Leaving the City Center…

…part XIV.

Foggy…

…but sunny.

Right after I took this photo, a man wearing a military uniform walked past me and said “There hardly could be a better day for photography.”

Helsingin Sanomat published today a slideshow of Helsinki winter images from 1930-1970. Click katso kooste in the bottom left corner of the first photo to see the rest.

It’s Been Busy…

…for these guys. Helsinki has now more snow than in decades.

Trees and…

…curves.

Runeberg’s Day is Celebrated Today…

…with a delicacy that carries the national poet’s name.

According to a story the rasberry jam topped pastry was created when Runeberg got unexpected visitors and his wife Fredrika needed to create something from their leftovers. Another story claims that the leftovers were used just to please the poet who had a sweet tooth and a taste for punch. Facts would suggest that Fredrika just modified a recipe created by Lars Astenius in the 1840’s.

Runeberg’s most famous book is The Tales of Ensign Ståhl (in Finnish in the photo) that tells about the 1808-1809 Finnish War where Sweden lost Finland to Russia. The first poem of the book, Our Land, later became the national anthem of Finland.

To make Runeberg’s cakes yourself, see a recipe at

• Nordic Recipe Archive
• Finnguide

Brave Lady…

…Havis Amanda.

It was a bit warmer during her 100th birthday.

Going Uphill…

…in central Helsinki.

Icebreaker Nordica Came Home…

…from Norway and now all Finnish icebreakers are assisting ships – except that Nordica was almost immediately damaged and it needs to be repaired for a few days. Two winters ago it was so warm that icebreakers weren’t needed at all on Gulf of Finland.

This is a newer type of icebreaker that can be also used in off-shore work during the warmer months. Older icebreakers are then just posing for the Japanese tourists at this same location.

CDP Theme Day 2010 / February: Wood…

…from a wall of a building at Seurasaari outdoor museum.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

EDIT: I haven’t changed the photo, just fixed its dimensions from landscape to portrait. Although the photo was badly stretched, it looked pretty much like my landscape version of the same wall so it took me a while to figure out what had happened…Now I actually like more the (stretched) landscape version.

More Arabia Icicles…

…and light from the setting sun.