When Elma was on her tour of Finland, she visited Stockholm for short while crossing the Gulf of Bothnia by ship. Elma is my Great-great-Aunt, and I have been sharing bits and pieces of her travels and her writing. The ferry over is still the typical way to travel from Finland to Sweden, but last […]
Category: Places to go
Cappadocia
It it nearly two weeks since I returned from Turkey and it seems like it all took place in another world and time. But I keep going back in my mind. I must tell you now, since we are nearing the end of the year. My husband has been gone during the weeks for training […]
Manavgat
It has been a few days since my friend Elisa and I returned home and already on the flight home it seemed as it the whole trip had been a dream. I think we might not have minded staying another three days in Turkey, but our trip with our tour group was planned for a […]
Searching for the mythical characters of Kalevala
I’ve come to realize how much our history and maybe more specifically language has an impact on whole nations of people and the way we think. As a kid, I often heard it said that language defines a culture. I really did not understand the concept at the time. It was not until later that […]
A day full of the surprises
A few weeks ago my cousin Jessie sent me an email that she would be coming to Helsinki with her husband, Olivier. It was the beginning to what would become a wonderful day and adventure that did not really go according to plan but turned out so much better. One lesson that I did learn […]
Last Lazy Days of Summer
School has been in session for two weeks now. Life has regained its order as now everyone must get up early. Although the weather has changed and nearly everyday there has been a short thunderstorm or rainfall, it still has been fairly warm. We have been madly trying to do all of the summer things […]
Enjoying Omar Toffee Triangles at 2am
We have had 38 days of hot weather and like usual, it always comes to an abrupt end. Last Sunday at the country fair it was still hot and on Tuesday morning as the kids left for their first day of school it was raining. The hot days are gone. It will still be warm […]
Vanha Pappila
In nearly every larger town and city in Finland there is a Lutheran State Church. Somewhere nearby there will be the parsonage. Pappi is the word for minister or pastor and pappila is the parsonage. Vanha means old. These parsonages are not in their current use and have been sold many years ago to private […]
Tapas for Brunch
Brunch has become a habit in our kitchen. It happens every year. And every year I tell myself that maybe this summer we will try hold a schedule. I have been trying to get up on some mornings early to go for a run, a bikeride, a little trip to the flea market or maybe […]
Little Islands at High Seas
A few weeks ago, right after schools were out my husband went on a trip with six other hunters. The male Common Eider or Haahka in Finnish, were migrating back to the south as the females remain in the north to take care of the young. The males leave as soon as the the ducklings […]
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