tomorrow it is midsummer, which means the longest day in the year. i spent many midsummers in finland or other nordic countries and ejoyed, especially in the north, the feeling of almost continuous time and energy. the sun did not go down, the terrasses were open until early in the morning and it seemed everyone could live longer. anyhow it seems like that because after enjoying the almost endless midsummer days you suddenly run out of energy and your biological clock needed a break.
in winter i enjoyed the very short days in the north, with very low temperaturs and the endless snow. without snow it was gloomy and dark and the knowledge w that your stay was not permanent, kept you going. it seemed live slowed down before xmas and started again after the longest night, reaching full speed around midsummer.
the change between winter and summer was often abrupt. suddenly there were leaves on the trees, suddenly there were flowers, suddenly everyone started living in another way with different energy.
i used to live in helsinki for a couple of years and enjoyed the at that moment still rather independent atmosphere. finland felt like an independent country, living in its own way, doing its own things. finnish architecture was still special and finnish design as well. speaking finnish was a must as almost no one wanted or could speak a foreign language. i liked finland, i enjoyed the winters and summers and visited the country many times after my move to the netherlands.
i learnt a lot especially that there are lots of things you just have to accept. once, asking a rather well known finnish urban planner why a road was situated in a certain place, her answer was simply that the road just had to be somewhere. things were designed often in a certain way simply because that was the way to do it. no discussion, no arguments, matter concluded.