“Why?” This has been the blanket response by all when I’ve mentioned that I’m learning Finnish. Why would I learn a difficult language that is only spoken by around 5 million people in a country where English is widespread: it is pointless. They have a...
Meersburg, Germany. Meersburg is a gorgeous medieval town on the edge of lake Constance in Southern Germany. Frequent ferries cross the lake from Konstanz and if the sun is shining it makes a perfect day trip. Unfortunately, in early January, much of the town was...
We had grand intentions of heading further up northern Scotland to view the eclipse: a little road trip in our new truck to witness an auspicious celestial event. In the end we drove down to the local, yet magnificent, Tentsmuir beach and sat on the...
I learnt my lesson a few years back: pack light, travel happy! I’ve gone into more detail about the whys and hows in my previous post reviewing my well-used, well-loved Osprey Ozone 36 wheeled pack, but basically: the smaller the bag, the easier and less...
Konstanz, Germany Locations don’t often get more beautiful and photogenic than Konstanz’s jaw-dropping position on the edge of Lake Constance. This dazzling lake is enclosed by the distant white peaks of the Austrian Alps, forming a spectacular backdrop for this old German town. With Switzerland...
I’m a backpacker at heart: I take dusty trains across far off landscapes, I dash through metro stations, walk along ancient cobbled streets looking for tucked away accommodation, ride questionable buses on questionable roads, I stay in dorms, in hostels! I didn’t think I could work...
Runeberg Cakes (Runebergin Torttu) These cute little cakes are absolutely delicious: sweet, moist and lightly spiced with a heart of jam that’s both inside and on top. Runeberg Cakes, or to give you their Finnish name ‘Runebergin Tortut’, are traditionally baked to celebrate the birthday...
Gazing at the departure board at Hamburg station I realised my folly: I may have booked the wrong route. I had a ticket from Travemünde, northern Germany, to Luxembourg, part of a two-day rail trip to get to Konstanz in the south of Germany –...
Finland to Germany by Ferry 28 hours on a ferry sailing the Baltic Sea from Helsinki, Finland to Travemünde, Germany: does that sound like a fine adventure to you, or a long time to be confined to a ship? I was a little apprehensive but I...
Porvoo Porvoo is only an hour away from Helsinki, yet it feels like a million miles. This pretty town is the second oldest in Finland (just a little younger than Turku) and its Old Town is gorgeously photogenic and packed with cute cafes and quirky...
Suomenlinna Camera in hand, I stepped onto the ferry for a day out exploring the island fortress of Suomenlinna. I’d woken to a clear blue sky, this would be a fine day to head out of the city for some non-urban adventure! Suomenlinna is a...
Helsinki Have you ever travelled somewhere and found that it hurt to leave? Somewhere that you felt so completely at home that your nomadic nature calmed and you wanted to stay for a while. This happens extremely rarely for me, I am always ready to...
Tampere, Finland Tampere resulted in a number of Finnish firsts for me: my first Finnish sauna, my first Finnish snow and my first taste of some of Finland’s distinctive food stuffs (you know, the stuff that graces Huffpost lists because it is quite unlike anything...
Turku Castle Turku Castle (Turun Linna) has seen its fair share of battles and sieges, a sturdy fortification dating from the 14th Century at a time when Finland was part of Sweden. It has played castle, grain store and prison over the centuries, suffering from...
Turku “Don’t speak to strangers. Ever.” That was the top tip given to me by my Finnish friend. “They will think you are either crazy or drunk”. Unfortunately, I found myself confronted with the need to speak to a stranger within minutes of arriving into...
Copenhagen to Finland, via Stockholm A fascinating bridge links Denmark and Sweden across the Øresund Sound, it vanishes under the water as a tunnel only to reappear on a spit of land half way across to sweep over the final half to Sweden. The Øresund Bridge turns into...
