My wife and I visited Nuuksio National Park in January. It’s easy to access since it’s part of the Helsinki metropolitan area.
…will make you nauseated, tired and grumpy! Year 2019 has not been great for my photography hobby. Camera gear gathered dust on the shelf while I spent most of my free time just by being sick. I was too busy feeling gross at home to run around and shoot stuff; the only exercise I got was the 10 meter interval training from the bottom of the couch to the toilet seat.
Feed me!
I’ve never made a big fuss about it, but I’ve had a serious case of a chronic illness known as Crohn’s Disease since I was in my late teens. Although the disease made my life a living hell when I was young, surgeries and medication have kept the inflammation mostly in control since then. I was able to live a normal life for the last decade. Perhaps due to all the mental stress, things took a turn to worse in the end of the last year. I had a so called flare up. Dr. Crohn was back with a vengeance, this time with a new set of symptoms.
I had forgotten how it is to live on the terms of a sickness. It literally STINKS! Although I didn’t have severe pain this time, I had to plan everything with the proximity and availability of a toilet in my mind. Business trips are particularly challenging; there was one visit to Zürich last May I was scared if I can make it back home on my own at all. Fortunately I was able to get a level upgrade to business class. Sitting in the first row just in front of an exclusive toilet made the return trip a bit easier (for me, not necessarily to the other passengers).
A Züri local. Although I took this just with a pocket camera, I do miss doing cowtography.
The progressive tax rate in Finland is absolutely bonkers, so I refuse to use private doctors. Although I am grateful that there’s free public health care, holy mother of god does it have A LOT to improve! The specialists themselves are excellent, but getting help is a chore. Things happen on a glacial pace when you finally do get care. After months of waiting I finally gained access to a new medication, and the initial results are fortunately encouraging. Unfortunately that sweet stuff costs worth of a small car every year! At least I’m finally getting some return on all the tax money. The downside is that for the time being, we are permanently stuck living in Finland.
Lake Zürich. I work for a Swiss company, so I get to visit my former home country often.
Lehmijärvi is a nice place for taking a dip. My wife still struggles getting into the “sooooooo cold” water, though.
Juhannus is here - officially the best time of the year!
We took my dad and went for a midnight drive on Juhannus eve. This photo is taken afer 10pm.
11pm.
Juhannus midnight on Kemiö / Kimito island.
My wife had wanted to visit the Moominvalley for a long time, so we knocked it off from her bucket list.
Local youth enjoying the summer at Laajalahti.
Posing like a pro.
A day trip to Seurasaari.
Seurasaari has an open air museum, “Rural Finland in miniature”.
Lunch at Seurasaaren Kruunu.
My wife is not a metal head (I am 🤘) but going to a metal festival was on her bucket list. Tuska Open Air in Helsinki is the biggest heavy metal festival in Northern Europe.
Battle Beast, a local band, on stage. The other bands we ended up enjoying were thrash metal dinosaurs Anthrax, Norwegian crazy guys Dimmu Borgir, and my huge personal favourite Amorphis.
Ogasawara-ryū showcased their samurai skills in Helsinki as part of celebrating the 100 years of Finnish-Japanese friendship. I caught the flying arrow as a proof of my own shooting skills. 😀
Visiting Helsinki Distilling Company.
The distillery visit was part of my friend’s stag party.
We went to enjoy sauna in Löyly and swim in the Baltic Sea as part of the bachelor party. As a drunken idiot that I am, I bumped into a local Hollywood celebrity Jasper Pääkkönen by accidentally venturing into his private sauna.
Happy marriage! The downhill starts here!
I cross a small meadow every day. It’s just a landfill, but during the summer it’s blooming with flowers.
City of Espoo has turned an old fishing home as a museum in the archipelago. The knot in the front is part of a roundpole fence, typical to the Northernmost Europe.
Islander style toast and free coffee refills: life is good!
Lake Pentala is the southernmost lake of the city of Espoo. An island in a lake on an island in the sea.
The boat shelter had a thatched roof.
I’m quite proud about how many times we went to swim this summer. For me, once than a year is already an achievement.
Yep, after all the abstinence, the liquor is finally talking to me again.
Lake Constance on the background. I used to drive around it every day to work.
Sunset over Poland.
We spent one Sunday bicycling around Lake Tuusula.
It’s harvest moon (elokuu) again.
While touring around Lake Tuusula, we stopped at Jean Sibelius’ home Ainola. My mom used to play me his music when I was very little, because it somehow pacified me. This flower was growing next to the maestro’s grave.