All winter long, people told me how wonderful Finnish summer would be. And it is! I came on here to write a post about Finnish summer, got to sorting through some pictures, and realized that each of these things needed its own post.
Therefore, an overview.
In Finnish summer, you can ride bikes anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes you have an actual destination. Other times, you ride just for the joy of it. Sometimes you get rained on but it's warm so you don't mind. Even when it rains, you're not the only cyclist out there, and everyone you pass gives you a brief solidarity glance through dripping eyelashes, like "oh, we're having fun now, aren't we?" And we totally are.
In Finnish summer, you hike. Lack of daylight is never an obstacle. You could be sitting at home at 7pm and decide to go on a hike and you can. It will not get dark. You will hike and hike and due to the position of the sun, you'll feel like it's eternally 8.30pm. Then you will check your watch and realize it's past 10.
In Finnish summer, the city functions at a frantic pace. There are festivals and concerts and markets and races and shows and events, so many that you couldn't possibly attend them all. You find yourself making mental bookmarks for next summer, for all the things you just couldn't get to this time around.
In Finnish summer, you feel bad for spending time indoors, at all. Even "bad" weather in summer (say, 14C and raining) would have been a dream in winter. So go outside. GO OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW.
In Finnish summer, the shops bring out the Jaffa ice cream. Jaffa ice cream! Jaffa is a kind of pop and the ice cream is kind of like an orange creamsicle. And the produce! Especially strawberries and peas, eaten straight from the bag you bought them in at Kauppatori because you simply could not wait until you got home.
More on the specifics of Finnish summer later...if I can bring myself to sit inside and write about it!
