Life in the Dark
Jessica taking a polaroid at the Helsinki Winter Gardens.
Winter has not officially set in here, but it is cold and dark. The high temperature over the next four days is 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun rises after 9 am and sets around 3 pm. But life goes on, and I am finding my ways to cope.
Below 10 degrees, disc golf becomes significantly less pleasurable. I haven’t actually tested that theory yet. Rather, I reached this conclusion last week after my hand was blasted with freezing Baltic air when I checked my phone. Frostbite feels within reason.
I mulled over my options and recognized that I won’t be joining the 10 percent of bicyclists who power through the penetrating subzero windchill either. It was time for something else. Thankfully, a few classic Finnish pastimes fill the void beautifully.
Finding Warmth
This is obvious, so there’s not much to say. We go to museums, the Winter Gardens, and cafés for refuge. Hot drinks on freezing days are one of life’s simple pleasures.
Jumping in the Sea
It’s impossible to stop smiling after you get out of the water. Sea swimming is one of the few times you see Finns outwardly express joy.
Ironically, we swim in the sea every so often. We don’t exactly “jump in.” In fact, that’s considered the sign of a newbie. The pros slowly, painfully lower themselves into the icy water.
The insane adrenaline rush that it provides is enough to shock one through the week. Once you’ve bathed in sub-freezing water, nothing really feels cold… It is also nice to know that a sauna is waiting on the other end of the swim. Warmth is especially welcome at that moment.
Our last swim was in late November at Löyly (pronounced Louu-lou), a fancy public sauna in Helsinki. The air and sea temperature were both hovering in the low 30s that day. It’s only a matter of time until we muster the courage to go on a truly frigid Finnish day.
Side note: As I was looking up the pronunciation of Löyly, I stumbled across the video below which captures many of the most important/interesting details about the sauna experience.
Rising Early and Playing Floorball
Once or twice per week, I arrive at work an hour and a half early to play floorball with my colleagues. Floorball, salibandy in Finnish, is essentially street hockey played in a gym with a Wiffleball as the puck. It is incredibly fun and perfectly fulfills my desire to trick myself into exercise.
Playing floorball brings back a flood of childhood memories. Some of my favorite Thanksgivings were spent tangled in epic street hockey battles with my dad, brothers, Uncle Steve, and cousins. Coming from that playoff-style intensity, I have to ratchet down my competitive instincts when playing with my new coworkers.
Earlier this evening, I watched a Men’s World Floorball Championship (WFC) matchup between Finland and Sweden. The two countries share a border and a bitter rivalry. There is a long history there and several Finns have described a big-brother, little-brother dynamic where Sweden usually bullies Finland. Salibandy is no exception. Finland is, however, a floorball powerhouse compared to the rest of the world.
Top Finishes in the WFC
Tonight, Finland came out on top, 7-3. That set off a string of group texts among my floorball-playing colleagues. It feels good to have found my own community here. Now, let’s see if I can find a floorball beer league where I can let my competitive instincts take full effect...