Vappu in Finland
What is Vappu?
Vappu is Labor Day in Finland; it occurs on May 1 and is the largest or second largest celebration here. When Joen and I originally discussed my coming, he made it clear that I should definitely come for Vappu. It started as a Communist holiday celebrating workers, but it falls right after an old pagan holiday, which is traditionally celebrated on April 31. So today Vappu is a two day party.
Now Where was I?
You may remember from my last newsletter that I told you I woke up on April 31st at Joen's family's country house. We had spent the evening celebrating my arrival with schnaaps (vodka shots), beer, and sauna. It isn't hard to imagine that we got a slow start. Ten of us were invited to Joen's apartment for lunch at 2pm, but we didn't finish cleaning the sauna and house until 12:30pm. So of course we had to rush back to the apartment; we finally made it at about 1:30.
Lunch
Joen prepared salmon while I and Blueberry (Robert) prepared a salad. As with all Finnish meals, we started with a skol (cheers) and a song. After having quite a few meals here, I find it isn't uncommon to have the singing and drinking overtake the entire meal, so that you just take bites after each shot. So you can imagine it - a group of 10 sitting around a small table singing what sounds to me like viking war songs while pounding on the table and after each taking a schnaaps and nibbling in between songs. This went on until all the salmon, which was amazing, and vodka was gone.
To the Esplanade
Tradition is that everyone gathers in a park located in the center of the city to watch students place a white hat on a statue of a woman. The park is filled with people from young to old, each wearing the white hat in which they graduated high school. The Esplanade becomes a sea of these hats, and of course everyone is drinking champagne in the street. It might somewhat resemble New Year's Eve in Times Square, but during the day instead. By the time we reached the park, my group of friends had swelled to 20 or more. However, within a short period of time they filed into this mass of people so I could only see Robert and Robin.
A Sign of Trouble to Come
I spent the evening in the park watching various events, including someone twirling a fire-baton. Even in the evening the park was full of people. I got tired and decided to head back to Joen's place. He had't an opportunity to give me a key, but I knew the code to get into the building. I walked from the park to his flat, which is not more than a mile or two, and punched in the code. For some reason the light on the box did not light up, and I tried it several times. Ugh. So I called Joen, and there was no answer. I headed back to the park, figuring that eventually I would catch up with him. I made my way back and continued to take in the festivities.
Off to Carusel
Eventually Joen called me back, and apologized for taking a nap and missing my call. No worries. So I headed back to the apartment, and when I got there he asked if I wanted to go to Carusel. Carusel is the very cool restaurant in the marina to where about 400 "Swedish speaking Fins" had been invited. Many of my friends here planned to attend this "private party", and I definitely wanted to join.
Dancing Anyone?
We planned to catch a taxi to Carusel, but we couldn't find a single one. So we walked. There were drunk people on every corner on every street. Every bar had a line and was stuffed with people celebrating. It took a bit of time, but we reached the marina. The restaurant was, for the evening, converted into a night club; there was a stage where a band played all night, and the dance floor was full. For some reason the floor was covered in broken bottles and liquor. But the music was good, and I danced. I found Blueberry (Robert) and lost Joen but spent the rest of the night on the dance floor.
Where Do I Live Again?
So I started heading back. Now - I know where Carusel is, and I know where Joen's apartment is, but how exactly do I get from Carusel to Joen's? The apartment is within a block from this old Russian Orthodox church. But when I started walking in a direction for which I expected Joen's place to be, I could not see the church. I walked for a bit and asked someone for directions. Then I walked a bit more and asked again for directions. After going in the wrong direction for at least a half-hour, I got someone to understand where I was actually heading. Once I found Joen's place, I tried punching in the code. It seems that for some reason they turn off the security system after 8 or 9 in the evening, and they don't turn it back on until 7am. So I had no choice but to sit down on the sidewalk, leaning up against the apartment building, in hope that someone might come out. I called Joen at least a dozen times, to no avail. Around 6:45am someone opened the door and looked very surprised to find a strange guy asleep on the front doorstep. I immediately headed for Joen's flat and rang. Of course Heidi came to get me - Joen was fast asleep. I was only down there for a little while, so I feel much worse for Joen. All of his friends gave him a hard time for the rest of my stay in Helsinki.
Did You Say Two Days?
Of course we are only half through Vappu. On May 1, we all woke up late and attended a picnic at the beach. Anders, nicknamed Ruda for reasons I will not explain here, assembled tables and chairs at this nice little beach where 60 of us dined. As you might have guessed, the singing and schnaaps began on que. We had potatoe salad, herring (not I), bread, cheese, and assorted alcoholic beverages. The drinking and singing went on for hours. Ruda was in charge of the "program", and at some point stood up on a table and gave us all a dance. After that we had a relay race, which we won but for which we didn't get credit. Then the music began, and we danced on the beach. At the very end, my core group headed out. We had a date with ABBA.
Maestro & ABBA
Joen, Robin, Robert and I made our way to Maestro. Maestro is pretty big - the dance floor is huge and it gets pretty packed. The reason for being there was that an ABBA cover band was playing that night. Ok - ABBA is something of hometown heroes here. They are the only Finnish band to be famous all over the world, so anytime you hear an ABBA song on the radio, people here go nuts. When we got to the club, the band hadn't started; actually the place had just opened. Within an hour the place was full; in another it was so packed you couldn't move. The band was pretty good, and it didn't just play ABBA songs (good thing!). So we danced until 2 or 3 in the morning.
Where did I Sleep?
The operative question is "Did I get to sleep in a bed?" After the previous evening, Joen and Heidi decided it was a good time to supply me a key. This night I walked home and got in a cozy bed; I slept like a baby.
I'm Still in Finland
It is the evening of May 4, and I am still here. For the past few evenings we have had cozy dinners with small amounts of wine, enjoying each other's company. I haven't yet decided when to leave - it is really hard to go. I really care for these people, and I don't know when I will come back. I will definitely miss Joen, Ruda, Heidi, Saana, Robin, Robert, Andreas, and the rest. They have really gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable here. Unfortunately I really have to go sometime soon though, as I have a long journey ahead of me.
Important Final Note
In the early AM Finnish time I found out that my grandmother, Veronica Stern or my Nani, passed away. Many of you know she has been sick for a long time, but still this was a shock for everyone. I love her very much and I want to tell my family that I miss them all very much right now and wish I could be there.
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