When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
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!
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.
Boats (of any size) are hard work.
I love being on the water, but have no interest in owning, operating or maintaining a boat. I want to admire the scenery, take photos, feel the wind… and step off at the end.
I only have to look at my dad or some of my friends to understand how much work boats are. I’m lucky to be in a position, where I can help out here and there without carrying the resposibility. I occassionally drive boats, but even that I do reluctantly. Like with a car, I get no pleasure from being behind the wheel (and I’m always convinced I am bad at it).
When we moved into our house in Espoo, the previous owners asked whether we’d like to include their boat in the deal. Stuart and I did not even need to glance at each other before saying no.
Luckily, there are people more willing to put in the work. I certainly benefit from the result.
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.
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.
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.
Alanna often lives in a world of her own making. She sees something, hears something, and you can watch how her imagination take flight. She tells wonderful stories and can become completely absorbed in developing the latest idea that has taken hold of her mind.
Occassionally, this habit can try my patience – especially when we are in a hurry to get something done. But at the same time I hope she never fully recovers from it.
Our electric bicycles are among the best investments Stuart and I have ever made.
We’ve done fantastic tours with the kids sitting in the back and one of us towing our luggage in a trailer. In addition to shorter trips, such as weekend in Porvoo, we’ve toured the Finnish archipelago, Åland, and Sweden – our longest tour yet. We planned it for 450km, but ended up doing 600km instead.
Now that Alanna and Kiara are riding their own bicycles, the distances are shorter and we are prioritising trips closer to home. Even so, after a long day in front of the laptop, a quick 20-25km ride still feels amazing
After work, I took the girls for a swim. The hot weather is about to turn, so felt like the thing to do.
While getting ready, Kiara fussed about her swimsuit, her hair and her swimming bag. She wanted to look cool in case she saw her friends.
When we got to Oittaa, she spotted the Angry Birds playground. Luckily, at that moment, the playground and splashing in the water still felt “cool” enough.
I wish I would convince her that there is plenty of time to be big yet.
I admire children’s dermination to have fun once they decide they are going to have fun.
I took Kiara and Alanna to a nearby sports-focused amusement park today. The temperature climbed above 30°C and the park had practically no shade. Even so, we stayed for more than 7h and tested every climbing, jumping, pedalling, lifting, shooting, running and balancing activity available. Considering the park has more than 30 different jumping castles alone, that was no small feat.
Most of the other kids gave up, and by late afternoon only a handful of the hardiest ones were still around.
At the endof the day, we popped into a nearby supermarket, bought swimming costumes to all three of us and went for a swim. Lake water has rarely felt so good!
Blue Moment 