Helsinki city centre has a number of cool jugend style houses, several really nice statues, and some that are just a bit weird.
Day 68: City Centre
Tag: Outdoors
Day 66: Open Waters
The sea is finally free of ice, although not many boats have braved the cold waters yet.
With sun reflecting from the beautiful calm waters, I occassionally wonder if we shoild get a boat of our own.
Luckily these moments of insanity do not last long.
Day 65: The Little Flower Who Could
Despite my grumpiness about the spring and rain… summer is coming.
Day 63: Finnish Spring
Is there anything more over-romatisized than spring? Maybe Paris. Or worse: spring in Paris.
Maybe in warmer climates spring bursts in to flower the moment winter ends, bringing sunshine, birdsong and love. But not in Finland.
After 6 months under snow, there is not a lot colour in Finnish nature in early spring. The frozen ground needs time to thaw before anything green dares to show up. It’s wet and brown. It is a challenge to find much beauty anywhere.
Those warm, sunny moments can be glorious, though. Finns peel off their winter jackets and run out with the first signs of milder weather – enthusiastic for light and already waiting for summer to begin.
In other words, the best thing about Finnish spring is its proximity to summer.
Day 62: Trip Around The Neighborhood
Our house is in a nice suburb just next to the seashore and several small forests. Therefore, there are nice walking, cycling, and adventuring routes all around us.
Now it just needs to stop raining.
Day 60: Independence Squared
The girls got new bicycles from Santa. They were delivered today amid huge excitement. Six gears!
In addition to just being great fun, the return of bicycle season adds volumes to girls’ independence. We have strict boundaries on how far they can go without adults or special permission – but even a distance of a kilometer or two is much faster on a bicycle.
Easier distance means more play, more friends, and more adventures, especially with the extended daylight hours.
For Stuart and me, it means fewer calls begging for a lift home.
Day 50: Catkins
Appearance of willow catkins (pajunkissa) is a sure sign of spring – although the whole reason the catkins have “fur” is to protect the flowers from the cold.
In Finland, there is a tradition of collecting willow branches before Palm Sunday, decorating them and having kids go around the neighborhood to exchange the branches for candiy. It’s a Finnish version of “trick-or-treating”.
Or, actually, you should say that trick-or-treat is American-style virpominen. After all, the Finnish tradition has been around for hundreds of years.
Day 48: Early Signs of Spring
It’s been several weeks of above 0°C temperatures, and the snow is gone – except for the random piles covered in sand and pebbles that typically only melt at around midsummer (or at least it feels that way) and the sea ice. Plenty of ice left.
The sun was shining brightly and the neighborhood forest felt like spring. It is still early in the year and the nature seems unsure whether it can trust the warmth. There are no early flowers or green shoots in the trees yet. The first shoots of grass are rising from the forest moss.
Day 44: Bad Mood Weather
In Southern Finland, there is no weather worse than +2°C and rain. My foreign friends think I’m nuts when I say I’d take -25°C any day over +2°C.
You can enjoy the beautiful crispness of -25°C if you wear the right gear. But nothing improves +2°C and rain. It is miserable, depressing, gloomy, and, because it is Finland, most often dark.
I think my opinion has only gained credibility now that my South African-born-and-bred husband has started to agree with me.
Day 40: Light in the dark
Days are getting longer with spring, but even that does not help, when your workday extends to late evening. Luckily, our winter lights are still in on.
Blue Moment 