September 30, 2007

I went to Tampere for the weekend. Tampere is the second largest city in Finland. My friend, Eija, came from Helsinki. It’s about half way from both places, and I had a Finnair mileage hotel coupon that had to be used before October 2 - and we managed to do it!

The hotel rooms are very simple, very beautiful – and very ecologically sound! There’s hardwood floor, simple design bedding, and light wood furnishings. Even the recyclable key cards and the pens are made of wood! You need to place the key card in a little pocket by the door to turn any light on. So when you leave and pick up the key card, the lights turn off automatically. The room also had a garbage can with three slots for recycling and instructions of what goes to what color slot. So simple, so smart!

If you ever come to Finland, you must stay in the hotel just to experience the breakfast – of course, after the morning sauna!  The breakfast is your ultimate buffet. There’s freshly baked bread you get to cut yourself, croissants and rolls, cold cuts, smoked fish, bacon, potatoes, vegetables, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, eggs in different style, and various types of cheeses. The next counter has hot serial, and the following one includes yogurts, berries, müsli, raisins, linen seeds, bran, other serials, etc. Then you get to choose fruit juice, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, etc. And there are cookies and pastries as well. Another counter has a selection of fruit: watermelon, bananas, oranges, plumbs, etc. Yes – you could do this for the three hours the buffet is open.  And yes, it’s included in the hotel room price - free for us – with the Finnair points!

Of course, we didn’t just eat in Tampere. It was fun to compare notes of living in Finland with Aino, who was my TA in Berkeley and returned in August, and Eicca, my Finnish student for two years from UC Irvine, now studying in Tampere and becoming a ‘Finnish girl’.

Tampere is beautiful. It’s an old factory town, built on two sides of a river. The old brick factory buildings now house art galleries, shops, cafes, and restaurants – very much like Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco.

http://www.uvm.edu/~oies/pc/2007images/mcaha1_Finland.jpg
There are other old building, parks, and a bridge, lined with statues by a famous sculptor, Väinö Aaltonen.
http://www.junnut.com/kausi0203/kuvat/1104tre_turn/P4126325_.jpg

When I went to buy a train ticket to return to Jyväskylä, I found out that the train was full. I decided to take a chance without a seat and sit in the restaurant car. While I was waiting for the train to arrive, I recognized a familiar face: A Finnish woman I had last met in Berkeley in the 1980’s! We spent the whole trip in the restaurant car – standing room only – to catch up. She and her husband live in Jyväskylä.  – It’s a small world!

PS. You can buy a train ticket on-line and send a message to your cell phone. On the train, you just show the message to the conductor who will then print you a ticket. This is a high tech country I’m living in!