Hi!
I’m really pleased to let you know that you can now buy our book online from Papercut in Sweden – and the good news is they offer worldwide shipping.
It’s an exciting day for us to finally be able to promote the book far beyond Finland’s shores & make it accessible for those who live overseas.
Have a great weekend everyone! x
Last weekend we made our first visit to Turku, Finland’s original capital and home to the Turku Castle.
Overlooking the Aura River, building is believed to have begun on the site as early as 1280 AD.
While the original buildings have been added to and renovated over the years, progress has been interrupted at times by fire and the effects of war.
It wasn’t long after we arrived that I decided that this is my favourite castle of those I have seen inside.
Obviously modern luxuries have been added, but its also the only castle I have ever felt I would actually like to live in.
I especially loved the white walls, wide wooden floor boards and countless window nooks.
It wouldn’t be a proper castle though without dungeons and dark corners, such as this one where we found eery beekeepers casting shadows.
There’s a chapel in the castle, with medieval religious icons, carved from wood, on display.
Some were missing arms, a result of having them cut off during the conflicts that occurred at the time of the Reformation.
Adjoining the main building is the Children’s Castle, where in the Knights Hall, there are costumes to try on, including robes, armour and helmets.
There’s ornate robes, armour and chain mail for the adults too, so no one misses out.
We struck it lucky on our visit, which happened to coincide with a Medieval Fair and included a marketplace in the castle square.
Stall holders were dressed in traditional clothes with many demonstrating their chosen craft on site.
Outside, there was a temporary camp set up, for sword-fighting men in heavy armour and those providing talented displays of horsemanship.
Miko’s favourite show was the jousting as we joined the crowd of spectators cheering loudly under the hot afternoon sun.
After hours of watching and exploring, it was time to say goodbye as headed off for dinner.
The next day on the train for Helsinki, we played snap with Miko’s favourite deck of cards. More than a year old, they were perfect for the occasion, helping us continue the theme all the way home.
Happy New Year! For Helsinki it has meant low temperatures and lots of snow, which means more light, good moods and fun ways to commute.
Sharing a sled
WordPress sent me some stats on Hey Helsinki’s year in review – here’s a quick look at some of my most popular posts in 2015:
#1 – Helsinki Underground
This surprised me but as someone said, ‘When you arrive in a city the first thing you want to know is how to get around.” I hope this post has been useful – & that people found reassurance in the fact that it would be very difficult to get lost on the subway in Helsinki.
#2 – How to make the best korvapuustit
This post went nuts thanks to my sister-in-law Ilona and her baking tips on how to make three Finnish sweets with one dough.
#3 – 101 Reasons to visit Helsinki
Linnanmaäki Amusement Park
This post grew from a project at work where I was looking through all my photos from the previous year. I could have come up with more reasons but, like dalmatians, 101 is a pretty good start.
#4 – Finland’s oldest public pool, swimsuits optional
Yrjoönkatu uimihalli Photo credit: Cafe Yrjo
I can see on my stats page the search terms entered into google that lead people to Hey Helsinki. Time and again the most common thing people are looking for is ‘nude Finnish girls’ which seems to then lead them to this post where I went skinny dipping in Finland’s oldest public pool. Popular with the general public it was also a hit in the German nudist community.
#5 – How to dress a child for Finnish winter
With temperatures as low as -26 celcius lately (-15 F), this post has resurfaced as people search for help with one of life’s major challenges. As we are outside everyday, it’s essential to dress properly which means multiple layers and accessories, such as neck warmers (imagine a turtle-neck sweater but with no sleeves or torso) as kids don’t generally wear scarves. As someone at work said recently, ‘Every time you dress a child for Finnish winter, a little part of you dies’.
And where do you come from?
Well Finns or people in Finland overwhelmingly make up the largest group of readers. I guess people who’ve moved here are looking for tips and for the locals, well we all like to know what others might think of us. Thanks also to friends and family at home in NZ & Australia for following along.
I’m going to take a little break from writing this blog as we prepare to make our first trip home in nearly two years. I’ll be in Asia for work and then have a month in New Zealand. I can’t wait! You can follow along on Facebook or Instagram for updates.
I’m also working with Laura Iisalo of Creating Helsinki on a book about the people who make Helsinki the city it is. It features tips from locals on their favourite places & things to do, with recipes you can try at home of Nordic classics made with a contemporary twist.
It will be released by Cozy Publishing in May 2016 & I’ll keep you posted about the launch. In the meantime, thanks so much for reading and for all your comments over the last year.
Me signing our publishing contract. Photo: Laura Iisalo
And for those who accidentally got here while searching for ‘nude Finnish girls’, here’s a picture of me in my underwear today.
I told you it was cold!
Hey Helsinki 