Good Bye to the Ice Cream Man

Back on August 18th we heading out to the park when the girls heard the chimes. They began to go a little crazy and the begging began. Mommy, Daddy, It’s the ice cream man. Please!! We finally gave in. He pulled up and climbed out of his truck. Almost everything was sold out, but 2-3 items. He told us this was his last day due to the taxes just going up too much. He told us that the ice cream sandwiches were pretty good. We bought a box for a discounted price. He was a very nice young man and he talked a few minutes with us. We felt very sad that this was it and we would not hear those chimes going through the neighborhood any longer.

A friend, Michelle Carter, sent me an article that was in the WSJ about the end to the Finnish Ice Cream Man. I’ll attach a picture of the article below. Also a picture we took of us buying ice cream on the last day as we watched him drive off into the sunset. 😦

You can read the Wall Street Journal article and watch a video here.

Finnish Pulla and Coffee (Kahvi)

It is quite common in Finland to be invited for coffee, but that usually means a bit more than coffee. Finns are also huge coffee drinkers. They actually lead in coffee consumption for the entire world. I read somewhere that the average Finn consumes up to 9 cups a coffee a day and 10 pounds of coffee a year. Another thing I read was that you are not considered an adult until you can drink Finnish coffee. They like their coffee black too. When Finns add things to their coffee it tends to be milk not cream. Coffee cream is very American. During tourist season some restaurants and cafes with have cream, but off-season you mostly find milk. I have to say I love Finnish coffee(kahvi) and I drink it black. I also fall in the category of drinking 6-8 cups a coffee a day.

This summer when I traveled back to the US and had my black coffee I found that I had the shakes because the coffee was not strong enough. I looked forward to returning to Finland to have my Finnish kahvi. 🙂

When we have visitors we like to invite them for coffee. One of the popular items served with coffee is Finnish Pulla. Pulla is Finnish sweet rolls. The pulla has a distinct flavor to it. The flavor is cardamon. They are also sprinkled with white sugar. I have made Finnish Pulla with another American friend, but I usually cheat and purchase pulla from the store. If we head out with visitors we like to hit Cafe Esplanad in Helsinki on the Esplanad. Their pulla is quite a large serving and yummy. They also serve a delicious salmon soup.

Here are some pictures from the Cafe Esplanad when I took my friend, Jennifer there.

Here is a fun video I found on YouTube of a young lady making some Finnish Pulla.

Here are a few pictures of some pulla I made with my American friend, Tara.

I am trying to figure out if I can fill a 20 gallon Rubbermaid container with Finnish coffee when we return to the US. 🙂

Temppeliaukio Church or Church of the Rock

This is one of the most popular landmarks in Helsinki. Roughly a half a million visit it during a year. Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran Church located in the Töölö neighborhood. The church plans were started back in the 1930’s, but due to World War II it delayed construction. The church was finally started in 1968 and opened in 1969. The church is quite unique! It is built into the rock. The church hosts music concerts due to its great natural acoustics.

This has been on my Finland Bucket List and after living here for over a year and half I finally went inside the church back in May with my friend, Jennifer. I had attempted to see the inside before, but there was a wedding so it was closed to the public.

Here are a few pictures of the Church of the Rock.