Autumn glow in old Porvoo

We went swimming to Porvoo in the beginning of October, and took a small walk around the old town on the way back..

My Summer Tour of 2012: Day 2 (Repovesi)

During the second day of the trip I entered the national park in the morning, and took the "quickest" hiking route of only 5 kilometers. It was called Ketunlenkki ("The Fox Trail"). It's a popular hiking route for families that still offers some nice places and views to catch, like the Lapinsalmi bridge and Katajavuori hill. The sausages I grilled by the camp fire for lunch also tasted really good. :)

My Summer Tour of 2012: Day 1 (Mustila)

I guess I just HAVE to get these updates finally started again, and I've been planning to do it for three nights now. So here we go!

Last summer the main place I planned to visit was the Repovesi national park in Kouvola/Mäntyharju area.

At the end of July, during the first travel day I visited the Mustila Arboretum. A whole lot of a biology session, and some tall Douglas trees! Later that night I saw the Verla ironworks site (from the outside). I finally managed to get some sleep in my tent in Orivesi camping, reasonably close to the national park entrances.

Camping @ Lake Bodom (and visit to Villa Elfvik)

And then we come to some good stuff. In the latter part of July we went camping with the little buddy to Oittaa Camping in Espoo. After setting up the tent and sleeping bags we enjoyed camp life in the form of lemonade, potato chips and grilled sausage.

The next day, we visited the "nature house" Villa Elfvik and its' beautiful surroundings (I actually realized later that also Espoon Automuseo would have been quite close to the camping area).

After all, my son said he had a great time and so did I, so I guess we need to come up with some trip like this next summer too! :)

At a summer cottage again

A week apart, and I find my self from a summer cottage again, this time near Salo. It was nice to perform sports like "frisbee golf" with friends.

It's also interesting what kind of creatures can suddenly land on the lakeside pier.. ;)

Juhannus 2012 @ Heinola

This year it was time to relax on a summer cottage in Heinola by the lakeside. Too bad the "Heinola city" wasn't very active due to it being Midsummer time, but managed to catch my traveller's interest. So Heinola, it was nice to see you, and we'll probably see again next year!

The Rhododendron Park @ bloom!

Every now and then it just so happens that one may discover amazing places you didn't realize were so close, even though you've been walking past them for 10 years or so!

There's a large park at Etelä-Haaga in Helsinki with rhododendron rose trees. It's not much of a sight for most of the year, but defintely worth visiting in the beginning of June when they're in bloom (I happened to finally discover this place on June 15th, and will definetely try to return there at approximately the same time next year).

Bloggin' in the wild

This has been a great day, travelling in the Turku Archipelago (Pikku Rengastie). Right now I'm sitting on the grass, blogging, and waiting for the sun to slowly set. Next I will fry some sausage and then I will sleep good in a tent tonight. And oh, my location is Nauvo. More story to follow later. :)

Signs of summer 2011

It's starting to look (and feel) quite a lot like summer around here. :)

Vesiliikennepäivä @ Pihlajasaari

Today Helsinki had the "Water Transit Day". It was a bit badly advertised though, as Google would give more hits for the past 2009 or 2010 events than the current 2011 one!

Anyway, Vesiliikennepäivä is arranged somewhat at the start of the "Water transit season", with travel discounts to many interesting places - City of Helsinki's recreational islands. We chose Pihlajasaari. It was a bit unfortunate that the weather had turned colder, and more cloudy. And when the wind blows from the sea, brrr, you feel it all the way to the bones..

On the way back we stopped at Vanhankaupunginlahti (I though my son would like to see it, and I was right ;).

PS. Now it's time to follow anxiously how Paradise Oskar will do in the Eurovision Song Contest - and tomorrow it would be time for the Hockey World Championship finals.. Go Finland go!!!

Let's call it spring

The trees seem to be getting the leaves a little earlier this year, which is certainly nice! :)

Signs of Spring 2011

The pictures of flowers were taken yesterday and today from around the same place. It seems sun sure can make the hay grow in one day. :)

(The first picture is from last week.)

A small earthquake nearby!

There was a magnitude 2.6 earthquake at Mäntsälä yesterday, some 10 kilometers away from where I live. I recall it lasted maybe some five seconds altogheter, and felt a bit like "a train passing nearby". Nothing was broken, though our neighbour said some books had dropped from their shelves.

It's very common to have these small earthquakes (about one thousand magnitude 2-3 earthquakes occur worldwide every day), but it was the first time I've ever experienced one. Finland is seismically very calm area, and yesterday's earthquake was in fact among the stongest ones having occured here in ten years. It was reported in the national news too.

But hey, not to forget, this little tremor was nothing compared to the enormously powerful magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan a week ago, summoning a massive tsunami and leading to various tragic events that still affect the lives of thousands. Please, let's all reach out - you can help by donating to the Red Cross or some other charity organisation doing important work for those in need!

Signs of Winter 2011, part #2: Ensilumi

Three nights ago it was time for "the first snow". There is still plenty of it on the ground, but most likely it will still melt away (many times) before the real winter starts.

Signs of Winter 2011, part #1: Ruska

Trees are changing color - turning yellow, orange, red.. Nights are getting colder and longer (it's already getting dark at 7PM).. Autumn is in progress..

Nature's wow effect in the sky

Now that's what I call a Rainbow.. :)

Kaunissaari (Sipoo)

I finally had a chance to visit here, as I've been planning it for years. The island was nice and beautiful.. but also seems quite crowded by campers and boaters.. some of them drunk, and looking for a party rather than peace n' quiet..

It takes one hour to get here by boat from Vuosaari, and return ticket costs 20€.

Lemmenlaakso @ Järvenpää

Welcome to the Rio Amazonas! Well, not quite.. but this nature trail along Keravanjoki's decidious woodlands was really nice. What really "crowned our tour" was a sight of some wild badgers (in the middle of the last picture).

Wonders of nature

A rabbit, a fox, a man with skis, a 2-years old boy. Right? :)

Laavu @ Kotojärvi (Winter edition)

 
Oh, while I remember, here are a few pictures from last weekend! Still no sausages or even coffee with me. ;)