First day - Finland (Suomi)

On the first of September 2014, we left Estonia (42000 km2, 1,4 million people, capital Tallinn, 153 veterinarians belong to the Estonian Small Animal Veterinary Association, most of whom have studied at the veterinary medicine depatment of the EstonianUniversity of Life Sciences.

We start towards Nordkap from Tallinn. My colleague Pilleriin Puskar (Alltech Estonia) is travelling with us. First off we board a ferry to Helsinki and from then we travel onwards to Uusikauppunki (population: 15 500), where we hope to find dr. Kaj Sittnikow, who was the representative of the Finnish Association of Veterinary Practitioners (543 members) in FECAVA for many, many years. I have a funny story that always comes to mind when I think of Kaj:

ESAVA joined FECAVA in 1996. It was my job as president of ESAVA to travel to Utrecht and present our application to join. It was my first flight in an airplane alone and to top that I had to speak at the meeting. I was worried about my English. What happens if I don’t understand anything and look like a fool? “I wonder, who is representing Finland?” If it were an acquintance, it would be easy, I could have him translate for me. And surely a not so familiar Finnish veterinarian will not refuse to help me.

In the meeting room I see dr. Kai Sittnikow sitting at the table. I wasn’t personally acquinted with dr. Sittnikow. We had been introduced to one another, but there wasn’t much of a longer conversation. Of course I knew of dr. Sittnikow. I believe, he was the first Finnish veterinarian, who I heard of. During the Soviet regime I somehow managed to get copies of the magazine “Koiramme”, where a very young and charming veterinarian Kaj Sittnikow was giving out advice. I sat myself next to him and said: “Hello, my name is Tiina. I don’t know if you remember, but we’ve met there and there and so on.” Dr. Sittnikow looked at me in a very unfriendly manner and asked me what I was doing there. I then started explaining that we have our own association now and we’re joining FECAVA. Sittnikow became even more cross: “What association?” “Smal Animal Veterinary Association and I’m their representative.” “No, I am.” Said dr. Sittnikow straightforwardly. My mouth fell open and then the meeting started. “Yes, of couse, but in Finland. I am from Estonia.” I whispered when I was able to speak again. Sittnikow looked at me and then started laughing: “Oh, damn, I thought ou were Finnish.” I guess he’d seen me with Finnish veterinarians and didn’t remember that I was once introduced to him as an Estonian veterinarian. He probably thought that Finnish female veterinarians had formed their own association and were trying to get into FECAVA behind his back. I probalby don’t even have to mention that during those 13 years in FECAVA (which is already a big family in itself), Kaj was one of my dearest friends.

Back in the day Kaj Sittnikow was one of the founders of Finnish veterinary medicine. Together with dr. Per Axelson he opened the veterinry clinic Mevet in 1974. It was the first small animal clinic as such. Before that, practices operated out of basements by veterinarians who had some sort of a day job and during evening hours saw patients in their home basements or garages. There was no real perspective in treating small animals.

Tiina and Kaj at Kaj's home by the sea.

Kaj's dog in the role of a patient in Kaj's practice.

Kaj welcomes us in his lovely home in the Uusikauppunki waterfront. He also has a small practice next to his house. The thing he was most famous for, orthopedic operations, he does not perform in this practice, but smaller soft-tissue surgeries he does perform. Many of Finnish veterinary clinics are converging into big chains, but there is still work for a smalltown or village general practioner, from whom you can also get advice over the phone. The closest big veterinary clinc to u is the Kalanti Univet, which we pas by, but unfortuntely had no time to visit. Didn’t even manage to take a picture. Another time.

“See you in Bratislava. At the FECAVA – oldies reunion.” Promises Kaj.

Uusikauppunki is beautiful. We stroll around the old wooden houses and find a church (built 1623-1629), which has a small sign saying “Holy stones and cough medicine for horses”. On it we first find a legend about the wholy stones of the church and next it a small note about the chestnut growing in the church garden. The nuts of this tree were used by Turks as cough medicine for horses. There is no further explanation and therefore I would like to ask one from our turkish colleagues, because I highly doubt that the Turks shoved whole chestnuts into their nostrils. They probably made some sort of ointment out of them.

Veterinary science is everywhere.

Old wooden houses in Uusikauppunki.

Uusikauppunki church.

Our goal today is to travel as far north as possible, but Vaasa seems seems te most realistic destination. On our way is the small village of Rauma (population 40 000). When I praise the beautiful wooden houses of Turku or Naantali to my finnish friends, they all say: “Oh, that’s nothing. Wait ‘til you get to Rauma.” I got to Rauma and my mouth falls open. Small, quiet, clean, miniature, absolutely stunning. The streets are empty. Seems like a movie has just wrapped up shooting and the decorations are still standing. Is it possible that behind those lace curtains real people are living, my contemporaries? I’m waiting for a book character to come running out from one of the doors, mabe fom and Astrid Lindgren book. Madicken or Lotta. I know that I am in Finland and Lindgren was Swedish but I have imagines the settings of those books to be in a place like this and besides, the west coast of Finland has very strong Swedish influences.

Rauma's central square.

The sleepy city of Rauma.

Lovely door in Rauma.

A closed pet shop in Rauma and a lonely veterinarian. 

Looks exactly like a film set.

All alone in a cafe in Rauma.

We hurry to get to the veterinary clinic of Rauma before it closes, but we are too late. Greetings to Anna Kangas-Nevalainen and off we go on our journey.

We drive in a mystical light listening to Jenny.

We stay in Vaasa for only one night. Finding a hotel proves more difficult than we imagined. There are no free rooms in many that we step into. Finally we find ourselves in te Vaasa Spa hotell Rantasipi. It would have been nice to enjoy the spa, but the only thing we enjoy in the morning is the view (because we arrived when it was already dark and couldn’t see where we were actually staying) and breakfast and then we head towards Kokkola-Oulu so that we could be over the arctic circle into Norway by nightfall.

View from our hotel room in Vaasa.

I hope to find a veterinary practice in Kokkola, but a salesgirl in the animal shop wighs and says that there should be a big clinic like Univet here, because right now cats and dogs get help when and where they can, and bigger problems are sent to Oulu. So we go to Oulu as well. A very small and sweet Toivosen animal park is in our way and a farm museum, which is (un)fortunately closed (we are in a hurry after all).

Last three: Toivosen animal park and farm museum. 

The park was closed, but this rabbit kept watch.

A quick stop at Kalajoki, because a good colleague of ours, dr. Risto Juola, is from here (who unfortunately is not with us anymore) and because I’ve heard that the beaches of Kalajoki are supposed to be beautiful. They truly are. In the sunny September light they give me the urge to stay here forever. I would take a room in a hotel on the beach with a view to the sea, I would sit and dream. Maybe write a little from time to time. I might do that someday.

This is where I would like to stay and stay and stay....

Panorama of Kalajoki beach with Pilleriin.

Adventure on the road: lonely dog on the motorway.

Helpless veterinarians: the dog is afraid and won't let us help.

With the help of tasty Estonian meat patties we manage to catch the dog.

We managed to find the owner on the other side of the motorway. 

In Oulu (population 191 100) we find Animaggi Oulu clinic he fastest. It is one of six clinics in Oulu. The receptionist looks at us a little suspiciously when we say we want to take pictures and that the pictures will go into a FECAVA raport. Fortunately she agrees to get a doctor and dr. Kaisa Wickström is convinced of our good will by my person (because we’ve met before) and the word FECAVA. The clinic is impressive: lots of room, machines, 6 doctors including many specialists. We meet with a neurologist and dentist. Somewhere in the clinic there’s Kirsti Schildt, who is doing her dermatology residency under the tutelage of our colleague Svetlana Belova. Yes, times do change. 25 years ago we learned from the Finns how to draw blood from a vein and heard about hip dysplasia and retinal atrophy for the first time, fought with distemper and parvo virus infection and feared rabies. Now colleagues in the small country of Estonia also have experiences to share.

Dr. Kaisa Wickström

Waiting room.

Lab.

Ultrasound room.

X-ray.

Pre-op.

Operating theatre.

The next stop is scheduled to be Tornio, to get petrol, but we rush past it. Our aim is Rovaniemi. We then start to ponder, what will haooen if there are no gas stations long our way. Way up in the north you can drive hundreds of kilometres without meeting anyone or seeing any houses. But we do not want to turn back either. There are a few red farm houses and information boards by the road. The houses are actually Peräpohjalan Maatalousmuseo and from the information board nexto it we can see that we have enough petrol until the nex station. Hurray!

This map helped us find a petrol station.

There’s 15 degrees in Rovaniemi and Silvia takes a picture with Santa Claus’ car in summer clothing, which seems very odd. We didn’t say hello to Santa Claus this time. We also really wanted to visit the newly opened Rovaniemi Univet clinic, but unfotunately we had no time.

Tiina in the right hand corner on the Arctic Circle.

Silvia waiting for Santa Claus

Ahead of lie unknown lands and tundra. The views are breathtaking. We are slowed down by our travel companions who keep shouting: “Oh, wow. How beautiful. Stop! We have to take a picture.” You would think picture-taking ends with the coming of darkness, but there are still small patches of light in the sky, that need documenting. Silvia keeps talking to us about some Mortimer, whish is Sauron’s land and where’ Nasdaq’s live. Interesting, I thought that Nasdaq is some sort of contemporary fiction (Silvia: I was talking about Mordor and Nazguls in Lord of the Rings). 

Norwegian border lies ahead.