Lost?

A cyclist on an American football field.

A Sauna has been Stolen

This mobile sauna has just been stolen according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Sauna is an essential part of Finnish culture. Ideally you have a sauna by a lake and it is warmed up using wood. More typically people have a sauna in a city apartment that is heated with an electric stove.

After getting a good sweat at the sauna, you should cool down a bit by swimming in a lake and go back to the sauna. If the lake is frozen, you make a hole to the ice and swim. Alternatively you can roll naked in the snow. A beer tastes exceptionally good after (or during) a relaxing session at a sauna.

Finns are not that enthusiastic about saunas while they are abroad. Often they are too cold and you are not allowed to throw water to the sauna stove. That’s like football without a ball. Many Finns are disgusted when they see a foreign sauna that provides sexual services. Even if they ignore or enjoy the same services somewhere else.

One of the more recent triumphs of sauna is the Facebook and Washington D.C based Diplomatic Finnish Sauna Society of D.C.

Will Teemu Selänne Call it a Career?

Teemu Selänne's signed ice hockey jersey at The Sports Museum of Finland.

Does Teemu Selänne still have the spark for professional ice hockey? That’s what people have been discussing at the Helsinki beer terraces during the past two summers. Especially when Teme has been delaying his decision during both years.

The Finnish Flash is our most loved ice hockey player and probably our best goal scorer ever. When he finally won something big in 2007 (Stanley Cup at Anaheim), it seemed that even his biggest critics were really happy. His motivation to win the Stanley Cup was questioned as he seemed to enjoy his life too much collecting sports cars in the sunny California while playing in a mediocre hockey team.

My best memories of him are from Nagano 1998 which was the first time NHL professionals were playing in the olympics. Two brilliant goals by Selänne in a 2-1 quarterfinal ended Sweden’s quest for gold. Because of the background, that is the most exciting ice hockey game I have ever seen.

I’ve got a bike…

...you can ride it if you like.

Gone Fishing

Fresh fish is widely liked in Helsinki.

Terns are easy to find during the summer in Helsinki. They are excellent for birds in flight photography practice. A closer look at the photo reveals that I shouldn’t stop practicing but I prefer this to a sharper photo where a bird is just flying.

This common tern didn’t need to fly too much as it stood on a railing a few meters above the sea and just waited for the right moment.

A few days ago I posted a photo of a common tern in my photography blog as well.

Midnight Sun

According to their clock, it is almost midnight.

An alternative theory is that they are going to see Iron Maiden concert, Two Minutes to Midnight is one of their favourite songs and it is still early evening.

The Land of the Midnight Sun has been used a lot as a slogan to promote Finland and many other northern countries. It is a cliche but I also must admit that summer evenings, nights and mornings are so much nicer here than in more southern locations. It is not supposed to get dark during the summer! How can you manage with your depressingly short summer days?

The Mystery of the Two-Headed Veal

Natural History Museum in Helsinki

Helsinki’s Natural History Museum was reopened a few months ago after renovations. The museums biggest attraction has been a two-headed veal. I visited the museum when I was a kid and that is the only exhibit that I still remember.

When they were opening the museum they were not able to find the veal anymore! Several people have searched the storage spaces without any luck.

It seems that the museum has still been a big success this summer without its biggest drawcard. Maybe I should go there as well. I hope they allow me to photograph there.

I can’t believe that I didn’t find any photos of the veal using google or flickr. Maybe photography is not allowed in there. If you have a photo of the veal, please put it somewhere and add a link here as a comment so that we all can admire what we have lost.

City Rabbits are Taking Over

A city rabbit on its way to the opera

City rabbits are multiplying in Helsinki like, what would you expect,  rabbits. Originally these have been somebody’s pets.

It is estimated that there are about 7000 of them and they cause a lot of damage in places like parks, gardens and graveyards. Cold winters were supposed to kill them but lately we haven’t had any cold winters. New measures to combat these must be figured out before the problem really gets out of hand.

A closer look at a city rabbit

Rowing at Töölö Bay

A rented boat at Töölö Bay.

Soccer Dads at Helsinki Cup

Soccer dads at Helsinki Cup 2008.

Annual Helsinki Cup is the highlight of the summer for many young boys. This year’s cup was the 33rd. There were about 17 000 players in 850 teams from 20 different countries. The players are aged between 8 and 19 years.

I never took part in Helsinki Cup but we had a local junior league and tournament just outside of the capital region.