On Friday morning at 9 AM, Kari, Marja, Camilla and I left for their summer cottage in Kustavi, a tiny seaside town famous for their numerous summer cottages, to celebrate Midsummer! Unfortunately, Charlotta had already made plans with her friends in Turku, so she couldn't come to the summer cottage with us.
Kari left a bit earlier so he could arrive at the summer cottage to clean up the renovation site (my family is renovating the cottage so it'll have an indoor bathroom), which left Marja, Camilla and I enough time to pick up two of Camilla's friends, Ida and Suvi. Ida lives in the historical center of Rauma, in one of the houses that constitute Old Rauma, and Suvi lives on a dairy farm with more than 80 cows!
After picking up Suvi and Ida, we were on our way to the summer cottage! The hour and a half car ride felt like minutes as Suvi, Ida, Camilla and I were discussing our favorite books and movies (Inception!!!), as well as contrasting Finnish and American culture.
The town of Kustavi was shrouded in mistiness and greenery, with lush trees flanking the path to our summer cottage.
My host family has three separate buildings to their summer cottage: one main building, where the family usually sleeps and eats, one sauna building, where everyone can hang out and sauna, and one two story beach villa, which is right next to the beach. Marja and Kari agreed to let me, Camilla, Suvi, and Ida sleep in the beach villa by ourselves.
In front of their house
We went hiking in their private forest, which was engulfed in a plethora of different flowers and trees. It was so nice, simply roaming around in the forest. In California, I'm used to following already carved-out paths when hiking in the forests and mountains, but in the Wendelin's forest, we created our own paths, ducking under prodding branches and stepping over mossy rocks. Camilla even showed me a swamp that was hidden beneath grass and algae and a humongous rock that was sculpted from the Ice Age.
Hiking in their private forest
More hiking. The forest is so serene.
In front of the Baltic Sea!
Marja and Kari took us around the island of Kustavi, and we stopped by a camp site where they were raising up the Midsummer Maypole! With the assistance of a group of young men and women, the Maypole was finally erected, and everyone around me began singing traditional Midsummer Finnish songs.
The pole is adorned with birch wreaths and tiny Finnish flags.
Next, we stopped at a sheep farm, which was part of the same "plaza" as several other small cafes and shops where home made crafts and goods were sold. One of the more memorable shops was a hand made candle shop, where all the candles were organically and naturally scented. I fell in love with a multitude of different aromas, including strawberry cake, raspberry yogurt, and blueberry pie.
With Camilla and her friends Suvi and Ida! We are in front of the sheep pen but the sheep are not visible in this picture :(
While driving on the highway, we randomly stopped at this location because it was so beautiful and I had to document this. Behind me is a field of daisies and towering pines, birches, spruces and rowans.
In front of the beach. (aka Baltic Sea)
I also sauna-ed for the first time--and it was a very enjoyable experience! While the sauna only went up to 75 degrees Celsius (most Finns go up to 90-100 degrees) and I didn't jump into the sea (you're supposed to after a session in the sauna), I'm glad I got to experience the cornerstone of Finnish lifestyle.
In the afternoon of Saturday, June 21st, Camilla, Ida, Suvi and I played two rounds of Mölkky, a Finnish throwing game that involves a rolling pin type stick and twelve pins with numbers on them. I've attached a picture below!
It is a LOT more difficult than it looks.
Basically, the object of the game is to knock down the pins with the large cylindric block. If you hit one pin, you get as many points as the number of the pin. For example, if you only knock down 12, you will receive 12 points. However, if you hit multiple pins, you only get as many points as the number of pins you knock down. For example, if you strike down 5, 8, and 10, you only get three points. The winner of the game is the one who reaches 50 points first, but even if you get one point above 50, such as 51, you will have to subtract 25 from your score. Also, every time you knock down a pin, you must place it where it fell down, so the pins are configured in a different way every time someone goes up to throw the cylindric block.
During both rounds, Suvi won the game! I had terrible luck and aim; I couldn't even hit any pins, four times in a row!
For dinner, Kari grilled some delicious vegetables (corn, bellpeppers, zucchinis) and sausages and Marja made some Finnish crepes. We had a great conversation that delved into the unseen underbelly of Finnish culture, things that people would not perceive unless they're Finland natives and issues that could not have been revealed with a simple Google search on "Finnish culture." For example, I learned about the stereotypes surrounding Swedish speaking Finns (they are generally perceived to be more affluent, but that stereotype stems from the fact that some of the richest citizens of Finland are Swedish speaking Finns. However, most Swedish speaking Finns are no different financially than regular Finns) and how the different ways Finns refer to Helsinki reflect socioeconomic backgrounds (Finns who refer to Helsinki as "Hessa" are usually those from the rural countryside, Finns who refer to Helsinki as "Study" are usually born and raised in Helsinki) and how Finns who move to Helsinki from smaller towns are usually much more pretentious than Finns who were born and raised in Helsinki, and how each year's Miss Finland always desires a professional ice hockey player boyfriend (I'm not quite sure how the conversation took this turn??) Anyways, it was wonderful talking to my host family and Suvi and Ida about issues that are so distinctly Finnish and are so nuanced and woven into the Finnish culture.
Sunday morning, June 22nd, we decided to get on a car ferry to explore the other portion of Kustavi (the two sides of Kustavi are separated by a strait.) We stopped at the Archipelago Museum, which featured life in Kustavi in the 19th century. There were rooms and rooms filled with butter churning equipment, sewing machines, eyeglasses, wooden handmade skis and skates, etcetc. It was interesting to step back in time and witness how people "back then" went about their daily lives.
Me in front of the smoke sauna at the Archipelago Museum, also known as Skargardsmuseum (in Swedish) and Saaristolaismuseo (in Finnish).
On the deck
I am so fortunate to have celebrated Midsummer with my host family in their beautiful summer cottage!
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