Activities – Blue Moment

Travel diary: Saaremaa

August 18, 2026August 18, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Animals, Europe, Kiara, Nature, Travelling, WildlifeTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Animals, Holidays, Kiara, Nature, TravelLeave a comment

The real post for this day (day 181) was about the fountains. However, I just had to include a “bonus post” for the rest of the day, due to the pure momentousness of it.

The girls met – and even petted – capybaras.

All little girls go through phases. Our girls, especially Kiara, are going through a major capybara phase. Her school bag, pencil case, favourite shirt, eraser… all feature capybaras.

As luck would have it, they are one of Saaremaa Zoo’s main attractions.

Kuressaare, the attractive capital of Saaremaa, was cool. But only “next level” cool.

Whatever that means.

Day 180: Blue Fox called Katri Helena

August 16, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Architecture, Europe, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Architecture, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

Lotte is not a character I was familiar with. So we approached Lottemaa with some trepidation, especially as we knew everything would be in Estonian.

But children have an amazing ability to throw themselves into the parts of the story they understand – and just ignore the rest. The park had sufficient things to do, even beyond the story itself, especially as (totally out of character) I actually looked at the website beforehand and knew about the hidden adventure trail…

And everyone told us about the Finn in the village, the blue fox called Katri Helena.

The “quick stop” to cool ourselves off in Pärnu beach took a lot longer than expected. Mostly because even the girls had to walk about 100m in to the sea before the water reached their belly buttons. The shallow water felt above 30°C, though, so I didn’t mind a bit of splashing.

Day 176: Washing Rugs

August 12, 2026August 12, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Kiara, Outdoors, Traditions, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Finland, History, Kiara, Learning, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Washing rugs on the summer cottage pier was fun as a child. Mum would throw buckets of water on my feet as I scrubbed as hard as I could. I still love the smell of Mäntysuopa (pine soap).

As we cleaned the wendy house today, the girls tried the traditional method of cleaning a rug.

Their comment was a dry, “Clearly kids in the old days had a different way of having fun”. Apparently, it was hard work.

Day 175: Little Big Adventure

August 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Learning, Outdoors, Sport, Summer CottageLeave a comment

The best purchase of the summer – if you ask the girls – has been the massive, almost 5m-long swimming mattress Ukki ordered.

It easily holds both girls standing up, so, wearing a life jackets, Alanna and Kiara have been allowed to push it almost to the middle of the lake by themselves. This is, of course, infinitely cooler than doing it with an adult. Ukki even towed the girls and the mattress all the way to the other side of the strait.

In the deep, the mattress becomes a platform for jumping, diving, kicking, pushing and generally messing around in the water. The best game, naturally, is trying to stay standing when the waves from a passing boat rock the mattress.

Great fun and a great way to build even more confidence in the water.

Now we just need to figure out where an earth to store a thick, 5m mattress for the winter.

Day 170: Game of Cards

August 6, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Asikkala, FamilyTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Playing games in the evening is as much a part of the summer cottage holiday as the sauna.

When I was a kid, we played cards with my parents and grandma, mostly Marjapussi and Lupaus. We still occassionally crack open a deck of cards, but we have expanded our repertoire to include all kinds of card and board games. My brother has become our game-finder-in-chief, so we usually discover approximately one new game every summer.

It’s not easy to find a game that works. There are usually 7-8 of us, with very different intrests and attention spans.

Deciding what to play can sometimes take almost as long as playing it.

Day 169: The Longest Streak

August 5, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Family, Finland, Outdoors, SportTagged 365 Project, Activities, family, Outdoors, Sport, SummerLeave a comment

Today, I have officially surpassed the number of days I managed in my previous 365 challenge, nine years ago.

Still posting.

To mark this momentous day, the weather turned foul with high, gusty winds and intermittent rain.

The perfect occassion to go frisbee golfing with family. We will enjoy the summer, perkele!

Day 168: Local Sights

August 4, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, TravelLeave a comment

When something is close to home, you rarely see it as anything special.

Pulkkilanharju is a narrow esker gormed during the Ice Age. It is surrounded by the open waters of lake Päijänne, with small green islands dotting the landscape. It is often listed as one of the most scenic drives in Finland.

But because it is so close to the summer cottage, years can pass without us visiting.

This year, we decided not only to drive across it, but also to walk the short nature trail in the national park. The girls insisted the terrain was so challenging they couldn’t possibly have finished the walk without the 1,5l of bilberries they ate along the way. It really wasn’t. But the bilberries were clearly excellent.

We finished the adventure with lunch and ice cream at Vääksy Lock. Another piece of Finland’s must-see scenery.

Day 164: At 5 am

July 31, 2026July 31, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Nature, Outdoors, Stuart, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Activities, Holidays, Nature, Scenery, StuartLeave a comment

The Football World Cup ended yesterday, with Spain beating Argentina – and with a clear difference in the quality of play if not in the score.

We followed the tournament more closely than we expected, considering it was held in North America. The time difference made many of the matches impractical to watch. Yet, we managed one almost daily.

After eight weeks invested in the Cup, we wanted to watch the final too. It kicked off at 10pm. When it went to extra time just after midnight, we started to get nervous. It ended at 1am.

The alarm went off at 4am.

The 5 am bus was the last one that took bicycles and still got us to Helsinki in time to pick up the girls from camp

The sunrise was beautiful, though.

Day 161: Cycling Trip

July 28, 2026July 29, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Activities, Finland, Holidays, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

Start of the summer holiday.

The girls, carrying their enormous rucksacks, hopped on a bus and headed to Väiski, a scout camp in Parainen forests with 1,800 kids. Stuart and I seized the opportunity, jumped on our bikes and headed for Porvoo. The plan is to cycle to Kotka over the weekend (about 130km in total).

We have cycled from Espoo to Porvoo before, and the route is not particularily interesting. So this time, we decided to take the J.L Runeberg, a museum ship that sails from Helsinki to Porvoo. Great weather, pleasant sailing, cool ship… but too many people.

Porvoo itself, is a picturesque little town with a cobbled old town, good restaurants, quaint shops and a few decent museums, including the old home of Finland’s national poet, Runeberg.

And luckily Porvoo is worth spending a little time in. Our hotel, approx 25 km away, was in the middle of nowhere, with not even a restaurant nearby. Therefore, timing dinner at the last restaurant on the way required a bit of a planning.

The last few kilometers, with the sun setting on our backs, were beautiful.

By the time we opened the last beers on the hotel garden, it felt like holiday.

Day 157: Inkoo

July 24, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Architecture, Family, Finland, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Activities, Architecture, family, Finland, History, Scenery, SummerLeave a comment

It has been the first summer that Alanna and Kiara haven’t spent in kindergarten. Despite a few camps and some time at the summer cottage, six weeks of holiday while Stuart and I are still working is a long time to kill.

The girls aren’t, strictly speaking, home alone. Stuart and I have both been working remotely. But they are in charge of their own snacks, lunch and – most importantly – their entertainment. And many of their frieds are out of town.

So whenever we can, we go somewhere. Even if it’s just a dinner and a short walk in Inkoo.