August 15: Heinavesi

After a quiet morning in the sun on Treasure Island, we packed up, ready to visit another host family. "I want to live here!" said Eleanor, who had been exploring the island with the dog in the morning. I had joined her for a bit, but I found no mushrooms. There was plenty of 'horsma', though - a tall weedy plant at the gone-to-seed stage, all fluffy white. 'Purple loosestrife'? Nothing I've seen in Australia.

This time we did take two trips to cross the lake, as it was quite windy and choppy. Anyway, soon we were on the road to Heinavesi, about an hour away. My first host family had retired to this place, and I was really looking forward to meeting them.

Their house was quite a long way on an unsealed road. I wondered if they got snowbound in winter, it seemed so far from the main roads. Anyway, soon we arrived, and were warmly greeted not only by my former host parents, but my 'sister' Liisa, who was holidaying from Germany where she now lives with her film-making husband and two little girls.

We walked up to the house. "Did I say, it can't get much better?" Wayne said to Kari. This place was absolutely beautiful. No summer cottage, but a year-round house, it was spacious and furnished in a great deal of wood and rag-rugs, in the traditional Finnish way. We were led out onto a back porch, overlooking the late-afternoon lake. A tiny island was just off-shore. Large lichen-covered rocks were interspersed amongst the tall firs and gracious birches. I was reminded of a Japanese garden, somehow, although it was all completely natural. Our hosts had just put a tub of scarlet geraniums in one or two places, which perfectly set off the colours and textures. Then Matti put a glass of champagne in my hand, and I was so overwhelmed at the beauty and the joy of seeing them again that I got a bit teary!

After our welcome drink, we had coffee and some lovely pie. Then we started preparing for the sauna. Matti was going to make fresh birch 'vasta': bunches of birch leaves with which to dip in water and whack on your skin. Here we are, trying to make them ourselves...

And Matti gathering a bunch together with green birch bark.


Then we got the grand tour of the propery, including the sauna here.

This sauna was very large. The girls went first tonight (to Annie's grim satisfaction), and four women and four little girls fit in their very easily. The tiny ones, two and four, sat on the ground pouring water from bucket to bucket. The four year old, Lily, was very taken with Eleanor. She couldn't speak English (only Finnish and German, dear dear!) but somehow they got on well. The two year old had floaties on her arms in the lake. And this lake had no slimy bottom, no icky weeds, no dodgy boards on the pier. Everything was just perfect. The birch leaves made everything smell beautiful. I had a bit of a rash from too much sun (of all things!), but the oil in the leaves made it go away. The Finns reckon there is not much that a sauna won't cure, and they may well be right!

After the men had their go, we had a delicious dinner. It was another sort of home-smoked salmon, and lovely potatoes and salad and different breads. We tipped the tired children into bed, but conversed late again. Liisa's husband has a very interesting job, and they travel to many places. He can speak German, English, French and even a bit of Chinese as well as Finnish. Wayne and I felt our isolation as Australians.

We had another sleep in. We took these pictures the next morning, before we left. That is a shed in the background, not the house proper. (The light was wrong both in the evening and the morning for a photo of it!) It had been an excellent visit.