoo, Iso-Omena shopping center. (http://www.isoomena.fi) which was all right, after all I got show them that too. They didn't get the answer they were looking for but at least they can now say that they visited Espoo too and I got to buy us some refreshments for our next adventure...
There would've been couple of interesting places to check out near by the Iso-Omena (Big Apple), however, my guests really wanted to go to Porkkalanniemi because I had told them that it's the real deal, pure, pristine nature with some wildlife etc..
Next stop: Porkkalanniemi
So we drove to Porkkalanniemi, which is a peninsula in the Gulf of FInland, located here, in Kirkkonummi. The coasts of the peninsula are popular bird watching areas so I wanted to take Savannah and Maggie there to climb up to the bird watching tower.On our way there we saw some amazing Finnish country side, it really is so pretty there!
Once we got there, Savannah and I, funny girls that we are, noticed these carriages there. I happened to know that they have been used for transporting milk churns back in the old days, but now they were there so that hikers can take their gear to the woods with them.
Ok, sorry, back to the story:
We started to walk towards the woods, wherein the bird watching tower was supposed to locate.
On our way we saw these cutest little Finnish outhouses for campers/ hikers to use.
Can you believe that a toilet that is built of wood can actually be pretty?
Finnish woods are very rich in sources of food, lots of berries and mushrooms. I showed Savannah and Maggie blueberries an told them that in Finland it is allowed to pick and eat berries basically anywhere (as long as it's not in someone's yard.) So our walk wasn't the fastest as we had some blueberry delicacies on the way...
Finally we saw the tower, and it was a decent sized tower...
For me it was a small challenge having a fear of heights. On the other hand, it helped having these women with me, I almost forgot to be scared, except maybe on top it was little scary as the tower was slightly wobbly...
Climbing all the way up was totally worth it! The view was spectacular! I think I forgot to mention this to my guests but it's only tens of kilometers from Estonian coast line.I wonder whether it was the adrenal rush or just the company, but once again, we were having heaps fun!
Here are the results of our photogenic moments: That's the best part having guests like these two women, everything is fun, nothing is too stiff and formal. We all were able to be as we were, no faking, just joking and having fun!
Ok, calm down crazy hair girls, it looks like it might rain soon, it's time to head back to the car...
Nature surprises!
As always, best things happen when you least expect (or plan) them.
The road to Porkkalanniemi is very curvy, you can't drive more than about 40-50 km/h there. And a little warning (again), if you decide to drive there, don't bypass other cars, it's not safe!
I was just explaining my guests that they should keep their eyes open while I'm driving as there's plenty of wild animals here, and right that moment, I hit the break - LOOK!!
I was actually a bit surprised how happy seeing this animal made my guests, considering all the countries and animals they've seen. But, maybe it's different experience with each animal in each country.
And I do have to admit, it looked amazing!
I've seen them before but this one looked so wonderful, because it was in it's own area, in the woods. In Finland, hunters get to apply for permits in order to hunt moose. Why? If you hunt too much of them (because the meat is very good), there aren't enough of them soon. If you don't hunt them, there are too many of them and they cause lethal car accidents every year when they jump to the road and get hit by a car. Because the moose is so heavy, quite often the collision is as bad for the driver as it is for the moose...
We had to continue driving because the road is actually dangerous and cars are prohibited to stop there. Right after take off I said, by the way there are also deers here and.. LOOK!!!
And again I hit the breaks. Right there, looking at us, was a deer, staring at us as if it was posing - and again, windows down, cameras out and lots of photos!
Am I the hostess to the mostess or what?
I even arrange wild animals right next to the road to pose to my guests! Who else would do all that? Ok, maybe it wasn't me, stars were aligned or something, in any case the universe seems to agree that I need to show these women Finland's best sides. On the other hand, I had the animal whisperer, Savannah in the car so I wasn't even that surprised by all that.
On our way back we actually saw a motorcyclist in the ditch, couldn't probably handle the curvy road... (He wasn't hurt and there were people helping him already, so, no, we didn't just dump him there and continue finding the animals!)
The scenery is spectacular but not that much time to enjoy it while driving. Good thing my guests had a private chauffeur!
The scenery is spectacular but not that much time to enjoy it while driving. Good thing my guests had a private chauffeur!
Next stop: Hvitträsk
(http://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/hvittrask)
We had had quite an active day already, but I wanted to take Savannah and Maggie to one more place, namely Hvitträsk. Before they came to Finland, Savannah told me that they'd be interested in seeing architecture and nature, so I knew I want to show them this place as well before we head back home, besides, it's only about 5 km from home.
This beautiful place called Hvitträsk was designed to be a studio home for a Finnish architecture firm, and it later became a private residence of Eliel Saarinen, perhaps the most famous Finnish architect. Building is named after the nearby lake, Viträsk, which literally means White lake. Nowadays places is a public museum. It's incredibly beautiful place, it's on top of a very high hill and the lake is on the bottom, so the view from the top is spectacular.
To bee or not...
Savannah sat down under this window arch, absolutely beautiful - yes, both the arch and Savannah! And since we all love taking photos, we didn't miss the opportunity to use the amazing nature as a background...
So, here I am, trying to take a photo of her, and I'm looking at her as if she's gone mad as she is laughing, literally her ass off and I don't get why... I try to tell her to stay still as after all, I am trying to take photo of her, but she is just out of control, laughing insane and I'm confused... what???
Suddenly, I see something (flying) approaching me - fast! And, boldly, it sits on right on my eye lash! Seriously? Right before I'm about to shoo it away, I realized it's a bee! A bee!
In my eye?! C'mon, gimme a break!
I got so scared, I try to back off, and it just follows me!
I try to scream and run away, and what does the bee do? Yes, got that right, it just follows me! I run around like a headless chicken trying to get rid of the bee, and what does Savannah do? Helps me? Noup!
She is laughing so much, she can't even see, she's got eyes full of tears, poor thing! She is literally on her knees, she is about to loose it, it's so hilarious - in her opinion - but she isn't the one running for her dear life!
Finally I got rid of the bee, and at this point we are all laughing like lunatics, ok, I admit that must have looked hilarious!
Savannah tries to explain that she saw this bee flying around me but she can't say anything because she knew that I'd scare the bejesus out of me and I'm just telling her how to pose and keep still and I'm being completely clueless of the fact that this flying beast is trying to hunt me down! I can only imagine how it must have felt on her side; being so hysterical, I keep telling her to stay still for photos and at the same time I'm the one who should stay still as this bee is about to sting me...
Oh dear, what a day, and unbelievable but true, I have never considered bees fun, but this incident, it really was fun. Although, everyone was laughing at me! But who cares, my guests enjoyed it! A good hostess would do anything for her guests... - except gets stung by a bee!
I'm making a big deal out of nothing?
Well, have you ever had a bee sitting on your eye lash?
Can you imagine how scary that is?
What if it stung me?
I don't even want to think about that, but seriously, that creature felt as if it was a bit nuts... and guess what, I found out just a few days later that many people have been seriously attacked by bees in Finland, because the summer was so short and due to that the queen bee has died earlier and, therefore, the worker bees go crazy as their purpose has gone and for that reason they attack people!
The worst case I read from the news was when a girl was in the woods with her dog and they stepped on a bee nest on the ground and she got stung 30 times and her dog, poor thing, 40 times - and it would have been even worse if she didn't jump into the muddy ditch!
She barely managed to call 112, it took an hour before the rescue team found her and by that time she was in quite bad shape already as she was allergic to bees, but she made it, thank God. This wasn't the only case, there have been tens of similar cases. Good thing though, that I didn't know this then, I don't know what I had done, had I known that! Well I know someone would have laughed even more, since I probably would have jumped into the lake...!
Too bad I was running around the garden trying to lose that bee so I don't have any photos of Savannah rolling around laughing out loud... as, trust me, if I did, you'd see it here!
Oh, just realized, who knows, maybe that poor bee just thought that I was its mighty queen?!
Again, hostess with the mostess; job well done, guests are laughing and enjoying themselves!
Finally, we headed back home. I offered to make my famous chicken pasta when my guests humbly ask: Can we have that reindeer stew, there is still left some? It was soooo good!
Oh, goodness, of course you can! I was so happy to hear that as it really showed that they sincerely loved it.
I'm driving home when suddenly they ask: "What about our vihtas?"
Oh, yes, the vihtas!
So we drove to the Viträsk lake's beach and I climbed up to the hill to cut birch branches and made vihta for them while Savannah took some photos (cf. below).
At least I think this looks like there was one happy girl here!
So, another traditional Finnish meal and sauna for the second night, which happened to be Tuesday night, when Savannah and some of here friends host that Twitter chat #TRLT (via which we actually met). So, if she thought that she can just sit down in her bed quarters and chat, she was totally wrong.
The way we were chatting was:
I set up nice lounge area for us to our living room: large pillows on the floor, bottle of Champagne and we zipped some Mimosas while chatting with chat guests - that's the way to do it!
Just a thought of me being able to make their trip to Finland unforgettable, fun and adventurous makes me so happy, mission accomplished!
All good things come an end
On the next day it was time to pack up and head back to Helsinki as they were ready to continue their trip to next country, namely Estonia. Their road trip consisted of 10 countries and 10 capitals. What a trip! I'm sure we get to read about that in Savannah's blog at some point!
I have to say that I have never in my life enjoyed so much hosting any guests. There are many chores to take care of before guests arrive and also during the visit, but this time, I didn't care, I felt so humbled, grateful and happy that they actually chose to come and visit me, even if they hadn't even met me before. And this visit was something that I will never forget and I sincerely feel that I have two new friends for life. It was unbelievable how natural it felt, right from the start.
All I can say is: Miss you so much! Hope to see you soon! Welcome back and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed even half as much as I did! It was an absolute pleasure and a privilege!
Savannah Grace aka @Sihpromatum
Savannah Grace is a 26 year-old travel author and influencer, born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. She currently lives in The Netherlands and has visited 108 countries. She is the author of the bestselling travel series Sihpromatum, which includes
“I Grew My Boobs in China” and “Backpacks and Bra Straps”.
“I Grew My Boobs in China” and “Backpacks and Bra Straps”.
She runs the popular luxury/adventure website www.sihpromatum.com and has been actively documenting her travels for more than a decade. She is also the founder of #TRLT (The Road Less Travelled) Twitter chat, which now regularly ranks as one of the top travel chats in the world.
You may order her books here:
I Grew My Boobs in China
Backpacks and Bra Straps
