Finland’s second biggest city is best known for its telecommunications
industry: Nokia has a big research and development office in the city
centre. It is very cold in the winter, often minus 20C (0F). So cold that it
hurts to smile, some locals say, as your teeth freeze. Tampere is where
Lenin and Stalin first met – there is a small Lenin museum. It is a curious,
but strangely interesting, spot for a weekend break.
How do the Finns unwind, I wonder? They seem so uptight. I ask the hotel
receptionist what Finns do for fun. She pauses and looks at me as if I’m
some sort of nutcase. Then she goes into a back room to discuss my request
with a colleague. After a minute or two she returns. She smiles faintly and
then says simply: “They jump in the cold water.” And she gives me the name
of a public “jumping in the cold water” facility.
Which is why I’m now standing in my swimming trunks out in the open, in minus
10C temperatures in the middle of Finland. Cold winds are sweeping across a
lake – cold winds that possibly come from the Arctic Circle. I am absolutely
frozen. Should I smile, I’m pretty sure my teeth would hurt quite badly.
Most of the lake is frozen, as it ought to be when it’s minus 10C. But a small
corner has been cleared of ice. We are standing, in our swimming costumes,
shivering and looking at this small corner, contemplating how cold it must
be in there.
Then one by one we trundle along a green carpet walkway – like a mini-golf
putting surface – and jump in the lake.
I follow a couple, wanting to see how it’s done. They leap into the water,
shriek a bit, giggle, and lift themselves out. I do the same, wondering why
people from Nordic lands seem to enjoy freezing themselves so much.
And yes, it is absolutely freezing. It is without a doubt the coldest I’ve
ever felt. I feel my body temperature plunge. I get the sensation that, if I
don’t get out quickly, I won’t have any body temperature left at all. And I
think there’s a word for that state of being: dead.
I shuffle out of the water and up the green carpet feeling “warm” by
comparison in the wind that’s whipping off the lake. I am dying to get into
the sauna, housed in a small wooden building, but pause outside it with a
group of bathers. You’re meant to do this after leaving the lake to help
your body adjust.
My body has turned bright pink; perhaps because I’m not used to this frozen
water routine. Other people’s bodies are not bright pink and they are
staring at me with amusement.
Finally I get inside the sauna. There’s a 50-50 mix of men and women. Everyone
else sits in silence – behaving like true Finns.
The thermometer says 100C. I close my eyes, thinking back to how cold I felt a
few moments ago. Now I feel great. But this is completely mad. I take a look
around. Everyone seems a little crazed – a bit manic and happy to be manic,
but keeping their manic feelings to themselves.
Maybe it’s just the water that’s done it; the adrenalin rush. Or maybe it’s
just the Finns in general, I begin to wonder. Is living up by the Arctic
Circle in this isolated corner of northeast Europe bound to turn you just a
little bit loopy?
Details: Ryanair (www.ryanair.com)
has returns from £20. Holiday Inn (www.holiday-inn.com)
has rooms from £68. Finnish Tourist Board (www.visitfinland.com/UK).
How low can you go: around Europe for 1p each-way (plus tax) by Tom
Chesshyre (Hodder and Staughton, £10.99) is available from BooksFirst
for £9.89 including postage and packing.
oh I did laugh at this artical, mostly because I've done it. Yes i am a British female and have been living in Tampere, Finland for nearly three years now. It is quite true the finns are mad, actually they very rarely smile during the winter and jumping into a frozen lake may be the reason why. However, I would like to point out that everything is different in the summer, it's utterly gorgeous here and would go so far as to say that it's very likely to be the most beautiful country in the world during the summer with teperatures reaching as high as 35c.
Samantha, Tampere, Finland