London Underground n.10
Large photos taken with iPhone6 are decorating the walls of the London tube. I liked this one with 3 kids on a frozen lake. It reminded me of Finland.
All posts tagged: Finland
32 Snapshots From A Trip By Train Across Europe
Today is my birthday and I wanted to make a present to myself by publishing 32 snapshots I took during the Inter Rail tip I did last July with my family. It is not true that Inter Rail can be done only when you are in your twenties Travelling by train again after a long time spent in Southeast Asia has been a bit like going back in time and re-discover how diverse, interesting, and full of surprises Europe is. Catching trains, booking […]
Seventh Stop: back in Hyväsalmi holding the breath for few seconds.
We are back in our cottage. Nice to be back for the last stage of our Finnish holiday. In a week or so I will be in Italy. Then London. So we are back in our Finnish home for a week. I wrote a lot about me in these blogs. I also thought a lot about me during this trip. Had time with girls of course. I have been a good (and very generous in […]
Sixth Stop: Lappeenranta. All is relative.
I am reminded how east we are by a sign I see while jogging around the two of Lappeenranta where we are visiting two friends and their daughter: 208 km to Pietari (St. Petersburg). This is the last stop before returning to our cottage. We stay at a very nice and cosy light blue wooden house. Small (but not too small) garden. An apple tree. which is dropping its fruits on the green and wet […]
Fifth Stop: a short break in Kouvola
We are now travelling again East. We left Tampere this morning and searched for some time for National Road 6. On the exit from town we passed the hospital where Venla was born. We travel and travel. The girls are getting tired of the car and of changing place every day or second day. But they are good and continue with their strange way of communicating in Finnish with the mother and English among themselves. […]
Fourth Stop: Grand Hotel Tammer 21:56
We are back in Tampere. Is this my alma mater? Where I got my PhD. Or does the alma mater remains the university where one get his or her first degree? (in my case Parma). Do not know and in truth do not care much. It is just nice to be back here. It is 21:56. Outside is almost dark. A wind coming from the west makes the scattered clouds fly fast over the town. […]
Third Stop: Jyväskylä 1h 26m 22s
We are in Jyväskylä, the tow where Katja and me lived about 10 years ago. Before Olga came to us. We visit Katja grand mother and are here for two nights. I take the chance and go for a long run as I want to visit the area where we used to live and Laajavuori and its intricate web of walking paths in the summer and cross country ski tracks in the winter. I am […]
First Stop Niinikumpu
After 14 hours by plane and 5 hours by train for me to reach the red wooden house on the top of the Niinikumpu hill is always a special moment. We always arrive by car from the railway station which is about 10 km away. We enter the garden through two very old and high pine trees and see the house front door of the house. It more than 10 years now that I come […]
Second Stop: Hyväsalmi
The main difference this year compared to other years is the silence that surrounds our mökki. Actually this is not correct. There is a noise and is is the one of the wind. But that’s it. No others. This is particularly evident at the sunset, the twilight which lasts until about ten in the evening. This is the sauna time. So when walking to the sauna to the lake shore. I look at the still […]
5:44 in Niinikumpu
Mi sento un po’ come uno dei personaggi di un racconto di Haruki Murakami. Sono le 5:44 del mattino. Mi giro e rigiro da un po’ nel letto senza successo: il sonno se ne e’ andato. Il fuso orario che non si e’ ancora adeguato all’Europa. I pensieri. Non so. Mi alzo. Metto l’orologio al polso. Cammino sulla punta dei piedi per evitare che il pavimento di legno scricchioli troppo e svegli Venla. Scendo in […]