Do they bite?

I just had to take a picture of these cute little kids, sitting in Helsinki at the estuary of the Vantaa river, so-called “Vanhankaupunki” (the place where Helsinki was founded in 1550 by Swedish king Gustav Vaasa I), learning how to fish. There was a pretty cold wind on that day, but hey, they are…

Harakka

I almost wouldn’t have written this post! At least I wondered if I would survive after joining a nature excursion to an island that is located only some 100 m from the seashore in front of Kaivopuisto, but felt like being located at the Northpole. I could have done with a few more layers of…

Half & Half

Yikes. I haven’t written in a while, because half of my life moved to Germany. Half of my time I will now spend in the beautiful Rhine Valley = wine, castles, carnival and cheerful mentality + Drachenfels (dragon’s rock), Rolandsbogen, Bonn & Siebengebirge (the seven hills) in walking distance, Düsseldorf and Cologne just down the…

Best nature photographs 2015

After a disappointing Christmas season, at least with respect to the weather, Finland has arrived at snow and ice. Today -31 °C were reported from North-Karelia. Helsinki is presenting us with mild -13 °C. In any case, one is staying more time inside and it is a good time to look at the new winners…

Hvitträsk

With  my family in Germany over Easter, I decided to use my free time for visiting Hvitträsk, former home and studio to the trio of architects who belonged to the most influencial forces during the Art Nouveau period in Helsinki: Hermann Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and  Eliel Saarinen. Unfortunately, the weather was very “Finnish” and the…

Holiday on Ice

Quick changes in temperature and strong winds have created a beautiful landscape of ice at the seashore in Helsinki: There is a layer of ice on a cushion of air and underneath is ice again. A wonderful “crunchy” walking experience when your shoes break through the ice but it’s dry underneath. Only our dog wasn’t…

Fall is here

Unbelievable! The summer is over, fall is coming and I haven’t written for ages. Summer in Helsinki is a very busy time for tour guides, with cruise ships every day, bus tours on their way to or from the North Cape and precious sunshine to be enjoyed at the lake- or seashore. Now I want…

Here they come

Just imagine you are going on a ride with your bicycle because the weather is gorgeous, you have a free day and you decide to browse some parts of the city that you haven’t seen for a while. Helsinki is changing so quickly in the last years that it is at times difficult to keep…

Is faster, higher, more…

…better? I commented on an interesting post , because this question seems to  be connected to the relationship of  humanity  with the planet? Generally I would say that “better” is anything that we believe will be more of a benefit to us compared to what we have now or will be less of a disadvantage…