Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Saturday in Oulu
Hi Everyone,
In this entry, I’ll report on the Saturday we just spent with Juha, the director of distance learning at the university and his wife Arja, a pediatric nurse practitioner. Roy had spent some time with them the first week he was here, but I met them for the first time on Saturday.
Juha and Arja picked us up at about 11, and we set off for the International Ice Swimming Championships held at the marina in the center of town. Teams from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Great Britain participated. Giant blocks of ice about 5 feet long, 3 feet across, and 2 feet deep had been cut from the bay to lay bare what looked like an actual swimming pool with lanes cordoned off, flags flying, and even grandstands which were filled with parka-wearing, pennant-waving fans.
Arja and I quickly concluded that this was no beauty contest. These guys were clearly built for endurance. No diving under the water is allowed in ice swimming, so in each heat, having abandoned their bathrobes – yes, bathrobes! – on the ice, but leaving on their knit caps, these hearty souls climbed into the water with nary a shiver, the gun went off, and they propelled their way to the other end in various swimming strokes as the event called for. Mercifully, at least for the heats we saw, they only had to swim one lap. Now you’d think that they would have a friend waiting to quickly wrap them in warm clothes, but no! Instead they lingered after their swim, waving and smiling at the crowd in their speedos. I even saw one guy giving an interview to a TV reporter, no robe, barefoot, soaking wet, on the ice in 30 degree weather! Eventually, each group found their robes and slippers, and would head for the wood heated hot tub for a warming soak, and then to grab a hot drink.
While everyone at this event was out for the sport of ice swimming, Arja told us that doctors have found that ice swimming is very good for rheumatoid arthritis, and that some patients plunge into ice cold water 3 or 4 times a day and get a great deal of relief. It has also been found that the icy water turns body fat brown, which is good for the fat… My own fat turned even paler at the very thought of such a plunge, and assured me that it was very happy staying the pasty color it has always been.
After several swimming events, the 4 of us walked across the pedestrian bridge to the Island of Pikisaari, an artist colony near town center filled with colorful old clapboard homes, warehouses, and narrow, winding streets. We stopped for coffee at a warehouse-restaurant built from logs at least a foot in diameter and filled with primitive antique tables and upholstered benches. In the summer, customers sit on a wide outside deck that overlooks the river. We can’t wait to go back there for dinner!
Then another pedestrian bridge took us back for a quick tour of the city library and theater, and then to the Central Market which is very close to the waterfront. This market is a little smaller than the covered market in Oxford, and has a beautiful selection of cheeses, breads, fish, meat, flowers and even some woolen goods and pottery. In the summer, the market spills out onto the adjoining square, although only one vendor was outside on Saturday.
After tasting, shopping, and tasting some more, we came away with salmon for dinner and some cold-smoked reindeer meat, sliced very thin, that is absolutely delicious! More on the reindeer later…
Next stop was on another city island that is under development. Every house on the island must use a different state-of-the-art technology that is underwritten by their various manufacturers. The homes must all be finished by June when there will be a month long open house so people from all over Europe can see the new technologies. The home we visited was being built by friends of Juha and Arja. There were 3 technologies involved in the building that were unique. They were using cement blocks throughout for both inside and outside walls. The outside blocks are super-insulated. The inside blocks are about 30x30 inches wide and only 4 inches deep. After they are set in place using a tongue and groove method, their seams are sealed, and then they are spray plastered. They are using infloor heating combined with a blower circulating system to distribute the air. But the windows were the real prize. They had floor to ceiling double paned windows that had sensors. When it was too sunny, the windows automatically turned darker, and when there was frost or fog on the windows, they automatically defrosted. Amazing!
Last stop was Juha and Arja’s beautiful home, which is set on a lake just outside town. Three of their 4 children were there to greet us (their oldest daughter lives in the city), and we spent the evening talking and laughing together and eating the best salmon I’ve ever had! I took notes as Arja prepared it, and have enclosed the recipe as a Word document with this e-mail. Try it and see what you think. We also had a smoked reindeer mousse served with crackers as an hors d’oeuvre that was superb. (I’m keeping that recipe to spring on you when I get home!) And for dessert, they served ice cream with cloudberries that they had picked last summer and frozen, and a beautiful rolled cake made by 16 year old Katrin. Arja and Juha’s hospitality made us feel like old friends, and we’re looking forward to another visit very soon.
The rest of our weekend was also highlighted with sporting events. Juha called Sunday to say that the top 2 hockey teams in Finland -- Oulu (the national champions!) and Helsinki -- were playing on Channel 3, so we watched the game in true Finnish style, eating smoked reindeer on buttered slices of a great seedy bread we’ve found here, and drinking Finnish beer. In a nail-biter finish, and after a sudden death overtime and 4 rounds of one-on-one shots on goal, Helsinki finally got the puck past Oulu’s goalie to win 3 to 2. A collective shout of dismay rumbled across Oulu, and we’ve now fallen to second place in the standings. But the season isn’t over yet!...
That was enough of a sports treat for me, but Eagles fan that he is, Roy set the alarm clock for 1 a.m., and got up to watch the Super Bowl covered live but announced in Finnish and without the famous commercials. He said he was a little blurry from fatigue on Monday!
More later,
Sarah
In this entry, I’ll report on the Saturday we just spent with Juha, the director of distance learning at the university and his wife Arja, a pediatric nurse practitioner. Roy had spent some time with them the first week he was here, but I met them for the first time on Saturday.
Juha and Arja picked us up at about 11, and we set off for the International Ice Swimming Championships held at the marina in the center of town. Teams from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Great Britain participated. Giant blocks of ice about 5 feet long, 3 feet across, and 2 feet deep had been cut from the bay to lay bare what looked like an actual swimming pool with lanes cordoned off, flags flying, and even grandstands which were filled with parka-wearing, pennant-waving fans.
Arja and I quickly concluded that this was no beauty contest. These guys were clearly built for endurance. No diving under the water is allowed in ice swimming, so in each heat, having abandoned their bathrobes – yes, bathrobes! – on the ice, but leaving on their knit caps, these hearty souls climbed into the water with nary a shiver, the gun went off, and they propelled their way to the other end in various swimming strokes as the event called for. Mercifully, at least for the heats we saw, they only had to swim one lap. Now you’d think that they would have a friend waiting to quickly wrap them in warm clothes, but no! Instead they lingered after their swim, waving and smiling at the crowd in their speedos. I even saw one guy giving an interview to a TV reporter, no robe, barefoot, soaking wet, on the ice in 30 degree weather! Eventually, each group found their robes and slippers, and would head for the wood heated hot tub for a warming soak, and then to grab a hot drink.
While everyone at this event was out for the sport of ice swimming, Arja told us that doctors have found that ice swimming is very good for rheumatoid arthritis, and that some patients plunge into ice cold water 3 or 4 times a day and get a great deal of relief. It has also been found that the icy water turns body fat brown, which is good for the fat… My own fat turned even paler at the very thought of such a plunge, and assured me that it was very happy staying the pasty color it has always been.
After several swimming events, the 4 of us walked across the pedestrian bridge to the Island of Pikisaari, an artist colony near town center filled with colorful old clapboard homes, warehouses, and narrow, winding streets. We stopped for coffee at a warehouse-restaurant built from logs at least a foot in diameter and filled with primitive antique tables and upholstered benches. In the summer, customers sit on a wide outside deck that overlooks the river. We can’t wait to go back there for dinner!
Then another pedestrian bridge took us back for a quick tour of the city library and theater, and then to the Central Market which is very close to the waterfront. This market is a little smaller than the covered market in Oxford, and has a beautiful selection of cheeses, breads, fish, meat, flowers and even some woolen goods and pottery. In the summer, the market spills out onto the adjoining square, although only one vendor was outside on Saturday.
After tasting, shopping, and tasting some more, we came away with salmon for dinner and some cold-smoked reindeer meat, sliced very thin, that is absolutely delicious! More on the reindeer later…
Next stop was on another city island that is under development. Every house on the island must use a different state-of-the-art technology that is underwritten by their various manufacturers. The homes must all be finished by June when there will be a month long open house so people from all over Europe can see the new technologies. The home we visited was being built by friends of Juha and Arja. There were 3 technologies involved in the building that were unique. They were using cement blocks throughout for both inside and outside walls. The outside blocks are super-insulated. The inside blocks are about 30x30 inches wide and only 4 inches deep. After they are set in place using a tongue and groove method, their seams are sealed, and then they are spray plastered. They are using infloor heating combined with a blower circulating system to distribute the air. But the windows were the real prize. They had floor to ceiling double paned windows that had sensors. When it was too sunny, the windows automatically turned darker, and when there was frost or fog on the windows, they automatically defrosted. Amazing!
Last stop was Juha and Arja’s beautiful home, which is set on a lake just outside town. Three of their 4 children were there to greet us (their oldest daughter lives in the city), and we spent the evening talking and laughing together and eating the best salmon I’ve ever had! I took notes as Arja prepared it, and have enclosed the recipe as a Word document with this e-mail. Try it and see what you think. We also had a smoked reindeer mousse served with crackers as an hors d’oeuvre that was superb. (I’m keeping that recipe to spring on you when I get home!) And for dessert, they served ice cream with cloudberries that they had picked last summer and frozen, and a beautiful rolled cake made by 16 year old Katrin. Arja and Juha’s hospitality made us feel like old friends, and we’re looking forward to another visit very soon.
Arja’s Salmon
Serves 2 – I cut this down from her family-sized recipe, so if the proportions need tweaking, let me know.
2 servings salmon fillets
¼ cup lemon
juice
salt
lemon pepper
2 T. crumbled blue cheese
¼ cup leeks
1/3
cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 375. Put the salmon on enough foil to wrap up around the sides. Salt salmon well, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Then sprinkle with blue cheese and lemon pepper. Cut thin slices of leeks, separate rings and put on the salmon. Wrap the foil up around the edge of the salmon, but leave open at the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Take out and cover with sour cream. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until salmon flakes easily.
The rest of our weekend was also highlighted with sporting events. Juha called Sunday to say that the top 2 hockey teams in Finland -- Oulu (the national champions!) and Helsinki -- were playing on Channel 3, so we watched the game in true Finnish style, eating smoked reindeer on buttered slices of a great seedy bread we’ve found here, and drinking Finnish beer. In a nail-biter finish, and after a sudden death overtime and 4 rounds of one-on-one shots on goal, Helsinki finally got the puck past Oulu’s goalie to win 3 to 2. A collective shout of dismay rumbled across Oulu, and we’ve now fallen to second place in the standings. But the season isn’t over yet!...
That was enough of a sports treat for me, but Eagles fan that he is, Roy set the alarm clock for 1 a.m., and got up to watch the Super Bowl covered live but announced in Finnish and without the famous commercials. He said he was a little blurry from fatigue on Monday!
More later,
Sarah
