Winter has arrived

Those moments I enjoyed outside a cafe on Sunday in the warm sunshine seem a distant memory. The last couple of days the weather has been slowly deteriorating and I sit here in a nice warm office contemplating the wind, rain and falling temperature outside. My work is nearly done here, and in a couple of hours I will be heading to the train station to go to Helsinki, and then catching a plane back to England in the early hours of tomorrow morning. It has been a very brief trip, just enough to give me a taste of Finland, and it has been very enjoyable. I am already planning a longer trip for next year, and you can guarantee that the first place I will be heading will be the sauna and the lake!

I will be back in England tomorrow morning, and probably the first thing I will be doing is having a real cup of tea — with milk!

The real Finnish experience

As I rode my bicycle to the University yesterday morning, I realised that winter had suddenly arrived. The previous day, although cool, I had been enjoying the afternoon sunshine in my t-shirt, and now I was cycling in a blisteringly cold wind that was penetrating my jacket and jumper. On the plus side, I had mastered the art of Finnish bicycles.

After a full day at the University, that included one giving a seminar about ones research, I was treated to a real Finnish experience. Professor Erkki took me on a trip, with some of his students, out into the countryside. The city of Joensuu already feels like the countryside, as it seems quieter than my local town in England, but we really did find a more deserted spot. We travelled north of Joensuu to the national park area of Koli. This area was previously as high as the himalayas, but over thousands of years it has sunk into the ground to form a mass of lakes (and of course, trees).

First we walked up to the highest point, a mere 300 meters, to get a view of the real Finnish landscape. Impressive indeed, especially to imagine that in a couple of months the lakes will be frozen, the snow will have fallen, and the whole colour of the landscape will change from the green of the trees to snowy white. It was also perfect timing for the sunset, and we wandered around at the top for a short while watching the sun slowly setting. I was reminded of the sunset in Taiwan, but this was something quite different given that we were all alone at the top of a mountain with miles and miles of uninhabited forest and lakes all around us.

The temperature was considerably colder than the 'city', so we headed down to Erkki's cabin right on the edge of the lake. Erkki mentioned about a swim, to which I jokingly replied 'why not'! Next thing is that we are preparing a sauna. The Finns are famous for their saunas, they usually take them at least once a week, and apparently there are 2.5 million saunas in Finland — a country with only 5 million people. The traditional method is to move between the sauna and the lake, or if the lake is frozen then you can just roll around in the snow. Whilst waiting for the sauna to warm up, we made a fire and cooked some sausages (which I declined) and drank some tea to prepare us for the crazyness that would surely follow. After an hour, just Erkki, Ilkka, and myself headed for the sauna. It was very satisfying to throw water on the stones and then wait for the heat to hit you. Once we were sure our bodies were fully cooked, we stumbled down to the lake in the darkness. My body had already cooled down before I reached the water. The lake was very shallow and so we had to walk in a fair way. My feet froze immediately and I thought that this must be the coldest water I had ever experienced — it made the British sea feel like a hot spring. Erkki was wallowing around in the water, so in a moment of craziness, I threw myself into the water. Screaming followed. The next moment I regained my consciousness, I was out of the water and luckily my legs were running towards the sauna. Moments later the steam returned my body to a more natural temperature. The feeling was great. After another 20 minutes in the sauna, Erkki suggested we do it again. Slightly less screaming this time. By the third time I was starting to get used to it, and actually the thrill was quite enjoyable. Definitely more exciting than any rollercoaster that I have tried.

After the sauna we had another cup of tea, and prepared to head back to the city. As we left, looking up to the sky, we watched the northern lights. These are truly spectacular, especially for me as it was the first time I had ever seen them. It was the end to an amazing night and a great introduction to Finnish culture.

More photos

The land of trees

I am now in Finland, proving that PhD life is about travelling around, meeting people, and stimulating exciting research. I am quite good at the first two, but the third is more difficult!

As the plane landed in Helsinki on Sunday afternoon, the first thing I noticed was the shear volume of trees in this country. The scenery looks particularly pleasing from the air because of so few built-up areas. I made my way to the train station, after a kind lady got me on the right bus, and arrived in plenty of time before the next train. I wandered around what seemed like a ghost town — I guessed that it was quiet because it was Sunday. The weather though was quite warm, with beautiful sunshine, and I sat drinking a coffee whilst adding to my Taiwanese and English tan. I felt pleased that I hadn't brought many clothes.

The train pulled up on-time and looking very big and shiny. This train was a double-decker! I got on and began looking for my seat, walking through nice restaurant areas and what looked like first class. However, by the time I found my seat, which was on the top deck, I realised that the whole train looked like first class — so this was obviously the standard in Finland. I was impressed. It was spacious, comfy, and quick too. Then I remembered the cost of the ticket: over 100 euros for a return (nearly £70) and so I decided the trains should be good at this price!

I arrived in Joensuu at 9pm and was met by a professor and a researcher that I had met in Taiwan. On the train I had observed trees for 5 hours, interspersed with the occasional lake, and then watched the sunset through the trees on the horizon. If Thailand is the land of smiles, then Finland is definitely the land of trees.

Next day we went to the University, I got a quick tour and was introduced to more people than whose names I can recall. We soon got down to some 'stimulating research', but I won't bore you with that. The only exciting thing was that I got thrown into a meeting to give some demonstrations in the afternoon. In the evening we had a little party and played a game that I will introduce to you Warwick people when I get back. ;)

Before I begin my 'stimulating research' today, I must tell you about my experience of Finnish bicycles. Yesterday, we rode bicycles to University — they are much more common in Finland than in England, and the paths are very big to make room for both pedestrians and cycles. So I was going to borrow a bicycle and was given a key to unlock it. Well I took a look at the bicycle and it appeared to already be unlocked, so I just stood around waiting. My friend looked at me a bit strange and told me I needed to unlock it. What lock? It turns out that nearly all bicycles have a lock built-in to the rear wheel — very compact and clever! After this I was on my way, and heading down a hill so I squeezed the single brake. Nothing happened. This worried me a little, so I dragged my feet along the floor to slow down and eventually came to stop before the junction. I probably would have not said anything had I been in Thailand, but I was surprised that these clever Finns rode bicycles with no brakes. As we were riding along the next rode I told Ilkka that the brakes were not very good on this bike (British understatement of the year). "Try pedaling backwards", he said. Sure enough, I came to an abrupt stop. Fiendishly clever these Finns!