Urban homesteads in Helsinki

I was walking home from work today, and it was such a pleasant trip I've decided to walk to work again tomorrow.  My walk takes me parallel to a park, and I was investigating potential paths that would take me through the park when I discovered strange markings on the map denoting a "Kumpulan siirtolapuutarha." The markings were so little, I thought maybe they ID'd crypts in a cemetery.  Kumpula is the name of the campus where I work and, according to google translate, siirtolapuutarha can be mean either colony or allotment.  I became curious.

At first, I wondered if these allotments were the result of Soviet domination.  However, after a flurry of internet research, I discovered that the urban homesteads I passed on the way home were Finland's method of dealing with a food shortage in the 1920s.  My local colony is one of the oldest still in operation, founded in 1927.  These cottages on the plots are truly tiny, the better to accommodate a kitchen garden.  The impression I got from poking around my local homesteading colony's webpage was that this is somewhat competitive subsidized housing, and that in order to retain it one must grow something edible on the plot.  How cool.

For pictures: wiki and http://siirtolapuutarhat.net/kumpula/

For more info: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fi&u=http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siirtolapuutarha&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwhat%2Bis%2Bthe%2Bkumpulan%2Bsiirtolapuutarha%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhgm5DiG0kaYz4NcfBU3ZV-dJtPa4Q

dividing up the days

I am retro-actively adding Tuscaloosa AL to the itinerary.  I hadn't noticed I practically pass through it on the way to Austin.  I should definitely take the chance to see my family there.

If I were to take the longest road trip option, I think I would divide up the road-days as follows:

Travel PLANS, Christmas and beyond.

I am writing all this down here so I can keep track of my plans, and so I can get feedback as necessary.

Day trip to Tallinn!

On Saturday, I went to Tallinn for a day-trip with my roommates.  It was amazing!  Tallinn is an old Hanseatic port, founded by the Danes in the 11th or 12th century.  Estonians, like the Finns, speak a language in the Finno-Urgic language family.  Supposedly they can understand finnish but Finns can't understand them.  Estonia is 80 km/ 1.5 hours away from Helsinki by ferry.

Estonia is solidly Eastern Europe.  It is slightly cheaper than the States, but it is an order of magnitude cheaper than Helsinki.  The difference in the cost of living is most noticeable on liquor.  For this reason, 1 in 3 Finns make it to Estonia every year for a MASSIVE bender. Estonians refer to Finns as "two-legged deer," because by the time they make it back to the boat to take them home, they typically can't stand up by their own power.  The low alcohol taxes, combined with a new discount airfare connection at the local airport, have turned Tallinn into a major destination for Finns on holiday and British bachelor parties.  Me and my roommates, while we did not abstain from the cheap beer, were mainly there for the lovely old town and city center.

We got up before dawn and caught the fastest ferry (Linda Lines) to Tallinn.  It was a cold and rainy day, but I was so excited and Tallinn was so beautiful I couldn't be upset by it.  We spent most of our time just walking around the well preserved medieval quarter.  I liked the old buildings with their Russo-Baltic architectural blend.  We really lucked out with random cultural experiences.  First, as we were walking towards Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, we intercepted a 'procession of the icons.'  This is a Russian Orthodox tradition of taking the religious icons for a walk on special occasions.  The church elders were dressed in gold robes with special black hats.  They were singing as they walked down the old alley.  I didn't take any pictures, because the atmosphere was so solemn at first I thought it might be a funeral.  

The second cultural experience we happened upon was a free organ recital at Niguliste (St. Nicholas') Church.  This building is now a museum, but it started out as a 13th century cathedral.  Now, it houses religious art.  Visiting this museum was my favorite part of the Tallinn trip.  The building itself is beautiful but what makes this museum special is that it displays late medieval and renaissance art in situ, as it was meant to be seen.  The altarpieces are on an alter, the religious paintings are set in their original frames, and the wooden statues still have the gaudy flesh-tone paint.  The most famous work housed at Niguliste Church is the "Dance Macabre," a rare large northern renaissance work on canvas.  The image below is from wiki.

In addition to touring, I did the typical "trip to Tallinn" activities of getting a haircut and stocking up on booze.  We hit the Alko (ABC store) right before our scheduled ferry ride home, and we hustled on down to the terminal to check in.  We needn't have bothered, however, as the seas were too rough for our little Linda Line boat, so our departure was cancelled.  They placed us on the Tallink cruise home, leaving at 9 pm instead of 7.  This was OK, but the Tallink is a party-boat, so we were molested by a drunk Finn on the ride home.  He was so drunk, we couldn't tell if he was trying to bum a cigarette, sell marijuana, or buy sex.  However, other drunk Finns rescued us, so I guess we came out even.  Finns drink more than any other nationality I've encountered.  

Tallinn was a touch touristy, but it was local tourists.  I'd give it a weekend, with a solid night of hitting the bars sandwiched by two days of sight-seeing.  The exchange rate is fabulous, and I intend to return in a few months to get another haircut and buy more wool and whiskey.  

Temppeliaukion kirkko and baking

Today at 2 pm, me and another one of my roommates caught an english-language service at Temppeliaukion kirkko.  Neither of us are religious, but I wanted to see these beautiful buildings in action.  It is an international evangelical congregation, so I found their message a tad harsh compared to what I'm accustomed to.  However, the service ended strong, with a couple swahili song-and-dance hymns performed by the African women in the church.  Their little babies toddled and danced along beside them.

I’ve also decided this is a baking day.  I’ve already made “dimply plum cakes,” following Dorie Greenspan’s recipe here, except that I made individual cakes using a muffin tin, pressing half a plum into the top of each cake.  They were a delicious breakfast with coffee.  I’m also making sweet potato shepherds pie to use up the remaining sweet potato puree, adapting this recipe to the veggies in my freezer.

I’ll probably also make this garlic-potatoes gratin to eat during the week

Delightful Töölö

Yesterday, the sky was perfectly blue and cold, and I took the opportunity to wander Töölö, a cute neighborhood on the west end of town separated from the city center by lake Töölö, "Töölönlahti".  It is known for being a bit "bo-bo," but I found it delightful.

One of my roommates and I first took the tram up to the north end of the neighborhood, and then we walked down through Sibelius park to the Seurasaarenselkä (selkä = fjord).  We passed the Sibelius monument, a metal construction that resembles a floating pipe organ.  You could walk all around in it, and it had a pretty convincing illusion of being airborne.

I smelled woodsmoke, and followed it to Cafe Regatta.  It was tiny red and white building overlooking the marina, with a large outdoor seating area with an open birch-fire.  Inside, they were baking their pastries in a small oven behind the counter, pulling them off the cookie sheets and arranging them on the counter and in the dimunitive display case. It was completely charming.  I bought hot cocoa (which was not such a good deal, really pastries are the way to go here), and sat outside by the birch-fire over looking the water.  I smelled like spice-y birch smoke for hours afterwards.  It was perfect.  There was even a french-finnish couple there teaching their little baby how to roast sausages over the fire.

We continued walking along the fjord, where my roommate found apples to join the chestnuts I’d collected in my bag.  I got excited about the chestnuts, remembering playing “conkers” in England as a little kid.  We went down to Helsinki’s beach, Heitaniemi  Sandudd, where we climbed on the rope gym before heading off to the cemetery.

There was a huge funeral underway, so we didn't linger.  

On the walk back to Rautatientori, the train station where we would catch the bus north to Kumpula, we passed by Temppeliaukion kirkko, the "Rock Church".  From the outside it looks like a bunker.  I actually said "Is that it?".  But on the inside, you see that it has been literally blasted into the rock.  I liked this church because it reminded me of the church I attended as a kid.  It had a floating copper dome, set off from the walls by a ring of skylights, which brought to mind my art history courses covering the Hagia Sofia.  On another art historical note, I found it interesting that this building was designed entirely to be viewed from the inside. 

We caught the bus home, but I made us bail out again at Hakaniemi because I saw pumpkins for sale at the outdoor market there.  I didn't end up buying one, because they were selling for 2.5 to 2.8 E/kilo, but I will probably cough up the money closer to Thanksgiving.  I bought some cheap plums (4E/2 liters) at the outdoor market, and then walked to the adjacent Kauppahalli (market hall), where they sold fresh meat, breads, more produce, and handicrafts.  There is a more famous, more touristy Kauppahalli downtown, but the Hakaniemi Kauppahalli is for working class Finns buying their groceries.  Meat is cheaper and fresher at the market than at the grocery store. 

It was so cool!  I bought really great Tibetan tea and lingonberry jam at a shop, and there were great looking cuts of meat that I'll come back for next time I'm preparing a special dinner.  They also had butternut squash for sale, which I haven't seen at the little down-market Aleppa across the street from my apartment.  

The second floor of the Kauppahalli is where local vendors sell their crafts.  There were lots of kitchenwares, carved wooden items, wool, and fur.  They had a yarn store and a Marimekko outlet.  What more could you want?  Strangely enough, there were at least five different coffee shops in this little market hall.  Finns have a rep for drinking lots of coffee, and I guess they've earned it.  

Later that night, I went to a dinner party that the Forestry department of the University of Helsinki threw.  I got to meet and chat with other foreigners at Vikki, the University's forestry building.  

Around 10, me and four others went to the Musta Kissa (Black Cat), a french-owned bar near the Kallio district.  It is a tiny bar, filled with art, where I first heard finnish tango.  Very art-y crowd, but a pleasant atmosphere.  It wasn't a pick-up joint, and you could talk, so I liked it even though we did get stared-down a bit upon entry.