View Full Version : Hello UK, Finland Calling
Good Evening from the land of the midnight sun (and months of darkness in the virtual winter, but no bugger tells you about that :) )
Looking forward to making a contribution to the forum.
susi
Mesquite
23-07-2008, 16:47
Good Evening from the land of the midnight sun (and months of darkness in the virtual winter, but no bugger tells you about that :) )
Looking forward to making a contribution to the forum.
susi
Welcome to the forum Susi. Hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do :)
Good to have you on bushcraft uk and thanks for introducing yourself, tell us a bit more :D
Enjoy the site ;)
Good to have you on bushcraft uk and thanks for introducing yourself, tell us a bit more :D
Well thank You, Mesquite and Leon for the warm and rapid welcome!
I'm a mix of English/Finnish, live in Central Finland and am lucky enough to have relatively unspoilt nature on my doorstep.
On the off-chance that anyone needs help/info or advice about this neck of the forest, fire your questions my way :))
Bernie Garland
23-07-2008, 18:16
Hi Susi
Welcome to the forum
Bernie
Hi Susi and welcome, Sounds like a nice part of the world.
Welcome Susi. The international members are a great asset to the forum so you are doubly welcome. The only Finnish words I know are 'puukko' and 'sisu' - so I guess you could say that the Finns are renowned for their steel.
How bad are your biting insects in the summer?
The only Finnish words I know are 'puukko' and 'sisu' - so I guess you could say that the Finns are renowned for their steel.
How bad are your biting insects in the summer?
Two more for you:
kirves = axe
hirvi = moose
karhu = bear
and of course susi = wolf
Re the insects, it depends quite a lot where you are in the country and which type of forest you're in and a bit on the weather.
As an example, here in central Finland, the mosquitos aren't too bad right now, a good repellent (50% DEET) on exposed skin will do the job in 95% of situations.
In contrast, we were a week up in Kainuu (just into the northern reindeer herding area) earlier in the summer, and we needed the head veils for trekking.
On top of the mosquitos, there are many varieties of gadfly/horsefly, the females of which happily bite a chunk of flesh from you - these can be quite painful. And later in the year we will have the moose fly, which lands on you and sheds it's wings - last year one cheekily tried to set up home in my chest hair! I only felt something was wrong when he sprinted across my nipple.
Taking a daily anti-histamine tablet (loratadine or similar) also helps and we tend to carry an "adder pack" when we are out and about. This is a pack of 3 strong hydrocortisone tablets, intended for an adder bite, but equally useful if you are stung by bees or hornets.
robin wood
24-07-2008, 09:04
Re the insects, it depends quite a lot where you are in the country and which type of forest you're in and a bit on the weather.
As an example, here in central Finland, the mosquitos aren't too bad right now, a good repellent (50% DEET) on exposed skin will do the job in 95% of situations.
In contrast, we were a week up in Kainuu (just into the northern reindeer herding area) earlier in the summer, and we needed the head veils for trekking.
On top of the mosquitos, there are many varieties of gadfly/horsefly, the females of which happily bite a chunk of flesh from you - these can be quite painful. And later in the year we will have the moose fly, which lands on you and sheds it's wings - last year one cheekily tried to set up home in my chest hair! I only felt something was wrong when he sprinted across my nipple.
Taking a daily anti-histamine tablet (loratadine or similar) also helps and we tend to carry an "adder pack" when we are out and about. This is a pack of 3 strong hydrocortisone tablets, intended for an adder bite, but equally useful if you are stung by bees or hornets.
OK I think I will cross Northern Finland off my places to visit list.:D Not a fan of the little biters. Welcome to the forum.
OK I think I will cross Northern Finland off my places to visit list.:D Not a fan of the little biters. Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for the welcome :)
Yes, when the mozzy population is at its peak, you wouldn't want to sleep out in a basha :) If bitten, the thing is never to scratch, no matter how bad it feels, and a scorching sauna is a good remedy at the end of a trip :)
I have a Finnish friend who tells me that the Finnish cure for just about everything is either the sauna or vodka. In severe cases they use both.
Thanks for the Finnish words. I'm quite interested in Finnish culture and have even read the Kalevala, though not, of course, in the original language.
I have a Finnish friend who tells me that the Finnish cure for just about everything is either the sauna or vodka. In severe cases they use both.
Thanks for the Finnish words. I'm quite interested in Finnish culture and have even read the Kalevala, though not, of course, in the original language.
Ah yes, ask him what happens if you have an illness and either koskenkorva (a Finnish clear spirit, similar to vodka), tar or sauna don't cure you :)
You're my hero if you've ploughed through the whole Kalevala :)
Lönrot was a wise man. Just wandered around remote villages for a couple of years, taking onboard the local brew, listening to a few stories, and leaving a few of his own. Top chap :)
But any questions on Finnish culture, fire them my way.
By the way, where is your friend from? I'm in Laukaa.
Andy2112
30-07-2008, 09:53
hello and welcome
Ozhaggishead
30-07-2008, 10:29
Welcome!Finland must be one of the best places too live in the world if your into bushcraft stuff.So wecome again mate and have a sit by the camp fire they is a place for you.
Welcome susi, are there a lot of adders in your area.
Hello and welcome.
Until I read your translations I thought you were a butch female...
one cheekily tried to set up home in my chest hair!, not a wolf! :D :joke:
Sounds like you live in a nice part of the world, I envy you!
Simon
Welcome susi, are there a lot of adders in your area.
Yup, too many in my opinion. :)
It's quite a hot topic for some and there are many opinions as to whether they should be protected or not (they are). They are of course part of nature and have their own purpose in the food chain, but hey, so did lots of other animals that were persecuted for being a pest.
I know one lady who has a nearby adder nest where they hibernate during the winter. Every spring she spends some time hanging around outside the nest with a stick, waiting for them to emerge (they are slow and sleepy until the weather warms). Without this annual cull, her garden would be quite over run with adders, not what you need when kids are out playing. Strictly speaking she is breaking the law, but is it justified?
My friend's mum was bitten a couple of years ago and her whole arm went black. Another friend's husband was running naked through long grass, from the sauna to jump into the lake, and was bitten on the ankle. Just two small holes, no poison.
I could write endlessly about adders, but I dont want to bore you, although by far the most worrying story I heard was that someone was sleeping overnight in the forest, he woke in the morning to find an adder happily curled up in the warmth of his armpit. Yuck.
Was that Yuch for the adder or the place it chose to sleep, I have three dogs so I am very careful where I take them this time of year.
Hello and welcome.
Until I read your translations I thought you were a butch female...
, not a wolf! :D :joke:
Sounds like you live in a nice part of the world, I envy you!
Simon
Hehe, yeah I did wonder if I would get hit on as a "Suzie" - made me laugh like a banshee!
It is a nice place to live, I have to say. I'm a mix of English and Finnish, so am lucky to have the choice. Still lots of stuff I miss about blighty though!
It's not all roses though. In December it gets vaguely grey for 4 hours before it is night again (the forum guy up in north Norway will prolly have a couple of months of constant pitch darkness).
It feels very dark until the snows come (and then it can even drop below -40°C in the depths of winter, even moisture in your nose freezes to the point where you can squeeze your nose and hear a crackle :) ).
On the flipside, every place on earth gets exactly the same amount of sunlight during a year, so this means that during the summer it doesnt really get dark, you can happily read a newspaper outside between midnight and 1am, which is novel, until you want to sleep :)
One of the best things here is "Everymans Rights", which means you can go pretty much anywhere you please, as long as it isnt someone's garden. Of course you cannot damage crops, chop peoples' trees down, etc., but otherwise you are fairly free to pitch up a tent anywhere you want and stay a night. You are also free to fish with a basic rod/hook/worm anywhere on practically all of the 188,000 lakes. In my area the population density is about 20/km2 (compare to Lincolnshire which is about 150/km2), and up north it is less than 2 people per square km. So you can see, there is plenty of space to do what you want. None of this Lord and Earl business, keeping the prols off their land :)
Was that Yuch for the adder or the place it chose to sleep,
Hehe, both :)
(Must have been the Lynx effect ;) )
Hyvaa Paiva Susi,
Finland is a great place.
My first puokko and first bushcraft experiences were in Luhanka near Lahti.
I was there last in 91 to bury my mother.
Haven't been back since but would love to.
Terve Bod,
Luhanka, I know there is one a bit south of Jyväskylä, was it the same place?
Much has changed since '91... you should visit :)
May I ask if your mother was Finnish?
kancho74
01-08-2008, 10:53
Hehe, yeah I did wonder if I would get hit on as a "Suzie" - made me laugh like a banshee!
It is a nice place to live, I have to say. I'm a mix of English and Finnish, so am lucky to have the choice. Still lots of stuff I miss about blighty though!
It's not all roses though. In December it gets vaguely grey for 4 hours before it is night again (the forum guy up in north Norway will prolly have a couple of months of constant pitch darkness).
It feels very dark until the snows come (and then it can even drop below -40°C in the depths of winter, even moisture in your nose freezes to the point where you can squeeze your nose and hear a crackle :) ).
On the flipside, every place on earth gets exactly the same amount of sunlight during a year, so this means that during the summer it doesnt really get dark, you can happily read a newspaper outside between midnight and 1am, which is novel, until you want to sleep :)
One of the best things here is "Everymans Rights", which means you can go pretty much anywhere you please, as long as it isnt someone's garden. Of course you cannot damage crops, chop peoples' trees down, etc., but otherwise you are fairly free to pitch up a tent anywhere you want and stay a night. You are also free to fish with a basic rod/hook/worm anywhere on practically all of the 188,000 lakes. In my area the population density is about 20/km2 (compare to Lincolnshire which is about 150/km2), and up north it is less than 2 people per square km. So you can see, there is plenty of space to do what you want. None of this Lord and Earl business, keeping the prols off their land :)
Same here in Norway, go where you like and when, I read on here about having a knife on your person and all the new laws in England but here its quite natural to see people with a knife, I love it! My missus is from Finnmark where there is only ca 56000 people but its not far off the size of Ireland, great if you want to feel alone in the world, only problem with Finnmark is a lack of mountains and damn bugs.
As far as the light in winter goes it gets dark pretty quick and as you say 24hr darkness for a couple of months but then thats balanced with the midnight sun...
I'm travelling to Finland for a wedding next week so looking forward to hearing Finnish, always makes me laugh how different it is from Norwegian!
GreenmanBushcraft
01-08-2008, 12:12
Welcome :)
Terve Bod,
Luhanka, I know there is one a bit south of , was it the same place?
Much has changed since '91... you should visit :)
May I ask if your mother was Finnish?
Yes. Jyväskylä is north of Paijanne, Lahti at the bottom end of the lake and Luhanka is somewhere in the middle.
Yes my mother was Finnish. Her family farmed in that area. Actually, I have not been to Luhanka since I left Finland in 1962. I last visited Finland in 91.
Wonderful place but too cold to live there!
Welcome to BCUK and hope to see your posts on Finnish bushcraft.
Seems like there's a lot of interest in Finland and this is turning into a very long welcome thread - nice one, Susi. :)
My friend (she's a she) is not so far from Helsinki but I'll have to ask her when she gets back - she's over there just now.
Finnish is very different from the Norwegian etc. English has more in common with Urdu than it does with Finnish.
Finnish is very different from the Norwegian etc. English has more in common with Urdu than it does with Finnish.
Indeed (not sure of spellings):
German: Fisch
Swedish/Norwegian: Fisk
English: Fish
Finnish: Kala
Celt_Ginger
01-08-2008, 18:18
Hello and welcome from Ireland
kancho74
01-08-2008, 19:03
Where's the wedding? :)
Turku, 2 planes and a ferry from here. My 'mother-in-law' was born there but moved to Norway when she was 6 so she has a connection with the place. I'm hoping to get my hands on a quality rucksack while i'm there, Turku (although we tend to say Åbo) is alot bigger than Tromsø....
Indeed (not sure of spellings):
German: Fisch
Swedish/Norwegian: Fisk
English: Fish
Finnish: Kala
Doesn't matter how you spell them they still smell the same. Phooooey:lmao: :lmao:
Turku, 2 planes and a ferry from here. My 'mother-in-law' was born there but moved to Norway when she was 6 so she has a connection with the place. I'm hoping to get my hands on a quality rucksack while i'm there, Turku (although we tend to say Åbo) is alot bigger than Tromsø....
Any particular brand you're after?
To be honest, for smaller packs I've just ordered karrimor from the UK, but if you're after something bigger, then partiokauppa/partioaitta/partiopatikka are the shops to look out for. I don't know which one is represented in Turku, thought. Am just about to take my wings out of the oven, but let me know if you need to know an outlet address and I can have a shufty for you :)
kancho74
02-08-2008, 13:58
Any particular brand you're after?
To be honest, for smaller packs I've just ordered karrimor from the UK, but if you're after something bigger, then partiokauppa/partioaitta/partiopatikka are the shops to look out for. I don't know which one is represented in Turku, thought. Am just about to take my wings out of the oven, but let me know if you need to know an outlet address and I can have a shufty for you :)
I'm on the lookout for two really(45L and 100L ca), not too bothered about brand as long as it is quality, there is choice here but you are talking alot of money, Norwegians tend to buy quality so there is alot of Bergens and Norrøna gear here which is ridiculously priced! I have to fit shopping around the wedding so if you could point me in the right direction that would be great, I have searched a little but most sites are in Finnish or Swedish which is a pain.
robin wood
03-08-2008, 12:02
Hi Susi,
Wonder if you can help with this one. I just found these rather nice videos of old finish crafts.
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/puukolla_wmv.htm
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/haaparuuhi_wmv.htm
I would like to buy a copy of the DVD but don't speak Finish. I guessed at tila dvd then there is a choice of 1,2 or both and I think I would want both but then I lost it. Could you help find what the price would be on both DVDs posted to the UK? and if it is possible for me to pay with visa or paypal.?
I would be interested in any other info about the site or if there are other videos, etc.
Hope you can help. Cheers Robin
I'm on the lookout for two really(45L and 100L ca), not too bothered about brand as long as it is quality, there is choice here but you are talking alot of money, Norwegians tend to buy quality so there is alot of Bergens and Norrøna gear here which is ridiculously priced! I have to fit shopping around the wedding so if you could point me in the right direction that would be great, I have searched a little but most sites are in Finnish or Swedish which is a pain.
OK this place in Turku could suit you:
http://www.partiovaruste.fi/
You can see the address on the right, including a picture of the shop front.
Copy/Past this "Lantinen Pitkakatu 13 turku" into googlemaps.
They say this:
Laskimme, että sesongin vaihdon myötä saimme Turun liikkeeseen esille yli 30 metriä reppuja ja rinkkoja: kolmessa tasossa!
Which means they have over 30m of rucksacks and backpacks (on 3 levels), so you won't be short of choice.
On this link are further links to their brands:
http://www.partiovaruste.fi/ajankohtaista/2008/huhti/kymmenia-metreja-reppuja/
Hi Susi,
Wonder if you can help with this one. I just found these rather nice videos of old finish crafts.
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/puukolla_wmv.htm
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/haaparuuhi_wmv.htm
I would like to buy a copy of the DVD but don't speak Finish. I guessed at tila dvd then there is a choice of 1,2 or both and I think I would want both but then I lost it. Could you help find what the price would be on both DVDs posted to the UK? and if it is possible for me to pay with visa or paypal.?
I would be interested in any other info about the site or if there are other videos, etc.
Hope you can help. Cheers Robin
I can try :)
"Tallenna" means save, so if you go to this page you might be able to download them for free!
http://www.kansatieteellisetfilmit.fi/videot.htm
The "Tilaa DVD" page seems to suggest that the DVDs are available free of charge, and all you have to do is type you name, address, post code etc in to the box (without any other text) to receive a copy (this may be funded by some cultural organisation). However, it does also suggest that the DVDs are made during July and sent out in August, so I'm not sure if a dadline has beeen passed. Either way, it seems well worth a shot.
If that fails, you could go here:
http://www.skr.fi/default.asp?docId=12256
where they have English language pages. I'm sure if you email the address at the bottom, they will try their best to help.
As sad is it is true, an English speaking foreigner will get much better service in Finland than a Finnish speaker, so much so, that I often just use English when shopping....
Let me know how you get on! :)
kancho74
04-08-2008, 20:47
OK this place in Turku could suit you:
http://www.partiovaruste.fi/
You can see the address on the right, including a picture of the shop front.
Copy/Past this "Lantinen Pitkakatu 13 turku" into googlemaps.
They say this:
Laskimme, että sesongin vaihdon myötä saimme Turun liikkeeseen esille yli 30 metriä reppuja ja rinkkoja: kolmessa tasossa!
Which means they have over 30m of rucksacks and backpacks (on 3 levels), so you won't be short of choice.
On this link are further links to their brands:
http://www.partiovaruste.fi/ajankohtaista/2008/huhti/kymmenia-metreja-reppuja/
thanks for that, much appreciated, i'll let you know how I get on!
Is this a record for the longest running introduction and welcome?
Is this a record for the longest running introduction and welcome?
:)
It would have been even longer if people had the courtesy to pop back and feed back. :)
Hello and Welcome
regards