July in Europe
has been exceptionally hot but the heat has skipped Finland totally – it has
been rainy and rather chilly here. At the end of July we decided to chase the
rain from our friend’s cottage in Rymättylä and succeeded in that: The rain
ended on our way after the Lohja ridge and started again when we came back in
the same region two days later.
We had
ordered the tickets to Röölä Meriteatteri. As in the last year, the story was
about the people around the herring fishing between the years 1945-1974. The reason
it ended was the Island decision to broaden their fishing area, which reduced
the possibilities for Finns to fish there. Röölä, the tiny village in Rymättylä, was the head
place for the Finnish herring fleet.
We didn’t
manage to make the weather warmer though it stopped raining. So we preferred
staying near the barbecue fire to stay warm.
Instead of
herrings we ate a lot of barbecued salmon.
There was a flaming sunset ....
… and full moon after that.
The next
day was a bit warmer so we decided to have a little exploration to the islands
of Rymättylä. This time we used a car and a ferry for about ten cars to get to
the outmost island. There we entered the harbor from where we could have
crossed the sea area called Airisto to get to Nauvo.
The ferry harbour
The islands
are mostly covered by forests and here and there are some potato, wheat and
barley fields. Nowadays Rymättylä is a very important potato producer. The
highest points and the coastal line are mostly rocky.
We also
climbed to the hill called Karhuvuori (Bear Mountain).
Our “mountains” are
quite honest compared with other countries but the view to the archipelago was
really pleasant. There were a little observation tower, originally built for
the aerial surveillance.
When we
arrived to the cottage we heard the message that Finnish Nazis had had a
demonstration in Jyväskylä town and after that they had beaten a left wing
activist whom they happened to spot along their marching route. A week before
that a member of parliament Olli Immonen (True Finns) had written a Facebook
update that seemed oddly like an invitation to “the battle against the multiculturism”.
The text was in English and resembled
oddly the expressions of Norwegian mass murderer Breivik. The text waked
attention enormously and there were about twenty thousand people in different
parts of Finland demonstrating against his statements. Later he denied he had meant any concrete
battle and he claimed he do not know any Nazis – even though there are a plenty
of evidence that he has taken part to some rituals with them and they share
some organizations where his in leading position. Anyway some idiots took his
message literally and acted.
The
incident made us talk quite serious issues that night. Finland is still quite
monocultural with rather small number of refugees and immigrants. If we do the
things right we could manage to keep Finland warm and accepting and integrate
the different ethnical groups in friendly and appreciating manner. And of
course we must avoid the clashes between LGBTI-people and immigrants – the thing
that Nazis try to provoke.
When we
were leaving Rymättylä we still bought potatoes and some other organic vegetables
in quite strange shop: Potatoes, garlic tomatoes, kale, a steelyard, a
calculator, a notebook and a churn. No people. So we took what we wanted, weighed
it, calculated the sum and put the money to the churn!! It seems it is the habit
there, because we did it in same way in another place last summer. When we left
the shop we dreamed of the world where everyone could trust to each other that
way.
