"There's something in the water here" - Sonja Kailassaari found a stress-free life in Riihimäki

Riksuun rakastuneet is a story series in which people from Riihimäki share their thoughts about their hometown.

"I never thought I would get so excited about gardening. I don't know if I should be worried about it or if this is part of getting older," jokes journalist Sonja Kailassaari.

Kailassaari got excited about taking care of the garden a couple of years ago, when he also officially became a resident of Riihimäki. The timing for frolicking and getting rowdy was perfect, because at the same time the world was being shaken by the beginning of the corona pandemic. In Helsinki, Kailassaari would have had to lock himself in a small apartment building, but in Riihimäki he is surrounded by nature and the garden of his own house.

At Riihimäki, Kaillassaari has concretely understood how important a connection with nature is for humans. The soul rests when you get your hands in the soil and the mind gets satisfaction from learning something new.

"It's wonderful to follow the growth process in the potato country from beginning to end and eat your own potatoes. I am grateful that this opportunity has come into my life."

Kailassaari is from Espoo, but went to school and lived in Helsinki as an adult. Kailassaari still goes to work in Helsinki every day. The train journey between Riihimäki and Helsinki does not seem tiring and Kailassaari often uses the journey to do work. Kailassarari also still has an apartment in Helsinki and sometimes he lives there for part of the week.

"I have the opportunity to pick the best of two different worlds. I enjoy everything that Helsinki has to offer, but also the peace of a small town."

Surprises reward the wanderer

In Riihimäki, one of Kailasasaari's favorite pastimes is walking the dog. Together, they have penetrated forests as well as idyllic wooden house areas.

"The best thing is to get a little lost and then encounter something unexpected," says Kailassaari.

In Kailasasaari's opinion, walking is the best way to get to know new places anyway. Although the centers of many small towns in Finland look roughly the same, there are interesting areas everywhere when you walk away from the main street.

"Perhaps the biggest surprise for me has been the fact that in Riihimäki there is an almost perfect copy of Helsinki's swimming stadium, which I have always loved to visit. Here it is so close that you can almost walk there wearing a bathrobe.”

Kailassaari's second favorite place has become the movie theater Kino Sampo, whose screenings he goes to every time the theater is showing something.

"Old cinemas are my passion. Even when I'm traveling, I always go to see them if there's one in the locality", says Kailassaari and explains that the enthusiasm is inherited from his grandfather, who owned his own cinema before Kailassaari was born.

"Before the movie at Kino Sammo, Reijo Kurkela always gives a little introduction about the movie. It is a complete counterweight to the mood of the big cinema chains," says Kailassaari.

Reijo Kurkela is the vice president of the film culture association Kino Sammo and the leader of Kino Sammo.

In addition to the movie theater, Kailassaari has also liked the area of ​​the Glass Museum and on his 40th birthday took his friend to try glassblowing at Lasism.

"Many of them had never been to Riksu before and now they got to see how great it is here."

The glass museum's restaurant lunch also gets a recommendation from Kailassaari, as does the water tower cafe with its fine scenery.

Riihimäki sold himself

Kailassaari's husband, actor Aku Hirviniemi, is known in the public as a spokesperson for Riihimäki, but Kailassaari says that he did not need to be separately lobbied to fall in love with Riihimäki. The city took care of the charm itself.

"Aku and Janne always highlight Riihimäki, and yes, there must be something in the water here. I have learned to appreciate life in Riihimäki."

Kailassaari has come to know the people from Riihimäki as friendly and talkative people, and he doesn't understand why the people from Hämä are called slow.

"People are more open than in a stadium in an apartment building. Many people have even come to introduce themselves in Swedish and say that they watched the Efter Nio program," says Finnish-Swedish Kailassaari.

 

Sonja Kailassaari

• Born in 1980
• Editor and host of the Efter Nio program at Yle.
• The family includes the spouse Aku Hirviniemi, the spouse's daughters and the dachshund Elsa.
• Enjoys cross-country skiing, cycling and movies.

Emmi Tuomisto