Traversing the Invisible Gossamer Bridge, pt. II
Travel Blog by Kathy Criswell
This article is from Kathy Criswell. You may know her from her novel, Aphrodite Rising, or from her previous guest blogs here, which are linked down below!
Hello again! Sorry that this blog took so long, I've just been ridiculously busy! So, we left of with me leaving Kitee and heading back to attend the Oulu and Tampere gigs.
When I eventually got back to Helsinki that night, I met up with Melanie and had a good dinner at the restaurant in the train station and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets ever! Our hotel was also very nice—kind of like a bunch of small studio apartments that were very well furnished and cozy!
It started to rain but I didn’t care. Can you imagine what it’s like to dance in the rain during a beautiful sunset in Helsinki? Exactly. We stopped by a store near the hotel where I got far too many drinks and snagged a bottle of Coke that said “Robin” because I knew that I would see Robin La Joy from Eye of Melian sometime before my trip ended and I wanted to surprise her with something small and cute!
Once Melanie and I had come back from the train station with full bellies and lots of joy in our hearts, we parted ways with breakfast plans because she and I both love to balance socializing with alone time, which is nice when traveling with someone!
I laid in my cozy bed and tried to use my iPad to paint an image I had in my head. It was what came to mind when hearing “The Invisible Gossamer Bridge” for the first time, but I found that the art couldn’t come. I hadn’t done anything creative in a long while because I started going back to school and that was more important to me than anything else. So, in a bout of frustration, I picked up a book that I had taken with me and read quite a few pages. (It’s called “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” if you’re curious. I have finished since and loved it!)
At some point around 4-5 a.m. I FaceTimed my wife and cats. My wife was more entertained by my cats that were trying to devour the phone to talk to me. I knew that the next day would have a lot of travel and time on a train, so I vowed to try painting the photo again and went to sleep for a few hours.
The next morning I got to chatting with a couple that complimented my Finnish while Melanie bonded with their dog, who was absolutely precious. I got notified that Johanna Kurkela had posted some photos of a photoshoot she did in the woods somewhere and they’re literally so pretty that I really wanted to paint one. The only issue was I was very out of practice with painting and I felt really awkward painting someone that I knew, but also that someone else knew. It’s different when I’m in the US and no one except my inner circle knows who someone is, but being in Finland made me second guess doing that. Why? I think I try to overcorrect my fan-ness around people because I’m scared of being labeled one of those fans. Regardless, I ended up on a train to Tampere with my friends! The weather wasn’t the best, but I like rain. I could wax poetically about the rain strips everyone down to the same basal level but I won’t, haha.
We ended up at this bar place that Bear knew of called Cafe Europa and I had a really good pesto sandwich with a pineapple lonkero. My friend Anna joined our group so we had Anna, Denise, Melanie, Bear, and myself! When we eventually left towards the venue, I knew that I needed a photo with Moomin! Denise is my personal photographer, in case you were wondering.
Once inside, I was excited for the meet ‘n’ greet! I don’t usually spend the money on anything VIP but I cherish all time spent with the members of Auri, so I knew I had to spring for it. They went very quickly, which I expected. I had someone ask me to have something signed so I spent more time being anxious about that than meeting Tuomas Holopainen, which meant a lot to me! I became a Nightwish fan in 2000 at age 12, so it was strange to have someone three dimensional in front of me that I had only ever seen printed or in photos! I don’t idolize anyone, but I still wanted to make a good impression. I had seem him a handful of times at gigs over the years but I refuse to approach people in those scenarios. I think I made a good impression? Honestly it’s fine. Troy Donockley asked me if I had let the album sink in and I was very confused as to why he knew that, but I had come prepared. Just before my trip to Finland, I had painted a photo of my father on a train, because I always wanted to travel with him but we were too poor and he worked so much. So I tried my best to imagine what it would have been like if I had. When I showed Troy the photo, I could tell it made him feel something and he gave me a classic Troy smile.
Then, in an effort to get my friend’s things signed correctly, I accidentally ignored Johanna (I still laugh over that) and moved on to Tuomas. I gave him a cutesy keychain and explained the concept of “blind boxes” to him. At least I didn’t bring him a Labubu…
Anyway, after that I watched all of my friends say hello in the meet ‘n’ greet line and it just warmed my heart to see everyone so happy. I know that meet and greets must be very exhausting for artists, especially with the amount of people who showed up. So, it moved very quickly and then the show began!
I don’t have any photos or videos of any of the shows, so you can find them on social media if you want. In an Auri-themed miracle, I ended up swapping places with someone in the front row so they could take photos. I ended up being in the front row again with my buddies that I lovingly refer to as the “International Cheering Squad.” There was one person in between like ten of us and it was hilarious to see them surrounded by such an energy.
The show was wonderful, we all cried. I bruised the palms of my hands from clapping so loudly. There were people next to me who needed help getting up to dance during “Them Thar Chanterelles” and they still danced. Oh, the joy in my heart watching people dance to Auri. And the look on Auri’s collective faces when everyone stands up. Those are some of my favorite memories ever.
Ever.
After the show we hung out a bit, I managed to get Denise to snag a typical tourist photo of me and then we were off to get home! I was exhausted after a day of travel and we had four days until the next show!
The next morning, Melanie and I went exploring and came across a beautiful area that led us up and around for a few hours! I won’t lie, I hate bugs, especially ones that fly. But, I was wearing a new Auri shirt and jeans so I didn’t want to fall into the water surrounding us, so I stood still and dealt with the bugs. At some point we found the cutest cottages and a ton of sights that people normally only see on the back of postcards!
Safely to say that night I slept like the dead. The next morning we went to a shopping mall and I had a blast just following Melanie around and people-watching! See, when I go on a holiday I have an arrival and a departure date, that’s it. Anything else is just a bonus. From there we met up with Bear, who showed us a really cool rock quarry and a nice lake with a beautiful view. Melanie and I had both worn our Altamullan Road shirts by accident, which was so funny. I had to take a selfie in front of Bear’s Altamullan Road wall in her office, because as they say “When in Finland…”
I was gifted a copy of the magazine that Johanna was in, which made my day! It was all in Finnish so I spent a bit of time trying to read it while Melanie was introduced to the Bear cats [ed: I have four and they all have their own opinions, so it takes some time to meet them all 😉]! After that we went home and I went to my new hotel, which was five seconds from the very nice one I had stayed at. I got the munchies at midnight and took the tram to the city center where I got way too many snacks and perhaps ate an entire baguette on the way back. It’s the little things you have to romanticize in your life, like bread on a tram at midnight!
The next day we traveled to Oulu. I was on the train alone because my travel buddies decided to fly instead! On the way there, I thought I would treat myself to the extra quiet car. Turns out, those rules don’t apply to businessmen who spent the entire time talking about spreadsheets and the price of wine in Estonia. Also, when I started working on the painting I wanted to make, someone walking by recognized Johanna on my screen, said something I didn’t understand, and left. Well, I hope it was at least something nice!
After lugging 35kg of luggage up a few hills in Oulu, I arrived at a very nice hotel and met up with my friends again! We stowed our luggage, showered, and set off to find snackies! We chatted well into the night! I did some homework that evening and finally fell asleep. The next morning was full of exploring! We found a city center with a lot of trinkets that were literally begging me to buy them! I wanted to take the Auri poster on the wall, but I think my friends would have disowned me if I had done that.
I was feeling pretty pensive that day, I knew I had a lot of socializing and another meet and greet coming up that day, so I kept pretty quiet the whole time. Oulu was so beautiful that I cannot wait to go back!
I met up with quite a few people that I knew right before the meet ‘n’ greet! Some that I had only known for a day or two! When we were in line, we met even more friends! It was so cute! I had a little more time to chat with Auri so Troy gave me an Auri pick and I managed to give Johanna a small pep talk about how anyone in her life who ever made her feel like quitting a solo career was a mistake, was clearly wrong. It probably didn’t make any sense, but it’s fine. I did what I could in 30 seconds. I handed over some notes that I had written to them (I haven’t a clue what they say, I forgot almost instantly! hah) and I declined a second photo because they were pressed for time and I didn’t feel like adding to the stress of the line. I randomly said hello to Timo Kurkela and gave him one of my Be Nice to My Friend shirts!
The show was a special one. I felt that something was different and I could tell by the people in Auri that since Oulu was home to a few people on stage, that it was a special one! It was clear that emotions were high and that everyone in the crowd felt it. This show was more subdued and far less energetic than the others, but that isn’t a bad thing at all, it just showcased how diverse the crowds are! The walk back was spent reminiscing and chatting about how great the shows had been!
We went to bed pretty much after that, it had been a very emotional day!
The next day was spent traveling to Vaasa. But, that’s going in the next installment! Thanks for reading! I promise to take less than two months to write the next one!
