If you are the type of person who enjoys spending the afternoon sipping cups of tea at a beautiful place, I do recommend visiting Salutorget located in Pohjoisesplanadi in Helsinki.
It is said that Salutorget is one of the unwavering landmarks of the historic Esplanade. Its rich history can be felt in the magnificent Art Nouveau bank hall built in an old merchant building. The restaurant’s location for more than a hundred years on the corner of the maritime Market Square means that Salutorget is part of Helsinki and Helsinki is part of Salutorget.
I’ve enjoyed afternoon teas in different places before, also in different countries. But one thing that stood out for me here was having oyster and a teaspoonful of pouched quail egg with my tea!
The Riverside Park is located in Kotka city. This park was previously called Friendship Park after friendship trees were planted here during the mid-70’s. From 2012 to 2015, the park was rebuilt and changed its name to Riverside Park. It used to be a part of the Kotka harbour in the old days for shipping livestock, mainly sheep, to Tallinn and Narva.
Although it’s not a vast park in terms of its area, it was designed to cover an array of colourful plants where people can enjoy a nice walk and a lovely picnic with a view of the river. It’s amazingly beautiful!
It’s the second COVID summer in Finland. However, the COVID cases are getting lower each passing day with 47 cases yesterday. Vaccination is in full speed. 49.2 % of the population have now received one dose while 12.2 % are already fully vaccinated. Seems like things are going to the right direction and most of the restrictions have been lifted, expect for large gatherings and the recommendation to avoid non-essential travels. This feels like I’m very much affected as I’m truly missing concerts and traveling. This is also affecting my work!
But here I am, grateful of the beautiful summer we are experiencing in Finland right now. Blue skies, blue waters and colourful flowers. It’s just about right. It’s just what I needed! How is your summer?Let me know!
Exactly a year ago, I wrote my first blog about the beginning of my summer COVID style. I thought it was the first and the last COVID summer. But here I am conquering this second year and hoping for the best. My work has been very much affected as it involves travels and gathering of people. But we have gone too low that there is no other way but to go up! Let’s conquer this summer in blue! Blue skies, blue sea, blue dress and coffee! 🙂
There is nothing like a cup of hot, creamy chocolate in this very cold day. You need a warm blanket and another warm blanket to enjoy it outside. But the experience is worth it. It’s not an everyday occurrence to be sat in -10C but felts like -20C, right? A cafe on the island of Suomenlinna is just the best place to have it. This place is so idyllic and you will like its pink exterior. The cakes were lovely too!
South Korea was on the plan for 2020. COVID-19 was surely not. But as the saying goes, ‘If you can’t go, let it come to you!’ Or did I just make that up…
Can you see the green men shovelling snow?
I always wanted a Daebak box, a seasonal box full of Korean products. It has now became a trend to love all things Korean. Think about all the K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Beauty, K-Food, K-Snacks… However, just as COVID-19 disrupted most of our lives, it also affected the mailing system. My Daebak box was cancelled! So I ended up just admiring each and every photo posted on Facebook about the Daebak box. Beauty products here. K-Pop and K-Drama merch there. Snacks and drinks to enjoy. All awesome, Daebak stuff. I’ve became more and more a fan of the Daebak box with each passing hour, day, week, month…
Then something happened. The Daebak staff opened a portal. A tiny portal intended only for me to order a Daebak collaboration box with Mediheal. Well, I’m not entirely new to Mediheal. I’ve been using Mediheal face sheets for a while now. They are not just for relaxation but they deeply moisturize, taking away the fear of the winter months.
The Daebak / Mediheal collaboration box is a must have. The box itself is so cute and trendy. And the content is absolutely amazing. It gives you the urge to really take care of yourself. Beauty and functionally went perfectly well together in this box. The box is packed full of face sheet masks, eye masks, a foot mask and a hand mask. A face cream, a lipstick, a face mask and sponges are also found in the box. And a plus for BTS fans out there, it also includes the BTS face sheets!
And once you empty the box, there are many creative ways to reuse it. Here is mine. My three purses fit perfectly in the box. How do you reuse yours?
If you don’t want to miss out on South Korea delivered to your home, check out this link. You won’t regret it, I promise! You can also get 5% off on code ELAINE5.
This Christmas season, it was inevitable to spend it following the COVID recommendation. Although, there were still unavoidable situations like the crowded shops ( we need to get food!), in general, downtown Helsinki was strangely quiet. The city is obviously lacking some tourists as seen during our evening stroll on the 23rd. It actually feels empty.
However, the Grand Noel afternoon tea at the Kämp Braserrie is not to be missed. Additional Christmas flavours are added to spice up the Christmas spirit. The obvious addition is the gingerbread macaron.
One of the Christmas traditions in Finland is to visit the cemetary on Christmas eve. Hietaniemi cemetary is located 650 meters from our flat. Many famous Finns are buried here since the 1820s. Here, I’m standing where people can light candles for those who were buried in other places. We also visited the graves of past Finnish presidents.
One fun thing I did this Christmas time was to open a Japan crate. My first time ever! I got Julian from the Animal Crossing. It was lots of fun! Greetings too from Emiko who lives on Mochi Island. Please come and visit!
Emiko on Mochi Island
Here is also an illustrated recipe of Joulutorttu. Joulutorttu is a Finnish Christmas pastry made from puff pastry in the shape of a star, filled with prune jam and dusted with icing sugar.
Autumn is my favourite season. Everywhere in Helsinki seems to be framed by this beautiful Autumn colours and the lovely golden backdrop. Helsinki is even more beautiful in Autumn and this year has been an endless supply of warm and sunshine.
One of the best places to see the Autumn colours is at the Hesperia Park. This park never ceases to amaze me and gives so much hope for the coming darkness.
All photos by Ari Vitikainen @http://arivitikainenphotography.com
It has been many months since the last time I was on an airplane. To be exact, it was on the 1st of December 2019, coming back from our holiday in London. Although there were many travel plans over the last months, the Corona virus put them all on halt. But September is a wonderful time to visit the northern Finland.
We flew to Kuusamo and from there, we explored the surrounding areas. We started in Myllykoski (rapids). The hanging bridge was the most magical of all!
And the Kitkajoki (river) is very beautiful in the midst of the Autumn backdrop.
Waiting for the sunrise on the top of Pähkänä Kallio was such a highlight. It was so beautiful that I almost forget how tricky it was to find the place in the dark.
While the sunset was on Konttainen mountain peak. Although, it was a blustery day, it was a sunset worthy of the climb.
We were always met by beauty as we drove around the area. Colourful trees lined up the roads. There were peaceful lake areas and blue foggy moments. We even found a small magical lake surrounded by multi-coloured tress. Beauty was everywhere! Autumn is indeed my favourite season.
But the climax of the trip happened during the last night of our holiday on Rukatunturi (fell) at midnight when the skies were clear and the stars were visible. There I experienced something I haven’t experience before under the massive night sky. The Northern Lights appeared above us, flickering as if begging for attention. It was the most beautiful thing ever!
But beauty didn’t stop there. On the way to the airport on a foggy morning… My heart overflowed with gratefulness!
All photos by Ari Vitikainen @arivitikainenphotography.com
After all the busyness of the past weeks, I had no other choice but to look forward to a very relaxing few days. Seeing a bit of a gap during these busy times, I planned a holiday where all I can experience is peace and quiet. It’s a holiday that doesn’t need to hurry to go here and there, and to see this and that. Because all I really need is some rest, to read a book, to draw, to listen to music, to do origami… A stroll on a secluded beach will be a plus factor too. And there I found Burgas in Bulgaria!
Staying some 20 kilometres from the Burgas City centre, it is not even overrated to feel completely isolated from the rest of the world. The resort was completely empty! It felt like I have a complete possession of the place, yet with friendly people cleaning up and serving us good meals. The daily walks on the empty beach was such a wonderful routine. And to hear the constant sound of the crashing waves gave such a comforting feeling. Of course, I didn’t really finish any book and haven’t done much drawing either. But I did sleep and ate a lot!
The things I've seen. The places I've been. 