Last summer was one of the longest in my life. Getting settled in a new (albeit familiar) country and all the trouble of finding a new job were minor annoyances. The real kicker was my mother´s deteriorating health condition.
Metsä on suomalaisen kirkko (“forest is a Finn’s church”). We did forest therapy, shinrin-yoku, as much as possible.
Mom’s ailing health was one contributing factor why I decided to move back to Finland. She got her final diagnosis in May. I had expected bad news, but it was still a shock. Nothing could be done. Nothing could've been done even if the disease had been found earlier, but at least I would've moved back sooner. Instead, unknowingly, I prioritised my previous job and project.
Towards the end of the summer, my mom’s condition allowed only short trips outside the city. She would enjoy a cup of coffee and a munkki and sit next to a lake while my wife and I hiked around it.
It was heartbreaking to see how my mother had to bid farewell to everything that mattered to her. First it was the long walks in the forest; nature had always been so important to her. Then driving around in her own car, the symbol of her freedom. Then her apartment, whose balcony renovation she never got to see to completion. Ultimately she had to say goodbye to her friends and close ones. It was a harsh lesson in the impermanence of everything. Life is a paradox: at the same time we try to hold on and learn to let go.
I loved my mother very much and I feel great gratitude for everything she did. One couldn't hope for a better mom. She did her very best to raise her children properly: she taught me honesty, accountability, fairness, and also caring and kindness, and she was always there to listen and help when I had worries. Kiitos!
She departed in peace and without pain. Somewhere, some day, we will meet again. Until then, lepää rauhassa äiti.
My in-laws visited Finland in May. It was a nice trip, although the weather was still cold. One of the activities was a day trip to Turku.
Luostarinmäki is the largest area that survived the Great Fire of Turku. It’s nowadays a museum, showcasing life in the 19th century.
Business card business.
Can you guess which plant this is? Over a billion people around the world enjoy smoking it. I didn’t know that it could grow even in Finland.
Midnight sunset over the Archipelago Sea, “the largest archipelago in the world“. I spent a lot of time there as a kid thanks to my dad. We made a two day trip to Rosala with my wife and her parents.
My wife got a brilliant idea: let’s stay over in a Viking settlement!
Viking cock.
Travelling like a boss: after some feasting, we slept in the chieftain’s hall! I personally loved it, but I’m not so sure about my in-laws.
The “viking” food was delicious!
The lunch, however, was a bit thin.
After recovering from some juniper beer, we made a day trip to Bengtskär, southernmost inhabited place in Finland. The lighthouse is highest in the Nordic countries.
My grandfather was stationed here during WW2 but fortunately he was on the mainland when Battle of Bengtskär took place. The Finns were pushed back to the top floor of the building, but they held their ground.
It was a windy day so my wife had to take antinausea drugs, which in turn made her super sleepy.
One of the last road trips with my mom: she wanted to see the old places on Kemiö island. This is my dad’s auntie’s old hut. It’s in poor condition after being uninhabited for decades.
My mom’s bleeding hearts.
Cranes over Teijo nature reserve. We did a lot of hiking this autumn.
Rafting across Sahajärvi.
One of my favuourite photos of the autumn.
Winter is coming. Rainclouds on the northern sky. Too bad the cranes didn’t bother with a proper V-formation.
I hate mushrooms and they hate me.
Great spotted woodpecker inspires us all. He tackles his life problems head-on.
Finland is “Suomi” in Finnish. The etymology is unknown, but a layman’s guess is that it comes from “suomaa”: the land of swamps. There’s tons of them.
Seasons change. I took this photo in May when I was rushing past the church to the hospital.
October has arrived. No more need to hurry to the hospital.
More of Salo in the autumn.
Back to hiking.
We wanted to do road trips with my mom to her favourite locations during the summer, but unfortunately her illness didn’t allow much. Thus we visited Hanko, Finland’s southernmost town, posthumously.
Stopping by in Fiskars village, the birthplace of Finland’s oldest still operating private business. It was formed in 1649.
The two corner stones of Finnish society: coffee and pulla.
All Saints' Day: A candle was lit for each person who passed away during the year in Uskela chuch region, one of them for my mom.