Finnhits. Sauna, Marimekko And Hai Rubber Boots.

Healing Holiday
For many Finns after Midsummer begins finally summer holiday time.  A typical Finnish spend their holidays at the cottage by the lake in the middle of nowhere. A cottage is a place where you can breathe a sigh and leave stress and hassle. The daily dose of healing green woods energy starts to affect right away when you step outside the cottage. Sauna belongs to Finnish cottage life all right. It’s best if you can take a dip into the lake from the heat of sauna.

What to do at the cottage
What else besides going to sauna people do in summer cottages? Simple things that are rare to do in city, like angling from the pier, rowing a boat, picking blueberries and mushroom, chopping wood, carrying water from the well, wash dishes by hand, making food with grill and eat outdoors (literally), throw darts, reading books under the tree, stare the life of ants, walk on wooden legs, read old magazines on the attic, carve wooden boats, laze on the dock watching the clouds passing by.

Favorite things
Marimekko is the clothing brand that has a strong pond to Finnish emotion. Like sauna is Finnish so is Marimekko. Therefor I decided to take something from Marimekko SS 2015 -collection to this illustration. This simple shirt dress made of linen would be my favorite summer dress. The beginning of this summer has been filled with rain showers so yellow HAI rubber boots completes the outfit. The umbrella I borrowed from Totoro, the anime charcter of my favorite animated movie.

Visit the Sauna in Helsinki
Frankly it’s not everybody running exited countryside when holidays dawn. Alone the idea of stinging bugs is too much for some. In that case in Helsinki it is possible to enjoy the pleasure of urban sauna in the city. Some with the possibility to swim on the sea. Website Visit Helsinki offers a good list of all the possibilities.

Personally I would like to try Kulttuurisauna. (Culturesauna) The website is a bit rough but I’m sure Kulttuurisauna is worth a visit.

Seasons. Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2015.

The day was a bit rainy and temperature +13 or so, but still there was a blast of Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2015. People stood tightly packed along the streets witnessing the wonders that samba schools had prepared to show. For my part I absolutely love this happening. Samba is such a great antidote to everyday life.

In Finland there is not too many occasions to fool around with dress code. In samba carnaval the participants show shamelessly their bellies proudly presenting what they are and dancing their way through Helsinki Esplanade. What a joyful sight!

Lately at Finland media has aroused a discussion about the right to be what you want to be, without anybody to need to rise the eyebrows saying bitter insulting comments. It all started from a concerned mother FaceBook status. She opened up herself of being tired of hearing her four-year boy nominated girl just because he sometimes like to wear pink dress and his hobby is figure skating instead of playing ice hockey. And the commentators are adults. Sad.

It all ended up to #mekkohaaste in Finland. Guys posting pics in dress for support.

Therefore I was happy to spot at least two men dancing in skirts. One in reed skirt and another in kilt. How good they looked! And what is skirt anyway? It’s a shorts with only one leg. In samba parade even a cow skull can have a feather wig.

Samba carnival is proud happy performance. The dancers enjoy showing itself and we the audience get a thrilling experience. So wonderful that it is nice to capture it in photos. Nowadays many times  there is this paradox that something wonderful is on the tray in front of us but we stare the wonders preshrunk through the camera lens.

Fact is that Helsinki Samba Carnaval Parade had only a few male dancing. Quickly estimated only 10% of the dancers are men. In Finland, there is a saying that the Finnish man doesn’t speak nor kiss. Sad to say but this reflects also to attitudes towards men and dance. I suppose that in Rio Samba Carnaval this matter doesn’t exist.

The themes of the carnival schools other reflect some topical issue at the moment. A punk band PKN (Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät) was Finnish representative of the Eurovision Song Contest this spring. Punk is on the air so Helsinki Samba School Imperio do Papagaio had punk as a theme this year. Innovative costumes like iroquois made of colorful plastic straws. We saw biker jacket theme in drum batteria collars and single dancers too.

One of the themes was birds. These shy young birds had just hatched in the nest.

The neon color trend was seen in many cases in decoration and costumes. Perhaps this bird of paradise was the most neon creature in the parade.

Many kids on the audience had earmuffs to endure the loud music that comes with the samba parade. Despite the loud clack, drumming, playing and singing this sweetie couldn’t resist the invite to fall sleep.

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Thank you all Samba Schools for a wonderful show and inspiration! This was 4th time in a row in Flash For Zonzon to make illustrations of happening. If you like to check it all you can click the tag samba.

One Day. Oystercatcher On the Lawn, Lauttasaari, Helsinki.

One day when I was on my way home I walked past a green grass lawn where bright yellow dandelions blossomed. There was one single oystercatcher searching for worms. Such a beautiful graphic sight. I love these birds, handsome and humorous, always busy in finding daily meal. Oystercatcher usually like to hang around seaside but maybe this bird preferred a more colorful environment for a change.

May this be a beginning of a summer season. Kids are out of school for ten weeks holiday. Nature blossoms and the warmth will come for sure (some day). Let’s all enjoy this season with all good that will come. It’s time to move on to the sunny side.

Just one reminder. Next weekend it’s already time to celebrate Helsinki Samba Carnival. I am pretty sure that I will do a report about the happening also this year.