Walking on ice. Walking on the frozen sea. It’s the time of the year to do it!
It was a very special feeling because I know that in other seasons, this place is the sea that I know. It’s water and there is no way I can walk on water. But not this time. This time I can walk on water. But just the hard kind of water! And the sun was setting too… 🙂
All photos by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
I thought the Spring is just around the corner. But over the last few weeks, heavy snow has adorned Helsinki. Yes, it’s so beautiful!
Interestingly, I won a prize from Daebak Company (5% off on code ELAINE5). And the prize includes a snow toy. It was a duck snow toy which I first saw online a year ago when a K-Pop artist posted it online. It then became big in Korea. I always wanted it so it was such a lovely surprise to find it in the prize box.
And so here I am. If you find a full adult in downtown Helsinki making snow ducks, it is probably me! 🙂
All photos by https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
Today’s 6.18 km walk in the neighbourhood after the snow storm yesterday. The month has gone so fast and soon it’s February. I hope everyone had a good start of the year!
Last week, Finland entered its third pandemic year. Are we nearing the end? Will it be an endemic soon?
All photos by https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
We had a short holiday with a short time to plan. But what a joy to spend that short moment in Switzerland. Switzerland is so beautiful. I highly recommend it. For this blog post, I will let the photos talk!
All photos by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
With travels slowly easing, especially to those who are fully vaccinated, we also took a chance to spend a Saturday in Tallinn. I’ve been to Tallinn many times before. However, this time we took a large cruise ship from Helsinki to Tallinn and it was a very nice experience.
There is a list of must-do when spending a day in Tallinn. One of them is having coffee and cake at Maiasmokk Kohvik in the old town. Established in 1864, it’s the oldest cafe in Tallinn. It serves good coffee and delicious cakes. Dining out is another thing and this time we tried a fusion style Asian restaurant. We have passed by this restaurant before but I’ve always been suspicious of anything fusion. However, the food was actually tasty and was not much a fusion at all! We had Yakitori Chicken skewers, Tom Kha Gai, Roti Canai (a bit too oily), Yellow Curry with duck and Korean Bulgogi beef. So it was a bit of everywhere in Asia kind of food experience. They were true to their taste. I highly recommend this place called Tai Boh.
There is much to explore in the old town where one can spend 5 hours quite easily. It’s a pretty town and a nice area for walking. So wearing good walking shoes is a must! The day ended with a record breaking 32,737 steps which is 20.97 kms walk and an amazing sunset on the way home. Tired but happy!
All photos by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
After 11 attempts in 11 different countries, they got my name right in Paris! I was surprised and happy at the same time. 🙂
The song, We lost the summer by TXT, was kind of my theme song last year. It was one of my most listened song during the pandemic and I hope it will not remain this way. However, today, I felt like the summer is nearly over. The wind is blowing cool air and the nights have been chilly. Tomorrow, I’ll return by my desk and start thinking what is next for me. A lot of reflections need to be done there…
But to end this summer of 2021, I booked a trip to Paris. I thought Paris will be a bit empty, but no, there were a lot of people. Although, there were obviously fewer foreign tourists and the need for a COVID pass (EU COVID certificate for me) to enter museums and other tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur Basilica made queues disappear. But the time spend just walking, sat at a cafe and having a perfect meal was just so worth it.
In any case, the saying that Paris is always a good idea didn’t fail me. It was a good idea to spend a short trip in Paris and to cheer Hooray to the end of the summer that I took back!
All photos by Ari Vitikainen @ https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
After a year and 7 months, we were able to travel outside of Finland again. Europe has reopened especially to those who are fully vaccinated. Hungary has also claimed to have reached herd immunity or at least, a large portion of its population has already been vaccinated. It’s very rare to see people wearing masks and there are no social distancing whatsoever. Restrictions have been lifted and it seems like the old times. However, there are obviously less tourists which is nice in many ways. There are no crowds, no tour groups and all that.
I was really loving the architecture in Budapest. I can imagine how glorious this city was in its former days. I can’t stop admiring all the fine details placed into building this city. But what fascinated me even more was how friendly and helpful people were. It was so amazing! This friendly atmosphere was something that I didn’t expect. Is Budapest always been like this or did the world become a friendlier place?
When we booked our hotel room, we chose the cheaper option. But, we were upgraded to the best room of the hotel which has two double rooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a rooftop which faces the Hungarian Opera. It was such a treat! And one of the must places to visit in Buda is the Fisherman’s Bastion. Such a breathtaking view!
I also recommend climbing the Citadella for its amazing view of the city after sunset and when the city lights are on!
All photos by Ari Vitikainen at https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com. All rights reserved.
Sunset is my favourite hour of the day. It’s the transition hour, the magic hour when light changes…
All photos by Ari Vitikainen
It’s that time of the year again when the Suomenlinna island is dominated by Bunias orientalis. And to be honest, it is so beautiful! The meeting of the yellow flowers with the blue skies and blue sea is something not to be missed. The sight makes the heat unbearable…
Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site located about 4 kilometres away from the Helsinki city centre by ferry. It is a popular destination among the tourists and the locals alike. BTS was here in 2019 too! On this hot summer day, people are here for a swim, for a picnic or just a simple afternoon walk.
All photos by Ari Vitikainen @ https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com
The things I've seen. The places I've been. 