Kotka, Finland – Some of the few artifacts excavated from the Vrouw Maria shipwreck (subject of our next book!). These are on display at Vellamo Maritime Center. This is our second visit to the Maritime Museum of Finland — and…
Langinkoski Lodge
Kotka, Finland – Langinkoski Lodge was once the imperial fishing lodge of Tsar Alexander III. Very modest, by tsarist standards, but I’d take it.
Raseborg Castle
Raseborg, Finland – We had a blast exploring the 15th-century Raseborg castle.
Midsummer in Finland
Kirkkonummi, Finland – For the first time, we celebrated the summer solstice, aka Midsummer in Finland. To our credit, this holiday in Finland looks very similar to the Midsummer feast we have when we’re home. Hyvää Juhannusta!
Hanko Front Museum
Hanko, Finland – We stopped at the Hanko Front Museum for a history lesson. The Hanko peninsula was the focus of the Continuation War between USSR and Finland in 1941-44. The museum is an excellent introduction to the conflict. Would-be…
Vanha Porvoo
Porvoo, Finland – Old Town in delightful Porvoo, aka Vanha Porvoo. The Finnish national poet, Johan Runeberg, is from Porvoo. Signs all over town commemorate this fact, including this one.
Riding the Lev Tolstoy
Helsinki, Finland – And… we’re in Finland! We journeyed from Moscow to Helsinki riding the Lev Tolstoy, a repeat of the overnight train journey we did three years ago. Our compartment was cozy. The twins stayed up late reading. They…
Finnish Midsummer Feast
Somerville, Mass – We don’t get to go to Finland this summer, so we decided we better host our own summer solstice celebration. I wrote to my Finnish family get advice on exactly what this should entail. The Finns wrote back: “Midsummer…
How Finland Keeps Kids Focused
Somerville, Mass – As a follow-up to my previous post about Free Play, here is another article from the Atlantic about an interesting (and not necessarily intuitive) discovery made by an American teaching in Finland. It’s no secret that I…
Good, Not So Good
Somerville, Mass – Weeks have gone by with no posts and I’m sure regular readers are overcome with curiosity–perhaps even concern–what’s been happening with the fearless duo? Did the twins run away to Moomin World? Did their mother decide to…