Tuesday, November 17, 2009

On Finnair, Finland, the Unceasing Darkness, and Reindeer Flesh

I left Hong Kong Monday morning at 6am to go to the airport. Upon arrival at check-in I was told my flights from London to Helsinki had been canceled due to a Finnair pilot's strike. I was also told that Cathay and British Airways were working to re-book everyone and I should be fine. With this knowledge I boarded a 14 hour flight (and had the great misfortune of sitting in the same aisle as two children under the age of 5, whose parents decided early in the flight there was no way to shut up their kids so they would just drink "another full glass of white wine" and "another full glass of white wine, please" until they, not their children, fell asleep. But I digress.) Upon arrival in London I was told I had no flight to Helsinki after all, but they could get me there by the 19th. My return flight to Hong Kong is for today, the 18th.

After much rigmarole new flights on Scandinavian Air were secured. I spent the night in an airport hotel in London, where the guy next to me at the bar proceeded from check-in to "two double gin and tonics, please" so quickly he actually beat the computer system's ability to recognize his room number. Suffice it to say his drinking speed was stupefyingly rapid. Before I could finish a pint he was four double gin and tonics deep and I retreated to my room for an 8:30pm bed-time rather than face the conversation that was sure to follow. In my younger years I would have stayed put and done my best to figure out this guy's deal and what drove him to such depths, but I have aged.

The next morning I awoke at 4am to head to Heathrow to head to Stockholm to (finally) arrive in Helsinki. I got into Helsinki at 3:00pm, leaving me exactly 30 minutes of sunlight which were squandered on the drive to the hotel. The driver did tell me about an island off the coast of Estonia, where there are many Ukrainian girls. He insisted I change my flight home so I could see this spectacle to which I replied I had a busy schedule and this would not be fit in. He told me that if I didn't slow down one day I would look in the mirror and a 60 year old man would be staring back at me. Welcome to Helsinki, have a nice day.

Last night's dinner; however, was such badass Finnish cuisine (or Lappish if you want to cut hairs here) that I must share. Our apertif was a vodka-esque concoction called the Reindeer's tear. There was no clarification if tear was from the tear duct, or a ripping of the flesh. I will ask next time. Up next was Finnish beer, elk with cabbage, and salmon soup; all served with traditional breads and homemade butter. I was quickly getting into this meal. The main course was a reindeer fillet along with a reindeer roast. Both were served with potatoes and some berries. We finished the meal with a Lappish cheese with cloudberries and a cinnamon cream sauce. My coffee was served in a wooden mug, that has a special name that I could not pronounce, and therefore do not remember.

While my trip has been aggravating, this meal was so rad I know I will forget all the travel issues within a few days. I realized last night that there are really few places left that don't export their dietary staples to the rest of the world. In Vietnam, I ate food I could reasonably expect to find recreated (albeit on a slightly sub-par level) in Atlantic City, or Hong Kong or San Francisco, or on and on. The same is true with most places I've been. This was one of the first meals I've had abroad where if I didn't eat it in the local setting, I would probably never have the chance elsewhere.

1 comment:

  1. yessssss. YESSSSSS! Next time, spearfishing with semi-automatics (this is also not available in many global locations, but AC might be able to come up with something...)

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