an afternoon dip

wappu--may 1--is labor day in europe, but also a huge student holiday in finland. first year technical students in tampere are dipped in the rapids in celebration, complete with parades, placing a hat on a statue at midnight, and lots of crazy finns.

ready for business

student parade

getting ready....

in the rapids!

the lady and her crown

spring is here

and the finns are out in flocks. i wonder where they have all been hiding? i decided to wander around the suburb i live in and see some of the far reaches one this beautiful day--

the lake is starting to thaw

the water tower, or a giant mushroom

the swimming hall (i'm not lying. it's underground. a loooonnnggg elevator ride down)

mämmi

bon appetit and belated happy easter, celebrated in the way of the finns.

across the border

so a few weeks ago, i put differences aside for an afternoon and cooked a lunch for everyone with...a canadian. we compromised and made a salmon dish with pototoes (a compromise between his canadian and my alaskan family).

here are his photos:

chop chop chop

the meal pre-preparation

alain avec le poisson
hugo doing the honors--amazed faces (sugar on fish!?)

getting ready to chow down

kyykkä

since i have a few moments, i'll share a little finnish culture. a few weekends ago, tampere university of technology was host to the 'world championship of kyykkä.' while the object of the game is to knock over the other team's wooden pins, what it really means is drunk finns (equaling talkative finns), naked drunk finns running around the ever-present sauna, tech student overalls (i'll post about those some other time), and other such shenanigans. you can learn a little more here and here.

from sunny tampere

not a total lie--the sun did come out today.



that said, i think i will kiss the ground the day i walk out the door and don't slide 5 feet.

tampere--city center

metso library--Raili and Reima Pietilä

the russian orthodox church (i think)--i haven't been inside yet