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Joulupukki and some of Santa’s other cousins
Odin the Wanderer (1896) by Georg von Rosen At the end of my last post I wrote about the pagan origins of Christmas. In this post I want to focus on Santa Claus, and particularly on his Finnish...
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Christmas essentials: Food
One of the most important parts of the Christmas celebration is food. The candles, tree and presents are great, but in essence Christmas is a festive family dinner. In this post I will write a little...
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Losing my languages
Once upon a time I was bilingual, and English was not one of my languages. Today I am more comfortable writing and speaking in English than in any other language. Who would have thought that one could...
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Why I still call Finland home…
It is 17 years since I moved to Belgium from Finland. Belgium is where I grew up, where I became an adult. It is the land of first kisses, the end of school, studies, my first job. Finland is the...
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A Fortnight in Finland: The Flight
As promised I will belatedly post some of my impressions and experiences from my trip to Finland. As my holidays are coming to to an end I have finally had some time to create posts out of the notes I...
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A Fortnight in Finland: The Itinerary
On 14 July I landed in Finland, sometimes called the land of a thousand lakes. The map above might give you an idea why. Going to Finland means a busy schedule: Monday 15 July 2013: 4h25 by train to...
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A Fortnight in Finland: Kuopio
15-17 July 2013 The day following my arrival in Finland I get on a train headed for Kuopio, my mother’s home town. Kuopio is a town with a population of about 100 000, which is located 400 kilometres...
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A Fortnight in Finland: Kokkola
17-20 July The trip to Kokkola is quite exhausting since I have to take 3 different trains. Luckily the trains in Finland wait for delayed connecting trains, and I make it to Kokkola station by 20.00....
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A Fortnight in Finland: Turku
20-22 July 2013 I am travelling to Turku to visit my godson Viljam and his family. Viljam, who is turning 13 in August, is the son of my cousin and godmother Tiina, the oldest of aunt Sirkka’s 4...
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A Fortnight in Finland: Helsinki
22-28 July 2013 At 6 o’clock on Monday evening I arrive back in Helsinki which I left a week earlier. Helsinki is the city where I grew up, except for my 3 earliest years when we lived in Vantaa, and...
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I miss winter
I miss winter. I miss the silence of my steps on a snow covered pavement. I miss the hard lumps of snow on my mittens, and the way they turn into pearls of water on the radiator. I miss the biting...
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Lumi is Finnish for Snow
Brussels, March 2013 – Better late than never In Helsinki two thirds of Christmases are white. In Belgium there have been 11 white Christmases since 1900, most recently in 1986, 2009 and 2010. And...
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A Few Facts about Finnish
The beginning of Louisa M. Alcott’s “Little Women” in Finnish I am accustomed to being questioned about the Finnish language. Is it similar to Swedish? Is it as difficult to learn as they say? Say...
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