Lumottumetsa

Winter wonderland

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

For the past week we’ve had quite a snow blizzard in Finland. Even here in the southern Finland we’ve had a chance to enjoy such snowy landscapes that you would normally see further north.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The lakes and the Baltic sea is frozen. This view is from Lippajärvi lake in Espoo. It was -20C and the snow was sparkling and crunching under our shoes. It would have been better to have snow shoes on!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Small river is still open even in -20C.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Trees are covered with snow.. there were paths made by deer. Some had even come by our house during night to find food.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

You can see how low the sun is even during mid day. Luckily the darkest time of the winter is already over, the day is slowly getting longer and even in Utsjoki the sun has risen above the horizon for a couple of weeks already.

laskiaispulla

After a walk in winter wonderland and enjoying the crisp and frosty air, it was nice to take a cup of hot tea and enjoy Shrove bun, ‘laskiaispulla’. This is a special type of bun which can be found in the cafés and supermarkets around January-February. It’s filled with whipped cream and either by almond filling which resembles marzipan or then with strawberry or raspberry jam. Both flavors have their supporters.

Hiking in Valkmusa National Park

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

IMG_20180723_180851

In July we did a round trip in the eastern part of Finland, and drove through towns like Mikkeli, Savonlinna, Imatra, Punkaharju and Kotka. All very nice places to visit during the summer and the eastern part of Finland is famous for its sunshine.

On the way home we stayed one night in city of Kotka in a place called Kartanohotelli Karhulanhovi. We didn’t stay at the manor house but one of the guest houses, which we actually got all to ourselves including kitchen and the friendly staff even offered to heat the sauna for us, luxurious! We also enjoyed the art exhibition inside and outside of the manor house. (This is by the way not a paid advertisement, we just genuinely liked the place so much that I want to recommend it to you too!)

After a good night sleep and delicious breakfast, it was time to find Valkmusa National Park. Valkmusa offers an easy 2-4km hike in beautiful swamp scenery.

IMG_20180723_182840

Valkmusa immediately became one of my absolute favorites of the Finnish National Parks. The duckboards were in good shape and the nature was absolutely stunning. There were simple benches along the way where you could sit down and enjoy the scenery. I’m sure you would be able to see elks and perhaps even bears if you stayed there long enough! We didn’t spot any animals this time.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Cotton grass was blooming and cranberries and cloud berries were growing alongside the duckboards. Seeing the cranberries and smelling the stunning scent of marsh labrador tea flowers took me right back to my childhood when my family was living in a house nearby a swamp. My Mom used to pick the cranberries and make whipped porridge. I loved hiking in the swamp as a child, it was exciting to walk there and try to watch out for the bog eyes. Back then there were no mobile devices so getting really stuck to a bog eye would have really meant trouble! I remember pulling my rubber boot out of the peat many times and walking home with a wet sock..

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Valkmusa is really a hidden gem that not too many people know about. I highly recommend to visit it, it’s only 1,5h from Helsinki and you can visit the beautiful city of Porvoo on the way.

 

 

Throwback to Finnish summer

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

IMG_20180704_211140.jpg

The first snow has already fallen on the ground in Finland and clocks have been set to winter time (1h difference to summer time). Although I love autumn and snowy winter, I don’t ever quite feel ready for the winter… I thought I’ll make a visual trip back to summer, join me!

IMG_20180704_211149

This year summer was exceptionally fantastic in Finland. We had an early start when we had summer temperatures already in May. This made the water in the lakes and rivers warmer than usual. I did remote work from the lake house and it was lovely to take a swim in the lake in the middle of a working day.

IMG_20180715_141115

We sup paddled along the river Tainionvirta a few times. Lots of waterbirds and this year especially whooper swan families.

IMG_20180715_142015

Air temperature was around +30C, and not even a breeze of wind! The water was +29C so it was very tempting to jump off the board and swim, which we of course did!

IMG_20180715_142311IMG_20180715_143342

We like to paddle along the river Tainionvirta because there are a few places where you can easily land and call for a pick up. Because our sup boards are inflatable, they are easy to pack for transportation.

IMG_20180715_171029

After enjoying the river scenery, it’s nice to relax at the lake house and watch how the sun colors the horizon. Below is a view from July evening. Every evening the nature paints a new beautiful view! Put Finland on your travel bucket list for next summer, you’ll love it!

IMG_20180811_213556

Autumn colours

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

lehdet

Autumn is here and ‘ruska’ is at its best at the moment. Ruska is a special name for the beautiful colours that emerge in the nature when the plants prepare themselves for winter.

Nuuksio2

Last weekend I went for a hike in the Nuuksio National park, this time around Sorlampi. I had read in advance that the trail would be approximately 5km but I think I ended up hiking for more than 10km. Probably I didn’t pay attention to the trail marks while admiring the colourful nature..

IMG_20181007_161707

I started my hike in Espoo but at some point of time the sign boards pointed to Helsinki.

lehdet2

I feel the bright yellow, red, purple etc. give a lot of energy to the autumn days. This is definitely needed as the daylight time is getting shorter as winter is approaching.

IMG_20181007_172842_809

I love the four seasons in Finland, the nature keeps continuously changing. All seasons have their unique character.

IMG_20181007_164529

Make sure you put Finland ruska time on your travel bucket list! Nature is beautiful in the capital area but many people prefer to visit the northern part of Finland, Lapland, to experience ruska as well as the Northern lights. We experienced amazing Northern lights just a few days ago all over Finland, the sky was lit with green flames and the next day social media channels were full of photos of the mesmerizing lights.

IMG_20181007_144835

 

Forest enchantment in Leivonmäki National Park

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

In the beginning of July we did a day trip to Leivonmäki National park. It’s a large forest and lake area about 2 hours drive from Helsinki, Finland. We decided to hike the Mäyränkierros trail which is a circular track that you can hike in about one hour.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The forests was quite impressive place and the hiking tracks were in good condition. The capital area has also many forests where we go for hike, but there you can almost always hear distant sound of cars somewhere. In this national park the silence made the place enchanting.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Seeing “beard moss” (‘naava’) grow on a tree is a guaranteed sign that the air is pure, as these lichen don’t grow in any polluted areas. They really do look like an old man’s beard don’t they?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The trail had also duckboards through the more damp swamp areas. It was nice to have a lot of variety in the scenery. The trail passed also several small lakes.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Forest offered also these tasty treasures, cloud berries (‘hilla’). It’s easy to understand where their English name comes from, because they do look like little clouds. These berries are highly valued in Finland and a traditional way to enjoy them is to eat them with “Finnish squeaky cheese”, which is specific kind of cheese made from cheese curd which is processed into flat-bread like cakes. The cheese makes a squeaky sound when you bite it.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The forest also offers a glimpse into the history. There are glacial erratic, rock formations from the ice age.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I was hoping to hear the nightjar (‘kehrääjälintu) singing, this national park is among the most significant territorial areas of this bird. Its singing resembles the the whir of a spinning wheel. Maybe next time!

 

Beautiful surprise

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Last weekend we left the lake house quite late in the evening. When we drove by some fields, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. There were tens of whooper swans! Those are the national birds of Finland.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

During spring time when the birds return from the south they gather to the fields to rest and to eat. I had never before seen so many of whooper swans in one place!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I counted there must have been around 50 swans altogether. Usually you see these only in pairs, swimming at a lake. The birds stay together for a lifetime once they have chosen their significant other, and they return to the same place to nest. In Finnish the name is ‘laulujoutsen’ which actually literally means ‘song swan’. The name comes from the “singing” that the birds do when they fly. If you have never heard it before, you can listen to a recording here.

Flower power

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It’s that time of the year again… The flowers in the Haaga Rhododendron park are blooming!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Last year when I visited this place it was near mid-summer, but this year due to the early and warm summer start the flowers are already at their peak.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

If you are visiting Helsinki, I definitely recommend that you stop by at the park. You can find it at Laajasuontie 40, Helsinki. Here’s more information about the park.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

People are saying that this year the blooming isn’t as lush as last year but I don’t know, looks pretty colorful in any case!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Beauty in the details

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

Sorsa3

Today I took a walk to the Suomenoja bird reservoir to see if there are already a lot water birds nesting. It definitely looks promising! There’s going to be an event on 7th May between 10am-3pm, so if you are into watching birds and nature photographs, it might be a good idea to visit!

Kaislat2

It’s an early Spring, snow has melt away but the green leaves and grass is yet to come.. Still, even the landscape is quite bleak, there’s beauty in the details.

Kaisla

The bed of reeds is gently moving with the wind.

Talventörröttäjät1

Dried flowers remind us of last summer.

Pajunkissat3

Catkins with their soft fur like tiny little kittens climbing on the willow.

Puunrunko3

Aspen with beautiful details, looks almost like a painting.

Silmut

Birch tree having buds, ready to bring the green shade back into the landscape.

Leskenlehti

And coltsfoot peaking through the ground, reminding us that sunny summer days are almost here! Enjoy the Spring….

Sun and fun on ice

~ PN ~ Leave a comment

Instead of our usual Sunday walk in the forest, we decided today to head for the seashore for a walk. Sunny March winter days are really nice, there’s already a promise of Spring in the air but you can still enjoy winter activities. It’s always surprising how fast the days start to get brighter after the long and dark winter.

leijasurffaus

We started our walk from the Matinkylä beach in Espoo. There were a lot of people enjoying the sun: skiing, kite-surfing, ice skating, riding bikes.. There was very little snow on the ice so it was perfect condition for different winter activities on ice. As we are in Finland, there were of course also people swimming in the ice hole.

avanto

When we started the walk there was quite crisp wind and it felt like winter. But when we continued walking further to the sea, the weather changed. We decided to walk around Varsasaari island.

jaat

When we got to the other side of the island, we discovered open sea. We had to land on the island and walk by the shore as the ice was too unsafe to walk on. We decided to sit down on the rocks and listen to the melting ice. Have you ever heard how the ice sounds like, when the thick ice rafts  press against each other and the rocks? They make quite spooky sounds!

jaat2

The ice looked like a beautiful jigsaw puzzle. I cannot wait to be able to go stand up paddling when the sea is finally completely open!

Walking on the ice in the winter is great fun, just make sure to watch where you are going and take ice picks with you if possible. Next time I’ll make sure to pack some sandwiches and hot chocolate, having a picnic in the nature is a great way to relax.

railo

 

Espoo archipelago

~ PN ~ 1 Comment

6tag_240716-131412

Today was a warm and calm summer day, so we decided to spend some time in the Espoo archipelago. There are many places from where you can rent kayaks and sup-boards. We started from Matinkylä beach. It costs about 20€ per kayak for 2h.

WP_20160724_013

The shore of Espoo has many islands and the landscape is beautiful. It’s really nice to get a different perspective to the city. If you are not into kayaking, then why not take one of the public ferries that sail between the islands.

WP_20160724_011

Vasikkasaari is one of the biggest islands which are for public. You can land by own boat or by the public ferry. There’s plenty to see and do. You can hike in the forest or just enjoy the scenery from the beach. You can have your own picnic or enjoy a good meal at the restaurant. We paddled around the Vasikkasaari.

WP_20160724_023

A big white swan swam by my kayak.

WP_20160724_016

It’s fun to circle around the narrow straits between the islands and admire both the nature and the hidden summer houses people have built on the islands.

WP_20160724_001