Lisbon made an impression

Lisbon made an impression

I’m finally back and so is international travel. I turned 50 in late May and we’ll celebrate our 25th anniversary this week so it was time high time for a trip. After many ifs and buts and a bit of a planning rut, we chose 

Delicious food in Tallinn

Delicious food in Tallinn

We took a quick minibreak in Tallinn a couple of weeks ago. We took the ferry on Sunday afternoon, spent Monday in the city and took the ferry back home on Tuesday morning. Lovely 5 star hotel I had booked a room at a hotel 

Christmas in Lapland – part III

Christmas in Lapland – part III

Our prediction for Sunday was spot on and the gondola and slopes were open. Last day skiing On Sunday we got to explore a few more slopes we could reach with the gondola. The visibility at the top was not the best but the slopes 

Christmas in Lapland – part II

Christmas in Lapland – part II

The next day was Christmas Eve which is when Finns typically celebrate Christmas. We didn’t really have any plans to celebrate Christmas except eat some Christmassy foods in the evening. Short day of skiing On Friday there were high side winds so the gondola was 

Christmas in Lapland – part I

Christmas in Lapland – part I

This blog has been dead for months as I’ve been in a COVID funk and not felt like writing on anything travel related. Somehow not having any hope or indication of when I might be able to travel again has put me in a rut. 

Rainy day and ring seal safari

Rainy day and ring seal safari

A shorter post on one of our main activities while in Savonlinna. Thursday kicked off with breakfast that was served at Lossiranta Lodge. The breakfast rooms were unique and cozy and breakfast was nice. Kerimäki Church After breakfast we drove to Kerimäki Church. This church 

Imatra and Savonlinna

Imatra and Savonlinna

After leaving Lappeenranta we headed towards Savonlinna for the second leg of our vacation. On the way, we made a few stops to kill time. Imatran Valtionhotelli and rapids We first stopped at Imatran Valtionhotelli hotel. The hotel is a castle-like building in the national 

Museums and Lappeenranta’s favorite street food

Museums and Lappeenranta’s favorite street food

On our second day in Lappeenranta we decided to visit a couple of museums. The first one was the Wolkoff House Museum. The house is one of the oldest wooden houses remaining in Lappeenranta built in 1826-1905. The house was the home of the Russian 

Lappeenranta offered culinary delights

Lappeenranta offered culinary delights

Our summer vacation rolled around in mid-August. Our first stop on this year’s “COVID vacation” was Lappeenrata. Fortress area We started our adventure in Lappeenranta by checking into Rakuuna hotel. The hotel is located in old garrison buildings from the 1890’s. The room was huge 

Naantali – medieval churches and crappy service

Naantali – medieval churches and crappy service

On our second morning in Naantali, we decided to walk to Kailo island that is home to Moomin World. We chose to skip Moomin world and simply strolled to the seashore and back. Then we visited Naantali church that is the 2nd largest medieval church