A Total Waste

As you can see, I was starting to be in a hurry. I still had 210 municipalities of the 571 to visit, and time was running out. It was strictly one shot per location, unless I was able to enter. This is a former municipal hospital built in 1938. Its location on a hill guaranteesContinue reading “A Total Waste”

Vacation Mode

In mid-June the covid restrictions were eased and travel abroad was again permitted. On the first weekend of July I and a colleague booked cheap ferry tickets and hotels, boarded a ship and started downing gin tonics. The distance between the port and the hotel was a few kilometres. My colleague wanted to take aContinue reading “Vacation Mode”

The Pearl of the Station Village

When touring Eastern Finland, I saw a lot of villages, where the last Hope had taken the last bus and left for good. There were closed grocery stores, closed village schools, closed banks, closed petrol stations, closed everything. By the way, here’s a petrol station. This village is located some kilometres from the main villageContinue reading “The Pearl of the Station Village”

The Sorry State of the Mastodon Part V

So this is as high as it gets. The view from the eight floor balcony over the lake really was worth the climb. The sunset was beautiful, but it was a bit difficult to enjoy it when I noticed, that the balcony I was standing on was growing trees from its cracks. Visibility was good.Continue reading “The Sorry State of the Mastodon Part V”

An Empty Castle

Towards the end of the year I visited Riga. It wasn’t my first time in the town, and I even managed to book a hotel room from the same side of town as on my previous visit around two years previously. As I had been here before, I knew all the bars, restaurants, museums andContinue reading “An Empty Castle”

A Sleeping Beauty

Another of my favourite things was taking long bike tours along the river splitting my home town. One of my routes took me through a quiet suburban area, which was rather upper class. I had been biking the same route for around six years and a small villa had caught my eye. It was darkishContinue reading “A Sleeping Beauty”

A City in Change

Welcome to Oulu, the city of long, cold winters, tar and technology. Located in the narrowest part of Finland at the mouth of Oulu river, it calls itself the capital of Northern Scandinavia. Not exactly located in Scandinavia, it is the indisputable capital of Northern Finland. Northern Finland is losing a lot of its population.Continue reading “A City in Change”