New experiences, old ways

Smoke Sauna

Having visited Finland half a dozen times I've already experienced some of the more obvious (perhaps stereotyped) parts of Finnish culture and cuisine: like taking saunas and eating reindeer. But the start of this trip has given me the chance to try some new (to me) Finnish traditions.

We had been invited to visit at Konna's laid-back friend Taiska's family cottage - this worked quite well for us as it is on the route to Kesälahti from Helsinki - so we decided to stop over on the way. We were warned that T's mum had a reputation for providing a very generous spread, and we weren't disappointed. Included in the feast was roast elk (hirvipaisti), a bit like beef but richer, softer and almost crumbly, and which I found out later T's dad said he had a close relationship with, meaning he had hunted it himself.

T & family have been building additions and improvements every summer for years, the latest being a Kota (a sort of teepee shaped hut) but more importantly they have a savusauna (smoke sauna) which is 
the old way to heat a sauna using the smoke from the burning wood not 
just the heat for the stones and water. This gives a much 'softer' and more mellow sauna, less harsh löyly (steamy heat 
that comes from throwing water on the stove) particularly compared to 
modern electric stoves; the drawbacks are it takes a long time to heat 
(as all the heat is stored in the massive brick stove as it can't be 
burning while you use it), and smoke=soot so touch any surface and you 
get equally sooty. Not only was the sauna itself different, but for 
the first time this was taken by me with a group of Finnish males, 
including an enthusiastic and talkative rock singer, and a more 
phlegmatic T's dad; so none of that self conscious modesty needed ... 
To cap off this cultural social experience we also drank sahti (an
acquired taste - being a sort of prototype for beer with no hops and very strong) between sessions. I think I'll stick to the Lapin Kulta.  

The next day, after sleeping in an 18th century log out building 
(aitta), we went to the local town's Uotinpäivät (which is a fair that 
commemorates the Viking Olaf's involvement in the area) where amongst 
the stalls selling birch bark baskets, fake crocs, felt shoes, and 
lehtuja (fake crepes) I got the chance to hand grind some flour on T's 
Dad’s stall. And tomorrow we'll make sämpylä (something like bread rolls)...

[edited 18/8/08]