Over the past month we have slowly made our way southward from Stockholm until reaching Italy. We quickly erased this migration by catching a flight from Milan to Helsinki, Finland, to meet up with Don, Annika, and for the third time this trip, Oliver. As a complete sidebar, I want to discuss the fact that Don and Annika to this day are still not collectively referred to as Donnika. A) their names share a syllable and segue into one another seamlessly; b) they come from Los Angeles, where other couple's names have often been merged in the headlines (i.e. Bennifer or the not as natural sounding Brangelina). I know this is a tangent, but it just seems so natural to me. So, for the rest of this post do not be confused when two people are described by one name. However, this item does not relate to our travels, and I digress. It was great to see Emelie's parents after about seven months apart, and we spent a great week together in the far north. It wasn't terribly cold, as was expected seeing as though it was mid-November in Finland, but the days were getting rather short being so far north and light was at a premium.
Oliver and me atop a hill with a very Russian looking church illuminated in the background. We spent the first two days in Helsinki and one thing that caught me was the differences in architecture around the city. It is so close to Russia and former SSR's like Estonia that it is not entirely Western, but not entirely of the East as well. Thus, the buildings reflected both styles and you could see the influence of different cultures in both the buildings and the Finnish culture.
Donnika, Emelie and Oliver in front of the Helsinki harbor. You cannot see their feet, but Emelie is on her tiptoes so she doesn't feel like the "short stack" in her tall family.
If you're reading this blog, you know me, and thus, you know deep down I'm a nerd. I love flags for some reason, and on this trip I have found that taking pictures of flags is not as easy as one may think. The wind can make it very difficult at times. Because of this, I was pleased that on this shot Emelie captured the Finnish flag almost perfectly unfurled.
Don and Oliver in front of our hotel where we stayed for two nights. It was a nice respite from the type of traveling we had been accustomed to over the past month on the road.
I guess the best way to profess your love in Helsinki is to affix a padlock with your names written on it to this bridge crossing the harbor...
Dinner at the hotel after our first full day together with familiar faces and a few new friends.
The two beautiful ladies in bed gossiping about something in Swedish...
The real reason the Macpherson's came all the way out to Finland was to check the progress on the new boat that Don is having built in the central part of the country. After two days in Helsinki we all took off for the town of Pietarsaari where the shipyard is located. It was really cool to go to a small town so far north and experience something so new. One thing that totally caught Emelie and me off-guard was that in this part of Finland, Swedish was an official language. Perhaps it has to do with the close proximity across the Baltic Sea to Sweden and the fact that Sweden used to possess Finland, but here in this town and its environs, both Finnish and Swedish were accepted languages and the majority of people were bilingual. In Helsinki one could not get by on Swedish alone and English would be the default second language for the locals, but here it was not the case. Only 6% of Finns can speak Swedish, and we just so happened to be in that part of the country, which was nice for Emelie and Annika (and the rest of us because our Swedish is so proficient these days). Note the road sign above, where both the Swedish and Finnish names for the town are listed. So in our case, even though we were in Pietarsaari, we could also use the Swedish, and easier to pronounce name, Jakobstad.
Checking out some of the carpentry in its early stages. The man with his hand up, Christian, was with us the whole time and is the go-to guy on the project and was super nice and informative about the whole process. It was really neat to see the attention to detail that goes along with a process like this, from the thin sheets of teak that go over the plywood to give the interior wood its look, to the unique design of everything specific to this individual boat.
Emelie and Annika at the stern, using their foresight and envisioning where the helm will be. Oliver stands aside wondering what these women are doing.
Being brother and sister, Emelie and Oliver played the role the entire time and were picking on each other nonstop when Donnika weren't looking...
The first night in Pietarsaari/Jakobstad we were treated to an unforgettable dinner just outside the city. We were taken to an Arctic museum called Nanoq that documented the various trips that have been taken over the years to both poles of the Earth. There were artifacts, documents, and recreated buildings that showed both what expeditions were like to these remote corners of the globe as well as what life was like for the few brave souls who call these places home.
We had a great dinner at a special table inside the museum. It was a delicious meal and I finally got to check reindeer off my list of foods to eat in life. Sorry, Rudolph. Or was it Dancer we had?
A Greenlandic piece of art made from a whale's vertibra. Emelie was especially blown away by this artwork.
One afternoon I went for a walk, and Oliver, being from southern California deemed it too cold, so me and my Maine blood strolled the small town alone. Note the sun's position in the sky and the time of day.
We left Pietarsaari after two days and returned to Helsinki where we would all part ways again the following morning--Donnika back to LA, Oliver to resume his studies in Jonköping, and Emelie and I to resume our trip and last week in Europe. It was a fun little detour going to the north, and though I didn't get inside the Arctic Circle (a life goal of mine), I still managed to do the two things I hoped for in Finland. Eat reindeer, and get my sauna on. On the return flight to Italy Emelie mentioned how nice it was to see her family and how nice it was that it all worked out that for this small amount of time we were all able to meet up in one corner of the world and spend some time together. If only Maya and Erik could have been there. Back to the backpacking and another canal city--Venice.
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