Travelling – Blue Moment

Day 182: Sea, Sheep, Skulls and Stones

August 19, 2026August 19, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Europe, Nature, Outdoors, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Architecture, History, Holidays, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, TravelLeave a comment

Ambling around Saaremaa gets you to some… interesting places.

Sörve Lighthouse and Peninsula were seriously majestic, albeit in a windy, rough and rustic way. But Sõrve Museum, with its three little “military, seafaring and natural history” buildings, was weird – in a good way. The themes were interpreted rather loosely, and included eg., material of Hitler and Occultism, and a wide selection of preserved bird feet.

And then there was the park with more than 300 stone sheep statues with strong political opinions. And the Viking playground. And the stone tree.

Kuressaare castle was cool, but quite ordinary castle… if you ignore the nun, the sceleton and the lions.

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 181: Fountain

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026Posted in Travelling, 365 Project, Europe, Water, Alanna, KiaraTagged Children, Alanna, Kiara, 365 Project, Travel, SummerLeave a comment

We told the kids they can get a little wet.

They got soaked to the bone.

Best thing ever.

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 179: Picturesque Pärnu

August 14, 2026August 14, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Europe, Family, Outdoors, TravellingTagged family, Outdoors, 365 Project, Travel, Architecture, HolidaysLeave a comment

Stuart and I visited Pärnu during our longer European road trip 10 years ago. I, however, had almost no memories of it, so I believed it to be a somewhat boring town. Stuart felt the same.

When we started talking about it, though, we realized we had gone there approximately a week after I badly hurt my foot. I was in a moon boot and on crutches. And having just hobbled around Tallinn for two days, I had no interest in even leaving the hotel. I remember driving along the beach the next morning before heading to Latvia.

So, maybe not something I can blame Pärnu for.

Now that I’ve actually seen Pärnu, I find it amazing.

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 163: On To Kotka

July 30, 2026July 30, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Finland, Holidays, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

The clouds were heavy today, but there was (almost) no rain. The occassional drizzle – so light that the wind dried us faster than the rain got us wet – doesn’t count.

A win in my books.

The route from Loviisa to Kotka was mostly on paved roads, rather than the forest tracks and gravel roads we usually look for. In fact, we occassionally end up in paths more suited to game tracks in our determination to avoid bigger roads. Only once have we been forced to backtrack for more than a kilometer or so.

We’ve been lost at least twice.

Still, there were several interesting stops: the Loviisa fortress ruins, Strömfors Iron Works, the Savukoski Museum Bridge and the Tsar’s Fishing Lodge. What supprised us the most was finding a quite large and lovingly nurtured English Garden in the middle of absolutely nowhere (Erja’s Garden).

Finally, a note to self: Sunday evening is not the right time to find great restaurants in Kotka.

Day 162: Porvoo-Loviisa

July 29, 2026July 29, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Sport, Stuart, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, Sport, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

A few days before the weekend, the forecast was still predicting massive rainfall – as much rain in two days as we normally get in the whole of July. With that in mind, partly cloudy Saturday felt like a win.

The cycle path from Porvoo to Loviisa meanderered through fields and forests. A few small villages and the occassional grand manor house dotted the route.

Stuart and I have developed a tradition of betting on which animal we see first on our cycling trips (cats, dogs and birds don’t count). I played it safe and put my money on a cow. Stuart guessed a horse. He won – although technically that was only the second one. The first animal we saw was a donkey. Maybe I should have known.

We did not see a single cow during the entire trip. Not one.

Loviisa is another lovely seaside town with a wooden old town and very popular harbor district with cafes and restaurants. Fortunately, the rain gave us a good excuse to call it a night early.

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.