february is finally being the way february should be: wintry, with lots of snow. it was raining a week ago, which was just inappropriate. of course today, it being the perfect winter day, i am stuck in bed with my lady parts throwing a tantrum, but what better excuse to post some pics from the past few days!
on tuesday i finally crossed one thing off my touristy to-do list, and went up in the water tower. it had been at least 15 years since my last visit. there was a free guide tour of the view, but it only costs 2 euros to go to the viewing platform anyway, and there's a cafe up there, too, so for the customers it's free.
here's an overview of my daily stomping grounds, the old town mainly. it's very flat here, as you can see, and there's always forest in the horizon, even when looking out to the sea because the archipelago has so many islands. the gulf of bothnia is sort of to the left from the olkiluoto nuclear power plant, notorious for its third unit that they've been building for a long time now and who knows when it will be done and how it will work... so, that's kind of close by.
here's a look at another direction, inland, where you can see the lake äyhö and more flatness. that pastel glow was all over the horizon in the opposite direction from the sunset and it had me mesmerized but it was so windy and cold up there, i just couldn't stay forever.
...and finally some open water in the distance, the cranes and lights of the harbour, and some of the tallest apartment buildings lit by the last rays of the sun. from here my evening continued with a damn fine bowl of gingery lentil soup, much needed after this chilly adventure.
yesterday was a blizzard. i had a long walk, thinking it would be blue skies and glimmering hanki [a word for thick blanket of snow] but it was actually better in the flurry. here, the clouds parted a little over my first school, seen from its tiny sports field. that hill used to be so long and steep... and i used to be quite good at ice skating at this age, 6 to 9 years old. which reminds me, once again, to finally have my skates sharpened. i may not be as graceful anymore, but i still like it. one day i'll teach myself to brake and all...
so, i was there to have a look at my garden plot. it's one of these! spring is still very far away, but soon i can start some tomatoes and chilies, and other sowings that need a head start. it's going to be so much better this year, being able to start as soon as weather allows. interesting to see what has survived this winter, it was pretty bad for a long time. the snow actually protects a lot of the plants from freezing, but we just had none.
here it is! my beloved garden squeezed into a panorama shot. i left lots of talventörröttäjä [plants that dry up and stay upright over the snow. is there a word in english for this?] which my garden neighbours probably resent but it's good for little birds to have a seed bar like this in the winter.
from the gardens, i ended up walking around the lake, too. i was a bit worried it would be too much, in the thick snow, but it was perfect. there is a little river that runs parallel to the lake on one side, leaving a narrow footpath in between. some parts had a hole in the ice for the stream to sing through. there was no one else there, and i had a bit of a moment with the wind and the snow and some curious occurrences. i'm just so glad i took that walk.
on the way home, this amused me. every sign has its purpose, eh?
