(Christmas trip 2009, Part 2)
The easy thing to do next, after posting a fun lighthearted travel report, would be to start writing some stuff with a clear agenda – And to be fully honest with you, I’d love to talk about the way franchises have spread out so that everything is always the same, no matter where you go. Or something really strong and clear like that. But I’ll stick to the plan and write about my trip away from a Christmas in Helsinki.
Quick recap: There I am, in the middle of the busiest street of Tampere, in the afternoon (the traditional rush-hour time in Finland), and there is not a soul in sight. My hotel is only a short trip away, near the river and there is no point in not walking the distance. I think I see about 7 cars and 3 more people on the way. Two of them are Brits who walk from the train station to the hotel with me. Welcome to Tampere, hope you enjoy your stay, we won’t be around to make sure you do.
I get my room key card, spend a good moment figuring out the elevator system and head to my room as soon as I get over the shame of not understanding modern technology. The first thing there I’m greeted by a television screen. I dismiss the welcome message on the screen and Disney Channel pops up. An episode of Cars Toons where some old pick up truck is imagining itself as the main character of The Fast and The Furious 3: Tokyo Drift. Some sort of a low-point must have been reached when they came up with that idea.
I stare in disbelief for a few moments at the 3D animated version of the bastard stepchild of a Vin Diesel movie and decide to head downstairs and get something to eat before I feel too sick to even consider. I go past the Amarillo tex-mex bar and to the Fransmanni restaurant. Both of them are part of the S-Ryhmä group, same as the hotel, and really are the reason I wanted to add an agenda to this post at some point. But I’ll skip the rant with a passing mention that there are really well-thought out franchises and brands that hail from Finland and Sweden that don’t have anything to be shamed about in comparison to the American ones that people usually blame for the emerging monoculturalism. Just travel the Baltics for a moment or two.
I sit down in a quiet corner table and order some food. A nice compilation of jazz and swing songs is playing in the background. When I arrive I’m the only one around, but am soon joined by a Japanese businessman, carrying a shiny briefcase and looking very stern and important. He sits in the table next to me, leaving his briefcase almost in my reach and starts looking through the menu. Now, remember the whole jazz soundtrack playing in the background and this being a hotel restaurant with a high class atmosphere. The waitress fumbles, or something like that happens (I have no idea what exactly, I was looking outside at this point) and suddenly the Japanese man is standing up and walking away from his table, talking loudly to the waitress who might be apologizing or explaining in response while backing away.
There lies the briefcase in my reach, there is a distraction that feels oh-so-well choreographed. There is the angry, important-looking Japanese man and there is the cool soundtrack. Everything sort of falls into place in my mind – I let the scenario of me snatching the case or switching it with a duplicate play in my head a few times. It’s so perfectly Ocean’s Eleven that when I let myself return from my fantasies, I have a stupid grin on my face. Being a friend of heist movies is rewarding sometimes, it seems. The Japanese man calms down and everything sort of cools off.
And happiness finally finds me, wearing the guise of good food and an unintentional movie genre reference. I walk back to the reception, where a pretty receptionist is stuck working through the holiday weekend, and worse – she’s stuck helping me through the day.
“Hiya,” I say with a wide, happy smile. The smile would be a warning sign if you knew me, but the poor girl doesn’t.
“Hello. Anything I can help you with?”
“Well, depends. Do you know if there is anything to do here today?”
“Well, not much, but we’ve been putting together a list, one moment!” she’s visibly happy that someone’s asking after the hard work that has been done, pulls out a paper and starts telling me which bars are open in the evening. I listen, smile and nod. And then ask the question that makes her smile drain from her lips and feel embarrassment for her home town.
“No, I mean is there anything to do today, during the daytime? Some art stuff happening in the parks or I don’t know, something?”
“Oh…Well. No, I don’t know about that.”
We ponder for a while if there is anything happening, checking the local newspaper and all, but the city is pretty literally dead. The only things she can think to do before the bars open is hang around at the hotel restaurant or go to the sauna section. She apologizes, I tell her not to worry and head out to explore the city.
My background with Tampere is a pleasant one. There are no ex girlfriends here, no bad work experiences, just a lot of friends who live here. I’ve come to the city several times before and I shouldn’t be a stranger to the place. But truth be told, I’ve never really had the chance to wander around and get the feel of the city.
I do what I always do in a new city – Make a mental note where the hotel is, pick a direction, walk, find awesome. It usually works pretty well. And this gives me a chance to finally formulate a map of all the places I had been to on my previous visits. I head towards Pyynikki, and somehow manage to take a wrong turn and miss the view tower (which might actually be open, unlike everything else). I see lots of pretty buildings, freezing my ears off. (note to self: buy ear muffs) But otherwise the trip is pretty uneventful.
On the way back I realize the first thing that I’ve forgotten to take with me – ice skates. There is a rink open, and I remember thinking, half-joking at the time, if I should take them with me. I watch couples enjoy the evening moment and a father teaching a kid skate for the first time. It’s nice to think that all the presents this Christmas weren’t video games or DVDs.
I am clearly getting into the winter mood. It’s a time for warmth, beauty and happiness. I find myself thinking of the cute receptionist on my way back to the hotel and how I want to ask her something when I see her again. She’s sitting at the reception desk when I get there. I walk to her, and manage to get words formed from underneath the mask of ice and snow covering my face.
“You mentioned something about the hotel having a sauna?”