Travel & Life
Summer in Hämeenlinna 16.06.2012
Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about 68,000 inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Nearby cities include the capital Helsinki (98 km/61 mi), Tampere (73 km/45 mi) and Lahti (72 km/45 mi).
The medieval Häme Castle (Hämeen linna) is located in the city.
Soon after New Year my friend had started planning a visit to his holiday cottage in Salla, Lapland. He invited some friends, and 3 + me joined him. So all of us ended up driving 900 kms down the road to Lapland at the end of February in two cars full of baggage and skiing … Continue reading
This Christmas we got a gift of tickets to a cruise to Sweden. Last week, I went along with my siblings. We took a bus from Hämeenlinna straight to viking line’s Katajanokka’s terminal.
After dropping my baggage in cabin, I headed for the deck to click some pictures of the freezing sea.
In these pics you can see the evening shoreline of Helsinki and the two famous churches.
Upon returning inside the ship, I took more pictures of different levels of deck.
These Photographs are of people who had come to visit Helsinki and were now going back to Sweden on the ship with us.
The cruise arrived in Stockholm after a sail of appx 16 hours, around 10 a.m. local time.
Many Swans gathered around the shoreline in Stockholm.
We went on to explore the old town area called Gamla Stan in Stockholm. The town dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways,cobbled streets, and archaic architecture. North German architecture has had a strong influence in the Old Town’s construction.
And same evening we took return cruise back home. Clicked the Parliament House after arriving in Helsinki. I had hoped the sky to be clear for better pictures but for this time, this has to do.
Yesterday I had to run some errands at the center of my town. Since the sky was clear, I decided to click some pictures. While returning to home, I walked to see how the lake looks now that the sun was up. I walked to one pier over the lake. In the pictures, you can see … Continue reading
My Mom and Brother enjoy camping, so we decided to go to Evo Hiking Area. Evo is one of the largest continuous forested areas in the southern Finland. Inside the 47 sq.km. large Hiking Area, you can walk on marked trails and stay overnight in lean-to shelters and designated camping sites. We had been there before so … Continue reading
On 13.07.2012 after reading in news that the Swan couple in Aulanko Pond, Finland had given birth to a Cygnet for the second time in history, we decided to go and see if we’d be lucky to get a glimpse of the new member in Swan family! When we reached the Pond, the sky was … Continue reading
This video was filmed by me last year from observation tower in Aulanko, to capture the sapphire blue lake and emerald green forest, spread as far as human eye can see. Aulanko is a Nature Reserve Park, which also hosted participants of 1952’s Summer Olympics held in Helsinki. Jean Sibelius had said that Aulanko was his inspiration while composing Finlandia.
Who is up for a swim!!? Lets dig a hole on this frozen pond and swim in underwater! Jean Sibelius House, Hämeenlinna. Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as “prodigious.” Jean Sibelius was born … Continue reading
Finally a welcome change in depressing autumn weather was brought by first snowfall in my town this Sunday! Views clicked from my window. Earlier, a snowstorm had disrupted traffic. A tree fallen in snowstorm. Town Center.
In continuation of my previous post “Last Summer in Turku”, I am sharing few more pictures from my personal collection, clicked from Nokia N8 which was originally not meant for sharing and that is why the picture quality is not up to the mark. However it can give a fair idea to the many travel … Continue reading
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