In Finland you can find a huge number of mökki that accept foreign tourists for vacations
There is a word in Finnish, mökki, boringly translated as "small cottage" or "little house". In reality, this little hut has enormous significance in the lives of Finns (but Finnish-Russian dictionaries are silent about this). About how mökki differ from the dachas we are used to, correspondent STOP in Finland reports in his article.
THE GREAT FINNISH DREAM
If there is a great Finnish dream akin to the American dream, then mökki is an integral part of it. "Sooner or later everyone needs their own mökki," my Finnish colleague philosophically remarked, having bought a plot of land in Lapland. And added: "The farther, the better."
Staying in a hut lost in the wilderness of Finnish forests can be called a national form of recreation. About half a million neat little huts are scattered across Finland, approximately one for every ten inhabitants of the country.
Of course, times change, and with them mökki change: today forest houses increasingly resemble comfortable cottages, but the "classic of the genre," the picture from the family photo album, remains kesämökki – a charming summer cottage of dark red color with white window frames, a small porch, and truly Spartan living conditions. No running water, no heating, no electricity, plus complete (and note, voluntary!) isolation from society – that is what the mysterious Finnish soul strives for.
Trying to understand themselves, Finns periodically study the "mökki phenomenon." One study, conducted jointly by the Universities of Helsinki and Lapland, was devoted to what exactly residents of the country say about their second homes. According to sociologists, "the descriptions obtained are full of romantic details, poetic digressions, and childhood memories; besides the obvious recreational function of mökki, they emphasize the connection between generations, the natural harmony of man and nature, rituals and traditions that give a sense of security and permanence."
Moreover, it turned out that for many, mökki is an animated interlocutor addressed as "you": "We grew up together, and you know everything about me, just as I know every crack of yours. With you I never have to pretend." Believe me, for the inhabitants of Finland, whom it is, to say the least, not easy to set in a lyrical mood, this is a very heartfelt speech.
PALACE OR HUT?
Judging by the covers of the popular magazine Meidän mökki ("Our Mökki"), by the 21st century Finns still preferred comfort over "wild" romance. There are several reasons for the transformation of houses into two-story cottages: today not only the income level of the population is growing, but also its average age, so if the prospect of candlelit dinners is not so frightening, then carrying water from the lake daily is no longer feasible for all owners. Moreover, according to Helsingin Sanomat, the number of Finns working directly from their "residences" has doubled over the past five years.
And since mökki becomes not just a second home but also an office, it certainly requires more attention both financially and technically: 14% of houses have a washing machine, 11% a dishwasher, 6% of kesämökki have internet (these data do not include connection to the network via mobile devices). And more than half of the owners admitted that they have a television. Often a nostalgic black-and-white one. With an antenna that picks up nothing. One way or another, about a third of all existing huts are ready to receive their owners in winter, spring, and autumn.
During the season, Finnish families periodically rent out mökki to other Finnish families or tourists, and Finnish companies to their employees, so that they can spend their legal weeks of vacation on the shore of one of the 188 thousand lakes.
"GREEN" MÖKKI
It is no secret that every self-respecting Finn is deeply concerned about environmental issues. One of the important points of Finnish legislation is Jokamiehenoikeus, or Everyman's Right: every person has the right to walk along any forest paths, roll in the snow. But, having exercised the right, Finns, in turn, tacitly undertake to leave all this in its pristine state – not because they prefer never to break laws, but because they truly sincerely love and value nature. Mökki fits perfectly into the Finnish landscape, without destroying or altering it, because caring for the environment is one of the important features of true "mökki culture."
Even when planning construction, Finns face an endless number of requirements prescribed in Rakennuslaki (the Building Law): at what distance from a lake or sea the house should be located, where the correct place for a sauna is, and where for a compost. In particularly picturesque places, they may even be asked to repaint the facade so that it matches the seascape. And, of course, no unauthorized dumps, no bonfires – only a barbecue and an electric grill. And even the dishes from that grill should preferably be washed with natural soap so that the water poured onto the ground does not poison the soil.
Today, one in ten houses is equipped with solar panels, and some mökki owners have begun experimenting with heat pumps that concentrate the free energy of the earth, water, and air and do not produce harmful emissions into the atmosphere – in the Finnish winter such a heating system is hardly helpful, but in summer it is an ideal ecological solution.
FEEL THE DIFFERENCE!
If it still seems to you that the Finnish mökki and the Russian dacha are the same thing, then believe me, these two cultural concepts have slightly different philosophies and different attributes.
First, a mökki is solitude. Lively dacha conversations through the gate with neighbors are simply impossible: gates, fences, and barriers are not welcomed by Finns, and neighbors are absent within a radius of several kilometers (now, of course, solitude is a bit more complicated – after all, the coastline is not infinite). But still, according to residents of the country, it is not in the beauties of northern nature, but precisely in the unique opportunity to finally not talk to anyone that the unique charm of a mökki lies.
Second, a mökki does not imply the presence of a vegetable garden, or canning a good dozen jars of pickled cucumbers (as you may have already guessed, often there is not even a cellar). Unlike Russian occupational therapy, a mökki is exclusively a rest for soul and body.
Third, the menu of vacationers is generally artless: makkara (traditional grill sausages, which are served almost everywhere except the Christmas table), potatoes, rye bread.
By the way, if you are invited to visit the owners of the cabin, asking "What is there to do?" is practically impolite. This is precisely the deep meaning of a real mökki – to do nothing! Sauna, grill, silent contemplation of nature, reading, maybe even playing mölkky (a simplified version of our native 'gorodki'). Do you need anything else for happiness?
FACE TO THE LAKE, BACK TO THE FOREST
"We all came out of the forest," my colleague added with pride, the same one who became the happy owner of land for building a mökki. This phrase can be heard quite often from residents of Finland. Urbanization in the country began only in the middle of the last century, and around the 1960s Finns began moving to cities. But you cannot command the heart, and now behind the wheel from Espoo to Helsinki, on high-speed trains from Kotka to Rovaniemi, in offices in Tampere, Turku, or Oulu, Finns dream of sitting on a wooden deck facing the lake, back to the forest, and feeling free.
Here we can add that the Finnish word for 'nature' (luonto) has a second meaning – 'the spirit given to a person at birth.' It is believed that by losing it, a person loses themselves and becomes unhappy. Well, the population of Finland knows the secret of how to regain this spirit. You just need to open the door of a mökki.