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!

Tramspotting (a.k.a "My WDC day")

Helsinki is World Design Capital in the year 2012. One sunny wednesday in June I took a day off and decided to check out how it looks like.

Too bad the main attraction I was looking for, the HI Design exhibition at Kaapelitehdas was only open from Thursday to Sunday..

After seeking consultation from WDC guides at Kauppatori I decided to see the Finnish Design Museum (Designmuseo). I also was along on the very first ride of the Culture Tram (Kulttuuriratikka). During the ride I noticed that the Spårakoff restaurant tram was following us, so I stepped out from Kulttuuriratikka and stepped into another interesting tram for one-hour ride.. :)

(Anyway, luckily I've finally also managed to check out the HI Design exhibition now, in August!)

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).

Crazy Drivers Stunt Show

Let's get started with June updates. Crazy Drivers Stunt Show visited Mäntsälä in early June. It wasn't cheap, but offered pretty good entertainment for the whole family!

Ping!

Long time, no update. Even though it's only mid-August you can feel that summer is turning into autumn slowly but inevitably.. So I guess it's time to index all the sunny summer 2012 photos and start publishing them into this blog again. Stay tuned, there's going to be a bunch of updates heading this way soon.. :)

The royal happening in Stockholm

During May I also had a chance to visit Stockholm with the family. It happened to be the christening ceremony day of baby Estelle when we arrived there. Judging from the pictures one might disagree, but the city and public transport system were quite packed. Perhaps we would've been better of without bringing yet another baby carriage to the city right at this day. ;)

Anyway, naturally our sincere best wishes go out to the adorable Princess Estelle of Sweden! :)

Oakland!

I stayed in San Francisco's neighbouring city across the Bay, Oakland, for a few days more.

Actually, I became quite fond of this city, it offered a really nice contrast to the tourist fuss of SF. The local residents seem proud of their city, and it's actually recognized as one of the most diverse cities in the US (both ethnically and scenically).

There's also a lot of microbreweries in Oakland.