Guest post by Lisa Goodman ...
After wonderful meeting with the Mayor of Koupio and a formal dinner at Koupio City Hall complete with speeches, gift exchanges and the formal welcome we were off to the Finish Housing Fair bright and early Wednesday morning.
In Finland, much like the rest of Europe, breakfast is the big meal of the day and this breakfast did not disappoint. Although I am never “hungry” at 7:45 am, the offering of Finish rye bread, eggs, meat and cheese, fruit, cereal and the various forms of caffeine to taste we were off.
The housing fair is basically a city-sponsored parade of homes, highlighting what is new and unique about design and Finish homebuilding. We traveled there by boat as Kuopio is a city on a peninsula surrounded by lakes and one of the main ways to reach each part of the city is by boat.
The main themes are sustainability, energy and health options in new design. Thirty-nine homes were built by the private sector and all have been sold. Housing is very expensive in Finland and these homes were no exception with prices ranging from $300,000 to $1 million plus for home on the main lake. Saunas are a big part of Finish culture and each home had one or more indoor or outdoor saunas as well as the latest in interior design. Rooms tend to be small, staircases narrow, closets almost non existant by US standards.
One of the most unique planning features is that even homes across the street from the lake have great lake views as no home is allowed to be placed on a lot without consideration of the view shed of the home behind it. The homes rarely have garages, all public spaces is built first and the beautiful parks, public buildings and schools and even shops have already been built so after the fair ends each family can move into their new home and new neighborhood without the noise and inconvenience of more construction.
The main highlight of the day was the traditional Finish Sauna and dinner hosted at the Jätkänkämppä, which is translated as Lumberjacks’ Lodge. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about the concept of a sauna and a dip in the lake, naked, with a bunch of people I met yesterday and I even brought my bathing suit just in case modesty overwhelmed me. Truth be told the smoke sauna was the best experience yet in Finland and the dip in the lake between trips in and out of the intense heat was just like a dip in the lake back home.
The smoke sauna, called this due to the smoke allowed to filter in instead of out of the sauna room, was a really hot experience in an already hot environment. After no more then 10 minutes of sweat a break is had and everyone leaves the beautiful old lodge building and jumps into the lake outside the door. Then back into the heat for another round and back to the heat. This process repeats itself as long as you can handle it. I lasted longer then most which was a surprises even to myself.
After the sauna the tradition is to drink a glass or two of beer and then on to dinner. By now the sun was still shining, it was 9:30 at night and I was ready to have a bite to eat as was everyone in our group. Traditional Finish fair was the menu and items such as Vendance pie, kind of a smoked fish wrapped in rye bread, Baltic herring and an interesting mushroom salad, which one can only eat without being poisoned after a certain amount of cooking, were among the offerings. A wonderful accordion player and singer entertained us while we ate, Karl has video posted today, and everyone who wished joined in the singing mainly depending on how much one drank after the sauna and during dinner.
All in all a wonderful cultural experience and learned a lot, too.
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