David: Helsinki Goes By Fast

The pictures from Helsinki have been uploaded, so if you'd like to see a pictorial diary of what we did, click here. Otherwise, here are a few notes....

I'm not sure why, but the whole time we were in Helsinki, I just wanted to stay in the apartment and veg out. Allan wasn't feeling well for the first few days, which kept us at a slower pace, and that was good. We did manage to make it to the Design Museum, where they displayed all this great Finnish furniture and household items from the last several decades. Some of it looked so futuristic, yet it was designed in the 1930's! On the second floor, they had a large display of Ryijy rugs, a Finnish tradition of rug making that some critics make fun of because it's basically a homemade shag carpet. While it wasn't really my taste, I did find a few pieces to be quite nice, and it was fascinating to see how they were made.

Another day we went to all three markets in town. One was mostly a display of second hand goods, sort of like a flea market. The next sold mostly fresh food--vegetables and fruits, some baked goods, and some prepared goods too. Berries were in season, and I loved seeing the large trays of gorgeous strawberries which the vendor would scoop up with a hand shovel and pack into plastic cartons by the litre. (We ended up getting a half litre each of strawberries and raspberries. Fantastic!) We also purchased several of the local savory pastries, which consisted of a rye crust filled with mashed potatoes, mashed carrots, or mashed rutabaga. They were the best deal in town at 30 cents a piece! And their sweet pastry, a "bebe", tasted like a sugar cookie with cupcake frosting--pretty, but too sweet for us.The last market, the Kauppatori Market, was the largest, specializing in arts and crafts from Finland.

Near the Kauppatori Market was the Esplanade, a great walking park with high-end design shops on both sides.

Allan and I enjoyed this park, one day sitting in the sun for awhile (most days were a mix of sun, clouds, and rain, changing by the hour--so when we found sun, we took advantage of it!) and another day we attended a few free concerts. One large band played Big Band music, which I love, and following them was an all-female band that specialized in music from the 70's and 80's....some rock, some blues, some soul.It was fun to be out with the crowds, and I thought it interesting that both bands spoke to the crowd in Finnish, but sang only American songs in English. I thought of the power of music, how it had the ability to reach beyond borders, beyond language...and touch everyone with a melody. Again and again on this trip, I see how alike people are even though their cultures might appear to be quite different.

One night on a whim, I finally decided to upgrade my iPhone to a new version that recently came out. As stated in past blog posts, this iPhone is my little addiction. I carry it around with me like it's the baby I never had. I check it constantly, mostly just to see the bright little icons just waiting to be pushed. Should I check the weather? Perhaps I got a new email? I wonder what time it is in Portland? Maybe I should review the pictures I took yesterday? What was it that I needed to Google? So many fun icons to push, and so little time to push them all--and how cool that the new version had more fun features to try! Why not get those new features while in the design capitol of the world? So at 10:00 pm after Allan went to bed, I started downloading the upgrade, and at midnight, all I had was the new version of iTunes, and an iPhone that would not restore, and therefore would not even turn on. As I looked at my lifeless iPhone, I realized that a little part of me had just died, and like it or not, it was time for some detachment. Allan has teased me several times, saying that I love my iPhone more than I love him. I reply that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have an iPhone (he gave it to me for my birthday last year) so of course I love him more! But his painful point was echoing in my head, and if I had gone to bed when he did, none of this would have happened....But turning back the clock was not an option, so I forced myself to shrug, accept, laugh, and go to bed. The next day I went to a store that sold Apple products, and they restored my phone, but in the process I lost all my data. I had been keeping a diary of what we did each day on the trip...gone. I had been taking notes of things to check into when I got back to Portland...gone. Updates to email addresses and contacts I added to my phone...gone. It was a sad day. (You may be getting an email from me requesting your contact information...or if you never hear from me again, please send it!) Allan was quite supportive and understanding, and didn't once suggest that I go to an iPA meeting. (iPhoneaholics Anonymous) He let me mope a bit, and then took me out to get some fresh air. And even though I now have a few new features on my phone, it just doesn't have the same thrill. Is this what parents feel like when they screw up their kids?

We left Helsinki in the afternoon, and I was quite ready to leave, hoping that a change in scenery would help me get back on track. We boarded a ship that would sail overnight to Stockholm, and as I watched Helsinki disappear in the distance, I reflected on a week that was good and bad.
My advice to anyone reading this is....think twice before you buy an iPhone. While it has all the wonderful design of a Finnish Museum housed in a tiny computer, it can take over your life! And if you get one anyway, don't upgrade it late one night unless you really know what you're doing. And most importantly, never let your partner think that a mesmerizing piece of technology is more meaningful and treasured than they are. Turn off your PC, shut off your handheld, and go tell your partner how much you love them...