”This has really become a home”

Anita Sourander bustles about in the kitchen and serves us guests coffee and a delicious orange Swiss roll. From the large balcony of the bright apartment you can see Lakeudenpuisto and the Lakeuden Risti rising toward the sky.

─ This has indeed become a home. Of course I have always had a connection to Seinäjoki when my parents lived here. I have several childhood friends here with whom I have stayed in touch the whole time, Sourander says.

Sourander, who lived for a long time in Jyväskylä, bought an apartment in Seinäjoki to be closer to her elderly parents. Now her parents, who lived to be over 95, have passed away, as have her husband and their other son.

─ Those are, of course, heavy things, but life goes on as it goes, Sourander remarks.

Sourander’s daughter and son live in Southern Finland, and she regularly visits them there.

Culture and sports

Friends are a recurring theme in Sourander’s conversations.

─ Friends are important to me because I have no siblings. With them we visit each other to chat, have coffee, go to concerts, the theatre and for walks, Sourander says about her life in Seinäjoki.

Sourander is active and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing and skating.

─ The lakeside lean-to is an easy and lovely place, and you can get there by skiing or from the parking lot along a one-kilometre trail into nature to enjoy a picnic, Sourander suggests.

She speaks highly of the outdoor opportunities at Joupiska.

─ From the fitness stairs you can get a view of the “capital of space.” At Joupiska you can move around on foot, on skis, by mountain bike, as well as by wheelchair and with strollers. The accessible routes offer sights for both children and adults, Sourander praises.

Many men can’t keep up

Although Sourander has also faced sorrow in her life, there is a great zest for life in her eyes and mind.

Talking makes it clear that the 75-year-old Sourander’s mind is as sharp as a razor and her active life has kept her in very good physical condition.

─ Sailing has now been left behind, but I still spend time at the cottage. My husband’s sister and I booked a trip to Portugal. I have spent every winter for a month with her in the Canary Islands, where we haven’t lain on the beach but have backpacked, and on many days we’ve taken 25 000 steps.

─ I’m sometimes teased that I should get male company. I’ve just said, how many men my age would go backpacking with me? They probably can’t keep up, Sourander laughs.

Anita’s eye-opening tip:

Drive to the Kyrkösjärvi area on a dark evening, where you can admire the beautiful starry sky or even spot a passing comet.

Text: Jaakko Jokela
Photo: Jenna Koivisto

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