Of the coast of Helsinki, on the island of Kuivasaari (“Dry Island”), the Kuivasaari Coastal Artillery Fortress stands. Until not to long ago, Kuivasaari was a working coastal artillery fortress guarding the approaches to the capital city of Finland but the guns have now been removed from active service and … Continue reading
Christmas is here again, and given I haven’t posted anything for most of 2015 (alas….), it seems like a good time to put up a few Christmas Songs from Finland. Most traditional Christmas Songs from Finland are quite melancholy – upbeat Christmas Songs seem to be rare in Finland. But … Continue reading
Reijosfood is a great Finnish Food Blog which concentrates on Restaurant and Wine Reviews in Helsinki. It’s also in English, which is really useful for those of us who aren’t Finnish as most local blogs are in Finnish. The Blog has been running consistently since 2012 and there’s a great … Continue reading
Sigfrid August Keinänen (born February 7 1841 in Kuopio – died September 25, 1914 Lempäälä) was a Finnish painter and teacher of drawing, known best now for his portraits and landscapes as well as for his Kalevala artwork. Keinänen’s father was a carpenter in Kuopio carpenter and he himself worked … Continue reading
Maximilian Maksolly (actually Feichter, the original spelling of his first name was Maksimilian) was an Estonian painter who is now possibly best remembered for his war art from the time of the Estonian War of Independence. I touch on him in this blog largely because of his series of war … Continue reading
Pekka Halonen was a painter of Finnish landscapes and people who would go on to become one of the more notable painters in the world of Finnish Art. This Post provides what’s probably the most detailed information you’ll find on Pekka Halonen in English (there’s not much….) as well as … Continue reading
My kids happen to like sausages, and in Fall and Winter they like soup as well – so how better to keep them happy on a cold Fall day than Nakkisoppa! Sausages AND Soup! The perfect weekend lunch! Now the recipes I was browsing through say wieners, but for myself … Continue reading
Here’s another Finnish recipe for a filling stew (Merimiespata – or Sailor`s Stew) that’s great for one of those winter evening’s that are fast approaching us up here in the frozen arctic wastes of Canada (well, OK, Toronto). Now historically, Finland’s harsh climate meant that fresh fruit and vegetables were … Continue reading
Valaam Monastery. Valamo Monastery. The heart of the Orthodox Church in Karelia and an outpost of Russia within the lands of the Finns. Mount Athos of the North – so was called this ancient monastic dwelling, which was founded a thousand years ago in the dawn of Christianity in Russia … Continue reading
The Valamo Monastery is an Orthodox monastery in what used to be Finnish Karelia but is now part of Russia, located on Valamo, the largest island and part of an island archipelago of the same name in Lake Laatoka (Ladoga), itself the largest lake in Europe. The archipelago consists of … Continue reading
FINNISH WINTER? NO PROBLEM 0°C / 32°F Distilled water freezes. The water in the Vantaa river gets a little thicker. -5°C / 23°F People in California almost freeze to death. The Finns have their final barbecue before winter. -10°C / 14°F The Brits start the heat in their houses. The … Continue reading
Martta Wendelin (23 November 1893 – 1 March 1986) was a Finnish artist whose work was widely used to illustrate fairy tales and children’s books, postcards, school educational books as well as magazine and book covers. She was well known for her illustrations on magazine covers and for books and also … Continue reading
