What's going on in Uusikaupunki

10 Torstaina 6. kesäkuuta 2019 Summer cottage experiences for foreigners and newcomers Granger T. Simmons Since most of us foreigners do not have our own cot- tages to go to, I wanted to write a bit today about some cool places where you can experience the Finnish cot- tage life. I went to visit two places and I want to intro- duce them to you. Roughly 30 minutes out- side of Uusikaupunki is a nice cool campground and cottage rental place called Ihala camping. The campground is owned by a young entrepreneur who maintains and manages the premises by herself. It is a quaint little village with something to do for the whole family. There is an actual camp- ing area for people who want to sleep in tents, a trailer park for those who have mobile homes, or if you bring the family you can rent a traditional Finn- ish wood cottage. There are indoor bathrooms, show- ers and a kitchenette avail- able for cabin guests as well as guests who camp out in tents on the camp ground. IF YOU WANT a relax- ing atmosphere with great food and services in a small eclectic city you should visit Spauna in Kustavi. Spauna is located on a small island with about 1 000 inhabi- tants. All you have to do is drive to the end of Kustavi, hop on the ferry and then take a 10 minute drive to Spauna. The owners, a carpenter from Israel, and an interior designer fromFinland, pur- chased this campground a few years ago and decided to come to Finland to enjoy their retirement and run a Summer cottage encounters UUSIKAUPUNKI Granger T. Simmons Summer is here and this is the seasonwheremany peo- ple travel and spend time at their summer cottages. I re- member my first encounter witha “kesämökki” (summer cottage) in Finland. It was in 2009 when my wife and I came to Finland for our honeymoon after we got married in the United States. I had not been famil- iar with the idea of having a summer home, and found it to be quite a luxurious and fancy idea that someone would own one and spend time there. We took a trip to the fami- ly’s summer place in central Finland. Despite the warn- ings from my father-in-law about the out-house and the wolves and bears, I hoped for the best and prayed that I would not encounter any creepy crawlies or crazy an- imals in the middle of the forest. Although I was safe from bears and wolves, I did encounter a few things that I could have never imagined. Day 1 Encounter: Never ending meals I still do not know to this day, who made this cake, but it was some friend of my wife’s mummu (grandma). It was so good, and dry and crumbly and just how I like it, there was no cream, no fruit, nothing but pure sweet cake! It was superb and that was what I ate with every meal, a slice or two of cake at breakfast, lunch, dinner and during all of the coffee moments that we had in be- tween each meal. There were non-stop, endless coffee breaks and food breaks, and after meal snacks, and before bed snacks. I have never eaten so much in one day (that’s right, not even in America), and this was just day one, it continued for many more. Day 2 Encounter: Snakes in the toilet? So, as my father-in-law warned me, there would come a time, when I would need to use the toilet, the outdoor toilet. I walked in and to my surprise, there were not one but two styro- foam toilet holes with styro- foam lids sitting one next to the other. I thought to myself as I locked the door behind me, “do two people really sit and go at the same time?” Am I supposed to leave the door unlocked in case someone else needs to sit on the other toilet?” As I looked around the little wooden mini-cottage called a huussi in Finnish, I saw what I thought were red eyes staring at me from all corners of the room. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, but I tried my best to ignore the fact that I was scared out of my mind and imagining all types of crea- tures lurking in the shadows, watchingme, ready to attack. So gathering all the cour- age I could, I opened the lid looked in and checked for snakes. I was just hoping that nothing would crawl up and attack me and nothing did, which was a relief. Still scared the next day, I asked my wife to go with me. Day 3 Encounter: Shampoo and potatoes Well, it was time to pre- pare a meal again and I wanted to help my mother- in-law. She was going to boil potatoes. We took the pota- toes out from the interest- ing underground refrigera- tor space (kellari) and put them in a metal basket that looked like a strainer. We walked to the door and went outside. At this point, I was wondering why on earth were we going out- side when the sink to rinse the potatoes was in the kitchen. Once we reached the lake, she bent down to put the basket of potatoes right into the water and be- gan to spin the basket back and forth. I was in shock. Right next to us, my wife and my sister-in-law were swimming and washing their hair in the lake. The bubbles from the shampoo were heading straight to- wards the potatoes. Mean- while fish were swimming back and forth trying to at- tack the potatoes and what looked like an alligator, was coming right to us. I asked my mother-in- law what she was doing, and she told me that she was cleaning the potatoes and after this she would boil them and we would eat them. I did not want to eat the shampooed lake pota- toes, but I did and I must say, I could barely taste the shampoo. I have many more stories about that visit, like when I was canoeing and saw some- one outside hanging up laundry without any cloth- ing on. But I have come to learn of the importance of the summer cottage, to the Finnish culture and people. It is a place to get away, to relax, to let your hair down (and wash it in the lake) and just enjoy life. Outdoor toilet was a strange a Mistä on kyse? Uudenkaupungin Sano- mat julkaisee kuukausit- tain Granger T. Simmon- sin tekemän What’s going on -osion. Sivustolla ker- rotaan kaupunkiin muut- taneille kaupungin kuulu- misia ja toisaalta tuodaan muualta tulleiden kuulu- miset kaupunkilaisten tie- touteen. Tällä kertaa Granger muistelee ensimmäistä kesämökkikokemustaan, johon liittyvät niin ”loppu- mattomat” ateriat, huussi kuin järvessä pestyt peru- natkin. Mikäli omaa kesämökkiä ei ole saatavilla, Granger suosittelee Ihalan leirintä- aluetta ja Spaunaa. Artikkeli julkaistaanmyö- hemmin suomennettuna. Ihala camping features ■■ A play area for beach- ball, volleyball and tennis as well as a park with swings and slides for children. ■■ Dock for boats ■■ Canoe rentals for fis- hing and sightseeing ■■ Sauna ■■ Swimming area ■■ Covered grilling area with multiple grills ■■ Small kiosk with snacks and service information ■■ All year round access Ihala camping is roughly 30minutes outside of Uusikaupunki. Spauna is located in Kustavi. Words of the month mummu - grandma huussi - an outhouse kesämökki - a summer cottage kesäleiri - summer camp kellari - a cellar or a hole in the ground that’s like a cellar perunoita - potatoes järvi - a lake kesämokkeilijä - a person who goes to a summer cottage (usually their own) and spends time there laituri - a dock