SUOMI !!!

I read and heard before going to Finland that it was a place like no other, and the remark could have not been any more accurate. I saw so many things and experienced a lot, I am pretty sure I will forget to mention something I want to tell you all about, but I will try my best no to do so!
Let me start with Sanna and her family. Sanna is a girl that plays on my (ex)team in Arkansas, she is from Finland and lives about 25 minutes from the golf course Mark had to play in. Sanna, her mom Kiki, and her sister Maria were SOOOOO awesome and let us three (Mark, Mane and yours truly) stay at their house, and treated us like royalty! Sanna’s grandmother Marita lives right next door and she also opened her house to us and invited us for some drinks and food and also came over a couple of times to make sure we were doing alright. People in South America take pride of their hospitality, but let me tell you, this family was just as great, they really went out of their way to make our stay be the best. So once again, KIITOS so much!!!!

I really liked Helsinki. It is not a BIG metropolis, only about 700,000 people, but it is very spread out and it does have everything you might need. All the buildings are beautiful, old and new ones, everything is very clean (it rains all the time too so I bet that helps), the sidewalks in downtown are heated from underneath to melt the ice in winter and allow people to go shopping. This part of the world is very rugged. Helsinki is a sea port, but the ground rises about 3 mm a year, which means there are thousands of islands forming archipielagos and fiords and canals. Because of all these islands, the sea really looks and feels like a lake; there are no sea-like waves at all anywhere (at least the part we saw). Also, the sea tastes almost without salt at all! So different from what I am used to. Finland also has thousands of lakes because of this ever-changing terrain and when I flew out I saw a lot of them from the air and it looked beautiful, they are everywhere! It gets so cold in winter that it freezes the ocean 5 meters deep (about 15 feet) and you can drive cars on the sea. Pretty cool.

They really like their saunas, you know, where you get in to sweat your buns off?? Sanna had one in her house, Marita had one in her house, almost everywhere you see there is one… literally. Finland has a population of approx 6 million and there are 2 million saunas in the whole country. When you take a ride through the fiords you can see little islands with summer houses and ALWAYS a sauna right next to the sea. Trust me, they are EVERYWHERE! These people love to sweat!

I loved the food again! Marita cooked some moose (alce) with raindeer (venado) with mashed potatoes and berries one night… yummy! I also tried Herring (I think you spell it like that) which is fish eaten raw with different sauces or pickled. And of course the Koskenkorva!!! The Finnish version of vodka!!! It is made out of wheat instead of potatoes and it’s distinctively smoother than it’s brother, but with the same kick. Loved it!

Now, the golf tournament was sponsored by this guy who owns dance clubs all over Finland, Estonia and Russia I think. The tee markers (marks that point the place players start to play a hole) on the course where DISCO BALLS!!! And there where parties organized every night for the players. Luckily I am just a roadie (acompanante) right now and could attend these parties without the stress of having to play golf next day, only carry Mark’s bag!!! All the clubs and bars I went to where really nice, fancy decorated, and with good music for the most part. The weirdest part of going out in Helsinki was the light… I mean the day light. The sun went down from midnight to 2 am, so it really never got dark!! That threw me off several times… be there dancing, look outside and see light and think “oh no I should be going” and then realize it’s only 2 in the morning!!! Sweet!!!!

One warning though. If you ever come to Helsinki get a radio-taxi number you can call, the ones on the street suck! They never stop!

Kiitos for reading and keeping up with me! Next report from Deutschland!!! (Germany)

M