Snow

I am currently in Naantali, which is located about 25 minutes by bus 11 or 110 from the market square in Turku at the Finnish Archipelago.

Naantali ia actually quite small and you may have never heared about it, however it has a really good Spa and Resort Hotel, which has been awarded as the finest spa and conference Hotel in Scandinavia and is part of Royal Spas of Europe.

A part of the Hotel itself is actually a cruise ship, which is called Sunborn Princess. Lucky as I am I got my own room there.

If you consider some relaxing time in Finland I can highly recommend you this Hotel.



You can find plenty of information about the Hotel here.

Find more images of Naantali in my Album

This was the claiming on ads promoting the Maailma kylässä, the World Village Festival last weekend in Helsinki. In this festival participated over 300 partners, including 200 NGOs as well as educational institutions, museums, public authorities and businesses.

The objective, according to the organisers, is to provide "a meeting point open to all presenting cultural treats and surprises from all over the world: music, dance, organisations and food, as well as a place to encounter new viewpoints on tolerant multiculturalism, development work and globalisation, as well as finding ways to influence things in daily life." Events like this underline the importance of multiculturalism on today’s European societies and how borders and differences now are less noticeable.

It was an interesting experience, listening the most diverse musical bands, getting to know how the different NGO’s develop their work and trying delicacies from such distant countries like Nepal, Mexico, Philippines, Ghana and even something from the former Persia, no matter T-Bag said that wasn’t exactly authentic, but well, good enough to have a nice meal and over all a great time with the FinlandLive’s fellows. See you in the next one guys!

Suomenlinna or Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular with both tourists and locals.

View from Suomenlinna

Sweden started building the fortress in 1748 as a protection against Russia. In the Finnish War the fortress surrendered to Russia on May 3rd 1808, paving the way for the occupation of Finland by Russian forces in 1809.

Old Canons

Suomenlinna is now one of the greatest tourist attractions in Helsinki as well as a popular picnicking spot for the city's inhabitants, and on a sunny summer day the islands, and in particular the ferries, can get quite crowded. A number of museums exist on the island, as well as the last surviving Finnish submarine Vesikko.

Submarine Vesikko

There are about 900 permanent inhabitants on the islands, and 350 people work there all year round.

For the general public Suomenlinna is served by ferries all year around.

More pictures of Suomenlinna can be found here.

Source: Wikipedia
Gnu Free Documentation Licence

Today, we had a wonderful day here in Vuosaari. After weeks of darkness and snow the sun came out and I decided to make some pictures with my cell phone (as my new camera is still not delivered).

I think it is really interesting to see the Sea frozen, especially if you are from the South. However, in 2-3 weeks it is going to become warmer here in Finland. Really looking forward!