End of summer? Time to party!

The Finns do not have a Labor Day weekend to mark the end of summer, and don't have an excuse to throw a party. Therefore, they have a 3-week festival so that everyone knows that the end of summer is here. It started sometime this week and has been mostly plays, obscure musicals, and classical music concerts in tiny theaters around town. One of the events on Thursday night was interesting: there was a giant set of concrete dominoes set up around town that they knocked over. Unfortunately, I forgot all about it and so didn't see it in person. Here is a link to the end of the track in Cathedral Square:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_9cwybLnsU

On Saturday, we attended the Finnish food festival: Herkkujen Suomi. There were stands set up, representing different regions around Finland. Here, we finally were able to try reindeer! It was served as a stew over mashed potatoes, with lingon berries and baked cheese (juusto) on the side. The reindeer was tender and reminiscent of beef, and was just slightly gamey-tasting. The cheese was chewy, and is sometimes called squeaky cheese. I now know why. It was all very good.

We also had some smoked salmon, served with new potatoes and a carrot and apple hash. The sauce was a creamy dill with a hint of nutmeg, and was delicious. Oh, and the fish was good, too.

Outside of the festival, we visited the permanent, indoor market, Hakaniemi. It was an old brick building and on the first floor, there were stalls with refrigerator cases set up. Here, people sold cheeses, lots of different kinds of meat, produce, and baked goods. On the second floor, there were other shops, such as Merrimeko. Unfortunately, it was rather crowded and I didn't get a picture of the inside. Here is the outside of the building.

Just outside of the indoor market was a seasonal outdoor market with stands selling produce, bakery items, and fresh fish. These two are the markets where the locals do their shopping.

Summer is indeed coming to an end. In the 20 days that we have been here, the day has shortened by 90 minutes! We have started seeing pumpkins and apples at the markets. I am not sure when to expect the first snow, but the native Finns in my lab have been talking about it already. Certainly we have at least 2 more weeks of summer as the Helsinki Festival continues through then.  :)