August 5 Biking Rovaniemi (Day 313)
The weather report promised a beautiful day today so we went out and rented ‘city’ bikes for a tour around town.
Crossing the Kemijoki river on the Jätkänkynttilä silta, or the “Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge”.
For 100 years from about 1860 to 1960 a major economic staple of the area was the logging industry. Trees were cut out in the wilderness then floated down the river to Rovaniemi where they were milled. This bridge pays homage to the lumberjacks of the era, and their ‘candles’, logs that were partially split, stood on end and lit to provide a warming or cooking fire, and this is reflected in the bridge’s twin columns topped with fluorescent lights that resemble a lumberjack’s candle.
We finally found a bike path along the river, past the Arktikum Museum, which was closed today.
And the views along the river were gorgeous!
We also found some free public hygiene washing sites along the river! Not for personal hygiene, but household hygiene, these are Rug Washing Units! The Finnish take household cleanliness very seriously!
The sites have tubs with large flat shelves where rugs can be laundered and scrubbed. Also provided are the biggest hand cranked wringers I’ve ever seen, to wring the rugs out! Lots of wooden racks are provided to air dry the rugs.
Remember the rack I pointed out behind our Airbnb, that we’ve seen behind almost every apartment building. It turns out that they are part of this rug cleaning phenomenon. They are “Rug Beating Racks”. Rugs are regularly hung up on them and beaten to shake out the dust and dirt. This is especially useful in winter when the rugs can’t be washed, and dust mites will die when the rugs are hung out in the sub-zero temperatures! Most Finnish homes have tile or wood floors, there is virtually no wall to wall carpeting anywhere!