The Perils of a Finnish WInter: Part I

Pielisjoen ranta...I think it could be called that.  See how bright it is now?? hahaha

So, I have named this post "Perils of a Finnish Winter Part I." because I foresee plenty of potential to build upon this topic in the future.  I don't have a plan on how to continue this idea yet, but I'm sure as we get deeper into winter, I will encounter more things to write about. So, this week I have two, well maybe three, things to share: icy roads, darkness, and sitsit.

The view out my apartment window

Icy Roads.  True, this is not a winter feature exclusive to Finland, but it happens to have impacted me directly this week.  Literally.  I was riding my bike (pöyrä) in a hurry (mistake #1) and I decided that I could make it across a crosswalk where the "walking man" had just changed to a "not walking man" (mistake #2).  Really, you have about 15seconds at this point to cross the street which was more than enough given my speed (mistake #3) when I left the sidewalk and started onto the pavement.  Mistake #4 came when I assumed that the pavement surface would have equal traction to the sidewalk I had just left.  Nope.  The coefficient of friction on the pavement was significantly less than that of the sidewalk thanks to a very thin layer of black ice.  That was all it took and my bike was no longer under me.  I had some really great momentum because I had just come down a hill so I managed to cover some pretty good distance on my side, skidding across the icy, yet gravelled, road.  My bike is fine, and I am fine.  I just a few bruises and a very small patch of road rash to show for it.  I guess that's the benefit of winter bike crashes: you're wearing a lot of clothing to protect you when you go down.  I have to say that I was pretty embarrassed. It was during morning traffic, so there were traffic lineups in all direction that got to witness the foolish cyclist trying to make it across on a slightly red pedestrian light and "biting it" as a result.

Buried bicycles.  The snow makes it easy to see which bicycles have been locked and forgotten

As embarrassing as it is, I am definitely not alone in this experience.  Almost every person I have spoken to has crashed their bicycle at least once or twice due to ice on the road.  Others have been almost hit by cars (autot) that couldn't stop in time.  I wear a helmet constantly now that ice is lurking on the roadsides, sidewalks, bridges, and forest paths.  I also don't ride my biek in front of cars even if it looks like they are going to stop.  I don't trust that they actually will stop until they do.  My father has offered to buy me studded bike tires for Christmas (Joulu)...very cool!  They are just like studded car tires, but they are for a bicycle.  Apparently it is common to get them only on the front tire, but they can be put on both.  I imagine they help, but they are probably not going to save me if I try the speeding-turning-black ice stunt again.

Berries and Blue...

Darkness.  Ok, so our nights are long, no surprise there.  The thing that really gets me is that when the sun is above the horizon, it is so low that it is still behind the trees and buildings all day.  If it happens to be cloudy or...**shudder**...raining, then it never really get light out.  Even at midday, headlights are required and it is brighter indoors than it is outside.  It always looks so warm and bright under the artificial "high efficiency" bulbs.  I never thought I would describe high efficiency light that way.  Snow helps mitigate this significantly, but until a few hours ago, the ground has been bare for most of the week.

A very blurred photo from a park in town... (sorry, I was in a rush)...but you get the idea

While sitsit isn't exactly a winter peril, it does feature one of the Finn's favorite pastimes: drinking (which could be considered dangerous).  Or, is drinking a favored summer pastime?  I would have to say that drinking is a winter hobby, while partying is a summer pastime...do you see the difference?  There is very little celebration in winter drinking, whereas it sounds like summer partying is all about having fun and enjoying the long days.  I should probably tell you a little bit about sitsit.  Sitsit is a tradition that I believe the Finns adopted from Swedish culture.  It is an evening of ridiculous-ness disguised as a dinner party.  There is a dress code that must be followed (determined by the host) and there are toastmasters that must be obeyed.  They have absolute control and make the rules, give permission to go to the bathroom, and punish those who do not follow the rules.  Punishments include dancing to finnish disco, reciting poetry in a foreign language and other creative and publicly embarrassing acts.  The admission fee comes with some drinks provided, but you are encouraged to bring your own so that you never have an empty glass when a toast is called, which is very often.  Singing is another key feature of a sitsit.  When a song is called by the toastmaster or requested by an attendee, everyone must sing (songsheets are provided).  These songs are usually in Swedish, but there are some Finnish favorites, a few English, and a sprinkling of French or German.  It was really really halarious.  At any point during a song or dinner a toast may be called at which point you must drink.  It's like a mass drinking game...but water is liberally provided (and so is schnapps).  Overall, a highly recommended experience.  If you ever have the opportunity to attend one: do it.  oh yes, and as a side note, a 3-course meal is served.  Definitely no the highlight of the evening, nor should it be.

One of the heated sidewalks mentioned in a previous post

 Until next week...Moikka!!