Not really going with the flow

(Originally published by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland)

I expected a very organised weekend just as my two weeks in Finland so far have been well organised. Yet the artists who did actually play at the music event, Flow Festival, had to fight against a tide of problems.
Tears stream at not-so-Finnish festival
Kanye's blonde horde, "without you there can be no me," he said about his audience, but I think he was just thanking all of his fair fans (Photo: Alistair Anderson)Kanye's blonde horde, "without you there can be no me," he said about his audience, but I think he was just thanking all of his fair fans (Photo: Alistair Anderson)

Many people will remember the festival for the hip hop star who cried in front of one of the more reserved crowds on his tour schedule, however. Before I can speak about Kanye West's very strong performance, I must get to the mess around the weekend's events.

Flow Festival is an annual weekend of live music in Helsinki, Finland. It marks the end of summer for much of the youth, which is why the first problem in my list, holds even more weight in my opinion. Never mind that the bands who signed up for the festival were actually not that impressive on paper, the prices of food, water and alcohol; the things that keep festival goers interested were disgraceful.

I come from South Africa, where beers are about half the price of beers in Finland, but people earn about half of what Finns earn, but to charge anyone 7 euros for a drink is disgusting.

I made other plans so that I could enjoy my festival. Unfortunately, once I had managed myself around the drink and chow challenge, I heard that popular Swedish singer, Lykke Li, had pulled out of the festival, because she had fallen ill suddenly. This meant that Iron and Wine played a longer set - which turned out to be one of the strongest sets I had seen from any bands in a couple of years, so I was happy. Nevertheless, Flow must take some blame as there had been rumours of Lykke Li not showing up because of "over- touring". Flow knew one of their headliners could pull out and yet they had no back up plan; very poor for a festival which is gaining praise in central europe.

It was pleasing then that Empire of the Sun gave a solid performance. I am not a fan of the band but their elaborate Japanese Science Fiction set up, akin to Final Fantasy XIII, X, XI and so on, was interesting.

They were memorable on a night that also featured the improving US band, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

At least the headlining hip hop artist, Kanye West, did not falter. Q-Tip, a rapper with far more experience, but maybe fewer fans under 35 years of age, pulled out on Friday. He was replaced by MF Doom, a sometimes revered hip hopper, but one Finn I spoke to said he was somewhat disappointing.

I was amazed then at how fresh and coordinated Mr West was. He started 45 minutes late, which meant he ran into British musical maestro, James Blake's set, for which I blame the organisers again. Nevertheless, Kanye played for just over two hours, in a multiple act system, featuring stunning ballerinas and an awesome backdrop of twisted images.

Most shocking for many people was that he cried during the final couple of songs, including his letter to his mother, who he lost a few years ago. It was uncanny to see a crowd of blonde women, who had been quite rigid throughout the bands' performances, until Kanye showed up, balling their eyes out too.

Kanye also mentioned something about how the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the US showed anything was possible. The Obama presidency has been a bit dull for me lately but Kanye was not. He played all of his hits and some other tracks and he really believed in himself.

Hopefully Flow will move in an organised manner next year, however, so that other singers can impress too.

Helsinki - Tidbits

The architecture in Helsinki is not particularly pompous.

Before I did research about or visited Finland, the name of its capital, Helsinki was the coolest word I had heard yet.

I think I was in my teens when I heard of Helsinki for the first time. I asked a Danish friend about it. i was learning about Scandinavian nations. I could appreciate what Swedish and Norweigan people were like but I thought Finnish people were similar to Eskimos who looked like Jari Litmanen.

What about the name, Helsinki, intrigued me? It was like no other Scandinavian word to me. Finnish is unlike other Nordic languages which is why. Perhaps, the "Hel" part sounded like "hell" and "sinki" was cute. I've been told Finns joke often about the name. I came up with Helstinki while I was in the city. The city did not smell bad at all. The air was fresh. In any case, my rhyme was based off of "Brass Monkey" by The Beastie Boys, hence: Helstinki, Helstinki, inki.

Helsinki is the centre of the Helsinki Region, a functional urban region of about 1.3 million inhabitants and 738,000 jobs. Helsinki is in the region of Uusimaa, in Southern Finland.

Helsinki felt like Cape Town. It had quite a few tourists wandering about - although to be fair these tourists may only come from as far away as Estonia and Sweden. Swedish people have a darker complexion than Finns do. The Swedes' hair is also more often darker. I have not visited Sweden yet but from reading about Swedes and seeing some of them on TV or a golf course, I have mad some conclusions. A Finn even told me Swedes were more stylish and relaxed than Finns. Both nationalities are probably full of blonde people - Finland is. Even in fairly cosmopolitan Helsinki, the people are mostly blonde.

I did not see many Africans, Indians or that many Chinese people. There were a few people who I assumed were Japanese. Japanese people have visited Helsinki for years. Many Japanese are similar to Finns as they are quiet, shy and work diligently. This is an observation: you get loud people in every country and culture but stereotypes such as Finnish people being quiet come out when those people are met by foreigners.

Helsinki is full of pretty but not extravagant architecture. This is typical of Northern Europe and many Protestant areas. It seems to be a well-designed city and the public transport is excellent. I like being able to catch a bus home at 3am. Yes, the quality of clubs and other night life does not quite excite me that much but Helsinki gets away with having pretty parks which people can enjoy relaxing in at night in summer.

I would like to experience Helsinki in winter; I am sure there are enjoyable indoor activities then. People say that the winter is so bleak that people become suicidal but even though it may bot be very pleasant, people get through it and I'm sure they have fun doing it.

There will be many more posts about Helsinki, a city I spent a couple of brilliant weeks in.

post 5 Protest for peace

Taisa from Brazil was keen on joining a protest on the first Sunday of our trip. Many journalists like to experience topical news so they were keen to join a peace march.

Finns and some tourists and immigrants marched against violence, in solidarity with Norway. This was following the attack by the terrorist or whatever he is; Brevik. The group like many groups in Finland was full of people with light blonde hair. However, as said not everyone was Finnish. This was the day I saw the first Indian person I would see in Finland. It was amusing to me because Taisa's friends, who were part of some sort of youth organisation wrote his name down for me but could not pronounce Singh properly.

Mr Singh was a reality or pop star. He seemed quite popular but I am not convinced he many interesting or inspiring things to say. Perhaps Finnish leader Tarja Halonen agreed with me and saw no need to visit the protest for peace. There were some Finns with signs saying, what now, Tarja. However, what did they expect, this was a march for peace. I am sure there have been a few in solidarity with Norway. Not being an expert on Scandinavian politics, I think this march went well. People did notice it; it was televised. I have heard that Halonen also visited Norway soon after the attack. I do not think that any conduct of any party around the attack has strained Finnish-Norwegian relations.

After marching to parliament and saying some slogans aloud, many in English, we marched to a park. This was fitting for this naturally beautiful country that is full of so many parks. At the park, there was one band and people were chilling. There was a language centre where people could practise speaking various languages with each other. The group in the march was composed of many young people and maybe they are more open to foreigners and their languages. However, I am not sure if the language lab was part of the march or a common occurrence in Finland.

Overall, it was an enjoyable Sunday afternoon.

Secrets of Nuuksio

TRAVEL: Finland, land of forests, saunas and magic

Finland, tucked away near the top of the world, is a country that few of my acquaintances have visited

ALISTAIR ANDERSON

Published: 2011/10/14 09:51:52 AM

Many countries boast natural beauty as a draw card — South Africa included. The natural beauty of Cape Town and the Drakensberg regularly feature on travel brochures. If you can sit outside while on holiday and relax, that is a plus. So, if an overseas destination offers natural beauty and good weather, it is worth a visit.

Finland is a country that few of my acquaintances have visited. It is not that it is dangerous or dead boring; it is just tucked away near the top of the world, and its citizens are not famous for letting the world know how proud of their country they are.

Upon landing at Vantaa airport, in the capital, Helsinki, I am overrun by trees. Hamish, a friend from South Africa, was right; Finland is a giant forest.

As I walk out of the airport, I wonder why I am not wearing shorts. It is as humid as Mozambique in January. Hamish did not mention the humidity, but he had been here in winter. He said it was -30° Celsius.

Having arrived on a Saturday, I spend the weekend visiting beaches and seeing the sites the city has to offer. But I start the first official week of my programme here (it is a business visit) by befriending trees.

Hamish said all he remembered about Finland were trees, trees and more trees. But he did not mention how beautiful these trees were. As much as 70% of the country’s land area is covered by forests. It is full of beautiful green structures and has more lakes than any other country — the combination is spectacular.

According to the website Forest.fi, Finland is the most extensively forested country in Europe. There are about 4,5ha of forest to every Finn, of which there are about 5-million. Aki, a Finn from the country’s embassy in South Africa who has visited Mpumalanga, says he saw many trees there too, but they looked planted for industry. Finland, instead, has maintained its forests, adding some trees, but always trying to make it hard for tourists to tell which are for industry.

It is Tuesday and, following a cruise along the Baltic Sea, my group is visiting Nuuksio national park. We take a bus from Helsinki and stop among — surprise! — some trees. We are going to experience some of the most beautiful forests in Finland. A man in a multicoloured cap, jeans and a lumberjack-type shirt greets us. What hair he has is quite light.

"Hello, I am Pekka and welcome to our forest. We go for a walk and then we drink coffee, OK? Coffee is wonderful," he says.

According to research by Alwyn van der Merwe, Sanlam Investment Management’s director of investments, Finns drink more coffee per capita than any other nation. The average Finn drinks 1,400 cups of coffee a year.

Pekka Väänänen’s company Green Window operates in Nuuksio. Judging by our 30-minute bus ride, one could argue Nuuksio is near the city. But there is no sign of city slickers other than my tour group.

"Don’t disturb the elves," Mari, a Finnish organiser, warns.

"There are elves? Do Finns really believe in magic?" I ask.

"I don’t know what you mean by magic but elves are real. You may just see one," she says.

Nuuksio’s valleys and gorges were created during the Ice Age. I know I will not see mammoths and other creatures from that time but elves — I am now determined to see one.

I did not see any elves in any forest but I was still able to be Fox Mulder of the X-Files for a few minutes. I spotted something that looked like a dog with wings and fangs. I was convinced it was la chupacabra, a mythical creature that kills goats in Latin America.

Back in Nuuksio, we are, I assume, halfway through our trip, when Pekka shows us a flower. I am not sure what it is called.

"Give it to a beautiful person. It will bring them luck" he says.

Well, I like my tour group, and the respective Finnish embassies in each of their countries chose well. I am looking around for a pretty person, and many of the girls already have flowers. I give mine to Ekatha from India. "I hope he’s right," I say.

Next, we pick blueberries. Pekka also picks mushrooms, showing us which are edible and which are also edible but with side effects.

"These ones will make your stomach unhappy. These red ones will make you see things and not sleep," he says. "But the blueberries go well with coffee."

It is slightly darker, so it must be nearly 8pm. We have been drinking average-strength coffee. Some people wet their feet in the lake in front of us, while I drink more.

Half an hour or so later, Pekka says the salmon he was smoking is ready. It is the finest I have eaten in my life; so juicy. I hear the food is from restaurant Metsätähti. It’s a Finnish surname. The boys drink copious amounts of wine with it, while the girls go to do something else that also involves smoke — "they go to sauna".

The rest of us also conclude the day by going to sauna, a popular but also spiritual activity in Finland. It is a tradition that came from people wanting to make their bodies stronger for the winters — to build their sisu, or strength of will.

Nowadays, Finns sauna throughout the year. It is a peaceful setting. I do not think intimacy accurately describes it but I feel stripped of stress.

* The writer was hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

This piece was first published by Business Day, a part of the BDFM company.

Pekka loves Nuuksio.

Finnish Social Innovations - 1

Finland is famous for it's ability to innovate.

This is the first post in a series about social ideas that prevail in Finland.

1. Free School Meals

Students in comprehensive and high school get free meals in Finland. This cannot be cheap but SA spends tonnes of cash on education so maybe instead of giving loot to Setas, SA could buy cheap meals which would help children to concentrate.

Flights to Finland

It takes over 10 hours to get to Helsinki from Johannesburg. I flew via Frankfurt, Germany, with Lufthansa.

Lufthansa was a bit dull but the guys on the flight to Frankfurt were nice. They were two guys who were heading to Toronto, Canada to bury their father.

Finland's history is characteristic of Swedish and Russian history, for historical reasons. Finland was ruled by the Kingdom of Sweden for around 600 years and then ruled by Russia for a while. Luckily, in my view, Finland was not a part of the USSR. That's part of the reason it is now a well-functioning state. It also has an economy which has been managed with skill.
On my trip, I met a prominent Finnish historian called