Back from the Summer Break

We got back home this evening after two weeks in Finland. This was the first time since the twins started school that we were able to go in the real summer time. Normally we have to wait until nearly August and Summer is definitely waning up there by then. Due to GCSE exams finishing a month earlier than normal school terms, we were able to get away earlier this year.

The holiday was split in two parts: one week in a mökki (cabin) on the coast in the south west; and one week in Helsinki. Not much happened in the first week, which is what I was hoping for. Weather was mostly sunny and warm (low 20s). The cabin was on a narrow inlet on an island at the start of the SW archipelago. The 'sea' was almost like freshwater, as the Baltic is almost a lake and the inlet (Drägsfjärd*) was long and narrow. 

* Cunning linguists out there will note the Scandi name. This was a predominantly Swedish speaking part of the country. There wasn't even a Finnish version of the name. Most folk on hearing how my wife and mother-in-law pronounced "hei/hej" (hey or hi) would however switch to Finnish.

At 22-24 degrees, the water was lovely to swim in, and given the long days (sunset at 23:30) you could swim in the light very late! Or very early, as it was full daylight again by 3AM. Even after sunset it was still light enough to walk around outside. In fact it makes sleeping a bit difficult without blackout blinds! And this was down in the far south, imagine what it was like in the Arctic Circle. 

I only ventured out of the immediate surrounds a couple of times the whole week. No need to!

The camera makes everything seem darker than it was. I took some photos to show how bright it still was when the sun when down, but the sky looks darker than reality.

Lovely stuff. The cabin itself was a recent build and had all 'mod cons' (including AC but without a sauna). The downside was that there were several of these cabins close together, making it a little more like a holiday camp (but without the hi-de-hi announcer. Not ideal, but we left it late to book due to long waits for passports, and my unwillingness to be within 50km of the eastern border this year!

Not a shipping container - Chez Nundanket was however, cosy.

Whilst out walking one evening we came across a communal mat cleaning facility. Finns don't do carpets (it's a dirty Anglo-Saxon custom), preferring mats which they can take out and clean. 

On our one trip out we drove to a former iron working town on the south of the island (Dalsbruk/Tahlintehdas). This is now a picturesque harbour town with a marina.

Pretty old house, that is now an antiquarian bookseller. Unfortunately it was closed.

Quaint bus stop

In a shop window I spotted evidence of the now peaceful activities of Trädgårdland.

Have they gone soft? Actually the crate might have been for something other than cleansing lotions.

And also something that you might find renowned blogger, and Général de Division, Max Foy engaged in.

On the shelves of a local supermarket I spotted this, which looks very like the Commando comics many of us read. At 260 pages it's a bit chunkier though.

High Voltage
Hits like a million volts
Death Defying
Four fierce war adventures!

To wrap up the week, some local delicacies:

Wild strawberries, picked by the Margravina. These taste very different from the 'domestic' version. Nice, but I couldn't eat a lot of them.

Truly the best crisps I've ever tasted!

Washed down with a can of this imaginatively named beverage.

I promise I'll get to some military stuff in the next post (I went to the War Museum). Nähdään!