Kemi: Fantasy SnowCastle

I'm dazzled. There is so much light! The sun is so bright and the sky so blue - this is Kemi, Finland, and the SnowCastle. This SnowCastle hasn't been built by children; it was sculpted by professionals. The snow castle tradition goes back quite a few years: this is the 18th consecutive snow castle built here. I walk along the frozen seashore towards the monstrous entrance to this winter landmark of Kemi.

Once inside the snow castle, and especially in the SnowChapel, time stands still. The green light behind the altar is soothing, there are a couple of lit candles to which I add mine. The miniature ship is something that is typically decorating the churches and chapels in the coast and archipelago of Finland.

There are clear blocks of ice - I wonder if they are pieces of ice from the Gulf of Bothnia - at the end of chapel benches. Very simple artwork. Some couples get married in the chapel of the SnowCastle every year. The atmostphere in such events must be both pretty cool and pretty warm!

Right next door to the chapel, there is a hall where you can sit down for a hot or cold drink by long tables made of solid ice. If you fall short of conversation topics, just have a look around you - there's plenty to watch and talk about!

Like the fantastic creatures around you, standing on the floor,  or sticking to the ceiling. The theme of the SnowCastle 2013 is Fantasy. 

There are ethereal maidens, fantastic animals but also a huge, gentle looking monster. Who's got his eyes glued to a lovely young ice maiden.

However, the Ice Maiden doesn't wink an eye but stays cool and keeps her pose.

I walk from one hall to another, moving from one atmosphere to another. In the Space Gallery there is an eerie blue light, as if it were night time, there are stars and planets in the sky. And some birds. Silent, but angry.

If it weren't such a bright day and if it were much later, I might feel tempted to stay on and spend a night in the SnowCastle, lie down on the furs

and fall asleep in the snow hotel room, under the snow fresco with a kid riding on a polar bear...

But no! I want to get back to the sunlight! On my way out, I pass quite a few gorgeous works of art: more sculptures made of ice or snow, on every room or hall. Hello, ice penguins! How are you doing, Mr Snow Fox? Oh, you just pulled a snow rabbit out of a hat!

At this time of the day, there are no live performances on the outdoor stage so I head up to the top of the building to get a view of Kemi seashore. All frozen, of course, and the Gulf of Bothnia is all white, with quite a few people either walking or cross country skiing on the ice. What a great view and a great snow castle -  Kemi SnowCastle was definitely worth a visit!

Jyväskylä: Snowmen in Kirkkopuisto

My evening walk takes me down from Harju to Kirkkopuisto (Church Park) and I start thinking what would be the best place for building snowmen. I expect to find them next to Kauppakatu street - the busiest side of the park - but no way; the snowmen have appeared right in front the City Hall, on the square next to Vapaudenkatu street.

The snowmen are part of the campaign against global warming. The melancholy looking snowman's plea is "If you save the winter you can save me too and I can make you smile year and year after".

The Big Ask campaign has been taking place in different cities in Finland and its main aim is to get the decision makers to make a climate law that would be strong enough to make a difference. There are about two dozen snowmen, each carrying their message that is directed at top politicians who are responsible for climate and environmental politics.

Let's hope that there will be a major change in environmental politics all over the world. "Winter in the year 2020???" I believe and hope there will still be a proper winter with snowmen in Finland in 2020 and for many more decades to come!

Jyväskylä: Snow and Castle

The footpath by the lake at Kortesuo, Jyväskylä is easy to walk on - surprisingly, there's been a snow plough - but I turn my eyes towards the frozen lake Tuomiojärvi. There are some people skiing on the ice. For me, this means that it must be safe enough to be walking on the ice as well so I step down on the lake. The shadows that fall on the snow are long around noon; the days are still very short.

My boots don't sink too deep in the light powder. Often there is less snow on the frozen lakes than in the forests and fields. There is a light mist hanging over Löylyjoki-Kivelänranta area on the opposite shore. I wonder whether I should look for a trail made by people walking here before me or make my own track?

Actually, there's no choice. Of course I'll make my own track. It is so liberating to be sauntering on ice and go anywhere I want to go and not even get exhausted, thanks to there being so little snow. I turn towards Laajavuori where the mist is rising towards the sky like a cloud of smoke. Do I hear an announcement through a loudspeaker? There could be a skiing race going on. Perhaps the mist is artificial snow in the making, for the ski slopes.

I spot a couple of other walkers on the ice as well. It means that there will be more and more trails on the snow that was almost untrodden for days. Finally, I end up at Viitaniemi where the mid-day sun is glistening on the snowy trees.

The closer to the shore, the more there is snow. Above me the alders are dressed in their most beautiful, lacy winter outfits.

I start looking for a place where it would be easiest to climb to the footpath on the shore. When I see the frozen reeds I freeze myself, if only for a moment - to admire the fragile union of the reeds and the snow, so transparent in the sun.

I feel so elated when strolling through Viitaniemi park that I almost forget to look around me. Luckily, I slow down and turn my eyes towards Kasinonmäki hill which has a new, temporary building: a snow castle! The footsteps heading towards me are not only made by human feet; a hare has also paid a visit to it.

The builders of the snow castle seem to have checked exactly the right time to make their move: the snow has to have the right consistency and the weather has to be not too warm and not too cold, if you want to use blocks of snow like these people seem to have done. Snow engineering.

I enter the snow castle through the entrance at the back. There are small peeping holes to different directions that give a new outlook to Viitaniemi - framed with snow. I really hope this snow castle will stay intact as long as possible.

Farewell, restful Viitaniemi; I will head towards Jyväskylä city centre. To my pleasant surprise, it is also calm and almost sleepy there on this afternoon. The winter mist and the sun paint a somewhat eerie scene on the sky at the end of Harjukatu street. It is as if the solitary bus parked by the side of the street is waiting for passengers to a journey that would take you somewhere beyond the sun.