Dec 06, 09: Fine land
Category: True story
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Today, Dec 6, is Finland’s Independence Day. I will spend it on a ferry to Sweden. How appropriate.
I have never been as Finnish as during my first two years living in Sweden. I moved to Sweden in April, and by Christmas, I was an ultrafennomaniac. I read only Finnish classics, I listened to Finnish music, and I basically spent my weekends on those ferries, going back to the old country, to the old hood and the old buddies.
And to spread the message of Finland, I also decided to bake some joulutorttu, traditional Finnish Christmas pastries, that have a spoonful of plum marmelade in the middle.
The problem: couldn’t find that marmalade in Stockholm.
I was baffled. In Finland they always have mountains of those jars at stores but when I went to the best stores and asked around, and to the small stores that were supposed to have it in Stockholm, I still couldn’t find it anywhere.
As a last resort, I walked into the Finnish church that was next to our office, up on a hill, next to the Castle, to see if maybe they could offer me some guidance as to where I could find the marmalade.
I walked into the offices, and knocked carefully on the door. No answer, so I tried the door, opened it and stepped inside. A lady walked towards me and asked me what I wanted. I told her that I was looking for some plum marmalade for my joulutorttu and that I was wondering if she could tell me where I could find it.
She looked at me, and laughed, just a little.
As she opened her mouth to answer, two other ladies popped their heads out of their offices and the three of them said, in unison: “Make it yourself.”
And that, my friends, is Finland in a nutshell.
Make it yourself.
Happy Independence Day, Finland. Many happy returns.
I have never been as Finnish as during my first two years living in Sweden. I moved to Sweden in April, and by Christmas, I was an ultrafennomaniac. I read only Finnish classics, I listened to Finnish music, and I basically spent my weekends on those ferries, going back to the old country, to the old hood and the old buddies.
And to spread the message of Finland, I also decided to bake some joulutorttu, traditional Finnish Christmas pastries, that have a spoonful of plum marmelade in the middle.
The problem: couldn’t find that marmalade in Stockholm.
I was baffled. In Finland they always have mountains of those jars at stores but when I went to the best stores and asked around, and to the small stores that were supposed to have it in Stockholm, I still couldn’t find it anywhere.
As a last resort, I walked into the Finnish church that was next to our office, up on a hill, next to the Castle, to see if maybe they could offer me some guidance as to where I could find the marmalade.
I walked into the offices, and knocked carefully on the door. No answer, so I tried the door, opened it and stepped inside. A lady walked towards me and asked me what I wanted. I told her that I was looking for some plum marmalade for my joulutorttu and that I was wondering if she could tell me where I could find it.
She looked at me, and laughed, just a little.
As she opened her mouth to answer, two other ladies popped their heads out of their offices and the three of them said, in unison: “Make it yourself.”
And that, my friends, is Finland in a nutshell.
Make it yourself.
Happy Independence Day, Finland. Many happy returns.
Roberto wrote:
Reminds me of a trip I took to Turkey over 10 years ago. I rented a car and drove down the Aegean coast for a couple of weeks, staying in pensions and seeing the fantastic Greek archaeological sites, which except for Ephesus were completely bereft of tourists.
In one town I went out to dinner with the girl who ran the hotel in which I stayed, and in conversation, she mentioned that her family made its own butter.
Me: "You make your own butter!?!"
Her: "Everyone does."
Now for the rest of the morning I will try to retrieve her name ... whoops, there it is! Mavis. Pronounced "mah-veesh". Good looking girl. :-)