Easy holiday moods

Every holiday has it's highlights and less nice moments. We prefer to take pictures of those easy and happy moments. When obstacles come on our way we often focus on solving the problems and not making any documentation. The story of our two and a half weeks time in Finland would be different if I would have taken pictures of our little arguments or when the wheel of our car got flat on a sandy road, when it was raining days and days, when we were tired of just driving to get to the next location, when everything is just so expensive and when I had to wear woolen socks in July :). Now we can laugh again to those typical grumpy moments.

Today I was watching all the nice pictures from our trip and missed already so many things and most of all the different colors, friendliness of people, our family and friends and all sensations and views. I could live again in Finland one day! I felt comfortable, I felt the power of the language and the environment making it easier to find out things and laugh about things. 

After living so many years away from my home country, I'm always surprised how easy I seem to fit in the system  as a visitor. Reality might be different and the flexibility that you develop after trying to adapt to new places during the years abroad made me a more adventurous mind than I used to be. The nordic way of living is more connected to Nature, but I'm afraid it's more conservative and less flexible than I remember. I love staying in Finland every summer, it's clearing my mind and giving me a boost of confidence, more clarity of mind. I'm planning to make a tour alone next year to see some people and friends that I lost a contact a bit. 

       

Back to this summer and back to energy giving moments. We were in many places: Kajaani, Sotkamo, Kuopio, Tammisaari and Helsinki. I have only pictures from Sotkamo and Tammisaari and I regret not taking more pictures. Maybe I was tired and we were just enjoying the flow of our vacation. Just a way it is supposed to be. There is no must and rush. 

Idyllic Tammisaari

  

We made a nice apple crumble with my friend

Silly pose dear, but the colors are nice!

Loving the softness of summer evenings

Maitohorsma- underrated beauty

The best holiday moments are sometimes just small sudden changes of light, wind, sounds and flying thoughts during the morning coffee. Experiencing the Nature and the details are giving a calm feeling and teaching bigger things about life and the existence. 

Warming up the Sauna

Petanque

Lake "Oulujärvi" and the Island "Ärjänsaari"on the background. 

We want to enjoy the last weeks of summer in Holland.It's quite hot compared to Finland right now, but it will change next week. I'm airing our house during the night and stay in the shadows during the days. Many people in our neighborhood stay hours and hours in the direct sun on a grass field by the canal. I do not see any fun in there. The most beautiful moments for me are the darker evenings of August when it's still possible to be outside. 

Then I breath in the air 

and sure remember  the fresh forest smell from Finland again.

And the laugh and the rhythm of the language

those sounds are staying in my head

making me smile

Rowing in  lake "Sapsojärvi" in Sotkamo

Lake life in Finland

TURN ON THE MUSIC AND LET THE DREAMS FLY

I will share you some impressions from my holiday in Finland by the lake Nuasjärvi.

Without any noise,

pure circulation of days 

Touch of the wind and a secret movement of the growth, almost invisible life.

The more I started to follow the Nature, the more details I started to see  

during every single second.

It's a relief, 

You start to forget the unnecessary things and find back your creativity and focus.

I will miss these views and people in Finland, but with a fresh energy from the holiday I'm enjoying my home and life in Amsterdam.

See you next summer LAKE ~~~~~

Still not easy to find the words after all the silence...and that's just fine. 

 

Blue Kainuu and wonders of Helsinki - Home is there and here

I had my doubts about this summer holiday. I did not feel safe, I felt traveling might be too risky and I would not enjoy the journey as much as I normally do. At the same time I started to feel more confident about the necessity to see my family and put my feet on the familiar ground. The last spring time was so intense and surreal, I started to loose my good spirits and fade under the waves of corona-news and the more isolated way of daily life took my energy. 

I had to feel free again and have some space around me. I had to listen to the silence of pine forests and be touched by the wind by the Kainuu lakes. I also needed to walk the streets of Helsinki and see the new developments there. Smell the sea at the coastline of my youthful dreams from the past. 

 

The covid-19 situation in the Netherlands and in the Finland is peaceful at the moment. There are very few cases coming daily and the health care is in a better position with so much less patients in the hospitals. We must not totally forget the pressure and the worry from the last months, because the virus is still so strong in many places. We must continue to be careful and be aware of the hygiene and keep the distance when it's possible and needed.

 

We flied to Helsinki and drove to Kainuu area by car. It takes about 7 hours to drive there taking two small coffee breaks. Flights went well wearing the masks and it was very quiet at the both airports: in Helsinki-Vantaa and in Amsterdam. In a plane you are really close to other people and it was a quiet journey to the destination. During our trip Finland was opening the borders to many Schengen countries in Europe and business traveling was possible even to more far away destinations. But mostly we saw Finns traveling in Finland outside of Helsinki.

It is always a pleasure to see how the landscape is changing on our way to more northern parts of Finland. What I really like about Kainuu area is the more hilly landscape and big views, lakes and endless looking forests and some swamps with white hairy flowers (tupasvilla).

I always sleep as a child having so much fresh air in my home country. Unexplainable peace lands in my mind and in my body. All the restless thoughts are gone, I guess I am more sure who I am on these trips to Finland. It is a pleasure to use my language and find the same products from the shop like in the old days.

We had a very pleasant stay in Sotkamo in a modern house near near the village. It was not really a summer cottage, it was more like a home with all the equipment needed. It was a good choice for this summer, because we had a little bit rainy weather with sparkles of sunny days. We could comfortably read some books inside the house if it was not possible to be outside. 

We continued our walks in Finland. Every evening we had a nice, long walk before warming up the Sauna. We are dreaming of having our own summer, winter, all seasons place in Kainuu one day. Before that we visit different locations and learn what we want from our place.

Our children were chilling the most of the time. Many of our favorite activities, like downhill carting, were closed this summer. Luckily there was x-box in the house, wifi, plenty of games, the lake and innovative parents and grandparents entertaining the teens department. We also went to a basketball field every day and did some bowling too. We were all totally relaxing without any bigger plans, but enjoying the change of place.

After Kainuu we drove back to south via Jyväskylä and stayed one night there. Unfortunately I took only few pics with my telephone there and they were not so great. The town is quite interesting and has a beautiful harbor area near the lake. It was a very nice visit and worth to see. 

HELSINKI

The last few sunny days we spent in a hotel in Helsinki. I love the closeness of the Sea in my old hometown. Again we chose to be close to the water and had some beautiful walks in Kaivopuisto and near Töölönlahti. I took a couple of pictures when the kids went sup-boarding with my husband on our last day. I met my friend and my sister. It was good to catch up and just meet face to face. 

I really like the architecture in Helsinki. It is a combination of old pastel colored Jugend houses, some ugly cool :) boxes from the later decades and the newest modern lines of elegant design. Finally I saw the new library and the living room of people : Oodi, central library of Helsinki, designed by ALA Architects.

The whole area near the Central railway station is totally transformed during the latest years to a beautiful outdoor exhibition of new architecture. So much space for walks, having a coffee, skating, playing basketball and just watching the life. This was one of the highlights for me to see this building and visiting it inside. 

Home again

Now it's easier to be back home and I see our life with a more relaxed way and with some new inspiration. The life will not be the same for a long time this year I think, but I feel more ready to settle down and take it as it comes. I really hope the situation will get better everywhere and we can just continue our lives in a better way and with better understanding from now on.

 Some restaurant tips from Finland

Sotkamo

https://www.haapalabnb.fi: Local, seasonal products and bed&breakfast. own beer brand! Really nice atmosphere and food.

Helsinki

https://www.skiffer.fi/ravintolat/liuskaluoto.html: Only 2 minutes trip by boat to a little Island near Kaivopuisto. Great, thin "pizza's"(liuskat) and fresh salads. Also great mood and sea views for drinks! Afterwards good to walk on the rocks or swim at the nearby beach.

https://www.restaurantnolla.com: Our first restaurant experience in Helsinki this time. We were happy! Sustainable ideology and fresh seasonal products in a cosy, modern environment. Very nice service. 

https://www.sinisenhuvilankahvila.com: I have to come here every time. I came to this cafe often when I lived in Helsinki and had walks around Töölönlahti. Such a view over the water and beautiful old villas in the neighbor. Whispers of old times and very tasty cinnamon rolls.

From France to Finland and back HOME

It is great to see new places and be surprised of the sceneries and details you find. On a holiday you have more time to watch and wonder. Our summer went very fast this year and mostly because we were so extremely active this time. Even it was a bit too much to go here and there, I felt totally relaxed after our traveling. At the same time this was not the most ecological thing to do. 

Compared to this fully booked summer, our daily life is quite simple: we walk and cycle to school and work instead of using a car, recycle, try to eat more vegetables, consider what we shop, do not take a shower every day:),the heating goes on only in very cold days, we turn off the lights when not in the room and try to educate ourselves being more sustainable family. We enjoy the basic things in life! Our children are more aware of the environment than we ever were. It is still hard not to feel quilty about flying so many times during this summer holiday. But otherwise my son would have not gone to rugby camp to Ireland and got some new friends from there, we would have not spent a nice holiday with our friends in France and we would have not seen my parents in Finland. 

I don't want my children to be afraid of life and afraid of making choices that can make them grow, bloom and get more open to the life. We can never do enough to please the world and we never stop feeling guilty if we just concentrate on the negative side of our time. I rather try and want to see the things that I do right. I want to continue seeing the beauty in life and believe in good developments. Things are getting complicated, more background information is needed even making a simple decision. For example what milk substance to buy?: amandelmilk, rice milk, cashew milk, oat milk ...which is the most ecological, the most tasty and the healthiest choice? Living with all the daily information is sometimes overwhelming. And many news are focused on just finding the problems and not the solutions.

In the end these are luxurious and small problems. The most of the people have much more heavier things to get over with, or live with. I just read that the amount of homeless people in Netherlands and Amsterdam have been growing a lot lately. That is sad. Many personal tragedies behind these stories and also a lack of affordable  apartments and shortage of suitable support for the people who are in risk to losing their homes. I see often an older man at the park nearby sleeping on a bench. He comes there regularly late in the evening and goes away the time that I normally wake up. He is a calm  man, seems to enjoy the peaceful spot by the water. I don't see him in the winter time, there must be a shelter where he goes in during  the cold months. Anyway my point is that this problem is excisting also in Amsterdam. While writing this I got a message from my husband who is for the first time in his life in India for a work. He is staying in Pune 130 km from Mumbai, the biggest city of India (18 miljoen people living in Mumbai). He says it's brutal to see the very poor areas where people are more or less living on the street, the endless looking slums around the cities. The scale of the poverty in our planet is huge. About 8% of the population is living in extreme poverty. The richest part has a chance to consider their use of money and use of power.I wish better choices for everyone.

Check out the growth of poverty in here: World poverty clock

My story seems to be more serious this time than I meant, but all these things have been bothering me last year. Maybe it is some sort of crisis, that I don't really know how I would like to spent the rest of my life. Getting more heavy, I know. I also see how much on performance our life is based on. How much we expect also from our children, how you have to prove yourself from the early years. So much focused on numbers and "hard working". The good feeling should be then the result of a hard work, reaching the set goals, getting more black on white prove on your history of existence. Maybe I am just jealous for the ones who did see it so clearly from the start and were so sure what they wanted. I have always been more like an observer, considering the different ways of seeing things and had difficulties to understand the black and white filter on issues. I often meet people that are very sure about their own opinions. Sometimes it seems to be like a blessing, easier to focus and stay on that one path. These frustrations I mentioned are normal in our modern world. If you have to struggle surviving from day to day instead, you don't have time for this soul search. 

The most happiness often comes from nonmaterial things if you're basic needs are filled (food, home etc.). I understand the importance of orientation for some goals in sake of mental happiness. At the moment I am searching for a good goal I think, something personal and with a good meaning.

What matters to me the most is my own family and the HOME. At the same time I feel that nowadays we share too little with others. I have started to see more and more value on those friendships that lasted the distance and difficult times too. They last even through our vulnerabilities, clumsy words and mistakes. But honestly said, I should put more effort on those friendships too. It is good for you and your family life - some outside kicks from great people!

modern architecture in Arles

Anyway, our trip to France with our friends was relaxing. The kids loved our swimming pool in Sausset les Pins and we spent a lot of time in our holiday house. One day we drove to Arles to see some history and feel the atmosphere of Provence from the other perspective. It was a wonderful day to walk the narrow streets and have a nice lunch on one of the old squares. Vincent van Cogh was spending a short and a very productive period in Arles and made many  of his famous paintings there. We were eating just beside the yellow house with a terrace, which you can see in one of his paintings(Cafe terrace at night). Now it is a touristic spot, but I let my mind to wonder over a hundred years back in time. South French light and colors have inspired so many artists. The combination of modernity and the history has always inspired me. I love to watch the modern architecture, but as much I appreciate the feel of the different layers of time. The word is full of magical stories and that magic I would like to feel more often.

Roman ruins

the Arena from Roman times in Arles

We spent the last pages of our summer in Finland, my original home. It is wonderful to feel the familiarity everywhere (especial in the nature) and meet the people you can in that short period of time. We stayed at a beautiful location near Sotkamo. I never get tired of the lake views: 24 hours of small, delightful surprises from the nature. My old friend came for a visit one day. She asked if I felt like home in Amsterdam? It was a difficult one. My soul landscapes are in Finland and I feel so easy there. I miss it sometimes enormously. But when we came back to Amsterdam I felt like HOME. Not because of the location, but because the family. Just knowing everyone is doing their thing and being there for everyone if needed and even when we want to be alone. The identity is changing through our experiences and this means staying curious is a good thing. Home is a place to find the balance between the crossing journeys and thoughts.

The most peaceful moments by the lake this summer

The home can mean different things and maybe there is just not one home. But home is a good and safe place to return. Having a break and seeing some other stories out there can help us feeling home right now and right here.