Roto Country Manor, July 4th

On Monday, July 4th Pekka and Anna Roto invited the American Temple missionaries to come to their country manor and celebrate with them and enjoy sauna on the lake.  They were the previous Helsinki Temple president and matron.  I took over 80 pictures, but relax, I've narrowed it down to 15.  Each has a great story, which I won't bore you with, but I'll try to just touch the highlights.
First, about the country manor.  The main house was completed in 1897.  As I remember, it sits on about 20 acres, and a more beautiful piece of earth you would be hard pressed to find.  The oldest house, where the original family lived while the "manor" was being completed, was actually started in the 1700s and served not only as their home, but also as the county courthouse.

The Manor House.  Completely modernized on the inside; all original out the outside.

The original dwelling, used for living quarters while manor house was being built.  Served as county courthouse.  All original except the roof and lean-to on the right.  Older than almost everything in the U.S.  Weird to walk through it and sit on its benches, etc.

The barn. This was amazing.  Built of stone with walls over 3 feet thick.  When I asked why it was built that way Brother Roto said the livestock was the most important thing and they had to be protected against the harsh winters if the family was to survive.  Some of the stones weigh well over one ton.  Part of it has been made into an awesome smokehouse now.  It also houses the machinery and all the wood used for burning in the home and in the sauna.

The smokehouse.  Brother Roto is preparing our smoked salmon that was fresh that day.

Some of the fields surrounding the manor.  Gardens of all kinds for fruits and berries and vegetables and flowers also surround the house.

More than 3 large raspberry patches around the house.  Berries were just getting ripe, not quite ready to pick.  Of course they grow wild in the forest as well.

The strawberries were also just coming on.  He had several patches of well cultivated, mouth-watering berries.

Outside main doors to the manor.  Great porch for unloading dirty shoes/boots and wet clothes before entering the house.  Sign over door is the date manor was completed.

The salmon after being smoked.  

Upstairs in the manor house,  Lots of bedrooms and studies, and bathrooms.  This one was built for the grandkids with a 1/2 size toilet.  What a great idea!

Looking at the lake and sauna (you can just make out the sauna roof down by the lake) from the loft of the manor house, and some of the gardens.  The land on the other side of the lake is now in perpetual trust and can never be developed.  Pretty sweet view.

Looking from lake at the sauna and manor house in background

In the sauna.

We jumped in the lake from the sauna.  Then we sat on the porch.  Then we went back in the sauna.  Then we jumped in the lake.  Then we sat on the porch.  Then we.........you get the idea

Pekka and Anna Roto.  Both retired doctors.  Celestial people.

Gorcery Shopping in Finland

Yes, we love grocery shopping in Finland:

From left to right: 1) Viili, a sort of clabbered milk that wiggles and slides off your spoon.  We love it. 2) Pulla, a delicious bread made with rasins and cardamom, braided and baked.  Comes in all sorts of flavors. 3) Pommac, a mixed fruit, slightly sweetened, carbonated beverage.  Tastes great any time but especially right after sauna. 4) In the center of the picture, licorice flavored ice cream.  Only in Finland.  5) Sauna makkara, or sausage.  Also comes in spicey hot varieties, different kinds of meats and other stuff.  The sacred sauna sausage. Decadently delicious. 6) Hot Finnish mustard.  It makes sauna makkara mouth-wateringly scrumpious.

Biking in Espoo

Took another little bike ride after our shift in the Temple today.  These paths are everywhere, I mean like hundreds of kilometres in every direction.  Today I went for 22 kilometres on paths like this.  Passed a few lakes but forgot to stop and take a picture.  If you like bike riding, you really need to come and visit us next summer.  I'll show you around.

Juhanus (Mid-summer celebration) in Finland

What is Juhanus? 
Well, it's called John's day, because, by tradition, John the Baptist was born 6 months before Christ, and since Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ (yes, I know, that's a pagan holiday and not really Christ's birthday, but bear with me here......), mid-summer eve is the celebration for John the Baptist.  It is not in any way, at least that I've been able to determine, a religious holiday, at least here in Finland.
But in Finland, and I think in other Scandinavian countries, it's a BIG DEAL. 
For Finns it's the biggest holiday of the year.  Every business closes down the day before and they really don't go back to work until the following Monday. 
Sort of. 
Keep in mind that most Finns have at least one month's vacation in the summer, during which they all go to the country cabin which is usually situated by a lake, and they CHILL OUT.  As a result, missionary tracting in the city during the summer is a tough row to hoe. 
Even the Temple closes down, because no one comes. 
Ever. 
So it's a holiday for us as well.
We were invited by Jarmo and Mari Alakoski to come to their home on a lake near the town of Kerava, about 1 hour's drive north from our apartments in Espoo.  The big celebrations are on Friday evening.  So we went.  Here are some pictures from our evening in this little spot of heaven:

Erick and Bruce on the dock.   Their home is right on the lake.  Mari, who is over 70 years old, swims every day in the lake, even in the winter.  The sail board is hers.  How would you like this view out the back window of your home?

 

They live here.  Seriously.  This is looking eastward from their dock.  The lake is about 1/3 the size of Utah Lake and they claim the fishing here is some of the best in all of Finland.  We've been invited back to find out.

Looking from the dock back at the sauna, and behind that, the main house (white siding).  Erick and Joyce Erickson with Vivienne.  Going from the sauna to the lake is fun, especially in winter.

Mari & Jorma Alakoski with Vivienne & Bruce on sauna porch

The girls really enjoyed Mari's sewing room in the loft of the home.  It really was amazing.  Michelle you would have loved it.

Looking from the loft out the back yard to the lake.

Vivienne loved her dish washer.  Waist high with lights inside.

Erick and Jorma raising the Finnish flag for Juhanus.  It's a Finnish custom strictly enforced in every home.

Our meal.  This does not do justice to the meal we ate.  This is only, like, the first dish.  Lots of different sausages, including blood sausage, a delicacy which I respectfully declined to partake of, thank you very much.

An essential part of Juhanus all over the country is the "KOKKO", or bonfire.  They light it just before midnight, which is still very much like daytime because the sun only sets for a short while (It's the shortest night of the year).  The farmer agreed to let the village put a bonfire on his field near the lake, composed of undergrowth from the forest.  You can tell by comparing the height of the people just how big this "Kokko" was.

And then they light the fire.  The wood from the forest smells really good, like birch and pine.

Juhanus in Finland.  It's the best.

Castle Rasaborg on P-Day

Monday is our day off at the Temple so Erick Erickson took us west of Helsinki along the coast about an hour away to the medieval Castle of Rasaborg.

Its main purpose was to protect Sweden's interests in southern Finland against the Hanseatic city of Tallinn (now capitol of Estonia). The castle was originally built on a small island in the north end of a sea bay. 

The ruins of the outer wall of the castle still exist. The outer wall was built to protect the foundations of the castle itself. When the use of artillery got more common, it was vital to protect the basic walls of the castle. There was also one more protection outside the castle, a wooden barrier, which surrounded the castle and it prevented any foreign ships to approach the castle harbour. There still exists some small parts of that barrier. The castle is on the mainland today, but in the 15th century it was located on a peninsula by the sea. The sea level lowered over time due to postglacial rebound, and it became increasingly difficult to approach the castle by boat and the castle lost its importance. The land mass of southern Finland has also been slowly rising, and the effect of the 2 changes is that the sea is now located some distance from the castle.

Battles were fought between Swedish and Danish forces and even pirates over control of the castle in the Middle Ages. The castle was abandoned in 1553, three years after Helsinki was founded in 1550 and Helsinki became strategically more important. 

It was another beautiful perfect summer day in Finland.  Blue skies, green forests, abundant lakes and rivers, strawberries and blueberries in abundance.  Berries are NOT cheap however.   We're hoping the prices go down after mid-summer eve next week.

Road to Rasaborg from Helsinki

Depiction of the castle in medieval times.

As it looks today

We're standing in what was once water surrounding the castle.  South tower in the background

The drawbridge into the castle

The main hall

The main hall.  Vivienne and Erick

Courtyard.  This once housed a garrison of soldiers, cooks, metal workers, various animals and brewery. Notice window in upper right hand area; very large on the inside, telescoping down to very small slot at the outside.  Archers inside could cover a large area while still being protected.

Inside the south tower

Stairway leading to south tower.  Notice stairway goes to the left, so invading soldiers coming up, who were right-handed, would be at a huge disadvantage, while defenders from above, also right-handed, would have use of the sword/spear/weapon.

Captain's quarters just below the top floor in south tower. The top of the food chain was still pretty spartan.  Our apartment is a lot nicer.

View of moat and outer defense wall from the south tower.

On the Drawbridge.  The area is now the site of one of the largest outdoor summer theatres in Finland.  This summer they're doing "The Sound of Music"

Quick Post for Elva

We met a wonderful girl from South America at church today.  She married a Finn whom she met in Nevada.  Her name is Stephanie.  She has degrees in Anthropology and Archeology.  Her talk today in church was really great.  This picture with her and Viv is to show the ear rings Viv is wearing; a gift from Elva Hofling.  She looks great in them.

Stephanie Sokonen and Viv's ear rings from Peru

After 2 Weeks

Vivienne and I have chatted about what to put on the blog.  The fact is that most everything we do and most of our time is spent in the Temple.  There's not a whole lot about it that can be put on the blog.  So when we're not on our Temple shift we have a little while to go exploring the country close around us.  There is a van that the Temple missionaries share, but since I don't drive yet, we're sort of at the mercy of the other couples.
Today, Saturday, after the temple closed at 2:00 pm we put our bikes in the back of the van with Erick Erickson and drove about 15 minutes away to the beaches west of Helsinki.  It was a beautiful day.  Very Finnish. Slightly overcast and about 65 degrees.  Great biking weather.

Missionaries who served in Finland in 1969.  From left to right:
Nolan Doxey, Sister Stromberg, Sister Hämäläinen, Erick Erickson, and me.  Fun unplanned reunion at Haaga Chapel last Sunday

Our bike ride to the beaches at West End today, near Helsinki, Saturday, June 11.  Great biking trails!  We found some rocks to sit on for out lunch.  Picture by Erick Erickson.
Vivienne hadn't been on a bike in many-a-year.  But it came back to her.  She said, "Hey, no big deal.  It's just like riding a bike." ........ You sort of had to be there.

Temple steeple.  We see it on the way from our apartment.

Favorite tree on walking path closest to our apartment.  It leads to the Temple.

Temple view from near our apartment.  Biking/walking paths criss-crossing the fields going into the forest.  There are only about 5,500 church members in all of Finland.  10 years ago during the Temple open house, they hoped for and planned for about 25,000 visitors.  At the close of the open house more that 58,000 people had gone through.