One of the last things former general manager Don Waddell expressed before leaving the organization, was a concern for the country of Finland.
The reason?
Seth Jarvis’ first trip to the Land of a Thousand Lakes.
“I’m worried about the country of Finland this year though,” Waddell had said. “They’ve never seen a Jarvis. Finland might be a little different when he leaves.”
While we can attest to the country having made it through their first ‘Jarvy’ experience, Finland almost got Jarvis.
“I survived it.” Jarvis joked, a smile on his face. “But it was a lot of fun.”
The new $63 million dollar man was in Suomi primarily for teammate Sebastian Aho’s wedding.
But before that, best bud and teammate Jesperi Kotkaniemi decided to show Jarvis around his home country.
“We got a good trip in,” Kotkaniemi said. “It was actually pretty fun.”
“KK did a great job of touring me around, making me feel welcome,” Jarvis said. “Some people didn’t speak English over there so there were some moments where I was just kind of sitting there by myself while they were talking, but I kind of expected that. But he did a great job of making me feel included and made it the most fun I could have.”
The first stop was to former Hurricane Teuvo Teravainen’s cottage where the pair stayed for a couple of days.
While they were there, the trio took part in a charity golf tournament before heading to Kotkaniemi’s hometown of Pori in the southwest of Finland.
“I liked Pori,’ Jarvis said. “It reminded me a lot of Winnipeg.”
Jarvis got a good taste of the Finnish town, even modeling for Assat, the local Liiga team as well as Kotkaniemi’s junior team.
The pair even took part in the Pori Jazz Festival, which is one of the oldest in Europe, taking place annually for over 50 years.
So is Jarvis a jazz fan?
“No,” Jarvis said. “And they didn’t even sing in English so I had no idea what was going on. But it was a cool environment.”
Following their Pori adventure, the pair made a quick stop in the capital Helsinki before catching a flight up north for the wedding.
And that’s where the story gets even crazier.
“When we got off the plane, everyone was standing there talking to this guy,” Jarvis recalled. “I walk up to them and they introduce me and he goes, ‘Oh, I’m Alex,’ and I say, ‘Oh, I’m Seth.’ We took a picture and I’m like whatever, maybe he’s a big fan.”
As Jarvis stood there, Antti Raanta’s wife, Anna, leaned over to him…
“Do you know who that was?” she asked.
“No?”
“That was the president.”
“I was like, ‘Oh, f—,’ Jarvis said. “I thought it was just some hockey fan or someone that they know, but no! The president was a really cool guy though.”
Kotkaniemi confirmed that the president, Alexander Stubb, was actually on the flight too and had sat in front of them, but Jarvis was asleep for the whole flight.
“I had no idea who he was,” Jarvis said.
The Finnish President wasn’t the only big name that Jarvis had met during his stay either as he also got to meet one of his childhood idols.
“I met Teemu Selanne which was so cool being a Winnipeg kid,” Jarvis recalled. “He was everything I could have hoped for. The nicest person.”
And where might he have met Selanne? Fishy’s wedding?
“No, I met him in a bar actually. A nice place to meet one of your idols.”
The final stop of Jarvis’ Great Finnish Adventure was Rovaniemi, Lapland for Aho’s wedding.
“Up by where Fishy’s wedding was was beautiful,” Jarvis said. “I’ve never quite seen anything like that.”
Jarvis was one of several current and former teammates who made the trip to Aho’s wedding.
Along with him, Kotkaniemi, Teravainen, Raanta, Jesper Fast and Nino Niederreiter all made the journey up north for the beautiful ceremony.
So in a week, Jarvis managed to cram in a handful of cities, a wedding, multiple festivals, meeting a head of state and a childhood hero and a lot of golf.
Not bad for the honorary Finn.
“We got to see all the spots pretty much,” Kotkaniemi said. “It was a good trip for him.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 15:20:00
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The post 1 Week in Finland: Inside Seth Jarvis’ Nordic Summer Vacation first appeared on Love Europe.
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Publish date : 2024-09-26 00:04:53
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