The Finnish name Mustasaari literally translated means “black island” but as an ancient word Mustasaari holds more meaning that just the literal translation. Since the glaciers rolled away some 9,000 or so years ago, the Norra Kvarken has been rising…
Editors note: this is an updated version of an article I published here nearly three years ago. Ancient Games Go North Here's a study I stumbled across that combines three of my favorite things: The Arctic, the Arab world and…
I visited the Söderfjärden on a warm, rainy August morning. The ten kilometers of road south from Vasa were perfectly clear except for two fearless foxes moving from one stand of Red Pine to the other. I had spent the previous several days in Finland's…
Morning train south from Vasa. The air is bright and blue and clean. Talitiainen, the Great Tit, sings its squeaky wheelbarrow song. Trumpeter swans bark overhead. The first day of spring (my lovely daughter's birthday...on the plane home this morning)…
Ice Fishing. The Perfect Shot. It wasn't the first train of the day but I was on my way from Helsinki to Vasa by 9am yesterday. The journey takes about five hours and is about as comfortable as you…
Helsinki The skyline of Helsinki Finland and the Baltic Sea beyond on March 12, 2012. Taken from the Atelje Bar on top of Hotel Torni just after sunset. ISO 100, f/7.1, 4.0s I spent the day recovering from the last…
There is plenty of light but not exactly sun here in early spring. The wind is howling off the Gulf of Bothnia stirring up the snow and cutting visibility. All the bulldozers, bobcats and dump trucks are working around the…
The m/s Tiira leaves several times a day from the dock in Vasa. The small tour boat holds about thirty and most tend to be Finns. There are the older women’s groups on their weekly excursion, the small families out…
My final days in Finland for this year. I've spent time with great friends and met some new, wonderful people. And I've seen even more of this great place. I cant wait to come back.
Finnish men, in general, drink. Come to think of it, so do the women. There was ample description of this in Notes for the Aurora Society. Morning finds every park populated by one or two small groups of men holding it down…
