A Little Piece of Paradise

This weekend was my last in Savonlinna :( Very sad, I know. It's been a weird feeling, trying to get my last moments all summed up, taking more pictures in my head of everything I want to remember.

One of those things is the beautiful summer cottage out by the lake. Many people in Finland have a family summer cottage that is further away from cities, and an escape into nature. Leena and I have visisted hers a few times (where we made the snowman). It is on a beautiful lake with wooded forests surrounding it, about 10-15 minutes drive from town. Leena's parents owned the property when she was growning up, and they would spend their entire summer there, and then move into town when it was winter. They even kept horses! When she and her siblings got older, the land was separated out, so now there are several cottages for those siblings on that lakeside.

One of the most wonderful things at the summer cottage is the architecture that Leena designed for it. Eastern Finland has a strong "Karelian" history. Karelia used to be on the far Eastern side of Finland but was taken by Russia after the Finland-Russia war, and many of those Finns moved into what is now Eastern Finland in order to not be under Russian rule. As such, they had to leave their homes, histories, and homeland. Among the older generation here especially, this longing for Karelia is very strong.

Traditional Karelian Orthodox style church

Some of the culture includes the architecture, music, dialect, food (riisipirakkas), and dress.

My absolute favorite! Made with rice

At this cottage there is a little retreat to paradise. The little sauna at the end of the dock.

I can't put into words how nice it was to spend an hour or so chatting in the sauna, and when it got hot, just stepping outside to dry and cool off. Surrounded by such beautiful nature, looking out onto the frozen lake and in such wonderful company, it was really a beautiful moment that I will remember forever! Coming to the cottage for the sauna is like a retreat and a place to "become one with nature." 

It's a little surprising to me how well I've adapted to the Finnish culture while here. Sauna has become very important to me, and my endurance for it has grown a lot. It's so relaxing and refreshing, and it helps calm my mind down. I also have loved all the food, learned some of the language, and learned to appreciate aspects of Finnish history, like Karelia. I think that Finland will always have a little piece of my heart, and this cottage retreat and sauna is part of that piece!

Just a little dip in the lake...

Tonight all the nursing exchange students were invited to the Director of Education's house for a little get together...Finnish style. What does that mean??? SAUNA (And winter swimming)

Now, I've been going to the sauna with Leena many times these last two weeks. In fact, she has one in her house, so for example, we have gone four or five times in the last week alone. So I have already had a good experience and have realized how much I love it.

Sauna is a very old tradition in the Scandinavian countries. It is very common also in Russia and Sweden. I have asked around but no one seems to know how, when, or why it started. I think it must have started because of how cold it gets up here. (You know, we are only hours from the Arctic Circle) Sauna is so important that many people treat it as a sacred place for meditation and a place to talk or sort out your feelings and emotions. It is wear business deals are talked over or where you bear your soul. For some reason conversations that are difficult to talk about any other time are easy to talk about in the sauna. I think it breaks down social barriers and strengthens and builds friendships. I have already noticed that with my friends here.

In the old days, people used wood burning saunas and built them a distance from the house. Now many are electric and can be built in the house. This Savonlinna area is the lake district, so here many people build them by the lake so after the hot sauna warms them up, they can cool off in the lake right away.

Saunas are built in nearly every apartment complex and families have a designated hour once a week to go. They are built in homes, summer cottages, rec centers. They really are everywhere.

Typically, women go together or all men go together. If a family has young children, they will all go to the sauna together until the children get a little older, and then they will separate.

So tonight were were invited to sauna with our professors. The Director of Education has a wood burning sauna at her house by the lake. The wood ones are better because the heat has more humidity and makes it easier to breathe. So we enjoyed a while in the hot sauna and then ran out to the tiny hole in the lake that had been recently cracked open, and we took turns taking a dip (or two!) in the frozen lake. It was soooo cold! After, I couldn't feel my body at all, but the best feeling was running back into the sauna to warm up. The change between being so hot you can't stand it to being so cold you can't stand it is actually exhilarating :)

(I tried and tried to get the quality of this better, but for some reason, even though my camera has a good video, when I uploaded it it looks terrible....but you'll get the idea.)

Can you tell how cold it it???

Sauna is something I'm only beginning to appreciate, and I don't think this small post can do justice for how the Finns feel about Sauna. We asked the director if we were crazy for wanting to do this twice in the freezing weather. She said, "you're just like us." I hope so.