tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67790097217946614322011-07-30T15:30:16.922-07:00A diary of a year living in Finland, kitchen & cooking experiments and other matters.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-71535035219420461572010-05-30T00:20:00.000-07:002010-05-30T00:20:06.941-07:00

Last week, we took our West Australian visitors for a ferry trip across the Gulf of Finland, to visit the old town at Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The boat trip takes only 1 ½ hours and it is a popular day or weekend trip from Helsinki. The old town is a Unesco world cultural heritage site. It is beautifully preserved with a large section of the old town wall and towers still standing.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-68218998436339652722010-05-01T22:33:00.000-07:002010-05-01T22:33:54.950-07:00

Our short trip back to the land downunder was luckily spaced around the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. We were fortunate that all flights returned to normal just two days before we flew back to Helsinki. Of course we would have been delighted to spend a few more days on beautiful beaches and enjoying the sublime Australian autumn weather.  Unfortunately, our trip meant that we missed the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-1508214077581675752010-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:002010-04-08T11:05:11.468-07:00

Easter weekend was moody with lots of fog and rain except for a few lovely hours of sunshine on monday. The rain heralded the arrival of spring, of course. Temperatures were particularly mild this week and the ice in the bay and on the river is melting very quickly. For the first time this week, you could see the migratory birds arriving over the bay. So, on Easter Monday, when I headed out to

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-47825411692439226422010-03-17T04:52:00.000-07:002010-03-21T03:42:09.241-07:00

It is the middle of March and Spring is nowhere in sight yet. Following umpteen snowstorms, a sports centre’s roof collapsing under the snow and two ferries colliding after being pushed together by pack ice, we have just enjoyed several days of sunshine and temperatures up to 0 degrees C. This lulled us into a false sense of spring fever which was quickly quashed by a news report forecasting a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-45990929153768685102010-02-08T09:21:00.000-08:002010-02-08T09:21:28.573-08:00

Because of all the snow we have had, sooner or later, we were going to start photographing snowflakes. Easier said than done and most of our efforts ended up being deleted. We got these little flakes on an old pipe near home and also some on our windscreen but nothing really impressive.   So we started a little research project to satisfy our curiosity about how to photograph snowflakes. Very

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-85642870164469530322010-01-26T23:36:00.000-08:002010-01-26T23:36:41.367-08:00

Following a huge snowstorm in Lapland yesterday, it has been bitterly cold with most day temperatures dipping well below –10 C. We have also had more snow and that means that the endless groomed hiking and skiing trails remain in good condition, and we can ski for miles and miles on the rivers and bay. All the soccer fields at the schools are now ice-hockey rinks. The two ice-breaker ships in

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-53317310553895765432010-01-12T22:25:00.000-08:002010-01-12T22:25:16.673-08:00

The Twelfth Night or Epiphany holiday, last Wednesday, marked the end of the holiday season and the xmas trees all came down. Last year the holiday was sunny and the frozen bay was filled with ice skaters, hikers, skiers and ice fishermen. But this year it was a grim, grey and very cold day and fewer people about, so we went and had open shrimp sandwiches at Café Ursula on the shorefront by

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-7084421422273247052009-12-23T00:53:00.000-08:002009-12-23T01:11:20.114-08:00

Monday was the shortest day of the year, it is all downhill towards summer from here. But, in between, we are living in a winter wonderland. The bay froze very quickly in this last week and since then we have had heaps of snow, much like the rest of the northern hemisphere. Another blizzard is forecast this evening, following the ones we had yesterday morning and last night. Of course it has

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-76856879884983933662009-12-17T09:23:00.000-08:002009-12-17T12:03:47.456-08:00

Following lots of frost in recent weeks, some snowflakes fell for two days early this week and everything looked like it had been frosted with icing sugar. Last Monday we headed west again. Every couple of months, we are required to visit Pori on the west coast of Finland. Along the roadside on these trips, a few unusual residents have caught my eye. Towards late summer, this guy was hanging

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-65228125178449906712009-12-09T22:13:00.000-08:002009-12-09T22:22:07.661-08:00

The 6th December is Independence Day in Finland and the flags were flying in an icy cold breeze. In Finland they fly the flag on all important days or for official events. All or most of the buildings have flagpoles and the flags are put up the night before the relevant day and removed again the next night. To celebrate, we went to the annual Independence Day Concert at Finlandia Hall. The

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-21711011454214696272009-12-03T02:45:00.000-08:002009-12-03T22:47:37.250-08:00

It is a good season to do things both indoors and outdoors. When it is raining cats and dogs, we frequent the movies, chip away at golf balls at the indoor range and attend a few ice hockey games. Recently we spent a Saturday watching the Karjala (or Karelia, as we would say it) ice-hockey tournament between Finland, Sweden, Russia and the Czechs. The Russian team walked away with the honours.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-74635425045355572302009-11-16T03:37:00.000-08:002009-11-16T04:03:53.203-08:00

The weather gods were unable to make up their minds last week. It alternated between snow, rain and ice pellets coming down. On Tuesday, the sun showed up for a few hours, melted most of it and went down against a clear, pastel-coloured sky. At the end of the week, Helsinki somewhat resembled a giant chocolate and cream slush puppy with the remaining few autumn leaves, mushrooms and berries

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-62062506442176425362009-11-06T04:52:00.000-08:002009-11-06T04:57:26.679-08:00

I have spotted quite a few interesting old motor vehicles around the city in the last couple of months. Usually, some really old and interesting motor vehicles and motorbikes feature as exhibits in the parking garages in the city. The parking garages that connect the two shopping centres of Kamppi and Forum, as well as the main station, are probably the most interesting parking garages

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-68154829509891261482009-11-03T07:15:00.000-08:002009-11-05T03:44:10.914-08:00

Our tour of southern France along the Cote D’Azur and through Provence was one of our more enjoyable holidays and much too short. We flew to Nice for the first weekend. A beautiful city. We enjoyed hiking along beautiful beaches and drinking ice cold beers in the hot sunshine. We thought all our Christmases had come when we discovered that they had a exhibition of Rodin Sculptures in the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-79806751966103257462009-09-25T02:18:00.001-07:002009-09-25T14:06:23.651-07:00

The year is moving into the black and white season with dark nights, snow and black and white tree trunks against the winter landscape. I have always loved black & white photography and am a great admirer of Ansel Adams’ photography. I think it accentuates textures and we view it completely differently from colour. In the old days, we always had a special camera kept aside with black and white

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-78009666737934524482009-09-12T10:46:00.001-07:002009-09-14T21:03:46.932-07:00

The late summer is lingering. Fine weather, wildflowers and all sorts of mushrooms everywhere. Large cumulus decorate the sky everyday. Every time you put your foot out the door you feel like taking another photo of the clouds. This scene of clouds over the recycling station and cement works on the way to the arboretum made such a colourful picture that I could not resist taking a snap of it. In

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-11662405251454906132009-09-09T03:06:00.001-07:002009-09-09T05:08:35.001-07:00

We have just spent a weekend in Stockholm and discovered some magic. The city, spread out over 14 islands offers many fine views of the waterfront. We walked well over 20 kms on the first day hiking in the Royal Gardens and exploring the old town called Gamla Stan, looking at interesting sights, shops and fashions. It is a lively city with no shortage of interesting events advertised

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-53087000468620528552009-08-27T07:39:00.001-07:002009-08-27T09:03:38.157-07:00

This past weekend was fairly quiet although two exciting sports events kept us occupied for several hours every day. We spent the afternoons listening to the Ashes cricket series between Australia and England. Unfortunately, Australia lost, but it did come down to the 2nd last day of the deciding game. During the nights we kept an eye on the golf channel and the Solheim Cup that was being played

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-50543393314492152742009-08-24T09:26:00.000-07:002009-09-14T01:31:21.556-07:00

We spent last weekend at the little wooden cottage again. Spending summer holidays at a lakeside cottage is a tradition in Finland and we are fortunate enough to have access to such a cottage all year round. It was our first summer visit and we were keen to seen the forest and the lake during summer and without a layer of snow covering everything. Apart from the dense undergrowth, the forest

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-82559476794261602762009-08-01T21:34:00.000-07:002009-08-10T03:16:59.506-07:00

The Wild Coast is a beautiful, remote part of Southern Africa and we had such a good time exploring the coast that I extended my stay by a week before returning to Helsinki. My brother, who lives in that part of the world, does spearfishing and we ate fresh fish and crayfish for dinner every night... .......while watching the moonlight on the ocean and talking for hours on end.It is winter down

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-55418165763639920312009-06-24T15:19:00.000-07:002009-08-24T22:57:55.077-07:00

BirdwatchingJust across the bay from our apartment complex is a small nature reserve. A lot of reeds grow around the bay and a large variety of birdlife abounds. The reserve features a bird lookout as well as a bird hide next to the water where you can spend your long summer evenings watching the various waterbirds go about their lives as well as spot the occasional muskrat swimming around.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-57793375057683755712009-06-19T11:27:00.000-07:002009-08-25T00:30:38.058-07:00

Last week, my cousin Alida, who lives in Vancouver spent a week with us in Helsinki before flying on to Paris for the rest of her summer holidays. We decided to not only pack as much fun as we could into the week we had together, but to show her the whole of Helsinki. Not an easy task if you only have a week, but we solved it by taking her all over the city the way the crow flies. That is, a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-22000752633888875532009-06-15T03:26:00.000-07:002009-08-25T00:31:41.061-07:00

Soon after the winter snow and ice has melted, the Finnish landscape is again covered in white. The trees, bushes and landscape are covered in white flowers. It is just as beautiful as the winter snow, but the days are warmer and sunny. When you are cycling or hiking outdoors and the wind is blowing, the white petals fall like snow around you.The Finns are a cycling nation. I do believe that

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-33326200027612897312009-06-02T00:03:00.000-07:002009-09-07T11:16:56.120-07:00

It has been a hot and sunny week and everyone is spending their time outdoors. That includes the graffiti artists. Either that or graffiti art is becoming more popular, or more of a problem. While out hiking this week I spotted a few new signs or artworks. I actually thought that two of them were quite artistic.I wondered if there are designated spots in Helsinki where graffiti artists can

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-90384438767912731082009-05-25T11:45:00.000-07:002009-08-25T00:33:38.734-07:00

My mini break from the blog was due to the resignation of my hard drive last week. Now, having rebuilt the system and due to the fact that most of our data went down a black hole, I have a brand new, empty hard drive that I can fill up with folders full of trivia.After 14 months in Finland, these are currently my favourite things about life here. The Libraries. Not only do they have libraries

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-1849223275259389962009-05-11T05:51:00.000-07:002009-05-11T07:44:45.484-07:00

Spring arrived in Helsinki during the last week. A few weeks ago I saw a lonely Dandelion push through the dry, brown leaf litter. After only 2 days of rain, the forest floor is now carpeted in wildflowers and the trees look as if they are wearing finely woven green shawls.On my hike I encountered not only the first pheasant of the season but also the first toad. I was unable to convince the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-43451261432587006182009-05-06T03:52:00.000-07:002009-09-07T11:14:40.442-07:00

Every April, fearless young Finns unpack their kayaks and compete in water so cold that it gives me hypothermia just to look at it.The Annual Icebreak competition takes place at the rapids close to the bay at Arabianranta, just a 5 minute stroll from our home. The competition takes place once the river ice has melted and the river levels rise late in April. The kayakers compete in downriver,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-35157798866494240912009-05-02T06:47:00.000-07:002009-05-04T00:38:31.370-07:00

The week in England was pleasantly warm, sunny and green. We started the week with a visit to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. The drive from Manchester to the house, belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, wound through really pretty little villages like Matlock and followed a scenic route along the Pennines. The house is being renovated and perhaps fewer rooms were open for viewing but

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-10076852050617048532009-04-18T08:29:00.000-07:002009-08-25T00:35:28.972-07:00

It has been an uneventful week. I did some hiking, chatted to a few ducks and collected a few catkins to arrange with some mossy birch branches that I picked up on the swampy and, in places, still snowy beach.Then the rest of the week was spent frantically looking for a new camera after the previous camera lost it life in an unfair clash with some cobblestones. Since both of us are going overseas

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-2767942160588618752009-04-13T01:14:00.000-07:002009-08-25T00:36:17.332-07:00

Easter weekends are notorious for bad weather, but on Saturday the sun shone and we decided to go for a walk around Suomenlinna Island. The Island features a fortress that was build during the last half of the 1700s and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is only a short 15 minute ferry ride from the Helsinki Market Square Quay.The island looked much as we expected, with grassy knolls and a large

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-9490765185358336712009-04-05T08:37:00.000-07:002009-09-07T11:13:51.037-07:00

There is no shortage of good music or theatre on offer in Helsinki even if you don’t speak Finnish. My Finnish has improved to the point where I can actually manage to buy tickets without speaking any English, unless they come up with complicated questions regarding my attendance. Actually I could not even answer a very simple question in Finnish, but I am working on it. The Finns have been very

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-44078820402690786332009-03-29T03:58:00.000-07:002009-03-29T20:15:35.736-07:00

Thank you to the Fun and Food Blog for hosting Bread Baking Day #18. I’m a new blogger and it is my first BBD. The theme that was chosen by the host for March, is Quick Breads.It has been a long winter. By the end of March, the mind turns to visions of blue oceans, hot tropical islands and coconut palms if you hail from the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore I decided to make a Coconut Loaf for

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-54987761733016293892009-03-22T06:55:00.000-07:002009-08-25T00:37:39.580-07:00

On the north east side of Helsinki where I’m currently living, there is a little nature reserve by the rivermouth into the bay and endless hiking trails around the bay and along the Vantaanjoki river. I love exploring the trails in the mornings and do some wildlife spotting and birdwatching. Two birdhides in the little nature reserve allow you to observe the waterbirds close up. I have been

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-13073169677142501372009-03-16T05:33:00.000-07:002009-03-16T05:49:12.984-07:00

It is mid-March and the weather keeps changing its mind. One day we may have a snowstorm and the next day will be clear with soft sunshine lighting up the snow and bathing the sky in pastel shades. After the snowfalls early last week we decided to head north on Friday afternoon to the Log Cabin on the shore of Lake Saimaa, for a weekend of skiing on the frozen lake. It would probably also be my

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6779009721794661432.post-67658819330687071682009-03-09T06:56:00.000-07:002009-03-23T08:31:13.039-07:00

While shopping locally in January 2009, I stood in the local shopping centre but found no inspiration in terms of bread. On the spur of the moment I formulated my New Year’s Resolution: I will not buy any bread or pastries this year, I will bake every week. Now, a month later, I am enjoying the plan so much that I thought I would keep a record in my blog. So this is my diary of a year in bread

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05908309675859980479noreply@blogger.com0