Back to Vallisaari – kayaking and fatbiking

Posted on by ilkkalariola

The spring is finally turning into summer. I was in Vallisaari just a few weeks ago, but now it looked really different; much more green! This time, instead of taking the ferry boat, we kayaked to the island.

On the way to Vallisaari by kayak

As we got to our starting place the sun was shining. Pretty quickly it started to rain. And after a few minutes the sun was shining again! The best thing was, that it was warm anyway.

Kayaking in Helsinki

The kayaking route from Stansvik to Vallisaari is nice and sheltered. There is a lot of nature around, but in the background you have the city of Helsinki. I like the combination.

Fatbikes in Vallisaari, Helsinki

At Vallisaari we went fatbiking with our friends from Bliss Adventure. Fatbikes are a great way to see the island and you also get to visit the forbidden southern tip of the island. This is only possible on the guided fatbike and walking tours.

Fatbikes at the southern tip of Vallisaari, Helsinki

The scenery towards the open sea is spectacular. Too bad we didn’t have so much time to relax.

Sunshine and fatbiking

The fatbiking routes are easy to ride. Technically it is not demanding, but it is a great way to explore this beautiful island. The guides have a lot of knowledge and information about the island.

Kayaking in Helsinki

After the tour and ice cream at Paja kiosk we headed back to our kayaks. A great day to be outside and do something active! Thanks again to Bliss Adventure for the tour. We are planning a tour combining kayaking and fatbiking, but for now, you can just take the ferry and do the fatbike tour.

 

Evening paddle in Eastern Helsinki

Posted on by ilkkalariola

The kayaking season has now started. I’ve been kayaking a few times and my leg feels pretty good already. It doesn’t hurt, but it is still really stiff. Last weekend, we had our first guided overnight trip of the season and the weather was great. I wasn’t guiding the group, but I paddled to the island they were camping at in the evening.

Kayaking in Eastern Helsinki

It was a bit windy during the day, but by the time I got on the water, it was already calm and really peaceful.

A kayak and a goose in Helsinki archipelago

This time of the year there are birds everywhere. It’s nice to see all the different species. I am not an expert, but I try to learn a few new bird species every year.

Evening sun at Pihlajaluoto, Helsinki

I got to Pihlajaluoto where the group was staying just as the sun was going down. Not a bad evening to enjoy the Helsinki archipelago.

Clouds and evening sunshine

The calm sea, the clouds and the evening sun shine. A perfect combination to just sit on the rocks and relax. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay the night on the island, because I had a course to guide early next morning.

Sunset in a kayak, Helsinki, Finland

I got back to the paddling center just as the sun was setting. A short, but very enjoyable evening paddle. I certainly try to get out for short trips more often this summer. Now it is really cold again. Let’s just hope it gets a bit warmer really soon!

Vallisaari – the paradise island

Posted on by ilkkalariola

I had a chance to visit Vallisaari before the real season kicks in there. The island opened to public last spring and already during the first summer there were about 90 000 visitors. It used to be a military island and big parts of the island remained untouched. This means the flora and fauna of the island is something special. There are about 1000 different species of butterflies on the island and a lot of plants you don’t find anywhere else in Southern Finland.

At sea in Helsinki

It is just a short boat trip from the market square and regular traffic to the island has already started for the season. It was a calm and sunny day and the boat trip was very enjoyable. It has been really cool for the last month, but now it actually felt warm.

View from Aleksanterin patteri to the sea

We didn’t have a lot of time on the island, so we almost straight headed to Aleksanterinpatteri. This used to be a fortification for the military because it rises high above the archipelago. This is the view south to the open sea.

View towards Helsinki from Vallisaari

The view towards Helsinki is also nice. There are no leaves on the trees yet, so it is going to look different in just a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can find time to visit the island again.

Small pond in Vallisaari

It’s hard to believe there is a place like this so close to the city centre of Helsinki. Just a few minutes by boat. There are three ponds on the island.

If you don’t have a lot of time in Helsinki and still want to experience the Finnish nature, going to Vallisaari is an easy option. It really feels like paradise on the island! Next time, though, I think I will kayak to the island. This makes the trip even more special.

Reflections on the water

Posted on by ilkkalariola

I took some photos of the reflections on the water at Kiikunlähde. It was a beautiful place and I really like how the photos turned out. Not much to explain about them. Let me know what you think about the photos!

Reflections at Kiikunlähde 1
Reflections at Kiikunlähde 2
Reflections at Kiikunlähde 3
Reflections at Kiikunlähde 4
Reflections at Kiikunlähde 5

 

Easter in the Finnish countryside

Posted on by ilkkalariola

We don’t have our own cottage as most of the Finns do, but Henna’s parents live about 3 hours from Helsinki. The place is close to all the services, but coming from Helsinki it still feels like coming to countryside.

Spring at Isojärvi National Park

And it is only a 30 minutes drive to Isojärvi National Park. We went there on Friday with some friends. We only walked to the closest fireplace. It was our babygirl’s first trip to a national park! The path was still icy and it took time to walk the few hundred meters with the strollers.

Grilling sausages at Isojärvi National Park

We made a fire to grill some sausages and marshmallows. It was a good time, but still pretty cold. Especially the gusts of cold wind made everyone feel cold since we were not moving a lot.

Snow and ice at Isojärvi National Park

The weather has been changing really quickly. In a couple of minutes sunshine turns into snow fall. It still feels to me, that spring is coming.

Länkipohja, Finland

The next day we went for a a walk and the weather was exactly the same. It was snowing and sunny at the same time.

The ice is melting at Längelmävesi, Finland

During the day, the ice is melting quickly, but it has still been really cold during the nights, well below zero, so it might take some time before the lakes are free from ice.

 

Spring is arriving to Helsinki

Posted on by ilkkalariola

I have been busy the last month. Our baby daughter was born 3 weeks ago. So not a lot of time to think about writing or taking pictures. I had big plans to write some posts about previous trips, but taking care of a small baby is pretty time consuming. 🙂

The great thing is that we can finnalt get out together. My calf is also much better already and I got rid of the crutches. Walking is still slow, but it is getting better. The only problem is that our girl doesn’t like stopping, so taking pictures is a small challenge.

Ice melting in Vuosaari

Yesterday evening we headed out for a walk with the whole family. This made it easier for me to take pictures along the way!

Ice melting in Vuosaari

It was really windy outside, but the wind was warm. It really feels like spring is coming!

Sunset in Vuosaari

There is still a bit of ice left, but with the strong winds and warm weather it won’t take long until the sea is completely open.

Spring time in Helsinki

My plan is to try how my leg feels about kayaking within the next few weeks. By then I think most of the ice will be gone!

On the coast of the Adriatic sea: Split, Croatia

Posted on by ilkkalariola

Going through my photos from our Balkan Road Trip, I realised how many places I haven’t written anything about in the blog. I decided to start with some pictures from the city of Split. Not really anything outdoors, but I like some of the shots.

We just spent one day in Split, but we had some time to visit the old town and walk along the coast.

Coast of Split, Croatia

A long exposure with a 10-stop Neutral Density Filter. This was our walk to the old town from our apartment. It was really nice and warm.

KENKO REAL PRO ND1000 62MM

Henna modeling for another long exposure shot. It wasn’t a long walk, but it took some time with me taking pictures.

The cathedral of St. Domnius

As we got to the old town, there were a lot of people. We talked about it later with the owner of our apartment and she said that now it’s low season. But in the summer it is totally packed and as a local you just want to stay away if possible. So not the best destination for a person used to all the space in Finland. 🙂

The cathedral of St. Domnius

It was still nice to visit the place. The weather was still good, but it was getting cloudy and cooler. We had lunch at a local restaurant and started our way back to the apartment.

The cathedral of St. Domnius

On the way back we walked past this building. It’s propably not the architectural highlight of Split, but for some reason it really appealed to me. Would be great to have a beer with the architect, who designed this. And just ask why?

I still have more pictures from the trip, so I’ll try to post them soon!

Kiikunlähde – a natural spring in Hollola

Posted on by ilkkalariola

After seeing a few pictures of this place, we decided it was worth a visit! Kiikunlähde is one of the biggest natural springs in Finland. It is only about an hour’s drive from Helsinki, close to the city of Lahti.

Snow falling from a tree

We found the parking lot and from there it was only a few hundred meters to the place. It was sunny, but a bit windy. Waiting for Henna to change, I took some pictures of snow falling from the trees.

Kiikunlähde in Hollola from the road

After walking for just a few minutes the spring was on the right hand side. So even with my crutches it was easy to get here. But getting all the way down to the water was really steep and icy.

Kiikunlähde in Hollola, Finland

I tried walking down first, but pretty quickly realized that the safest way was to slide down. Once I got down I knew it certainly was worth it! It was just an amazing place.

Kiikunlähde natural spring

The color of the water was beautiful. The turquoise color is something you normally see somewhere in the Mediterranean, but not in Finland. There are 14 spots in the pool where the water comes up from the ground. And it’s a lot of water, approximately 7000 cubic meters per day. It is part of the biggest ground water deposits in Southern Finland.

Winter day at Kiikunläde in Hollola, Finland

When the water comes out of the ground it is about 5 degrees Celsius. So even in the winter the whole pool doesn’t freeze. The pool is about 400 metres long and 100 meters wide.

Reflections at Kiikunlähde natural spring

I also read that there are a lot of trout living in the pool. However we couldn’t see any of them now. Some people swim here in the summer, but I wouldn’t recommend it since some of the nearby houses take the drinking water straight from the pool. Parts of the shores are also private land. So only go down to the pool on places, where there is no fence or signs.

Turquoise water at Kiikunlähde natural spring

It was really beautiful here in the winter, but I think we need to try to visit the place in the summer too. Here is a link to the parking lot and the place, if you want to visit it.

I was happy to get out again. Let’s see if I can find more places like this to visit until my leg is better!

 

 

Day trip from Helsinki – Porkkala peninsula

Posted on by ilkkalariola

I have been stuck home for weeks now. I went to play basketball for the first time in years and after 20 minutes of playing I tore my calf muscle. So I’ve been on crutches ever since. I thought I would have to go through my old pictures and write something here. But for some reason I haven’t found the time.
Today we decided to get out of the house. I did some research trying to find a place close to Helsinki where you could get in the nature without walking much. We found Porkkala peninsula west from Helsinki.

Porkkala and the open sea

It was raining in the morning, but the forecast promised that the weather would clear up by 2 pm. The picture is taken towards south so you can see the sun is shining somewhere in the distance. This place was pretty close to the road, but there were still a few places where I had to crawl to get there. It was really windy and it didn’t feel like winter as the sea was completely open.

View from birdwatch tower Porkkala

After taking some pictures we went back to the car and decided to try to find a birdwatch tower I had read about. It was on the way back at Lähteelä, a recreational area owned by the city of Helsinki. It wasn’t again too easy to get there and climb all the way to the top. But it was certainly worth the effort.

Sunshine in Porkkala, Finland.

As you can see, the sun was finally there! Just a few hours late. Eventhough we were high, it wasn’t windy. It even felt as the sun was warming us. Looking at this picture it was really worth the effort to get to this place!

Rönnskär lighthouse south of Porkkala peninsula

From the birdwatch tower you could see the Rönnskär lighthouse. Maybe that is a place to visit on a kayak trip next summer. I am starting to look forward to the summer. Especially since I can’t do much at the moment.

Ilkka with crutches in Porkkala

Here’s a picture of me with my crutches. Looking at the picture you couldn’t guess it is February in Finland. Well the forecast is much colder by the end of next week. So maybe winter isn’t completely over.

It felt really good to be outside again. I think we need to find a few other places in the nature, which are easy to reach.

A dream kayaking destination – Croatia

Posted on by ilkkalariola

It’s about time to write something new in this blog. I still have a lot of pictures and stories from our Balkan roadtrip. I’ll just skip a few places and get to the kayaking part.

Kayaking around Rab Island

We took a ferry to the Island of Rab on the coast of Croatia. There we met Yogi, who runs Sea Kayak Croatia. We stayed at his house, where his mother has a few rooms and went to visit the Old Town of Rab in the evening. The Old Town was beautiful and we had a very nice meal in one of the only restaurants open at the time. The tourist season is really over in October!

Kayaking on the Adriatic Sea

The next morning Yogi set us up with all the equipment and kayaks and we packed out things in the spacy Prijon kayaks. First we paddled past the Old Town, but quickly moved forward to the more remote parts of the island.

On a break

The weather was perfect, warm and sunny. Nice to be paddling only in a t-shirt and shorts. We stopped to have something small to eat and then continued further along the coast.

Clear water on the Adriatic Sea

The color of the water was wonderful and very clear. You could see small fish swimming around and sea orchids on the rocks. We took our time exploring the coast and all the small bays. It was a great day on the water.

Setting up camp for the night

Sometime in the afternoon we found this small little beach, where we decided to camp. We weren’t sure, if it was exactly the place Yogi had recommended to us. It was a good place anyways.

Sunset on the Island of Rab

We pitched our tent and cooked some dinner just as the sun was setting. The sky was still clear and the sea very calm. There were still a lot of small fishing boats on the water. Obviously it was good weather for fishing too.

Hilleberg Allak under the stars

There was a small area with a rock wall around it. Our Hilleberg Allak tent was a perfect fit and it would have been a good place even in windy conditions.

Camping under the stars

The evening was nice and warm. It was great to see all the stars and the milky way. The best thing is being outdoors on moments like these. Especially in good company.

Cloudy skyes on a kayak trip

The next morning the weather had changed. As we got out of the tent, it looked it was going to rain soon. It never did, but we still packed our things quickly and got back on the water. It was also a bit cooler, so I am glad we brought our jackets too.

Storm approaching

As we paddled further it still wasn’t raining, but it looked like there was a storm coming. We decided to finish the day early and called Yogi to pick us up. The rain and the storm actually went past the island, but you don’t want to take any risks, if you are kayaking in an area for the first time.

It was a great kayak trip and next time we need to reserve more time to go on a longer tour. If you are into kayaking, I recommend visiting this place and getting in touch with Yogi.