Finland has an endless amount of small local museums – old farmsteads, workers’ quarters, historic homes, and museums devoted to wonderfully specific things like pharmacies, tar, logging or handicrafts.
Alanna’ animal camp was even held at one of them: Glims Farmstead Museum. And she was fascinated by its temporary exhibition on the importance of animal poo.
I often joke with Stuart about these little museums, as I have dragged him to probably fifty of them over the years. They may be somewhat “homespun,” but secretly (and maybe not that secretly) I really love them.
Every one of them exists because someone was passionate enough to preserve a small piece of history.
I came across a strech of shore today with dozens of old rowing boats in various stages of disrepair.
I am have a hard time fathoming how places like this come into being. Who decides that this is the perfect spot to bring an old boat and let it rest for all eternity?
Sure, after the fifth boat, the place is probably known, at least locally. The first one may be pure coincidence.
He passed away back in January, but we wanted to bury him at the summer cottage, the place he loved more than any other in the world.
Merlin came to our family a little over 10 years ago. He was an intelligent and curious little pup who simply could not fanthom that anyone would not love him as much as he loved them. There was nothing he loved more than being included in… everything.
He was especially certain that all hadedas (type of ibis) thoroughly enjoyed the one-sided game of tag he invented. (Except for the one that decided to chase him back).
Merlin was very obedient, calm and caring. Nowhere was it more evident than in the way he cared his two “sisters”, when they arrived. He kept bringing his favourite puppy toy to the babies, although he clearly found it rather strange that they did not play with it for months.
As they grew, he remained endlessly patient, no matter how loud, rough, or devious they became – even when they stole his food. For his entire life, he kept an eye on them. It caused him great concern whenever they disappeared from sight on walks (for example, to kindergarten or school).
The move from South Africa turned his life upside down, but in Finland Merlin discovered his inner husky. Rain or darkness no longer bothered him. And he absolutely loved snow. And forests. Most of all, though, he loved the summer cottage.
Merlin was a very special little dog. Six months after his passing, we still unconciously reach out for him every day. We miss him tremendously!
Alanna suggested that we light a candle to Merlin every year on his birthday. She said he was such a brave dog that his soul was half fire. So through the candle, he will hear us singing Happy Birthday to him.
Train travel in Finland is incredibly comfortable and, in many instances, very convenient. But as it feels awkward to start taking photos in a train carriage, you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Instead, I took a few shots at the Helsinki railway station. At a first glance, it is a quite a modest building. In fact, as I never eat at the station, I passed through the building a hundred times before properly looking around. Especially the restaurants in the old section are gorgeous Art Nouveau. Not something you expect from such a small railway station.
I travelled to Kokkola for work today. It’s a small town on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. In spring, before the nature awakens, there isn’t all that much to see. In summer, it can be nice (so I hear).
The old town of Kokkola has some beautiful wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a few dating back to the 17th. They were definitely worth a walk.
When I was a kid, I remember visiting the Helsinki Natural History Museum. The exhibit that impressed me most was a calf with two heads (still there today). Otherwise, I remember it being quite ‘dusty’ and stiff. It was very different from today’s museums.
Entering the Iziko South African Museum felt like a return to the late 80s, with glass cases filled with rather poor examples of taxidermy… until we wandered into the new side with the dinosaur and shark exhibits. They were cool! Very cool!
The main picture today is a giant fig tree in the Company’s Garden just outside the museum. It is approx 150–175 years old, so you can quite fairly classify it as well within Natural History.
It is tricky to explain to the girls how privileged they are. For a 7-year olds, their own problems are always the biggest in the world. And, to be fair, that is often true for us adults too.
However, after visiting one of Cape Town’s big townships – Langa – today, the differences were starkly visible even to Alanna and Kiara. As the girls said “There were a lot of kids, but not many toys”.
The explanation of the history and the social commentary of the guide (a Langa resident himself) were a bit too complicated for the girls, but they now recognize the words for Apartheid and Nelson Mandela.
The lunch at the Waterfront – a luxury area indeed – drove home the the comparison.
Blue Moment 