Bucket list: Lammassaari
I have lived in the Helsinki region for over 23 years and there are so many places to see and visit. I always wonder what has taken me so long to get to some of these places! I mean, really?
In the east of Helsinki in the Vanhakaupunki area is a massive nature area nestled in along the seaside: Lammassaari. The (not so) Little Miss and I headed there one Sunday morning in June. We made a deal to go and check new places that neither of us have visited before. We parked at Pikkukoski beach (free parking), where there is a beach and walking paths along Vantaanjoki that take you to Vanhakaupunki. The round trip walk took us nearly two hours, but we stopped and checked things out, admired the birds and were amazed at the vastness of this nature area in the middle of a capital city!
The Lammassaari path is nearly 2,5 km long and is fully accessible from Vanhakaupunki. I would venture a guess that it is great to visit at any time of the year. Here’s to exploring – need to do it more!
#getoutside #explore
Out of hibernation
Hey everyone! It has been a long good while since I have written. Let’s just say the past couple of years have been overwhelming in a lot of ways – I think you know what I mean. There have been a lot of changes in life, and fortunately mostly good ones.
I have had the chance to travel a bit, not a lot, but enough to share some fun experiences with you. There have been some good bucket list experiences and I will be back to tell you about them soon. For now, here is a teaser from Finnish Lapland.
In Lapland there are three fells named Ailigas. I climbed two of them in 2008 with the Mr. and I told him that when we get back to Lapland that we need to climb the third one in Karigasniemi, and we did. There is a radio tower serviced by / for YLE (the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation) up there. It was a good hike, more on that and other things later. For now – a picture…
Finns and root vegetables
Last year I published a post about the consumption of fruits in Finland. So, I was really happy to see an info graphic in Yhteishyvä (5-2022) that discussed the consumption of root vegetables. Leila Mehto and Hanna Ruusulampi were the creators of this info graphic too!
- People buy about 47 million kilograms of potatoes and 18 million kilograms of other roots from the S-group.
- 95% of the root vegetables sold were grown in Finland.
- People purchase about 1,4 kg of root vegetables every time they shop.
- The sale of organically grown roots (luomu in Finnish) has grown a lot in the last 10 years and accounts for about 2,6% of the total sales of root vegetables in the last two years.
- In Uusimaa the average sale of potatoes is the lowest in the country, but the sales of sweet potatoes are the highest. In eastern Finland turnip is the local favourite – much more than in other parts of Finland.
- The growth of sales in root vegetables in Finland has remained mostly on the same level for the last 10 years.
- The over-65 age group purchases root vegetables nearly double the amount of those under 35.
- In the week or so leading up to Christmas, about 50% more root vegetables are sold than at any other time of the year. The sales of beets and turnip increase five-fold over that time!
- Most people prefer to buy root vegetables that have already been cleaned (washed or brushed)
- Sales of the five most-popular root vegetables by the S-group (in millions of kg):
- Potatoes 47
- Carrots 13
- Sweet potatoes 1,5
- Beets 0,9
- Turnip 0,9
I am not a huge fan of baked potatoes, which people in my family in Canada really like. I like sliced oven potatoes, potatoes in soup or stew and mashed potatoes. Carrots are great raw or steamed. I haven’t really caught on to sweet potatoes, but I make a really good dish I found from a recipe one time. Beets, I have learned to like as an adult – but I don’t know much about preparing them. Turnip – good raw or done up in a casserole at Christmas!
How do you like your roots? 🙂
Finns and fruit
I regularly get the Yhteishyvä magazine from the S-group and in the 1-2022 edition was an info graphic about Finns and fruit consumption. Here’s some fun facts for you – actually and some eye openers (if you think about the carbon footprint associated with our consumption habits). The info graphic was done by Leila Mehto and Hanna Ruusulampi.
- Last year people bought about 130 million kilograms of fruit from the S-group.
- 80% of the banana sold by the S-group come from Panama. Oranges, mandarins and watermelons mostly come from Spain.
- We get kiwis from New Zealand (16 900km away), avacados from Chile (13 800km away) and lemons from
Argentina (13 700km away). It makes you wonder why we don’t source these fruit from sources that are closer – like in Europe, because it is possible. If I see fruits and vegetables from the other side of the world on the shelves in the store – I tend to leave them there, because of the huge carbon footprint associated with them. - The 60+ age group favours citrus fruits, apples and pears more than other age groups.
- About 15% of the apples that the S-group sells are domestic, and more are sold in the winter than in the summer!
- Bananas RULE! Bananas are the favourite of Finns with some 46 million kilos sold last year. That follows with 20 million kilos of apples, 18 million kilos of oranges, 12 million kilos of mandarins, 7,4 million kilos of melons and 7,4 million kilos of grapes.
And looking back a few years, one of the best campaigns was the “Half a kilo a day,” encouraging Finns to eat 500g of fruit and vegetables a day.
Now it is berry season, so be sure to enjoy them! If you have time, go pick your own, the weather certainly has been good enough to produce a good berry crop this year.
Bucket list ride for bike riders in the capital region: Tuusulanjärvi
The on-going pandemic has really stretched a lot of people thin. At least on my own behalf I can say that life has changed a LOT since the last time I wrote here. That’s a discussion for next time.
It has been an AGE since I have written here. How are you?!
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Summer is long-gone and we’re into the throes of the dark season – but, I want to give you something to look forward to for next summer (or you could even do this in the winter if the conditions cooperate). In the summer of 2020, the Mr. and I racked up our bikes, drove to Tuusula and did a bike ride around Tuusulanjärvi, which was highly recommended by a few friends at work. We have been meaning to make this an event for our biking club at work, but we haven’t gotten around to it.
We did this ride in mid-August and fortunately the weather was on our side. We parked near the Tuusula church and the old graveyard on Kirkkotie and rode counter-clockwise around the lake. We didn’t really notice any signs marking the route, we just winged it and checked our phones now and then to make sure we were going the right way. We made a few stops along the way:
- The very south end of Tuusulanjärvi (there is a bird tower not far away as well)
- Sarvikallio recreation area. It’s very small, but you can do short hikes and enjoy picnics there. There is a high cliff there where you can see all the way to Järvenpää, at the other end of the lake.
- You can sign a visitor’s book just north of Rantamontie. It is housed in a small red structure beside the bike path. When the Mr. and I signed it, we were just some of the 16 000+ people who had logged in for the summer!
In Järvenpää, there is a very nice park area at the north end of the lake. We didn’t really stop, but rode through and took a few pictures.
You can follow one of two routes coming back down the east side of the lake:
- Rantatie (closer to the lake), where you share the road with cars, or
- Järvenpääntie, which doesn’t offer any scenic options, but is safer because of the biking path.
There are few historic sites, museums and restaurants along this stretch and we decided to stop at Halosenniemi, which is a museum these days, but at one time was the beloved home of artist Pekka Halonen and his wife Maija. It was an impressive structure and a nice place to take a break and visit.
We ended our ride with a pint at the Tuusula Golf Club and then headed home. The ride was just over 20km and with all the stops we made, took us just over two hours. It was a good ride! I can imagine it a really nice ride in the late evenings of summer, and might also be a great ride when the winter sun returns in late February and early March.
Stars: *****
Now that I think about it, making sure you can access a rest room along the way might be important. Keep that in mind if you decide to give this route a try.
If you don’t have your own bike, you can rent a bike in Järvenpää from a couple of different places. See this website for more information.
Can kids do this ride? Yes. If your child can handle a 20km+ bike ride, then this one is just the right challenge for them. The biggest hills are at the north end of the lake and there are lots of nice places to stop and have a look around, have a picnic or just enjoy the scenery and the history.
Winter is here – try this at home!
Happy New Year everyone!
Now that we are a week and a bit into 2021 and winter has FINALLY made a return to southern Finland; here is something you can try at home: Ice lanterns.
These are easy, but you have to make sure you keep an eye on the bucket. I have a friend who said she has broken many buckets doing this over the years… The weather should also be cold enough for the water to freeze, sorry to say, but -1C might not do it for you.
In any case, fill a bucket with cold water and leave it outside for a few days. Check on it now and then and make sure it hasn’t frozen all the way through. If you can hear some water sloshing around, and there is a thick cover of ice on the top of the bucket, then it is ready. If the block doesn’t pop out easily, you can use a little bit of hot water to get it out. Empty the water out of the block and turn it over. Voila! You are ready to put in a set of lights, a tea candle, whatever you like to illuminate it.
Another fun thing to do (if the snow conditions are right) is to make an igloo out of snowballs, leaving a space to pop a candle in. Those also look very nice on crisp winter nights. Enjoy! 🙂
Merry Christmas! Hyvää Joulua!
It’s been a helluva year, let me tell ya.
I have not felt like writing anything lately because life has just been a huge drain. I know other people feel the same way. Hopefully it will get better and we leave 2020 behind soon enough.
In any case, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Stay safe, don’t drink and drive and arrive alive!
Since we’re on the theme of Christmas, I learned a few things about Christmas trees in Finland that I didn’t know before. Finns put up 1.4 million trees every year and that doesn’t include fame ones! About one million are purchased and some 400 000 are taken from people’s own properties… It takes about 8-12 years to grow a Christmas tree. You can find out more cool facts from Joulupuu Seura.
If you’re the environmentally friendly type, you can also rent Christmas trees. A few years ago a couple of fellas east of Helsinki had an idea to rent out Christmas trees to people, the idea being that you receive a live tree in a pot and you can give it back so it can continue growing for next year. These guys even have a web shop! Check it out.
I have had a fake tree for many years. I bought my first one in 1999 when I got my first apartment in Finland. It’s only 150cm tall and I have so many ornaments that I had to break down and buy a bigger tree this year. It’s still not big enough! And since coronavirus has messed up our regular Christmas routine, we are staying home this year. I have decided to enjoy it. I love this tree – I think it looks great!
Merry Christmas everyone! Hyvää joulua!
Glimsjoki nature trail
Yesterday I took a walk on the Glimsjoki nature trail here in Espoo. If you follow the map, you start from the Träskända manor (in the Järvenperä area. The trail is a bit rough in parts and Glimsjoki isn’t much of a river (more like a creek), but it’s a nice trail and takes about an hour if you don’t stop to look at anything. There some very big trees in this area: pines and oaks. This is a good time of the year to walk because there are no mosquitoes yet! The biggest surprise on this trail was coming out at the Jorvi & Espoo hospitals on the old Turku road – Glimsjoki is flowing quickly downhill by this time (and it’s loud); and you would never know you’re near such a huge complex, unless you look up through the trees!
I’ll post a few pics from my walk here for you to enjoy.
On coronavirus, part II
This entry contains my own opinions and observations about the coronavirus situation in Finland and in my personal life. You are free to disagree. All comments on my blog are moderated, so any abusive remarks towards me or my opinions will not be approved.
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We’re into week 5 of being at home from work and school… My dog is like:
At school
The City of Espoo has done some good stuff since the kids were asked to stay home. Though it looks like the school year will end at home (and they won’t meet at school anymore). We will probably know more in a few weeks. That’s sad – the Miss’ class is moving on to grade 7 in the fall and that’s a lot of familiar faces that they may not see in person anymore for good long time. 😦
In any case, a message came through back on March 26 that kids who wanted (and needed) food services could apply to have a snack bag delivered to the school every day, where they can go and pick it up. It came on very short notice, but for the families who depend on school food being provided every day (yes, every day – and without any extra cost), this is extremely helpful. There were a lot of restrictions apparently, and hiccups along the way, but the idea was a good one. I am sure a best practices policy will come out of this.
At work
In an on-line meeting one of my colleagues professed to drinking up to 20 cups of coffee per day. I wonder if he needs a pallet of coffee delivered to his home any time soon. LOL!
Some people who need access to certain tools at the office have been allowed to be at work. People have also been dropping in on an as-needed basis to get things done or pick stuff up.
We’ll find out more soon about when we can start going back to work – and stay there.
At home
The Mr. is getting stir crazy. I don’t blame him. Provided we are not subject to any heavy restrictions, it looks like we will both continue to go to the office once a week for a change of scenery. I have actually had to go there out of necessity.
One of my colleagues at work gave a great tip to those of us who have two-car (or more) households. We are able to take insurance off a vehicle temporarily, which is helpful especially if our cars mostly remained parked in the driveway at home. So as it stands now, my car is off the road for at least the next six weeks and we will save some EUR 25 a week in taxes and insurance costs.
We’re getting a lot done around the house and the yard. It’s great!
I think it’s getting boring for the Miss, so we’re hoping for some warmer weather soon.
Society
There are so many things that have changed in the last few weeks. It feels like much longer!
The City of Espoo sent out a general text message to its residents on March 20 informing them of where to find out more information about coronavirus. This message came to me before I wrote my first entry, but I forgot to include it. To folks in other parts of the country – did your local authorities send you a message too?
The daily traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn (EST) has dropped off by more than 90 percent since restrictions were installed on travel between the two cities. On a normal day some 20 000 people move between the cities by ferry, now that number has dropped off to about 1 000 per day, the majority being people making deliveries.
Long-distance night trains have been cancelled until the end of May according to YLE News. I heard this on the radio awhile back.
People who help others in abusive home situations have reported an increase in the number of people seeking help via chat or helplines. For now the services have been expanded, which is a good thing. Being told to stay home with an abuser cannot be an easy thing. 😦 This is not just a thing in Finland, it is happening world-wide.
When the restrictions regarding movement in and out of Uusimaa came into effect on March 28, the Finnish Police also sent out a general text message to all residents. The Mr. got it first, then I did – and even the Miss got a message. This was good to see. I applaud this move – it needed to be done. As inconvenient as this was for a lot of people, we all have to do our part to stop this virus from spreading. The borders to Uusimaa have been opened up again, but I think it is too early. We should still be cautious, as I agree with the chief doctor at HUS: a second wave of coronavirus is entirely possible.
A lot of us are able to work from home and we have been, while making a lot of adjustments in our working habits. So far so good from my side. It seems there is a good deal of support for this to continue in the future.
People are spending more time outside.
On a potential vaccine: Researchers around the world are racing to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. Would you take it? Given the fiasco we had here in 2009 with the H1N1 vaccine causing narcolepsy in dozens of Finnish kids, some people might think twice about this. That being said, research is needed and thankfully scientists and researchers all over the world are on top of this.
There is so much going on and things are changing so fast. I wish you all well. Stay safe! We will get through this.
Mitä tänään syötäisiin? (What should we eat today?)
Now that a great deal of us find ourselves at home more often than before on account of coronavirus, food has become front and centre in many families.
There are lots of social media posts of people baking more bread now that they are home. It’s also been picked up by the media in outlets around the world. (The previous link is from the CBC in Canada.) I saw a link showing hilarious bread making fails too. 🙂
We have a freezer full of food and during ringette and hockey season we don’t have the time to put a lot of thought into our menu. Now that we have been home, we have tried a few things, and it’s fair to say, the food has been pretty good!
So what have we made?
Brownies
Homemade pizzas (we do this a few times a year anyways, so this isn’t new)
One-pan Moroccan chicken and couscous
Avacado on toasted rye bread
Pulled moose meat with mushroom risotto and fried breaded zucchini
Carrot pie (with bacon)
Homemade hamburgers on the BBQ (we also do this a few times a year)
Pulled moose burgers (these were goood!)
Pasta carbonara (for the first time ever) The picture doesn’t do it justice, but really was very good.
Korvapuusti (for the first time ever) I will be tweaking the recipe the next time I do this. They looked like a total train wreck – but they tasted good!
Bon apetit! 🙂
Life in Finland (and beyond) 