In the Green Circle: Lunch with the tall ship captains of Suomenlinna

Sunday to Suomenlinna

Today we took a ferry to Suomenlinna, an island off the coast of Helsinki. Suomenilla was the site of may battles in Finnish history and is now a Unesco World Heritage site. The island is home to 800 year round residents and has over 700,000 visitors every year.

Much of Finnish history is about them being beaten up from all sides. The Swedes, the Russians, they all wanted a piece of Finland. The Finnish psyche is the product of this history. There is a darkness there below the surface, a national sadness. National holidays are not celebrated with fireworks and festivities, but with candle burning and reflection. This morning Mikko said that they have excepted the fact that they will never be a great power. But I think from that collective place comes an amazing sense of national pride, and a well of creative energy.

Mikko read to us about a group of Finnish woman that are "professional" criers. They go to peoples homes to cry with them during times of despair.

Mikko spoke of the quiet nature of the Finns and the sauna. The sauna is a place of solitude, even if you are with others. It's a time of reflection.

After a brief historical tour of Helsinki, we headed to the ferry. We plowed through ice chunks to get there...pretty amazing.

Mikko's friend Sari Koskinen met us at the ferry.

Our day on the island started there with watching a short movie in the museum about the history of the island. The King of Sweden claimed the island for his own and brought in 5,000 builders and crafts people from across Europe. The construction really is what started Helsinki. The following years brought battle after battle to the island. Luckily, almost 80% of the original structures remain.

After our brief trip to the museum, we had a walk through the streets to the shipyard. I had forgotten that the Finns have a long history as great ship builders. On Suomenlinna, that practice is still alive today. We were lucky to visit a handful of tall ship captains whose ships were in dry dock for the winter. One ship was getting a new mast.

The captain spoke poetically of his visit to the forest to find his mast and how he wraps his arms around the trees to find the right one. The importance of the forest is evident in every aspect of Finnish life. I think in every conversation we've had, their has been some reference to wood as an integral part of life, the shelter of the forest, the silence of the trees.

We then retired to a small dining area and had a Finnish Salmon and Potato Soup called Lohikeitto.

The recipe follows. And when I say I've never tasted a more delicious soup, I'm not lying!
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Onion, finely chopped
4-5 Potatoes
5 cups Fish Stock
1 pound of very fresh Salmon Fillet, cubed
1 cup Cream
1 cup Fresh Dill, finely chopped
Salt to taste