Anyways, back to my parent's visit to Finland! I seem to have ended the post on the first Vappu celebration day. Therefore, the second Labor Day celebration is in order now. A day when everyone comes out and has a giant picnic in the park and listens to live music. Luckily for us, the weather was absolutely perfect.
Everyone out in the big park for a picnic!
And live music!
And after our picnic we headed back home for a nice dinner of lamb, rice, salad, and my dessert!
Something simple, light lemon pound cake with kiwi pear coulis and whipped cream.
Not to self: kiwi is not very good for coulis; too strong and tangy flavor from seeds. But, if obsessed with kiwis, its delicious.
So, that is the end of Vappu. I had such a nice time and learned many new traditions. I might just have to celebrate Vappu every year from now on!
Now we come to the last four days of my parents stay in Finland. If you think its going fast on this blog, just times that by 10 and that was how fast it actually went! But of course, time flies when you're having fun! Now since Vappu is over and all but one summer cottage have been visited, we can get down to the more "touristy" time of the whole vacation. And first stop on the list, Turku Cathedral, Kauppahalli , and homeade dinner for the Tuomaala family.
Inside the church.
Looking like tourists, all lost and confused needing a map.
After the church we headed to one of my favorite places in Turku. This is called Kauppahalli. Basically its a market inside an old train station building where they sell, well, they sell everything. Tea, chocolate, pig hocks, fruit and veg., clothes, Asian cuisine, Indian spices, imported everything, etc.
Too much choice Dad?
Here, let's just get some sesame halva! Mmm that stuff is good. If you ever find it in the store buy it. Its a sesame candy usually flavored with vanilla, and perfect with coffee.
There's the pig hocks! And... other things...
Well we didn't buy pig hocks to make the Tuomaala's for dinner, but we did buy potatoes, leeks, bread, and cream cheese. And what do you make with these ingredients? Well potato-leek soup, french bread, and fluffy cheesecake of course!
Unfortunately, I was too hungry to take pictures. But let me tell you my momma can cook! The soup was delicious (both host parents agreed) and my cheesecake, or should I say, Viivu's cheesecake, was very scrumptious as well! Then, again after dinner and late night chatting, it was time for bed. I don't think my parents had even started recovering from jet-lag at this point. I am definitely not looking forward to that when I get home...
So, Thursday came faster than expected and brought with it a trip to a very nice, cozy harbor town with my first host family. We wined and dined in a very Finnish restaurant, walked and talked through the little harbor town, then went back to Turku to see an old museum, and then to Jaana and Matti's house for some late night sandwiches and coffee.
Oh and I forgot to mention, before going to Naantali (the small harbor town), we stopped at a potato farmer's farm to check their early potatoes. This is a very old tradition only taking place in Turku where all farmers located in islands or areas around/in the Archiepelago start planting potatoes in March, to have them ready to sell during the Juhannus, or Mid-summer holiday. The farmers are able to sell them at a very high price, but only for about a week before the Junannus and one week after. Then the price goes down. Anyways, it was very interesting to learn about. They have to cover their potatoes with a sheet-like cloth in order to keep them from freezing and for water to go through. They are always covered with the sheet, and later, past spring, they are still covered to keep the heat out. It's a very complicated process. I don't remember all the details. But I'm sure my dear father does. Clearly my host parents understood that he needed to be near a farm/potatoes while on this vacation or he would go crazy. Just kidding Daddy. He-he.
Potatoes in background covered with the sheeting.
Up close and personal with the Archiepelago potato growing process.
And with every potato lesson one needs a nice cardamom doughnut and leftover Sima!
And here we are in the harbor town. A cozy place called Naantali. Unfortunately it wasn't warm enough to ear outside, but it was beautiful weather for walking.
Here is the restaurant where we ate. Serving nothing but authentic and traditional Finnish food. Everything from boiled potatoes, herring, herring in sauce, baked herring, salmon, rye bread, beans, and some more herring. Mmm-mmm good!
Inside restaurant.
Such a pretty place isn't it? And the buffet was only 13,50 euros. That's pretty good consider the quality of the food they were serving.
They love herring!
And me too! Mmm I really need to make a Finnish recipe book before I go home!
Best host parents in the whole wide world! I love them! Matti & Jaana Markula.
I am taking Emma back to this restaurant, and town, for a little goodbye/last few days in Finland lunch. It was delicious!
Off to a small wine/beer house for a refreshment before going to the museum.
Here is the museum we visited. This museum tells and shows all you need to know about Finland old town. Only visible underground where original buildings, buried for centuries underground, still stand and where much of Turku's history is answered. If you would like to learn more about this topic please click on the link below:
Once out of that dungeon of mind boggling history, we were welcomed with a beautiful view of Turku and its Aura river during sunset.
I will most definitely miss this place...
And Wenda of course! Jaana and Matti's dog.
We spent the evening at Jaana and Matti's house eating a small dinner and talking over coffee and chocolate. It was so great to see my parents making new friends will all three host families and welcoming them into our home in Michigan whenever and if ever they come.
So my parents went to sleep that night knowing that I was in great hands with all three host families, something not all exchange students get. I have had what I consider a perfect exchange year, I was truly blessed.
Therefore we have reached Friday, the third to last day in Finland and this day we visited the castle. It was a blast. And we came back to a very Finnish dinner called poro-leipäjuustokeitto, or reindeer bread-cheese soup. It was amazing. Another recipe my mother took home, lucky me!
On out way to the castle by bus! Too cold for biking.
Castle chapel area.
Knight Clifford!
And Princess Karlee!
And her dear father, King Clifford the Great!
I think the best part of the whole castle was trying on old clothes! But the castle itself is a wonder. Built in the 14th century, this castle is a true landmark of Finland and its history. And is the oldest building still in use in all of Finland. To read more click on the link below:
Reindeer bread-cheese soup! Mmm this is truly something that would win a soup contest with flying colors. You must be wondering what bread-cheese is right? Well, its what our dear friend Natlaie Munn has previously known as squeaky cheese! Although, it doesn't literally squeak, or maybe not loud enough to be audible, but you can almost "feel" it squeaking in your mouth. It originates from Northern Finland where it was traditionally made with "cow's beestings", rich milk from a cow that has recently calved. The milk is curdled, shaped into a round disk 2-3 cm. thick, and baked! It is used many ways, both as a dessert and as a savory food, like in this soup, or served warm with lingonberry jam and vanilla ice cream. Another thing to make when I get home. I should start a list...
And to accompany the soup Tuula made traditional Archipelago bread. This is a malt bread originating from the islands. Now eaten a lot with herring, salmon, and with soup.
Visiting the castle, I believe, was a very neat experience for my parents. Considering we don't have any castles in Michigan. The castles and traditional Finnish soup ended my parents stay in Turku very nicely. And in the morning we packed up and headed by train to Finland's capitol, Helsinki.
Once in Helsinki, we dropped our luggage off at our hotel and headed out to see the market. There we ate street food of muikku (in English = vendance? I have no idea what that is.), salmon and potatoes, and some salad. Then we got some ice cream from a nearby ice cream stall and headed out with a map in hand to see the most popular sights in Helsinki. Then we ate at a delicious pizza place and headed off to bed! The next day brought our trip to the fortress island of Suomenlinna (I have been here before and have a previous post about this island.) and a very Finnish dinner to end the night. Then, I took the train back home to Turku, and my parents stayed up all night to catch their flight at 6:30 in the morning. Apparently all went well because they are safe and home now! Anyways, I have only a few pictures from this weekend in Helsinki, the rest are on my mother's camera so I will get them when I am home. Enjoy!
Welcome to Helsinki!
Mmm ice cream! And the old Greek Orthodox church behind them.
Aww shucks!
In Suomenlinna!
Giant cannon.
Which this girl has done! Mmm there is my reindeer and potatoes!
The End!
I just want to thank my parents for coming to visit me in Finland. It really meant the world to me and I hope that it was a great experience for you also. I hope we can do it again some time!
In the meantime, look forward to my blog about Poland!
Talk soon!
Karlee
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