Survival package from Japan

Last week, I got a pretty heavy package from my Japanese friend Eriko. It was so damn cool, when I opened it up and saw all these ingredients for shabu shabu or okonomiyaki. It was all that stuff, you need, when you wanna survive as a Japanese in a western country. Next to ramen noodles, which I ate right away, I got some sweets like Apollo strawberry chocolate and bontaname. Bontaname is a very traditional sweet from a special citrus fruit in Japan. It is very sweet, very sticky and very delicious. The special thing about it is the fact that each candy is wrapped into a foil. Thus, it looks that you have to peel it, but no…you can eat the wrap as well. Another cool thing is the puchi puchi, which I was looking for in Japan all the time. Do you like to pop bubble wrap? Then you will like puchi puchi too, because it is the electronic version of bubble wrap. By pressing the buttons, you will hear the typical bubble-wrap-pop-sound on and on. Never ending bubble wrap…my life got a new sense…thanks to Eriko!

Huskies and ice water…

The day after the party, I felt a little bit hangoverish, but eight of us had the plan to drive 2 hours further up to do something I would never ever have thought about: dog-sledding! When we arrived at a lonely house in the middle of nowhere, I was pretty excited, but worried about the temperature. I wasn’t prepared for finish snow wilderness. Luckily, it wasn’t that cold and I got some snow boots to keep my sneakers away from the deep snow. The dogs were waiting already and even more excited than us. They are really amazing animals, very friendly and actually pure muscles covered with fluffy fur. When the owner chose them for the two sleighs, they became wild and tried to get the attention of their “alpha dog”. It was like little kids jumping around and screaming: “me, me, me…pick me…pleazzzzzzzzze take me, omg, omg take me!!!!!!!!”  Once every dog was chosen for the ride, they were happy and quiet. While three of us could go on the ride with two sleighs (8 Huskies each), the others could warm up in a tipi with a fire or walk around in the deep snow with snow shoes. During the sleigh ride, one was sitting and the other one was standing to lead the dogs. You have to watch the them, keep an eye on them, push the brake, indicate turns and help trough pushing the sleigh at steep slopes.  At the half of the track we swapped, that everyone had the chance to lead once. The dog-sledding was a very unique experience. Unforgettable!

After sledging, we did something other typical finish: sauna! I was not a big fan of sauna, before. However, even the place was very special – The sauna was a single lonely house next to a lake and a huge balcony. Everything was covered in snow. Inside we had a fireplace with lake view, fancy food and lots of alcohol. The sauna was special too, because we were in a traditional smoke sauna. To warm up the stones, you make a fire for several hours. Since the room has no chimneys, the smoke stays in the room until it disappears by opening a small door before using it. Thus, the sauna room smelled smoky. Anyway, it felt very relaxing and you get used to the smell. As an extra, you have the possibility to spank your sauna mates with wet tree branches to improve the blood circulation. After each sauna step, you go through hell by running outside and jumping in the ice hole in the lake or in the snow. I really liked the view, because everything was covered in snow and lightened up with small lantern. There was even a light in the water to illuminate the hole and gave the scenery a very cool green shine. But still…the water was freaking cold. I jumped in there two times. It was a good experience, but there is no need for me to meet ice water again. Maybe, when I will be in Finland next time…   

Once in your lifetime…

“Once in your lifetime, you get your PhD!” That’s what I heard, when I saw all these dressed up people arriving at the dinner party right in the middle of Helsinki. At the first time, I thought that they are guests for different people who got their PhD the same day. However, my friends told me that they are all there because of one guy…Antti! He was the only host and invited 90 of his friends and colleagues to celebrate with him. Thus, I was impressed and really honored that I could take part at this special event. After an excellent 3 course menu with reindeer carpaccio, lemon gratinated salmon and cookie parfait, we went to another venue where we could dance while the live band was playing Finish all time favorites. It was a real good crowd and a boisterous party. In Finland, there is nothing about a good glass of beer … or two (sounds like Germany). Unfortunately, you are not allowed to drink it everywhere, but in a sauna, for example, you can…more about that next time!

Incredible Finland

Last weekend, I had four unbelievable and unforgettable days in Helsinki. I followed an invitation of my friend Antti to celebrate his PhD with a huge formal dinner followed by a wild after party. I met Antti and his colleagues Marjut and Tea during a science conference in Japan. We spent a few days together and I showed them some real Japanese things. Finally, Antti invited me to his party in Helsinki. I couldn’t believe it, since we met only for a few days. However it was serious and I just booked flights right away. Never miss a chance. You will probably have it only once in your life time… and this was again the absolute right decision!

I arrived on Thursday and met Marjut and Tea first. We went to the contemporary art museum Kiasma which is located in the center of Helsinki. The girls found out that I like art. Thus, they decided to take me there. It is a very nice modern building with very good exhibitions. As usual, some of the pieces were very contemporary or better too contemporary. I like that and I always tell everyone that there is no need to understand. There are only two choices: You like it or not! After the museum, we had a drink in an old tower with a wonderful view of the city. Interestingly, there are no higher buildings in Helsinki…maybe to keep the traditional view of the city. Helsinki has a clear influence of Russia. You can see that not only in the architecture, but also in the food: Coincidentally, there were Bliniweeks! Blini is that typical Russian pancake served with Caviar and sour cream for example. I ordered my one with prawns in mayonnaise with dill and lemon….yummy!

Friday was the day of the PhD defense at noon and the reception/party in the evening. As a guest and scientist, I am not proud that I skipped Antti’s defense, but I had only a few days in Helsinki to discover the city and learn more about the finish culture. When I got up in the morning, it was sunny. Since the sun was not very high in the sky, I was remembered that I must be closer to the North Pole than usual. It seemed to me that there was dusk the entire day or better for a few hours. So I took the chance to walk around the city, to see the ships in the harbor and to have a look in the Helsinki design museum. Interestingly, the whole city is full of design and art. Galleries and design shops everywhere. In Berlin, we have that Iittala design shop and I always thought that it must be from Italy or something close, since the name remembers to Italian words. How stupid! Shame on me! Now I know that it is a finish company. I must have seen it before, because the design is not really Italian. It is very straight, clear and functional…so very Scandinavian actually! Marjut was giving me also a cup from Marimekko as a memory for the time in Helsinki. Marimekko is another famous finish design brand with that typical flower pattern like that printed on the mug. Thank you for the present! It’ll be a nice memory.

Stay tuned to read more about the party and other events in the next couple of days…