The Quiet Picture

A little bit sick of the heat and the mosquitos, I decided to drive to Röros today. Even if it’s warm, there are normally no mosquitos in towns and then of course there are all those cafes so you can sit down and have an ice-cream if it gets too hot.

It turned out to be good decision, because I thoroughly enjoyed my time. When I arrived it was early afternoon, I couldn’t resist taking pictures even if the light wasn’t ideal. But one thing to remember is that the all the buildings won’t be sunlit all day, so sometimes you had to take the harsher light to get any sunlight at all, and some buildings are only sunlit in the afternoon. Which means that you can walk around the town, and then walk around it again, and always find something with good light on. I finished after 6pm, and only had a few short breaks so it was a lot of walking around the town, small as the town may be. I think I caught the town in ideal conditions, sunny and warm with a few fluffy clouds in the sky to decorate the pictures. I’ve wanted to do this for a couple of years now and I couldn’t have picked a better time, there was honestly not a single thing I would’ve wished was different. I had a genuine holiday feeling even if my feet were killing me in the evening, but I’d much rather have tired feet than a tired head after a day in the office!

I’ve had a couple of days to explore my old home town. I lived here for two decades, so it’s not soon forgotten. A lot has changed, and a lot has stayed the same – I still know all the shortcuts walking around the town, even if I get a little bit confused in a car. They’ve built houses where there used to be a street, built streets where there used to be buildings, changed some streets to pedestrian only, turned some one-way streets to two-way etc… you get the idea.

The town is also becoming more tourist oriented. And by tourists, I mean Russians. Seriously. If some sign is in two languages, it’s Finnish and Russian. If there’s four languages, it’s Finnish, English, German and Russian. In Savonlinna, the sign makers get off with less trouble – they stick to Finnish. Mind you, I saw one hand-written sign in Punkaharju, advertising fresh coffee in German and Swedish. Otherwise, my car is just about the only Swedish thing I’ve seen here.

If I said that people in Savonlinna look very familiar, then here in Lappeenranta they sound very familiar. I realised that everyone talks like me – my dialect. I may have some minor linguistics elements from the Savo dialect, but first and foremost I’m a South Karelian.

The familiarity got me thinking about my relationship to these two towns. Even if I’m more likely to think Savonlinna as my home town in Finland, I am also undeniably at home here in South Karelia. I think the difference is that Savonlinna is in my heart and Lappeenranta in my head.

While I’m in the city, I’m trying to make the most of it. I’ve had a cappuccino in a café every day, it could be just about the only thing I’ve missed while living a small village. Otherwise the buildings (a high-rise building is 4-5 floors here) and people make me feel slightly claustrophobic. I guess I could live in a big town again, but only if I really have to. Give me forests and bogs anytime.

Or Skiing, Shopping and Sightseeing

Some weekend. I had two days off because my family (my parents, sis and her two kids) came to Sweden to celebrate my Dad’s 70th birthday.

My mini-vacation started with a great day of skiing. New snow, suitably cold weather and sunshine – can winter get any better?

Then I had to change the pristine winter scenery to the hustle and bustle of Stockholm. It was strange being in a big city again… and I discovered that I can live without them. Big cities smell weird, there’s a lot of people, and the city folks keep even their trees fenced in. I prefer mine wild and untamed, thank you very much.

(Yes, the picture above right is just about the worst I’ve ever published in this blog. I didn’t have the time or the inclination to do anything better either – just wanted something for illustration purposes!)

We even managed to squeeze in a visit at the Vasa Museum. The lighting is very low in the museum, so I had to push my camera and lens to the limit – 24mm, lean on the railing, ISO 1600, f4 and IS – and I got away with handheld shots at 1/8 sec!

Overall I must say that it was a great weekend. I didn’t have a single fight with my parents, I didn’t even get irritated (other than mildly, once, but no one’s perfect). You want to eat lunch at McDonalds? Sure, who would want to eat real food anyway in one of the many restaurants all over the city! We ended up on the wrong floor at the department store because you didn’t check the store guide? No worries, I love the escalators! Oh and I’m sorry I didn’t remember that —gården doesn’t always mean —puutarha in Finnish. My bad, for living abroad for 12 years!

But that’s just me being hyper-sarcastic. I can do that, now that I’m alone again. Otherwise, I have come to realise that the older we get, the better we get along. Deep down, I think I miss my family more than I’m willing to admit. Happy 70th, Dad!