These are challenging times, these are September times.
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September 2025
Ritorps ishall*, Ulriksdahls idrottsplats, Solna, Sweden; Cyloq Arena**, Sollentuna, Sweden; Medley Solna Simhall***, Ulriksdahls idrottsplats, Solna, Sweden; Medley Sollentuna sim- och sporthall***, Sollentuna, Sweden; Sundbybergs Simhall & Gym****, Sundbyberg, Sweden; Arlanda*****, Sweden
Skiing* (None); Skiing** (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking); Swimming*** (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool,Water,None); Sauna*** (Normal,None); Swimming**** (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna**** (Normal); Flying*****
You remember by fan problem? The fan controls have now been rebuilt with parts for a tractor, plus some engine maintenance. Ten weeks until check up time, at which point .. who knows.
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September 2025
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland
Car
Yet another swimming pool visit in nearby (max 1+ hour drive) swimming halls, as I've run out the ones closer. This time in Hämeenlinna. A large, quite nice swimming pool. The dressing room, shower, and saunas are really top notch. Really liked the glass walls in the saunas and the fact that they had not just a steam sauna but also an infrared sauna was really, really nice. Well done.
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September 2025
Hämeenlinnan uimahalli, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal,Infrared,Steam)
I continued my quest to swim in more places in the evenings after work. Inspired in part by having a reliable loaner car that can take me 100+ km away without a need to worry about breakdowns :-) But obviously mostly inspired by the desire to swim in more nice places.
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September 2025
Hotel Regatta Spa, Hanko, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal,Steam); Sauna (Infrared,None)
Given that I still had the loaner car for an extra day, I felt it was an opportunity to use reliable transport now that it was available. I drove to Salo's swimming hall (link) after work. A long drive, hour and fifteen minutes, but a nice hall!
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September 2025
Salon uimahalli, Salo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool,Water); Sauna (Normal)
Loaner car this weekend because they are trying to fix the ventilation on the Volvo. It already broke earlier but a working fan is becoming necessary now in the humid autumn. The word is that the adjusting switch is broken and there are no spare parts. Fortunately some old tractors may have parts that can be reused. Seems appropriate.
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September 2025
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland
Car
On the way back from the Lahti swimming pool visit, I stopped in Lapinjärvi to look at a cave that I had not previously been to, the Soidenkallion onkalot (or "swamp cliff holes" in rough English translation). This is a shelter cave formed through a horizontal crack and erosion at the bottom of a cliff.
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September 2025
Soidenkallion onkalot*, Lapinjärvi, Finland; Soidenkallion onkalot sivuluola 1**, Lapinjärvi, Finland; Soidenkallion onkalot sivuluola 2**, Lapinjärvi, Finland
Caving* (Basic,Rock-Gneiss,Rock,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Erosion,Surveying); Caving** (Basic,Rock-Gneiss,Rock,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Erosion)
Given the loaner car I have this weekend... I can extend my driving range beyond towing distance. Hence a visit to Lahti, for a Sunday evening swim at the Saksala swimming hall.
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September 2025
Saksalan uimahalli, Lahti, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
I had another mini-vacation. Working for a long day, I decided to take off from the office and drive to Somero, an hour away to swim at the Loiske, the Somero swimming hall. It was quite a nice visit! They've built a new swimming hall to replace the one from 1970s, and the late evening visit made the hall almost empty... several lanes free just for me.
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September 2025
Someron uimahalli Loiske, Somero, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Yesterday I sailed to a company event on my friends boat. The views going there in the morning and coming back in the night were wonderful. We also tested a secret sauna island far out south of Espoo.
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September 2025
Gåsgrund sauna, Gåsgrund, Espoo, Finland
Sailing; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Waterbody-Sea,Beach,Outdoor)
Tested the new 2M€ smoke saunas in Kuusijärvi that were opened today. They were very, very nice. Didn’t know they were opened today, just happened to want a sauna visit and Kuusijärvi was on my route.
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August 2025
Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Waterbody-Lake,Beach,Outdoor)
... on the same day, in Serbia :-)
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August 2025
Srebrno Jezero beach, Veliko Gradište, Serbia
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
Vršac is a small city in northeastern Serbia, close to the Romanian border. The city has been built on the foothills of a striking hill, and on the top of the hill there's a castle dating back to 1439. It has been abandoned for centuries, but reconstruction started in 2009. The main tower of the castle is today in good condition, other parts remain as ruins.
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August 2025
Vršac castle*, Vršac, Serbia; Helvecija 1880**, Vršac, Serbia
Urban-Exploration* (Historic,Castles,Ruins); Swimming** (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna** (Normal,Steam)
I had two choices for visiting a cave. One was reportedly larger, but also came with a river crossing on foot, hiking through bushes known to have venomous snakes, and a 10-meter vertical cliff climb without protection. I chose the other one, Gaura cu Muscă, or the "Cave of the Flies". This cave was supposed have an easy path to follow from the road. Yet, that easy path turned out to be not so obvious, so after hiking 50 meters up and gotten to an increasingly unstable and sketchy mountainside path, I gave up. But on the way back I realized there were alternate paths, and one of them lead to the actual cave. The views from inside this cave's oval-shaped entrance holes, over the Danube were nothing short of stunning!
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August 2025
Gaura cu Muscă mai jos*, Coronini, Romania; Gaura cu Muscă de sus*, Coronini, Romania; Golubac fortress**, Golubac, Serbia; St. Laszlo Fortress***, Coronini, Romania
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Karst,Swimming,Surveying); Urban-Exploration** (Ruins,Castles,Historic); Urban-Exploration*** (None,Ruins,Castles,Historic)
I've been in a medical procedure, as a time slot opened in my hospital for an operation that I've been waiting for. This lead me interrupting a vacation and flying back to Finland, some great care in the Meilahti hospital, some sick leave, and hopefully getting improved health as a result. But it also led to a temporary prohibition for swimming and saunas, and heavy exercise. Fortunately I can still soak my feet in the pleasant waters of the Bodom lake, in Oittaa.
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August 2025
Oittaan uimaranta, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (None,Waterbody-Lake,Beach,Outdoor)
A hole in the sky. Or in the roof, rather. This is what has given this cave its name, Zelena Špilja or in English the Green Cave. At noon, sun will shine through this small hole down to the water in the sea cave, and combined with the sea weed at the bottom of the water, a green light is created. I'm here though in the evening, but the cave is still spectacular!
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August 2025
Zelena Špilja*, Griže, Ravnik, Croatia; Unnamed beach cave 1**, Podhumlje, Vis, Croatia; Unnamed beach cave 2***, Podhumlje, Vis, Croatia; Zaglav****, Vis, Croatia; Milna*****, Vis, Croatia; Budikovac beach*****, Podstražje, Otok Veli Budikovac, Croatia
Caving* (Rock,Swimming,Morphology-Erosion); Swimming* (Waterbody-Sea); Caving** (Rock,Boating,Morphology-Erosion); Caving*** (None,Rock,Morphology-Erosion); Swimming**** (Waterbody-Sea,Beach); Swimming***** (None,Waterbody-Sea,Beach)
The Krka National Park is one of the most popular parks in Croatia. It runs along the river Krka, and is reachable by about an hour's drive from Split or Zadar. The park is centered around the river and lakes on it, with incredibly beautiful gorges and waterfalls. There are many cruises, excursions, restaurants, one beach, and ... a large number of caves :-) I visited the main tourist-accessible cave, Ozidana Pecina along with some smaller caves in the area.
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August 2025
Ozidana Pecina*, Krka, Bogatić, Croatia; A-Frame cave*, Krka, Bogatić, Croatia; High shelter cave**, Krka, Bogatić, Croatia; Shelter cave by the raised path*, Krka, Bogatić, Croatia; Shelter cave behind bushes*, Krka, Bogatić, Croatia; Krka beach***, Krka, Bogatić, Croatia
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Surveying); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Surveying); Swimming*** (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
An active day, for sure. I needed to fly out today, but before that I wanted to get my August ski turns in the massive snow mountains of Myyrmäki's ice skating hall (picture above), visit my mom, and do a quick swim at a swimming place near her in Pornainen's Hietasen uimaranta (Hietasen's beach) in Vähä-Laukkokoski. A nice package for the day! The skating hall was open and there was a pile of snow, saw my mom, visited the beach with warm water and sunshine and no one else around, and had a pleasant flying experience in the air and at the airports.
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August 2025
Myyrmäen jäähalli*, Myyrmäki, Vantaa, Finland; Hietasen uimaranta**, Vähä-Laukkokoski, Pornainen, Finland; Helsinki-Vantaa***, Vantaa, Finland; Split Airport***, Split, Croatia
Skiing*; Swimming** (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake,Beach); Flying***
My son took me to a place that he had scouted earlier. A remote lake, rocky peninsulas, crystal clear water. The day was also warm, sunny, and the water pleasant... can't get better than this. Saarijärvi!
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July 2025
Saarijärven niemi*, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Saarijärven uimaranta**, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland
Swimming* (Waterbody-Lake); Hiking*; Swimming** (None,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
Flying out of Madrid now after a very nice meeting, but not before hiking to the Cueve de Malvecino cave, did a 3D scan of it. This was in the Los Cerros park, east of the city. A hot hike, despite going there in the evening.
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July 2025
Cueva de Malvecino*, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Cueva de los Gigantones**, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
Caving* (Basic,Man-Made,Rock,Surveying); Caving** (None,Man-Made,Rock)
Snow in Madrid??? I didn't believe it was possible, so I wasn't prepared. I should have had faith... of course there's snow. There always has been and always will be. Everywhere.
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July 2025
Snozone Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Skiing (Indoor,Snow,Lifts)
Stopped at yet another beach while driving back from home. Can't imagine I haven't been here before: Laurinlahden uimaranta (Lauri's bay beach). Very nice. Compact, clean, necessary facilities... nice water. Also good that they have a long pier to swim from, unless one wants to swim from the sand, like I did.
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July 2025
Laurinlahden uimaranta, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Sea,Beach,Outdoor)
Arrived late from Madrid. And not only that, but the car's ventilation was broken, so drove to the cottage only late in the evening. Arrived shortly after 11pm, and did a swim at midnight. Such bliss, water was very warm but still cooled us down a bit, everything was quiet, the darkness had set in, lake had no waves. Nice!
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July 2025
Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake)
Driving on a heatwave day, now back in Finland. Theres never been air conditioning in the Volvo but now the fan also has given up. Or the switch; no spare parts. Windows can still be opened.
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July 2025
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Car
I was at a conference in Madrid. When flying out, my status at Finnair earned me a spot at the Iberia's Sala VIP Dali, their lounge. Nice experience overall. This was at breakfast time, and there was a decent breakfast foods available. I also liked the airport design.
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July 2025
Madrid Airport, Madrid, Spain
Flying; Travel
While at a conference in Madrid, I stayed at the NH Collection hotel in the Eurobuilding. This hotel has a spa and gym. While it was separately paid and not inexpensive (30€), it was a quite nice for a hotel spa! Nice big Finnish sauna, a Turkish sauna, ice bucket, multiple pools, etc. The main pool was maybe 15 meters long and narrow, just enough space for 2-3 at the same time. But very much enjoyed this visit!
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July 2025
Metropolitan Sport Club and Spa, Eurobuilding, Madrid, Spain
Sauna (Normal,Steam); Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Madrid, Spain. There's a famous cave, the Altamira cave in Cantabria that has fabulous cave paintings. Unfortunately, it is today inaccessible to prevent visitors bringing in moisture that was slowly degrading these ancient paintings. Ancient, very ancient, the cave paintings were made between 35,000 and 13,000 years ago. The cave was closed after that period by a landslide, until it was discovered sometime in the late 19th century due to construction work.
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July 2025
Altamira cave replica*, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid, Spain; Altamira cave replica**, Museo Altamira Mitológica, Santillana del Mar, Spain; Altamira cave***, Herrán, Spain
Caving* (Man-Made,Basic); Caving** (Man-Made,None); Caving*** (Rock,None)
Syväjärven uimaranta, Kirkkonummi. A beach on the "deep lake" (Syväjärvi). In reality the lake is pretty small though. I doubt about its deepness either. Anyway, with almost thirty degrees and one of the rare sunshine-filled days of the summer, everybody and their kids appear to be at the lake. So am I!
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July 2025
Syväjärven uimaranta, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Lake,Outdoor,Beach)
Around Kivenlahti there are a number of nice beaches to swim at, including Laurinlahti that I also recently visited. But this time I am at the Kivenlahti Beach, conveniently located just few hundred meters from the Hypeareena which has gyms, hockey arenas, saunas, and also pools. This time I did the gyms there and came to the beach for the swim. The Kivenlahti Beach is a really nice, secluded beach surrounded by the green nature. Much recommended!
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July 2025
Kivenlahden uimaranta, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Sea,Outdoor,Beach)
While all the community swimming pools seem to be closed during the summer, I realized that the parking-garage looking building on my way to work is actually a multi-function place, with not just parking but also an ice hockey arena, gym, cafeterias, nightclubs and restaurants... and a rooftop saunas and a pool. Very, very nice experience. Loved the sauna with a view.
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July 2025
Hype Hybridiareena, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Outdoor); Sauna (Normal)
Another swimming hall visit! This time in Martinlaakso, a suburb of Vantaa. They have a nice swimming hall, and at least now in the summer it seemed almost completely empty. But open, unlike most of the other community swimming halls sigh...
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July 2025
Martinlaakson uimahalli, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Having hiked, caved, and skied I was ... not ready to sit in a packed airplane. A swim or at least a sauna would be so good! Initially, it looked like it would be possible in Norway's many swimming halls. But none of them turned out to be actually open, or open to public at all. Nor did the airport hotel let anyone except guests in their gym that would have had a sauna. Sigh.
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July 2025
Fjellhamar arena, Oslo, Norway
Swimming (None); Sauna (None)
As I was flying out of Norway's Oslo / Gardemoen airport, I got a chance to visit the lounge that Finnair had a deal with for people with frequent flier status: the OSL lounge. The international side OSL lounge (there's two, the other one is at the domestic side).
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July 2025
Oslo airport, Gardemoen, Norway
Flying; Travel
After having skied in Snø on the last days of June, now I was about to fly out from Norway, but had some time. I decided to go to Snø again, to cover my July skiing :-)
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July 2025
Snø, Oslo, Norway
Skiing (Indoor,Snow,Lifts)
Can you imagine an indoor ski hall that has a 500-meter slope, is regularly used by World Cup teams for practice, has a separate elevated pathways for cross-country skiing, a park for the snowboarders, a snow castle for parties, a hotel, a game area, restaurants... and an indoor ice climbing wall. No? Well you guessed it, such a thing can only exist in oil-rich countries. Norway in this case. Seriously though, Snø and Snøbyen (the village) are a major destination and a delight for skiers. I wonder why I have not been here before. Well done, Norway!
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June 2025
Snø, Oslo, Norway
Skiing (Indoor,Snow,Lifts)
While in Flåm (see separate articles about Vatnahalsen and the train journey), I noticed that there are some interesting places near the Flåm harbor. Today, the harbor is visited by massive cruise ships that flood the little town with tourists, but it is an old harbor and has seen a lot of history.
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June 2025
Flåm bunker*, Flåm, Norway; Flåm dynamite cellar*, Flåm, Norway; Flåm harbour boulder cave*, Flåm, Norway; Floating fjord sauna***, Flåm, Norway
Urban-Exploration* (Bunkers); Caving (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Boulders); Sauna*** (Normal,None)
While going on the Flåm railway (see the other article), I noticed that on Google Maps there was a marking for a "cave waterfall", Grottefossen-Høgabru. I saw it briefly when the train drove by, the river entered the mountain and came out shortly thereafter on the other side. And there was an additional similar underground water flow after the Kjosfossen waterfall, under the station. These seem man-made, however, as in both cases the water is taking a different direction to bypass the station or the bank that the rails were on.
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June 2025
Grottefossen-Høgabru, Flåm, Norway; Kjosfossen station, Flåm, Norway
Travel; Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Railways); Caving (Man-Made,None)
Vatnahalsen Høyfjellshotell is a hotel on a lonely mountaintop, on the Flåm railway line between Myrdal and Flåm. This railway line is "considered one of the world’s best train journeys". It is indeed spectacular, going through mountains and running on the sides of beautiful, untouched valleys and high plains. And the hotel is a convenient place to stay along the route, if you don't want to stay in Flåm which has more services and hotels. In Vatnahalsen there's nothing except this one hotel, mountain views... also a zip line down to the valley, length 1380 meters :-) And there's s sauna.
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June 2025
Vatnahalsen Høyfjellshotell, Myrdal, Norway
Sauna
Facebook reminded me that the Volvo came out of paint shop in 2015... and now it is 2025. Can you spot the difference? :-)
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July 2025
Träskändan puisto, Espoo, Finland
Car
A common sauna discussion is the one about the effect of throwing water on the sauna stove, and how it affects the temperature in the sauna: whether it just feels hotter due to the humidity, or if the temperature actually rises?
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July 2025
Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake)
After exploring the Mareminehollet cave in Bergen, I was more in the south of Norway, and explored another cave. I don't want to expose its location or even name/city. It was interesting, though I the promised 50 meters seemed like a stretch. But I also didn't feel like squeezing into the very low part, it is possible that something could have been found there.
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July 2025
Undisclosed cave 1, Undisclosed city, Norway; Undisclosed cave 1 side cave, Undisclosed city, Norway
Caving (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Erosion,Morphology-Karst,Surveying)
I'm in Norway, traveling between Oslo and Bergen. But are there any caves that I could visit? Turning to Google, I do find some, but they are generally too far out of my reach. The good caves appear to be much higher up north. However, just a kilometer from the city center of Bergen there's Maraminehollet. It is a city cave, with everything that comes with it. Easy to access, there's a sign, there's a bench next to it. But to enter, you must first pass the beer cans and park chemists :-)
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June 2025
Mareminehollet, Bergen, Norway
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Unknow,Surveying)
... or at least the Espoonlahti swimming hall :-)
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June 2025
Espoonlahden uimahalli, Espoo, Finland
Swimming; Sauna
I was driving back from a very nice midsummer visit to a friend's cottage when I spotted a grand, 20+ meter cliff by the roadside. I had seen this before, but never had an opportunity to stop. But now I had to, because there was a hole on the middle of the wall, staring me in the eye :-) The question was though if I could get to it without climbing equipment. It turned out that a steep ledge was leading up to it, not great and not for wet weather, but still climbable carefully. So I got to the hole! It turned out to be a pretty small though, maybe 3 meters long. Still something, but as a too short cave I had to return it back to the nature :-)
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June 2025
Toravuoren kolo*, Salo, Finland; Kuharanta**, Perniö, Finland
Caving (Basic,Surveying,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Crack); Swimming** (Waterbody-Sea,Outdoor); Sauna** (Normal)
Early June is a perfect time to enjoy the Finnish summer. The nature is so nicely light green at this time of the year. We visited our summer cottage in Teisko, including of course plenty of stops at the sauna and the lake. Summer 💚
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June 2025
Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake)
Visited my long-time lounge in Arlanda's T2 (where Finnair flies from). They've changed name though, and the entrance is no longer at the back of the restaurant... which is an improvement. The lounge itself is still very similar to how it was before. Basic foods, decent breakfast though with eggs, pancakes, etc.
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June 2025
Arlanda, Sweden
Travel; Flying
Ski trip in the surroundings of Kista is going badly. Can’t find open skating rinks or their excess snow piles. And I dragged my mini-skis all the way to Sweden for this! Sigh. But, as you know we have ice bears walking on the streets of Helsinki... and they bring the cold, good stuff.
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June 2025
Ritorps ishall*, Ulriksdahls idrottsplats, Solna, Sweden; Medley Solna Simhall**, Ulriksdahls idrottsplats, Solna, Sweden; Myyrmäen jäähalli***, Myyrmäki, Vantaa, Finland
Skiing* (None); Sauna**; Swimming** (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Skiing***
Visited the Finnair Platinum lounge at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport again. This time they were going for some traditional Finnish delicacies, and it was my turn to taste the "sausage sauce", i.e., cut pieces of sausage in sauce, served with potato mash. It was good, even if not traditionally considered much of a gourmet meal...
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June 2025
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Arlanda, Sweden
Travel; Flying
Hamburger Börs is a classic hotel in Turku, dating back to 1894. Rebuilt and mostly a new building around the old one nowadays though. Visited the hotel while I was in Turku for the caving association meetup and scanning the Luolavuori cave. Of course I had to try the sauna in the hotel, as well. Very nice.
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June 2025
Hotelli Hamburger Börs, Turku, Finland
Sauna (Normal)
I went with Ralf's organized caving trip to Turku's Luolavuori (cave mountain) cave. Been there many times, it is a wonderful cave! Also fun to meet new people, perhaps there's some cave trips we can do together at some point! Also, I did a quick 3D scan of the cave with my iPhone.
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June 2025
Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders)
In April, my fuel hatch came off. Fortunately, I didn't lose it, I was refueling at the time. But the connecting mechanism had come apart, plastic giving up after 33 years. Oh well. Even more fortunately, spare parts were available. Now they finally arrived and my royal repair shop fixed it in place. Nice!
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June 2025
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Car
In Pohja (near Raasepori) there are three railway tunnels, only one of which is still in use. One has been entirely decommissioned and there are no rails there, another one is used as a storage depot for old railway cars, and one is indeed still in use. The tunnels go through a large cliff by the Pohja harbor. The unused tunnels have been a popular urban exploration site, but apparently no longer, as they are closed shut, and there are signs about surveillance and fines... nice visit, interesting to see the old railway cars, but ... couldn't get inside the tunnels.
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June 2025
Pohjankurun vanha rautatietunneli*, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun keskivanha rautatietunneli*, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun uusi rautatietunneli*, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun talon rauniot**, Pohja, Finland; Pohjankurun kellari-bunkkeri***, Pohja, Finland
Urban-Exploration* (Tunnels,Railway); Urban-Exploration** (Ruins); Urban-Exploration*** (Bunkers,Ruins)
Right across the river in Porvoo, there's a hill with a famous rock and an observation deck on top of it: Näsin kivi. A massive glacial boulder, moved by during the ice age. It is very interesting by itself, including some small crack canyons on its sides. But a hundred meters away is another smaller boulder, cracked open in two points. And there are two narrow tunnels in cracks, passing under the boulder.
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May 2025
Näsin siirtolohkare, Porvoo, Finland
Caving (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack)
... at least in my bookshelf. I counted 80 Lonely Planet travel books. Most of the places I have even visited, some not (North Korea, for instance).
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May 2025
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Travel; Flying
Kauniainen has melted... almost. Some snow-hoarding evil people have taken much of the snow though under their own blanket. Sigh.
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May 2025
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (None)
We got an update from Kim Petterson about the Solamäki caves.
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May 2025
Solamäen luola, Siuntio, Finland
Caving (None)
I had failed. Did not find skiable snow in May in Tampere. Not on the ski hills, not by the skating hall that was next to the swimming hall I went to. Nowhere. Until... I stopped for gas in Kangasala, and happened to see a glimpse of the coveted white stuff. Finally, a cold treatment!
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May 2025
Kangasalan jäähalli, Kangasala, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking)
I did my first proper visit to the summer cottage in early May, did a quick dip to the lake from the cottage sauna, but a more proper swim was on the way to the cottage in Tampere, at the Tesoma swimming hall. This is a small swimming hall, but quite a positive surprise. Five pools, including a cold dip pool and a jumping platform pool that doubles as a warm therapy pool. Nice.
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May 2025
Tesoman uimahalli*, Tampere, Finland; Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland; Tesoman jäähalli***, Tampere, Finland
Swimming* (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna* (Normal); Swimming** (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake); Sauna** (Normal); Skiing*** (None)
Can I have an evening mini-vacation, swimming in the waves? Yes I can! Just drive to Forssa (only 104 km away from home) and enjoy the wave machine at the Vesihelmi spa.
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May 2025
Vesihelmi, Forssa, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Sauna (Normal,Steam)
May ski turns on the melting local ski hill, some snow still left despite the early spring. Also a visit to the smoke saunas in Kuusijärvi that were empty due to the May Day.
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May 2025
Kauniainen ski hill*, Kauniainen, Finland; Kuusijärvi**, Vantaa, Finland
Skiing*; Sauna** (Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake)
I had an extra hour plus at the Frankfurt Airport, so instead of hanging around in the sorry Air France lounge (see another report), I decided to exit the airport and check out the spa the the Steigenberger hotel.
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March 2025
Steigenberger Airport Hotel Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Sauna (Normal,Steam)
Sometimes the flight upgrades can be caught at a reasonable price. I got an offer for an upgrade to business class on a short Lufthansa intra-European flight, for only 55€. Took it. Got a nice meal and space for it, when tourist class would have been packed.
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March 2025
Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Travel; Flying
Since I had an upgrade on Lufthansa, I got access to another lounge, this time at the Belgrade airport. The DUFRY Business Club. Small but semi functional, and not too packed.
Full story
March 2025
Belgrade Airport, Belgrade, Serbia
Travel; Flying
Sigh. Not the greatest lounge. Crowded. Yes there is power and seats are ok, and there's some food. But this lounge is far too overused, so it is always packed -- and several times I have had to wait outside for a permission to come in later.
Full story
April 2025
Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Travel; Flying
I had a Samsonite hard case for couple of decades, but when the locking mechanism broke I ditched it and got a new modern Samsonite. Nice looking case, but ... unfortunately the quality wasn't what I was used in the previous Samsonites. The case broke on first trip, corner broken. Ok, perhaps the airline mistreated it but still.. then I got a new one on airline's cost. And another one later when it started having zipper problems.
Full story
April 2025
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Travel; Flying
Hervanta, a suburb of Tampere. I was told there was a swimming hall here, an underground one. Usually there'd be some signs but now I see nothing, at least not at the parking lot. But the map points to the yard of the nearby apartment block, so after walking just 50 meters I see the entrance, a small concrete building is the only thing that sticks out above ground.
Full story
April 2025
Hervannan uimahalli, Hervanta, Tampere, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Sauna (Normal); Caving (Man-Made,Basic,Rock); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers)
Visited my friends Duncan and Suvi near Jalasjärvi, and was surprised to find out that there's a ski hill. It was late April... they won't operate this late, but would there be any snow left? No ski resorts on my way here had any snow left.
Full story
April 2025
Kiuaskallio, Jalasjärvi, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking)
.. the refueling door. Sigh.
Full story
April 2025
Motonet, Espoo, Finland
Car
Car’s in shiny spring condition. Also added 1.5L of coolant as it appears to go missing. And the inner roof lining is falling down. Otherwise a peachy day :-)
Full story
April 2025
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Car
Saw this on lake Annecy, at the spa "Eugénie Spa" in Talloires-Montmin on Lac d'Annecy. Nice location, and I don't usually like barrel saunas but I would like to try this one with the glass bubble on the business end!
Full story
Aprill 2025
Eugénie Spa, Talloires-Montmin, France
Sauna (None)
I was coming back from a business trip, on a flight from Amsterdam to Helsinki. I was kind of expecting an A350 ... I prefer to fly them if they happen to be on the routes I have to fly. It turned out to be an A330, however, which was very nice, too, and empty seat next to me at the back of the plane. Still wondered about the winglet paint being in less than ideal condition. I realize the paint nor the winglet are actually essential for flying.
Full story
April 2025
Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Flying
Thermae Grimbergen is in the outskirts of Brussels, I chose it as an affordable hotel for my business trip. The Thermae looked like a regular hotel, and a small spa, split among multiple buildings. The entrance to the spa was downstairs past the reception in the main buildimng, and I expected a usual basement spa experience. But, it turned out that the buildings were just a front to what was hidden behind: a lush garden with a pond, more than a dozen different saunas and endless relaxation spaces. You wouldn't think the city exists outside the garden.
Full story
April 2025
Thermae Grimbergen, Grimbergen, Belgium
Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool,Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Steam,Normal,Infrared)
The Imperial Palace ... and a swim at their Crystal Spa. Even from the names you can tell that this is a high-level experience. The Palace is the highest end hotel in Annecy, and it is by the lake. It is a nicely renovated classic building from 1912. Even the smallest rooms can run up to 700 € per night at busy times, though we stayed here for much less, on a very nice day but with less crowds. Crystal Spa is their spa facility. Much recommended!
Full story
April 2025
Imperial Palace, Annecy, France
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Steam,Normal)
What an airport! Or two... or two sides maybe. I flew to Genève but wanted to rent a car from the cheaper French side of the airport, so had to change sides. Exit was easy, coming back was quite an adventure. You have to drive to Ferney and take the only road -- a road fenced off from both sides -- to enter the airport to return the car back on the French side.
Full story
April 2025
Geneva Airport, Genève, Switzerland; Ferney-Voltaire Airport, Ferney-Voltaire, France
Flying; Travel
Business trip to Brussels, are there caves? Sadly, there are no caves in town, and I don't have enough free time in the evenings to venture outside. However, there's an intriguing thing in town: a copy of the famous Grotte de Lourdes from France. A chapel or a place of worship.
Full story
April 2025
Grotte Notre-Dame Lourdes à Jette*, Brussels, Belgium; Grotte de Massabielle**, Lourdes, France
Caving* (Rock,Man-Made,Basic); Caving** (None,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst)
I had a chance to visit Lac d'Annecy and surroundings last weekend. It is a wonderful area, much closer to nature than the bustling megacity Geneve nearby. Lakes, mountains, and .. caves! Visited three very different caves, Grotte du Grand Pertuis that was only reachable by boat from the lake, Grotte de l'ermitage by high up above the lake and under a church (where the founder of the monastery and church lived for 40 years), and finally closer to Geneve and on the mountains, Grotte du Diable, a mud-infested pit of the devil. Very nice!
Full story
April 2025
Grotte du Grand Pertuis*, Talloires-Montmin, France; Grotte de l'ermitage*, Talloires-Montmin, France; Grotte du Diable*, Le Sappey, France; Roselet islet**, Duingt, France; Abandoned restaurant***, Le Sappey, France
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Urban-Exploration** (Historic); Urban-Exploration*** (Buildings)
Grotte delle Busserailles is a small show cave in Valtournenche in northern Italy, four kilometers down the road from the ski resort Cervinia. Actually, it is more of a deep gorge with the roof partially closed. The wonderful part of the cave is the waterfall falling down from the river to the deeper part of the cave.
Full story
March 2025
Grotte delle Busserailles, Valtournenche, Italy
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Erosion,Showtour)
A very nice, very small cave near Frankfurt! On the way to the airport, even. I've been having layovers in Frankfurt and Munich many times, and always looked for the possibility of caves nearby, close enough to drive during the few hours. But nothing was ever close enough. But now when I was on a business trip to Frankfurt I found out that in the suburbs there's a cave, Gagernhöhle, that you can quite easily visit.
Full story
March 2025
Gagernhöhle, Kelkheim, Germany
Caving (Man-Made,Rock)
A day off on a conference trip in Bangkok. I've already skied here some years ago (in an indoor ski simulator), so what's left? Caves, of course. Caves. Hours spent in front of Google Maps and DuckDuckGo reveal though that there's nothing in Bangkok or even in the outskirts. I'll have to go further. The absolutely best and most interesting caves would be out of my reach, would require driving for five hours or even flying. But, the Ratchaburi region does offer many interesting caves, and it is only a two and a half hour drive away. I hire a driver for the day and off we go! What we find, though, is quite surprising. It turns out that half of the caves are housing buddhist temples, and even the other half has a shrine or statue or a place of quieting down.
Full story
March 2025
Khao Bin Cave*, Hin Kong, Thailand; Chomphon Cave**, Chom Bueng, Thailand; Unidentified Cave***, Ko Phlappla, Thailand; Tham Cham***, Ko Phlappla, Thailand; Fa Tho Cave***, Ko Phlappla, Thailand; Tham Rusi Khai Ngu*, Ko Phlappla, Thailand; Khao Yoi Cave*, Khao Yoi, Thailand; Paradise Cave**, Khao Yoi, Thailand; Phra Sri-aaraya Cave***, Khao Yoi, Thailand
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Showtour); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Caving*** (None,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst)
While at a conference in Bangkok, I stayed at the Hilton chain's "DoubleTree" branded hotel, the Bangkok Sukhumvit DoubleTree. Nice, affordable hotel, had nothing bad to say about it even if it is on the lower scale of the Hilton brands. They had a very nice pool at the 7th floor, check out the moon!
Full story
March 2025
DoubleTree by Hilton, Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Found another Helsinki area swimming hall, again! Great! This time in Vihti, at the Vihti Swimming Hall. It is a 25-meter swimming pool and smaller kiddie pool, a part of the school building complex in Nummela.
Full story
March 2025
Vihdin Uimahalli, Nummela, Vihti, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna
Salish Lodge is a luxury hotel ledged right above the spectacular 82 meter Snoqualmie Falls. The falls and the lodge are iconic and well known, not least due to their presence in the 1990s TV series Twin Peaks. It is a wonderful park to visit, and the views really are something else, I think objectively a more beautiful place than the Niagara Falls, for instance. And the hotel is superb.
Full story
March 2025
Salish Lodge*, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA; Snoqualmie Falls*, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA
Sauna* (Normal,Steam); Swimming* (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Hiking**
While skiing in the olympics :-) I stayed of course at the Olympic Lodge (of Port Angeles, Washington). They had a pool... which I had to try of course. The main pool was ok but not super warm in the winter (heated, still, of course). But the jacuzzi was very warm!
Full story
March 2025
Olympic Lodge by Ayres, Port Angeles, Washington, USA
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool)
It isn't easy to get to ski in the olympics. There's only one, of course. It isn't clear if you'll succeed even if you get there, because the conditions are difficult and your vision about how your run should go may be foggy. And the road there is difficult. So difficult, that unlike all the other Washington State ski resorts, you need to have chains. And the rental agencies did not rent them ... Oreilly Auto Parts to the rescue (with free returns :-) ). I am or course talking about the Hurricane Ridge ski resort in the Olympic National Park. A historic ski resort opened in 1958, operated by a non-profit association for enabling skiing in the mountains of the park.
Full story
March 2025
Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, Washington, USA
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Lifts)
If you flying to or from the North America on Finnair, the changes are that sooner or later you'll have to fly through Dallas Forth Worth airport. This presents a major first world dilemma: should you use the American Airlines Flagship Lounge or the Capital One Lounge? Both boast to be the best. But what's the truth?
Full story
March 2025
Dallas Fort Worth airport, Dallas, Texas, USA
Flying
I was flying through the Seattle-Tacoma airport, and I run into an unusually interesting airport shop. And maybe not just interesting, possibly the best ever airport shop that I have ever seen, anywhere. At least for plane enthusiasts!
Full story
March 2025
Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Seattle, Washington, USA
Flying
Didn’t realize there was a community swimming hall in Siuntio. And I guess it’s pretty new, previously part of the closed hotel but since the hotel has been revived and the Siuntio community took on the spa part in 2023 … quite nice. Dated, but well done. Two 25-meter pools. Just few people, life guards will say hi unlike in Espoo or Helsinki, etc. Worth a visit.
Full story
February 2025
Hotelli Siuntio, Siuntio, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Sauna (Normal)
Kelvedon Hatch is a three-level, massive bunker -- biggest I've ever been to. The bunker has had multiple functions over its active years of use. In the last years it was the reserve Regional Government HQ, designed to support up to 600 civilian and military personnel, possibly including the prime minister.
Full story
December 2014
Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker, Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood, United Kingdom
Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Military); Caving (Man-Made)
This was my first experience flying Turkish Airlines on long-haul flights. I had initially wanted to get the cheap tickets from Frankfurt to Ulaanbaatar on Mongolian Airlines, but they didn't seem to be available on my dates, so I opted for going from Helsinki to Istanbul and then to Ulaanbaatar. The layover in Istanbul was only an hour and five minutes, which was unnerving. But I made it, so did my luggage, and overall had a happy experience with Turkish Airlines. Full, hot meals on intra-European flights, eyeshades for the tourist class passengers, etc. Nice!
Full story
January 2025
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Istanbul International Airport, Istanbul, Turkey; Chinggis Khaan International Airport, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Flying; Travel
When one drags a ton of luggage to the airport and is heading for a long flight, it would be nice to visit a sauna. Except if you aren't on your usual airline that has the nice sauna in their lounge... However, to my big surprise I found a new, FREE, sauna on the non-Schengen side of the airport near gate 40. The downside? The sauna is a bit on the cold side... but it was a nice and quiet place to sit and have a conference call, at least. Until some some little people arrived and started playing ...
Full story
January 2025
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Travel; Sauna
I visited Mongolia in February 2025, and of course wanted to visit some caves. It turned out to be a bit challenging, it is a large country with some of the potential caves too far away from Ulaanbaatar where I stayed, some caves would not be possible to visit in the winter, couldn't connect to the local caving association, etc. But I managed to visit one good cave and some tiny holes maybe not classified as caves, and one mine. But in this article I wanted to outline all the Mongolian caves I found out about, for others to explore if you happen to be traveling to Mongolia.
Full story
February 2025
100 Monk Cave*, Terelj, Mongolia; 100 Monk Side Cave*, Terelj, Mongolia; Turtle Rock*, Terelj, Mongolia; East Crystal Cave*, Terelj, Mongolia; West Crystal Cave**, Terelj, Mongolia; Tiny roof cave among boulders*, Terelj, Mongolia; A crack in a cliff***, Terelj, Mongolia; Cow shed roof cave*, Terelj, Mongolia; North Tsenkheri Cave**, Mankham Soum, Mongolia; Gurbanzeerdiin Cave**, Khanbogd, Mongolia; Dayandeerkhiin Cave**, Derhiin Hüryee, Mongolia; Tsakhiryn Agui 1**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Tsakhiryn Agui 1 b**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Tsakhiryn Agui 2**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Tsakhiryn Agui 3**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Tsakhiryn Agui 4**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Tsakhiryn Agui 5**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Irvesiin Agui**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Nuramt Tsakhir Agui**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Khongil Tsakhir Agui**, Khaliun, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 1**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 2**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 3**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 4**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 5**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 6**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 7**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 8**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 9**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 10**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 11**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 12**, Taishir, Mongolia; Gazar Agui 13**, Taishir, Mongolia; Saalit Agui 1**, Bayan-Ondor, Mongolia; Saalit Agui 2**, Bayan-Ondor, Mongolia; Saalit Agui 3**, Bayan-Ondor, Mongolia; Tsagaan Agui**, Bayan Lig, Mongolia; Taliin Cave**, Dariganga, Mongolia; Lobonchombiin Cave**, Aguy-sume, Mongolia; Tsagaandeliin Cave, Airag, Mongolia
Caving* (Rock,Basic); Caving** (Rock,None); Hiking***
I tried hard. Very hard. To find more caves than the 100 Monks Cave... but it was difficult. After long period of Internet searching, I settled on visiting the Crystal "cave", even if it was just an abandoned man-made mine. It was nearby though, also in Terelj, and not 17 hour drive away so that's a positive :-) But my first guide was unable to take me to this place, so I looked for another guide company. A got the whole deal, the driver, the guy who speaks English to me, and the local guide who knows where the mine is :-)
Full story
February 2025
East Crystal Cave*, Terelj, Mongolia; West Crystal Cave**, Terelj, Mongolia; Tiny roof cave among boulders***, Terelj, Mongolia; A crack in a cliff****, Terelj, Mongolia; Cow shed roof cave***, Terelj, Mongolia
Urban-Exploration* (Mines); Caving* (Basic,Man-Made); Hiking*; Urban-Exploration** (None,Mines); Caving* (None,Man-Made); Caving*** (Basic,Rock); Hiking***; Hiking****
Mongolia caving, yay! Freezing temperatures and beautiful red granite rock of the Terelj national park near Ulaanbaatar, what's not to like? On my way to Mongolia I run into to other travelers from Finland, and they were able to join me on the Sunday excursion to Terelj. Together with a guide we headed to the 100 ламын агуй, or the 100 Monk Cave. Besides caves, we also looked at turtle-shaped massive rocks, world's largest horse rider statue, local population's ger (yurt) tents, and snowy mountains. The only question is if the cave will fit 100 monks as advertised ...
Full story
February 2025
100 Monk Cave*, Terelj, Mongolia; 100 Monk Side Cave**, Terelj, Mongolia; Turtle Rock***, Terelj, Mongolia
Caving* (Basic,Surveying,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Unknown); Caving** (Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Unknown); Caving*** (Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Unknown); Hiking***; Climbing***
I finally made my dream come true, to ski in Mongolia! I had dreamed about this for fifteen years... then I landed on the Chinggis Khaan International Airport, and there I was... Mongolia's only ski resort, Sky Resort was waiting for me just outside the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Just a tiny issue, that it was very cold, up to -36 during nights, though now only a balmier -24 during the day. But I headed to the ski resort, and it was wonderful!
Full story
February 2025
Sky Resort, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Lifts)
I was in Ulaanbaatar for skiing and caving, but of course I also had to visit the local saunas and pools. I stayed at the Best Western Tuushin hotel and their spa had a sauna. And possibly the best hotel in town, the Shangri-La, has an entire sports club with 25 meter pool, saunas, etc.
Full story
February 2025
Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel*, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Shangri-La Centre Sports Club**, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Sauna*; Swimming** (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Sauna**
When I was in elementary school, our class would get swimming lessons by taking a bus to the Tikkurila swimming hall, a dome construction from 1968 and Finland's first 50-meter indoor swimming pool. Besides that pool, there's a teaching pool and a jumping platforms up to 10 meters. Three saunas at least on the men's side. The hall has been renovated multiple times, but the basics have not changed, exactly same layout and no new fancy pools or saunas for instance.
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January 2025
Tikkurilan uimahalli, Tikkurila, Vantaa, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Showed the Matinkylä beach to a friend, have not been here during the winter before this. It was a dark night, but people were using the ice swimming hut, which looked funny when the hut made of white plastic was lit up from the inside, and they descended the stairs to the water. The use of the hut is free, same for the changing rooms. However, there's also a "sauna container" (saunakontti in Finnish) where you get your sauna fix, or recover from hypothermia :-)
Full story
January 2025
Matinkylän uimaranta*, Matinkylä, Espoo, Finland; Matinkylän saunakontti**, Matinkylä, Espoo, Finland
Swimming* (None,Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea,Beach); Sauna** (None,Normal)
Periodic emergency fixes to keep all parts along for the ride.
Full story
January 2025
Iso Omena, Espoo, Finland
Car
Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu or SYK is an elite school, known for the highest grades their students get. But, they also serve the broader public with their open-for-everyone swimming hall. I actually had not realized I was still missing visits to some public swimming pools in Helsinki, but I was.
Full story
January 2025
Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Finnair has a large fleet, but in the last couple of years they seem to be having to lease other planes. Today I was on a Berlin-Helsinki flight that was flown by Danish Air Transport or DAT plane, an A320. Nice seats, decent service (including frequent flyer benefits for Finnair, like a free drink).
Full story
January 2025
Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Berlin, Germany; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying; Travel
I just love the Moomins. Visited the Moomin World countless times (including going skiing there). This is why I am always delighted when I pass by the Moomin shop at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Although this time, the Hattavattis (Hattifatteners) seemed to be on their way to the exit ...
Full story
January 2025
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying; Travel
Today I wanted to try a new swimming hall, and ended up driving all the way to Porvoo, an hour away from where I live. Porvoo is of course a wonderful historic city with wooden houses alongside the river banks. Their swimming hall was constructed in the 1970s probably, but then more recently expanded.
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January 2025
Porvoon uimahalli, Porvoo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal,Steam)
Oopsie, this will take some time. Apparently the front tire had to be replaced on my plane. On the gate!
Full story
January 2025
Belgrade Airport, Belgrade, Serbia
Flying; Travel
Hotel Ramonda (Хотел Рамонда, Ртањ) is named according to a flower that only grows on the mountain it is on, the Rtanj mountain in eastern Serbia. It is a luxury hotel that started out five years ago and has recently expanded with even more rooms and pools and saunas. It has outdoor and indoor pools and several different saunas.
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December 2024
Hotel Ramonda, Rtanj, Serbia
Sauna (Normal,Steam); Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Finnair flies to a lot of destinations, but one thing it does poorly is flying to Greece, islands in the Mediterranean, and countries in the Balkans except for Croatia in the summer. One can use Lufthansa of course, but I've been often disappointed with them canceling and delaying flights left and right. There's also KLM (which I have good experiences of, recently) and Air Baltic (which I have not tried enough, despite their nice new planes). However, combining a Finnair flight to Warsaw and onwards with LOT is also a good option.
Full story
December 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Warsaw Airport, Warsaw, Poland
Travel; Flying
First turns of the year in Greenla… I mean Kivikko, in eastern Helsinki. Nice powdery stuff with a firm rock and grass base underneath. Good day.
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January 2025
Kivikon lumilautailurinne, Kivikko, Helsinki, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking)
I bought Anna-Katri Räihä's book "Menolippu kaikkialle" (one-way ticket to everywhere) for myself this Christmas. Have not read it yet, but looking forward to it! Anna-Katri is the first Finnish woman to have travelled to all countries in the world. That's quite an achievement, the few hardest ones must have been very challenging or even dangerous. Well done!
Full story
December 2024
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Travel; Flying
The Bogovina cave is a karst/river cave in the village of Bogovina in eastern Serbia. In local alphabet the name of the cave is Боговинска пећина. The cave is (depending on source) 5020 or 5892 meters long, up until few years ago it was Serbia's longest cave. It is a show cave, that is you can't enter on your own but need to arrange the local tourist office to give you a tour. The show cave part is half a kilometer long, consisting first from an excavated tunnel and then the cave proper. The stalactite formations in the cave are wonderful, but at the end in the Hajduk hall they are especially spectacular.
Full story
December 2024
Bogovina Cave, Bogovina, Serbia
Caving (Basic,Swimming,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Showtour); Swimming (Indoor)
What a wonderful ancient, wall-surrounded fortress and a medieval village on the top of a hill! Carcassonne is a city an hour south of Toulouse and an hour north of the mediterranean coast. Cité de Carcassonne is the old town.
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December 2024
Cité de Carcassonne, Carcassonne, France
Urban-Exploration (Castles,Historic)
Caves + 1, Andorra. La Canya dels Pujols, a hundred-meter cave about 80 meters above the riverbed below.
Full story
December 2024
La Canya dels Pujols*, Margineda, Andorra; La Canya dels Pujols side cave*, Margineda, Andorra; La Balma de la Margineda**, Margineda, Andorra
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Surveying); Urban-Exploration* (Historic-Sites); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown); Urban-Exploration** (Historic-Sites)
This has to be one of the best aviation museums in the world, in the top five or ten at least. What a find. We did not intend to visit France, originally, on our short four day vacation. We already had two countries to visit... but .... having found this, there was no way we could not visit this one too. I'm really glad we did.
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December 2024
Musée Aeroscopia, Blagnac, France
Flying
We visited Cité de l'Espace, a science museum dedicated to space exploration in Toulouse. It is a wonderful museum for the kids to explore, though I was not super impressed as most of the displays were replicas. But one thing that definitely caught my attention was the Mir space station (replica, of course), and in particular the shower and sauna tank they had.
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December 2024
Cité de l'Espace, Toulouse, France
Flying; Sauna (None)
I've been to Andorra couple of times before, but never had the opportunity to visit a sauna or do a swim. Now I did! Hotel Spa Termes Carlemany provided both! They are situated in an area of Andorra la Vella, by the river, where there's 72 degree water flowing from the ground. The water is also used to run interest pipe displays and art work.
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December 2024
Hotel Spa Termes Carlemany, Andorra La Vella, Andorra
Sauna; Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Indoor)
Just what the doctor ordered for the darkest day of the year, December 21st. We saw amazing, mind-blowing things (such as Gaudi's creations) during the day, but still.. what felt best was walking barefoot on beach sand, feeling the sunshine and wind on my skin, and dipping my feet into the sea.
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December 2024
Nova Icaria Beach, Barcelona, Spain
Swimming (Beach,Waterbody-Sea)
Helsinki-Vantaa has always been a nice place where your skis can re-unite with you on the regular baggage belt. But no longer! Now you have to go to Special Baggage Belt (belt 1) to get them!
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December 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying
We had a four day mini-vacation in Spain, Andorra and France, on Finnair flights. Except that the Finnair flights turned out to be operated by Iberia. Apparently Finnair is wet leasing the Helsinki-Barcelona route flights from Iberia. So, Finnair tickets, lounges, and system, but Iberia service. We managed to upgrade ourselves on one leg of this trip using points that would have expired otherwise.
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December 2024
ElPrat Airport, Barcelona, Spain
Flying
I'm in a rush. But while I've skied in Andorra before, maybe there's an opportunity to ski in a new ski area, before exiting the country on our way to our next destination? Ski Camaro to the rescue. But it is a children's practice run. Is it really worth 43€ for the day ticket. And "no exceptions!", they said :-)
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December 2024
Ski Canaro, Soldeu, Andorra
Skiing
True wisdom from Iberia!
Full story
December 2024
ElPrat Airport, Barcelona, Spain
Flying
Did a quick few sets of runs at the Serena Ski today. They're setting up the slopes, all snow guns running at full blast. And only the street slope is open. But I did ski couple of the closed ones, too... wonderful colors and snow flying all over the place.
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December 2024
Serena, Espoo, Finland
Skiing
Titlis is a 3238 m high mountain above the Engelberg ski resort in Switzerland. Engelberg is a great place for skiing early or later in the winter, like now we were skiing here in April.
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April 2022
Engelberg*, Switzerland; Titlis**, Engelberg, Switzerland; Engelberg, Switzerland
Skiing*; Skiing**; Climbing**; Caving*** (None,Rock)
I was ordered (by the annual check-up engineer) to get a new windshield... so I did.
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April 2022
Glasspoint Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Car
One of those early morning take-offs from HEL... and less than 20 hours since I landed home from an intercontinental trip. Feeling tired. But psyched for the work week, interesting things ahead! :-)
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September 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Travel; Flying
Clearly, this airport knows what questions their passengers might have!
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September 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying; Travel
I hosted the fall meeting and Christmas party for the caver's association in Kauniainen. The theme was vintage clothing... I was maybe more vintage, clothing and otherwise than the others...
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November 2024
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Caving (None,Social)
My November and December ski outings werer brief visits to Vihti - first one to open in my region - and Kauniainen - my local hill, opened today Dec 7th. Brief visits because still recovering from post-C additional health issues. Vihti was foggy snow spot in otherwise snowless muddy darkness, reported in the other article. Kauniainen was wintery as colder conditions have returned to the area. Both opened with help of stored snow from last year.
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December 2024
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing
What a wonderful visit in an 19th century fortress, a museum, and an excellent restaurant. With a view. And a sunset!
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August 2024
Fort George, Vis, Croatia
Urban-Exploration (Ruins,Castles,Military,Historic-Sites)
November was running out, and on the last two days I had a party to organize. So today, November 28, was the final day to do my month's skiing. Fortunately, I had just today gotten my Volvo back from six months sitting at the garage, so I had wheels. Also fortunately, Vihti Ski Center had already been open for some time, despite all the other ski areas being closed and the weather being ... rainy... foggy... and all natural snow that had fallen earlier in November had already melted. Well done, Vihti!
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November 2024
Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland
Skiing; Car
It’s alive! It has been in indecision state for five months and in the shop for more than a month, but now back on the streets! (Legally)
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November 2024
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland
Car
Making my American Dream come true: working rail transport and a few turns in a shopping mall. Nice!
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September 2024
Big Snow, American Dream, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
Skiing; Travel
Apparently, my Volvo 740 still isn't wrecked. Standing in my repair shop's yard...
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October 2024
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland
Car
Trip to the IETF conference in Dublin started. But it feels like I’m going in the wrong direction when after a long warm spell it just now started snowing .. fortunately bumped to old friends at the airport. And managed to squeeze in a traditional stop at the airport sauna on the way in, too :-)
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Novembern 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna; Flying
While I'm flying economy as always, I have some status with Finnair which lets me in various lounges. At the Dublin airport I visited the T1 lounge. Didn't have too many expectations, but the breakfast serving was quite good, they had the usual hot stuff and bread and croissants. But also a good selection of juices, porridge, chia seed-based porridge, selection of cheeses, etc.
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November 2024
Dublin Airport, Dublin, Ireland
Flying
I was visiting Dublin for a conference, but managed to sneak out for an early morning exploration on one of the days. I had already skied in Dublin eleven years ago. But I had not been to a cave in Ireland! Are there any around? I found an article from the award-winning local cave photographer and author Robert Mulraney which said, "The first thing that can be said of the caves of Dublin is that, there are no caves in Dublin". However, it turns out there are some, and Robert goes through these in his article. The caves are not big.. but very interesting. And actually, they *are* big for someone coming from the land of thousands lakes and mini caves :-)
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November 2024
The Maze Cave, Portrane, Ireland; Priest's Chamber Cave, Portrane, Ireland; Unnamed cavelet 1, Portrane, Ireland; Unnamed cavelet 2, Portrane, Ireland; Unnamed double cave, Portrane, Ireland; Unnamed cave, Portrane, Ireland
Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst)
I was in Dublin for a conference, pretty tight agenda but I did manage to do a cave hike on one morning. And visit a local spa for a quick swim and sauna on the last evening!
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November 2024
The Spencer Health Club, Dublin, Ireland
Sauna (Normal,Steam); Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
I was walking back from my car repair shop, having returned by loaner car... and they are working on my Volvo. Let's see if they can fix it. It's been there six months soon, and even under work for more than a month. But on the way back I run into small holes in a rock outcrop in Latokaski. Too small maybe to call a proper cave. But certain space where you can go under a rock.
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October 2024
Latokasken kallionkolo*, Espoo, Finland; Autofit Latokaski**, Espoo, Finland
Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack); Car**
Did a day trip yesterday to Levi for October turns. Levi and Ruka are the only open ski resorts in Finland. Icy experience on the slopes, but glad I went!
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October 2024
Levi*, Kittilä, Finland; Levi Hotel**, Kittilä, Finland; Helsinki-Vantaa***, Vantaa, Finland; Rovaniemi Airport, Rovaniemi, Finland
Skiing*; Swimming** (Indoor,Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna**; Flying***; Travel***
What's up with the Helsinki-Vantaa's arrival shop? It does not seem to be open in the evenings or even during the day. The airport is busy, why not have it open?
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October 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying; Travel
After a long period I have once again flown a Norwegian flight. It was significantly cheaper than a Lufthansa option, better timing in this case. And Finnair didn't fly. Quite happy with the experience even if flying on the cheapest possible tickets. Comfortably and safely to the other side of Europe for 160€. Not bad.
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October 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Arlanda, Sweden; Split Airport, Split, Croatia
Flying
Kymlinge, the ghost station on the Stockholm underground. A station for the planned but never completed suburb near Kista's technology-oriented neighborhood. A station where only the dead are said to exit, and where only the long lost ghost train, the "Silverpilen" travel. A station with underground platforms and additional space underneath.
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September 2024
Kymlinge Station, Stockholm, Sweden
Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Railways)
Kimmo taught me a very nice travel and hiking trip. It turns out that if you get a box wine, you can drink the contents (this is the useful part) and then reuse the plastic bag inside the cardboard box as a pillow. It is easy to blow up, has already a valve installed. And most importantly, it is just the right size for a nice neck support while resting on rock somewhere hiking, during the night (inflated maybe a bit less), or on an airplane (you may need to drink it before the flight). Thank you Kimmo!
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August 2024
Pitsusköngäs, Enontekiö, Finland
Hiking; Travel; Flying
Kemi. Never been, but what a nice surprise! Nice, walkable center, boat harbors, nice restaurants, ... and a nice historic hotel, the Hotel Merihovi. We visited the sauna upon arrival, having been in the outback for a week by this time :-)
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August 2024
Hotel Merihovi, Kemi, Finland
Sauna
Dinosaur Valley State Park is a national park service area hosting easily viewable dinosaur footprints. Much recommended! The park is in Glen Rose, Texas, about 130 km from the Dallas Forth Worth airport, about 1.5 hour drive if there's no traffic.
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July 2024
Dinosaur Valley State Park, Glen Rose, Texas, USA
Hiking; Travel; Urban-Exploration (Historic)
While on a conference in Vancouver, I had a wonderful walk on one of the days. Partially because I had been exposed to Covid and did not want to infect anyone, so walked around and connected over the net to the meetings. It turned out that I did not get the infection, though, phew.
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July 2024
Inukshuk Point*, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; English Bay Beach**, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Urban-Exploration* (Historic); Swimming** (Waterbody-Sea,Beach)
While on a conference, I managed to step on to the pool of the conference hotel on one of the breaks. The Hyatt Regency Vancouver is an upscale, nice hotel with many facilities. Sadly, no sauna though. But the pool is nice and protected from the hustle of the streets below.
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July 2024
Hyatt Regency Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge is the only (I think) open summer ski resort in North America. Wonderful, good snow and more than 800 meters of vertical in summer! Plenty of out of bounds, too. July skiing: check.
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July 2024
Timberline Lodge, Government Camp, Oregon, USA
Skiing
I used my last (possibly ever) Platinum voucher to upgrade my return flight from Dallas to Helsinki, as I was coming back from Canada using the Finnair's Dallas flight. Nice experience, particularly when Tero was also on the same flight!
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July 2024
Dallas Fort Worth airport, Dallas, Texas, USA; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying
I took a Finnair flight from Split recently, upgraded myself on points to business class to try and stay away from the crowds in the back, given the again surging flu and covid infections... and since I need to be at the hospital for an operation soon, I can't afford to get sick. But, I was surprised how the business class service was improved by a very simple thing: after a meal, they served a bun, the "korvapuusti" (a cinnamon roll). And it was massive! Almost the size of the tray :-)
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August 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Split Airport, Split, Croatia
Flying
Had a fun event at work today, a picnic in Suomenlinna (the fortress island in front of Helsinki). But a friend from work invited us to join the trip by a sail boat. Nice!
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August 2024
Suomenlinnan vierasvenesatama, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland
Travel; Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea)
Vis has a wonderful swimming area. Or several, but the one I like is across the road in front of the Issa hotel. There's a sandy/pebble beach further towards the city, and here there are only concrete piers and then bigger rocks under the water. But what a wonderful view, and most importantly, wonderful shade from the pine trees!
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August 2024
Hotel Issa Beach, Vis, Croatia
Swimming (Waterbody-Sea,Outdoor)
It will be a long wait for the season to start. But the snow is there.
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September 2024
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (None)
We stopped on a road for taking photos of the scenery. While taking the photo, I noticed that there was a small hole by the road. It looked tight and steep, uncertain if one could go in. At the bottom of the hole there seemed to be a couple of boulders. I returned a couple of days later equipped with better clothing for exploration. It turned out to be a 30m x 18m beautiful stalactite cave! Proof that it does indeed sometimes pay off to peek into every hole!
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August 2024
Propod, Komiza, Croatia
Caving (Basic,Surveying,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst)
Komiža is the exclusive, still largely authentic fishing village on the Vis island on Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast. There's multiple beaches, and my favorite is the Lucica Beach. But the one near Hotel Bisevo, Gusarica Beach is also nice! It is larger, and more popular. I usually call it the hotel beach.
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August 2024
Gusarica beach, Komiža, Croatia
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea,Beach)
I have been here before, but then the tide and my clothes were not suitable for exploring. Now they were! I also did not understand the naming the beaches I was at, but I do now. The cave I'm looking at is at the Dog Beach, literally the beach that the dogs (and people) can swim at. A bit further out from the Dog Beach there's the Kamenice Beach, also called the Camp Beach due to the nearby low-cost but forbidden accommodation option :-) Both beaches can be accessed easily with chairs, have a bar, etc. However, between them there's the Secret Beach. To get there you have to go through a cave and climb, wall across a part of the sea that is only passable easily during low tide (picture above), or straight out swim.
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August 2024
Dog Beach*, Komiza, Croatia; Kamenice** Beach, Komiza, Croatia; Secret Beach***, Komiza, Croatia
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Erosion); Swimming* (Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea,Beach); Swimming** (Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea,Beach); Swimming*** (Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea
Komiza is a small fishing village on the island of Vis, off the coast of Croatia. It is perhaps one of the most real feeling places that I've visited in the Croatian archipelago. The houses are old, stone-built, the streets are narrow and for walking only. The views are great. But they also have an open-air movie theater, and an information center for the UNESCO's Vis Archipelago Geopark. And I happened to hear about a movie they were premiering in the theater, about the origins of island, their caves, and geology. Including some newly published research that changes the current understanding of how the islands formed!
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August 2024
Mediteran Cinema Komiža, Komiza, Croatia
Caving (None,Media)
On the way back home from the Käsivarsi wilderness area heli-hiking trip, we saw a large sand dune near the Jiehtájohka river as we were driving by. We were about to stop at a restaurant few kilometers away, and fortunately Jarmo and Duncan were game for returning after lunch to check out the dune. And indeed, there was sand, it was steep enough to be skied, and I was able to make a couple of turns on my red mini-skis! Enough to call the month's turns done.
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August 2024
Jiehtájohka, Enontekiö, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor,Sand,Hiking)
Hiking 10-15 km per day... being bitten by mosquitos day and night... it was clear that a swim would be not only refreshing but required. The only downside was that it was pretty cold, the river (partially flowing from an underground river, possibly a cave) was only 9 degrees. The lake was like a hot tub, though, at 14 degrees :-)
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August 2024
Toskaljärven hiekkaranta*, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven maanalaisen joen syöttöjoki**, Enontekiö, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Lake,Outdoor); Swimming (Waterbody-River,Outdoor)
In August 2024 we explored the surroundings of the Toskaljärvi lake and Doskalharj mountain. Our mission was to find caves, perhaps a desperate mission in this landscape that is mostly marked by small, broken up rock... but there are areas of limestone, larger boulder fields, canyons and cliffs all of which we wanted to check out. The mission turned then into a "walk everywhere and peek into every hole you can see". Of course, most of those holes were rather small in closer inspection.
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August 2024
Kolmen miehen luola****, Enontekiö, Finland; Uhriluola****, Enontekiö, Finland; Kimmon luola****, Enontekiö, Finland
Caving* (None); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone); Caving*** (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Boulders,Rock-Unknown); Caving**** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Crack)
Last month Duncan, Jarmo, Kimmo and me did a cave exploration trip to the Käsivarsi wilderness area. Peeking into every hole we could see, combing through areas of limestone, etc. The most memorable for me was the Pitsusköngäs (Bihčosgorži) waterfalls, highest in Finland at 17m free fall. And there was some space underneath, maybe 10x6-8x8m. Can we classify that as a cave?
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August 2024
Pitsusköngäs cave*, Enontekiö, Finland; Pitsusköngäs west side cave**, Enontekiö, Finland; Pitsusköngäs east side cave**, Enontekiö, Finland; Pitsusköngäs***, Enontekiö, Finland
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Erosion,Morphology-Crack); Caving** (None,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Erosion,Morphology-Crack); Hiking***; Flying***
The Srebrna Beach is a popular, rocky beach in the limestone layer of on the south side of the Vis island in Croatia. Beach caves are a very frequent occurrence on Croatia's coast, but for me - coming from a cave-poor country - they are always a wonder. There's a very nice straight, tunnel-like beach cave on the left side of the Srebrna beach.
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August 2024
Srebrna beach mini cave*, Srebrna, Croatia; Srebrna beach cave**, Srebrna, Croatia; Srebrna beach***, Srebrna, Croatia
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Erosion); Caving** (Basic,Surveying,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Erosion); Swimming*** (Waterbody-Sea,Beach)
Finnair has redone their lounge on the Schengen side of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Long overdue; it was cramped, almost every time quite full. Still, it wasn't bad. Quite nice, good food, enough drinks, etc. The new one is much nicer though, at least the Platinum Wing that I visited briefly before my flight in August. The new lounge is on the highest floor of the airport, where the additional security checks and priority security used to reside.
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August 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Travel; Flying
Clarion hotel and conference centre is out of the way of the centre of Abbotsford, but conveniently located near the highway. I stayed here on a business trip because for one night there was no availability in Vancouver where my conference was. Or the prices were too high, north of 400 euros.
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July 2024
Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Fail. I did find a cave, a small one, but I only later learned there would have been a much bigger cave higher up. And the other cave I was searching for ... I could not find. I guess the coordinates were wrong. Oh well, it was a nice outing by the riverside.
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July 2024
Slesse Creek Cave*, Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada; Chipmunk Caves**, Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Caving* (Basic,Morphology-Unknown,Rock); Caving** (Rock,Morphology-Karst,Rock-Limestone,None)
Yale Park is a recreation area by the (artificial) Yale lake in the Lewis River valley. The nearest town is Cougar. The park is part of the agreement for building dams on the Lewis River, and the area is maintained by Pacific Corp, the owner of the dams.
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July 2024
Yale Park, Cougar, Washington, USA
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
Ape Cave. Named after the scouts helping to explore the cave, back then called the "cave apes". One of my most amazing cave experiences. This cave is easily and safely accessible by anyone -- as long as you register yourself and your vehicle for the visit at the US Forestry Service. In the cave you can do just a small peek underground or walk 1 km to the nearest end of the cave on an easy path. Someone was even pushing strollers. And then you walk back the kilometer to exit. But you can also keep walking also to the other end of the cave, and then exit from the other exit. This is what I did, and that's a whopping 5.5 km walk underground. The cave is the third longest lava tube in North America. And with such amazing sights, e.g., the one in the picture above. Much recommended!
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July 2024
Ape Cave*, Cougar, Washington, USA; Small Ape Cave side cave**, Cougar, Washington, USA
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Volcanic,Morphology-Volcanic); Caving** (None,Rock-Volcanic,Morphology-Volcanic)
A route that I have not flown before, HEL-SEA. Finnair has been flying these on and off for a long time. Travel starts by the traditional praying of the sauna gods in the lounge. Maybe that will help with the short connection on the next leg. Relaxing, at least.
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July 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa*, Vantaa, Finland; Seattle-Tacoma Airport*, Seattle, Washington, USA; Vancouver Airport*, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Helsinki-Vantaa**, Vantaa, Finland
Flying*; Travel*; Sauna**
Radisson Blu in Split has a nice spa area.
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April 2023
Radisson Blu Split, Split, Croatia
Sauna (Normal,Steam); Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Kamenice beach is an out-of-the-way for most people visiting the Komiza village. Komiza is a picturesque fishing village on the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea archipelago in Croatia.
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April 2023
Kamenice Beach Cave*, Komiza, Croatia; Kamenice Beach**, Komiza, Croatia; Dog Beach**, Komiza, Croatia
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Erosion); Swimming** (None,Waterbody-Sea,Beach)
There's no information about this in the Internet. But, at the Jorvi hospital in Espoo there's a display about "perhaps the largest mountain crystal deposit in Finland". The story goes that while the underground shelter for the hospital was being built, a worker drilled into an empty cave with an elf and crystal covered walls. The worked grabbed a piece of the crystals before the elf closed the hole.
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June 2024
Jorvin sairaala, Espoo, Finland
Caving (None)
Hotel Borkovac is a nice, small spa hotel with a pool, saunas, etc.
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June 2023
Hotel Borkovac, Ruma, Serbia
Sauna (Normal,Infrared); Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
I visited the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun, as well as the Ravne tunnels few kilometers away. The pyramid is remarkably pyramid-looking green mountain and the tunnels are .. well, more about that later. Both are in the small town of Visoko, 35 kilometers outside Sarajevo. The claim is that the pyramid is a concrete-covered man-made structure built by an ancient civilization 29 000 years ago. And that the tunnels were also man-made network leading under the pyramids, and only later filled in. And that there are health benefits to all of this. Long story short: lots of pseudoscience, but of course a nice mountain to visit. And it is always pleasant to be wet, dark underground tunnels. Even if the the support beams are rotting...
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May 2024
Tunnel Ravne*, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun**, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Urban-Exploration* (Tunnels,Ruins); Caving* (Basic,Man-Made); Urban-Exploration** (Ruins); Climbing**
I visited the Murvica beach after my exploration of the Zmajeva Pećina cave. on the south shores of the Brač island in Croatia. A welcome swim, not only for washing off the sweat of the climb, but also because it is such a nice, secluded beach and easy to swim at.
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August 2021
Murvica beach, Murvica, Croatia
Swimming (Waterbody-Sea,Beach,Outdoor)
Zmajeva Pećina, "Dragon's Cave" is a small hermitage on the south shores of the Brač island in Croatia. The cave is only 20 meters long, but is a fascinating visit, both because is such as fascinating view, high cave on a high hill, and also because my guide Zoran knows so much about the history of the place. This is a cave that houses a monastery. Or housed, it is in ruins. Very interesting!
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August 2021
Zmajeva Pecina, Murvica, Croatia
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Urban-Exploration (Ruins)
Biševo is a small island in the Adriatic Sea archipelago, in Croatia. It is just off the larger island Vis. Under the sea front cliffs of this island there's Modra špilja or the Blue Grotto. A cave in the limestone rock, lit inside entirely blue by sunlight filtering through the underwater entrance. This cave has been called the world's most beautiful cave. Obviously a category with a lot of competition and different criteria could be applied. But, I don't think the claim is outrageous. It is remarkable.
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July 2021
Blue Grotto, Biševo, Croatia
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Erosion)
News: Volvo left me on the road .. and 10 days to the fixing deadline and no plan or parts. This might be it?
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May 2024
Hyrylä, Tuusula, Finland
Car
There wasn't much snow or sunshine, but hey, there was some. Glad I went!
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June 2024
Järvenpään jäähalli*, Järvenpää, Finland; Tervanokan uimaranta**, Järvenpää, Finland
Skiing*; Swimming** (Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
Rantasauna is a legendary party place in Otaniemi, in the student village of the Helsinki University of Technology (now called Aalto University).
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June 2024
Rantasauna, Otaniemi Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea); Sauna
A Friday evening excursion to Myyrmäki, a suburb in Vantaa! I went for a swim in Myyrmäki's community swimming hall, but it was of course also an opportunity to do more sightseeing in the nice weather. And ride more trains... given that my car is broken.
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June 2024
Myyrmäen uimahalli, Myyrmäki, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna (Normal,Steam); Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Too busy, and now without a car I have not been able to visit the summer cottage this year at all. Sigh. But now my car repair shop nicely loaned me a four-liter green '99 Jaguar for the weekend. Very nice! And a fun car to drive. And it was such a bliss to drop into the lake after visiting the sauna. The water was warmer than it probably has ever been on June 1st...
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June 2024
Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Car; Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake)
In Finnish we have this expression, "läpi harmaan kiven". It translates literally as 'through the grey stone'. It represents sisu, another Finnish concept: going through no matter what. Even through rock. Here Harri-Pekka Pietikäinen demonstrates the concept.
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May 2024
Korkbergetin lohkareluola*, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Fagerkullan bunkkeri**, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Caving* (Basic,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack); Caving** (Basic,Man-Made); Urban-Exploration** (Bunkers)
I read from somewhere that there's a consideration of possibly tearing down the Kauniainen swimming hall, and replacing it either with a new school, or perhaps a new school + swimming hall combination.
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December 2023
Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna
My first "proper" Bosnia and Herzegovina caves! The Bijambare caves. Wonderful karst caves, and in the largest one there are massive halls and massive tunnels. Well worth visiting if you're near Sarajevo!
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May 2024
Srednja Bijambarska, Krivajevići, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Gornja Bijambarska, Krivajevići, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Caving (Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst)
Ouch. That hurt surprisingly much, even if the jellyfish was tiny one. Somehow I immediately knew I was hit by one, and I saw the tiny thing float away. No worries, the bar at the beach happened to have a vinegar spray bottle, wonder why? :-)
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August 2023
Lucica beach, Komiža, Croatia
Swimming
This really is an experience. An old Yugoslavia army hotel, now a tourist destination? Omorika sits in the Tara mountains in southeastern Serbia, close to the Bosnian border. The architecture is just right, it does say Yugoslavia. While the all-inclusive model in an affordable hotel may not be to everyone's tastes, it was quite reasonable experience, fish for dinner, etc. And the saunas and pools were good, even if the other facilities were a bit 1960s...
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April 2024
Hotel Omorika, Planina Tara, Kremna, Serbia
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
This was way too early to be past security at the airport, 3:59 AM. (Falls asleep...)
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April 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying; Travel
No Volvo news, but invested €15 in a wash and loaded it with my fav accessories.
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April 2024
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Car; Skiing (None,Equipment)
Rafter's cave was a surprise find, a sudden realization of a sign on a parking spot in Perućac we pulled onto. A cave! By this incredibly beautiful river, Trina, marking the border between Serbia and Bosnia.
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April 2024
Rafter's Cave, Perućac, Serbia; Rafter's Cave Side Cave, Perućac, Serbia
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Surveying,Morphology-Erosion,Morphology-Karst),
I visited Tammisaari on a Friday evening, after a tough work week. It was sunny... my crappy car was still kind of running (but few weeks left), and the swimming hall, the Tammisaari beaches, and Tammisaari in general were just wonderful.
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May 2024
Tammisaaren uimahalli, Raasepori, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal,Steam)
After my visit to Usmi, I felt like I *really* needed to have a shower. And a sauna and swim would be a bonus. Fortunately, Hyvinkää's Sveitsin Uimala was nearby. Very, very nice. Indoor and outdoor pools (from June 1st), multiple pools, very nice saunas, clean, and at a nice pine forest area on top of the hill.
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May 2024
Sveitsin uimala, Hyvinkää, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna
I was inspired to go here by Antti Huttunen's article in Retkipaikka. There's a forgotten, hard-to-access rocky hill and cliff area in Hyvinkää: Usminkalliot. With a cave!
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May 2024
Usminkallion lippaluola*, Hyvinkää, Finland; Usminkallion lippakolo**, Hyvinkää, Finland; Usminkallion lipparako**, Hyvinkää, Finland
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Crack,Surveying); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Crack)
It was a good try. I think. Or maybe I should have pushed harder. But ... it was getting difficult to stay on the slope, even with some smaller trees around me. But in the end I turned around, and did not reach the Dobrun cave in the mountains of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina... the slope was loose gravel, and getting steeper on every step. No sign of paths. I do wonder though, I could *see* the cave but not reach it! And reportedly monks have lived in the cave, is there another path?
Full story
April 2024
Dobrun Cave*, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dobrun Party Cave**, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dobrun railway tunnel***, Dobrun, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Caving* (None,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Caving** (Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Swimming** (Outdoor,Waterbody-River); Urban-Exploration*** (Tunnels)
Desperately seeking Su... spare parts. No luck.
Full story
May 2024
Heiskasen autokorjaamo, Kellokoski, Finland
Car
The Flughafen-Express, or FEX for short is a train between Berlin's new Brandenburg airport and the city. The train stops in five locations in the city, but does not do any additional stops on the way to the airport. Pretty convenient! And cheap, the standard fare is just 4,40€ where a similar taxi ride would cost easily 60-80€.
Full story
May 2024
Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Berlin, Germany
Flying
I was traveling home from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, by train. And it was such a wonderful experience. First off, I made the exit from the plane to the train in fifteen minutes, and caught my other train by running with luggage. But, I also admired the smooth concrete in the new airport underground train station, along the ballet video they were display on it. Nice!
Full story
May 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying
Managed to tick off May skiing on my local hill this evening, was quite nice in the sunshine. Even if they took most of the snow to a massive pile and covered it. Damn snow hoarders! Although I suppose it will help the season's start next winter... in any case, June will be a challenge.
Full story
May 2024
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking)
Like skiing or sex, they are always at least good, sometimes great :-) While looking for spare parts for my car, I managed to also stop at the Järvenpää and Nurmijärvi swimming halls. Very nice, both of them. But I was particularly struck how nice Nurmijärvi's hall was. Or Rajamäki's hall rather, Rajamäki belongs to Nurmijärvi, and is also famous for their alcohol production.
Full story
May 2024
Rajamäen uimahalli, Nurmijärvi, Finland; Järvenpään uimahalli, Järvenpää, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Hotel Vema is a brand new hotel in Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Visoko is a small town near Sarajevo, maybe a 20 minute drive away. It is perhaps best know for the Bosnian pyramids, pyramid shape mountains that some claim actually are ancient pyramids. More on that story later... but for now, we will focus on this wonderful hotel!
Full story
May 2024
Hotel Vema, Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
Me: "Last time I was here was 35 years ago." Receptionist: "Not much has changed since then.". But, Korso's swimming hall still rocks. Small but functional.
Full story
April 2024
Korson uimahalli*, Korso, Vantaa, Finland; Korson siirtolohkareen luolanen**, Korso, Vantaa, Finland
Swimming* (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna*; Caving** (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Boulders,Rock-Gneiss)
Ski like it is the last day. And it is. Last ski hill in the Helsinki region, Sveitsin Hiihtokeskus, closed Saturday for the season. Here’s me skiing afterwards on the road to my car. Volvo is (temporily) fine but couldn’t get up the hill on this only road that was not clear of snow and ice, so parked it. Could also be Volvo’s last ski trip, at least to an officially open place. Also a photo from skiing on the hill, and a clip of Sveitsi’s Volvo showing how it climbs snowy hills. Wondering if they need a blue one as well…?
Full story
April 2024
Hyvinkään Sveitsin hiihtokeskus, Hyvinkää, Finland
Skiing; Car
The problems keep piling up. After the check-up disaster, the car now also stopped running... left me on the side of the highway. Is this the last straw?
Full story
April 2024
Kivenlahden silta, Espoo, Finland
Car; Skiing (None,Equipment)
The check-up verdict is in: failed on 12 counts, 4 more “to fix”. Brakes, steering, leaks front and back, more brakes, more steering, more leaks, rusted hull, emissions, etc. 4500 to fix, with uncertain results. Six weeks of driving left before it becomes illegal. Sigh.
Full story
April 2024
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland
Car
I did not know that there were swimming halls here! But Urheiluhallit runs many sports facilities that I now have to visit, including this one in Töölö, next to the Tullinpuomi intersection and my old computer science department house.
Full story
March 2024
Urheiluhallit Töölö, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool)
My first time visiting the Kallie swimming pools. Very nice!
Full story
May 2024
Urheiluhallit Kallio, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna
Continuing my journey from Brisbane to Singapore, now heading to Hel...sinki. It is a wonderful route. This time I got an upgrade, by burning my last remaining upgrade voucher.
Full story
March 2024
Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore, Singapore; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying
Wonderful views from the Finnair A350-XWB's windows as we took off from Helsinki to Singapore.
Full story
March 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying
Go against the flow - from HEL to SIN this time. On my way to the IETF meeting in Brisbane. First row seat on this first leg at the appropriately hot lounge in HEL.
Full story
March 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Sauna; Flying
Paradise Caves. So near (maybe just 1m from the drip line) but so far. There was only three ways in, one covered by tide, and the other two were rock ledges sloping towards a cliff. And the rain and the sea swell had made everything more slipper than I liked. Turned around.
Full story
March 2024
Paradise Caves*, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia; Sunshine Beach**, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia
Caving* (Basic,Morphology-Erosion,Rock-Unknown); Swimming** (Waterbody-Sea,Beach)
Can you see them? Glow worms, in their natural habitat! We had just been in the artificial glow worm cave, and wanted to check out a natural bridge in the Springbrook National Park. But it turned out that the natural bridge was also a waterfall, a cave with a waterfall, and home to plenty of nature's own glow worms. Very nice!
Full story
March 2024
Natural Bridge, Springbrook National Park, Springbrook, Queensland, Australia
Caving (Basic,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Erosion); Hiking
While in Brisbane, I stayed at the Hope Street Apartments, a hotel/service apartment facility in South Brisbane next my conference venue. Affordable, my own kitchen, laundry machines in the apartment, etc. They had a pool and sauna as well. Of course, otherwise I would not have stayed there :-)
Full story
March 2024
Hope Street Apartments by CLLIX, South Brisbane, Australia
Swimming (Water,Waterbody-Pool,Outdoor); Sauna (Normal)
Swim at the ”Australia’s only inner-city, man-made beach”, Streets Beach.
Full story
March 2024
Streets Beach, South Brisbane, Australia
Swimming
Singapore Changi is such a nice airport. Potentially the *nicest* airport, to be exact., winning the best airport in the world titles left and right (link).
Full story
March 2024
Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore, Singapore
Flying; Travel
My flights from Brisbane back to Helsinki went via Qantas to Singapore and then onwards with Finnair. It was nice to visit the Brisbane airport, and Brisbane area overall as well of course. I had not been in Brisbane or anywhere in Queensland before!
Full story
March 2024
Brisbane International Airport, Brisbane, Australia
Flying; Travel
It has always been a dream for me to meet the locals when I get a change to visit some caves during travel. The humans, of course, but also the ones that have been there even longer than we have, from the little critters to some bigger ones, and maybe even some plants. It turns out that dreams can come true, as I got to see some amazing things on my recent trip to Australia. But also, nightmares can come true, too...
Full story
March 2024
Capricorn Caves, The Caves, Queensland, Australia; Cave*, Mt. Etna Caves National Park, The Caves, Queensland, Australia; Mount Beerburrum Bat Caves***, Beerburrum, Queensland, Australia; Natural Bridge*, Springbrook National Park, Springbrook, Queensland, Australia; Tamborine Mountain Glow Worm Caves**, Tamborine Mountain, Queensland, Australia
Caving* (Basic,Rock); Caving** (Basic,Man-Made); Caving*** (None)
Capricorn Caves is a limestone cave under a hill a town called The Caves, Queensland, Australia. This is a small town about 30 kilometers north of Rockhampton. A wonderful little town... with The Caves elementary school, The Caves bar, etc. But the cave! Such a nice place to visit. It is a commercial show cave with a variety of tours, from the basic tourist walking tour to more adventurous tours. I did both actually, was lucky to be able to reserve a slot in the adventure tour as well as they only do them if there's enough participants.
Full story
March 2024
Capricorn Caves, The Caves, Queensland, Australia
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone)
Mt. Etna Caves National Park is a limestone outcrop from ancient coral reefs. It has been named after the volcano in Sicily, of course... (vuriously though, why does there have to be an "old continent" equivalent for everything?). There's caves and bats, e.g., the little bent-wing bats and ghost bats.
Full story
March 2024
Cave, Mt. Etna Caves National Park*, The Caves, Queensland, Australia; Mt. Etna Caves National Park**, The Caves, Queensland, Australia
Caving* (Rock,Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Hiking**
Mount Beerburrum is part of the Glass House Mountains National Park, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia, an hour north of Brisbane. These striking formations are old volcanic plugs that are left standing higher when other rock material around them has eroded over millions of years. But I'm here because Google Maps tells me that there's a "Bat Cave" on the side of the mountain.
Full story
March 2024
Mount Beerburrum*, Beerburrum, Queensland, Australia; Mount Beerburrum Bat Caves**, Beerburrum, Queensland, Australia
Hiking*; Caving** (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,None)
The world's only man-made cave with glow worms. Nice. Wish we had this in somewhere in Vantaa, maybe in one of the big garden complexes. Anyway, it really is nice that they try to maintain a population and show it to tourists. The glow worms are real, of course, though they live in an artificial cave where the caretakers release some insects every day.
Full story
March 2024
Tamborine Mountain Glow Worm Caves, Tamborine Mountain, Queensland, Australia
Caving (Man-Made,Basic)
Basic motel, in a nice beach town of 'Beachmere' though. But I'm here late and the wind and rain wouldn't let me go to the beach even if there was still light. And everything seems closed, even the motel doesn't have staff around, just a note for me to enter the room :-)
Full story
March 2024
Beachmere Palms Motel, Beachmere, Queensland, Australia
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool,Water,Outdoor)
I'm visiting Brisbane this week for work. Before returning, I have a weekend to look around. Surely there are caves? I have been to Australia before, for skiing and climbing... but not visited any caves. And I'm desperate for "collecting" another country that I've caved in :-)
Full story
March 2024
Capricorn Caves, The Caves, Queensland, Australia; Undara Lava Tubes, Queensland, Australia; Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, Australia
Caving (None)
Topped off my 2023 by skiing in Albania. A bit early season... but friendly people, great restaurant, beautiful scenery. and lots of other skiers on the slopes with goatees and fresh eggs. Ski Pista Bigell, in Dardhe, near Korcë.
Full story
(TGR version)
December 2023
Ski Pista Bigell, Dardhe, Albania
Skiing
Lux Nuuksio is an event in the wintery Nuuksio, in a popular national park north of the capital region of Finland. The scenery is lit with candles, fires, lanterns, and ... skier's headlamps. And in my case, skier's Christmas lights and the big, shining Mickey Mouse ears.
Full story
February 2024
Swinghill, Espoo, Finland
Skiing
Orrido Bellano is a deep canyon or a gorge, formed through water sculpting the rock. There are beautiful rock formations and caves within the gorge. It can be accessed by paying a fee to walk the walkways attached to the walls of the gorge.
Full story
May 2015
Orrido di Bellano, Bellano, Italy
Caving (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Erosion)
Grotte di Rescia has been a show cave already from year 1700... it is a small (500 meters long) cave in Rescia, Lombardy, close to the shores of Lago di Lugano in Italy. It has been formed from tuff deposits dragged for centuries by calcareous spring waters. It is a nicely lit show cave, and the walk to the cave involves beautiful green mountain scenery with waterfalls, etc. Much recommended!
Full story
May 2015
Grotte di Rescia, Rescia, Italy
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Other,Showtour)
Sigh, car frozen after few days at the outdoor (cheap) parking place in the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
Full story
January 2024
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Car
I travel less than I used to. Good for me, good for the environment. However, sometimes I get to travel, and it is to see new places, go skiing, or work with your colleagues. After a long pause I visited Sweden for work, and on return flew through my local airport, Bromma.
Full story
January 2024
Bromma Airport, Stockholm, Sweden
Flying; Travel; Skiing (None)
I realized there's more swimming pools in the Helsinki area that I have not visited. Today I visited the Siltamäki swimming pool. a small sports facility in the suburb of Siltamäki in Helsinki. My expectations were not high, and the pool being four lanes, 17m long, and only 80cm deep for half it... it wasn't a super good place for laps in the pool. But, it was a nice visit to a new place! And the sauna was just perfect temperature and design.
Full story
January 2024
Siltamäen uimahalli, Siltamäki, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Water,Indoor,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
I've been here before, but again... The Studio Hotel is a modern but nice hotel in Kista, where I often have to visit for work. The rooms are pretty small, but it is very affordable (61€ per night), has a good breakfast, is walkable but not too near to the offices, has parking, and most importantly, has a good sauna that is open late night.
Full story
January 2024
The Studio Hotel, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden
Sauna (Normal)
The nice work trip turned even nicer with an evening visit to the Vasjöbacken, local ski hill somewhere between Kista and Arlanda. Not bad at all!
Full story
January 2024
Väsjöbacken, Sollentuna, Sweden
Skiing
The Velate tower is in town of Varese northwest of Milan. It is in ruins, only two sides of the tower remain.
Full story
January 2024
Tower of Velate, Varese, Italy
Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites,Towers)
Castello Baradello is a fortress on a nice hill above present day Como, with great views of the city and the lake. Fortresses on this site date back to the 6th century, although the current fortress was rebuilt in the 13th century. This is also the site of the original settlement in Como.
Full story
January 2024
Castello Baradello, Como, Italy
Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites,Towers)
My local ski hill in Kauniainen turned 90 today. This little hill got the first ski lift in Finland in 1934. Congratulations!
Full story
January 2024
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing
Is this enough car window cleaning?
Full story
December 2023
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Car
Today’s road conditions. Count the cars ahead.
Full story
January 2024
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Car
Helsinki airport, 2am in the first night of the year. Car is buried, will it start? Any bets? -17 and stayed here for a week. No electricity to heat it up.
Full story
December 2023
Lentoparkki, Vantaa, Finland
Car
I've been to the new Matinkylä swimming hall before, but it was only now I realized how to park in their garage! The swimming hall is a block or two away from the massive Iso Omena shopping mall, where I've parked before. But I kept wondering how come people were walking to the garage underneath the swimming hall, yet I couldn't see a way to drive there.
Full story
January 2024
Matinkylän uimahalli, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
We were talking about skiing in places that I have not been to, like Tunis or Alger. I asked Google Maps about "Tunis ski" and it helpfully interpreted this as a request to drive from the Finnish skiing association to Tunis :-) Helpfully, it also displayed all the speed cameras on this 4000+ km journey ;-)
Full story
January 2024
Cima Bianca, Bormio, Italy
Skiing (None)
There's a more famous spa in Bormio city center, but ... this is something else: QC Terme Bagni Vecchi. Nestled in the high mountains above Bormio, on the road to the famed Passo di Stelvio... like a castle with indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna in a cave heated by the natural thermal waters.
Full story
January 2024
QC Terme Bagni Vecchi, Bormio, Italy
Swimming (None); Sauna (None)
Grotta San Giovanni is near Lecco and Lago di Como, in northern Italy. As you can see from above, the views are wonderful! But there's a mystery: did this cave inspire Leonardo da Vinci's painting Madonna (or Virgin) on the Rocks?
Full story
January 2024
Grotta San Giovanni, Lecco, Italy; Grotta San Giovanni side cave 1, Lecco, Italy; Grotta San Giovanni side cave 2, Lecco, Italy; Grotta San Giovanni cemetery side cave, Lecco, Italy
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Urban-Exploration (Other)
I had been consuming the food at the Lufthansa Business Lounge in Frankfurt (T1) for hours while on a layover from my flights from North Macedonia to Finland. Then I saw it. And now running back. Grabbed my phone, but it was too quick. Definitely a mouse, but I think too big for that actually. I'm semi-confident it was a rat.
Full story
December 2023
Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Flying
My first time in North Macedonia. My first time at the Skopje International Airport (SKP). By some luck of draw, I had won a Lufthansa upgrade bid with the minimum bid (70€) and was flying out on business class. So.. one should be able to visit a lounge, right?
Full story
December 2023
Skopje International Airport, Skopje, North Macedonia
Flying
North Macedonia. I have to confess I did not much about it beforehand, almost anything. We had attempted to arrange a ski trip there once but did not find enough information or people to talk to. So let it be known to everyone: North Macedonia is a major ski destination, with massive mountains with well-organized large ski resorts and specialty services like cat skiing. Much recommended.
Full story
(TGR version)
December 2023
Mavrovo ski resort*, Mavrovo, North Macedonia; Helsinki-Vantaa**, Vantaa, Finland; Frankfurt Airport**, Frankfurt, Germany; Zagreb Airport**, Zagreb, Croatia; Skopje International Airport**, Skopje, North Macedonia
Skiing*; Flying**
Popova Shapka is one of the major ski resorts in North Macedonia. Perhaps THE major resort even. At the time I was there, however, in early season it had not yet opened. Wanted to see it though.
Full story
December 2023
Popova Shapka, Tetovo, North Macedonia
Skiing (None); Caving (None)
Interesting. A sunken church, abandoned in the face of rising waters for a dam built in 1952. The Old Mavrovo Church is repeated submerged, and as a result has been considerably damaged, e.g., the roof has caved in.
Full story
December 2023
Old Mavrovo Church, Mavrovo, North Macedonia
Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites)
On my trip to North-Macedonia, I drove by an interesting rock formation on the way to the Popova Shapka ski area above the town of Tetovo. I did not have time to explore other caves, and this one wasn't much of a cave either. But in Finland it would qualify as a cave. A small crack in an eroded rock feature sticking out.
Full story
December 2023
Guri i Sidollit mini-cave, Popova Shapka, Tetovo, North Macedonia
Caving (Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Crack,Basic)
Lake Ohrid is a wonderful, large lake in southern part of North Macedonia. Very clear water! I wanted to recommend a hotel on the east side, few kilometers from the town of Ohrid. The Villa Bisera is a nice hotel, but I was particularly struck by their saunas in the hotel rooms. In the summer they also have outdoor pools.
Full story
December 2023
Villa Bisera, Lagadin, North Macedonia
Sauna
In 2023, the Grani ski slope opened on 2nd of December. I walked to the hill, a nice experience in the cold morning weather. And I feel lucky for having a ski hill within walking distance, maybe a bit over a kilometer away. On the way back (unless the roads are sanded) it is also downhill, so I can ski big parts of it.
Full story
December 2023
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland
Skiing
I had an opportunity visit Castel Gandolfo recently. While I had been there briefly before, it was clear that there'd be more to explore. Castel Gandolfo sits on the rim of the lake Lago Albano, and also near Lago di Nemi. These lakes are beautiful places but also with interesting geology, both being volcanic craters.
Full story
November 2023
Arte e Vino*, Castel Gandolfo, Italy; Grotta Neolitica**, Castel Gandolfo, Italy; Piccola Grotta Neolitica al Lago***, Castel Gandolfo, Italy; Minuscola Grotta al Lago****, Castel Gandolfo, Italy
Caving* (Man-Made,Rock,Basic); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Volcanic,None,Morphology-Erosion); Caving*** (Rock,Basic,Surveying,Rock-Volcanic,Morphology-Erosion); Caving**** (Rock,Basic,Rock-Volcanic,Morphology-Erosion)
Coming back from my visit at the bat cave headquarters, I was faced with a choice: drive straight home with my crappy car and minimize risk of breakdown? Or detour extra two hours via Jyväskylä and visit the a ski hill that I've never been on, Riihivuori? They had just opened... in the end I took the risk. And wow, was it worth it!
Full story
November 2023
Riihivuori, Jyväskylä, Finland
Skiing
What a wonderful experience, pre-Xmas party with my caver friends, in a Lava (angled shelter by the fire) and Palju (a barrel of hot water). What could be better? Oh yeah, we had also interesting talks about explorations in Norway, Turku, and ... also our own Käsivarsi exploration in the summer.
Full story
November 2023
Ilvesjoki Caving Association Headquarters, Ilvesjoki, Finland
Caving (None,Social)
Good basic lounge, and with a shower cabin & with towels. Nice.
Full story
November 2023
Prague international airport, Prague, Czech Republic
Travel; Flying
Yet another business trip by train! Had lots of fun, stopping at the head office in Sweden, riding the night train while hacking software with my colleagues... and much less CO2! Need to do this again.
Full story
November 2023
Hilton Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
Travel
This summer I managed to write another article to the cave radio expert group's journal, the CREG journal. This time the article was about cave-outliner, and turning 3D models into maps, slices, and plan views.
Full story
October 2023
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland
Caving (None,Media,Researching,Equipment)
I had great plans, but they all failed. Either the caves I visited turned out to be man-made, they were too small and I had to let them go, I didn't find them, or I arrived to late and they were already closed. So much for my effort to visit five new caves on my way from the conference to the airport.
Full story
November 2023
Jeskyné Klemperka*, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Klemperka underground hole*, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Klemperka side apartment**, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Kokořín shelter cave 1*, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Kokořín shelter cave 2*, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Rozbořenka**, Kokořín, Czech Republic; Jeskyné Wernerovka**, Medonosy-Libéchov, Czech Republic; Wernerovka firepit shelter cave***, Medonosy-Libéchov, Czech Republic; Wernerovka mini cavelet*, Medonosy-Libéchov, Czech Republic; Konépruské Jeskyné***, Konéprusy, Czech Republic; Kodska Jeskyné***, Srbska, Czech Republic
Caving* (Rock-Sandstone,Basic,Rock,Morphology-Erosion); Caving** (Rock-Sandstone,Basic,Rock,Man-Made); Caving*** (Rock,None)
I've never heard of this place. But, it is a cozy national park, relaxing, forest, some caves around... and it is also a 971 meter high mountain, the highest in Lower Saxony. So obviously there's a ski resort with lifts. Including a gondola! The views are nice, the weather like sunny, and to my luck there was also some fresh snow on the sides of the ski slopes. Can't complain.
Full story
February 2022
Wurmberg, Harz, Germany
Skiing
It is always a bit sketchy to visit our summer cottage in late fall. It is cold, freezing, the facilities are pretty basic, and if the road is icy we can't cope with the steep hills on the road. Not with my crap car at least. But, it always ends up being a wonderful visit. Dipped in the cold lake once at least, had a wonderful warm sauna in glowing fire light, the lake and sunsets were beautiful. And I saw for the first time northern lights! Amazing that I have not succeeded in seeing them before, but for some reason not.
Full story
October 2023
Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake)
Wow, I missed the opening the day by one day, but no matter. The slopes at Vista are running at full speed! Or slope, rather. There's just the children's training slope. And full speed is not exactly Ludicrous Speed, it felt a bit like standing on a carpet and waiting for it to move. For sure it was worth to pay 39€ for the lift ticket to ski on this for an hour? Still, wonderful. Everyone seemed to be having a lot of good time. I did too! Kudos to Vihti, Hyvinkää, and Talma opening their slopes so early this year!
Full story
October 2023
Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland
Skiing
I was in a conference at the Arland airport this week, in the "Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport Terminal" as they like to call it :-) It is directly connected to the shopping and restaurant space of the airport, one does not have to walk outside to get here. But the really cool thing is their rooftop pool. One can enjoy a warm outdoor pool while breathing fresh air mixed with some kerosine smell. Love it! Particularly in the mornings!
Full story
October 2023
Clarion Hotel Arland Airport, Arlanda, Sweden
Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool,Water); Sauna
It did wake me up! The Finnair A320, OH-LXD, was landing late in the night. Suddenly the engines were turned higher up and the plane started rising. A few minutes later the captain announced that due to unexpectedly high tailwinds, they could not slow down quickly enough to land. So around we went...
Full story
October 2023
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying
I don't fly as much as I used to, so it was the first time I saw the Helsinki-Vantaa airport new shops. These include a nicely decorated and expanded Moomin shop and a second-hand clothing store. Very nice! Nothing for men / sports, however.. maybe next time.
Full story
September 2023
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland
Flying; Travel
Mariastein is a small village near the highway leading from Innsbruck to Munich. It is centrally located for excursions to the Austrian alpine resorts, e.g., one hour away from the end of the Zillertal valley and the Hintertux summer ski center. One of the nice hotels in Mariastein is the Mariasteinerhof. They have four saunas in their spa section, two Finnish saunas, one steam room, and one infrared sauna. Nice!
Full story
September 2023
Hotel Mariasteinerhof, Mariastein, Austria
Sauna (Normal,Steam,Infrared)
Birthday. I needed some skiing for that. And, the only real skiing on this side of the planet was in Hintertux, the friendly location for year-around skiing on the glaciers. Sadly, the glaciers are shrinking. Now on first of October their state in Hintertux was worse than last year in the worst of the summer in the end of August. That's not good. But, some ice left. A bit of snow also on top in some places, even some unskied snow! But wow, were the main slopes icy. Extremely icy, as the weather forecast indicated.
Full story
(TGR version)
October 2023
Hintertux, Zillertal, Austria
Skiing
Korkberget is my favorite local cave. Also one of Finland's largest block caves, even if you don't get to go very dark while going through the cave; in most places you can see entrances and light between the boulders. But it is a wonderful sight, a great squeeze exercise, and nice back massage. And clearly an opportunity to practice much needed flexibility by the cavers :-)
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September 2023
Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders)
Wow, I had been here before but ... did not see this coming! There's also an ice room in the Viking Glory spa department. Nice! A real sauna (actually, one joint and two separated), a steam sauna (joint) and then the ice room!
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September 2023
Viking Glory, Stockholm, Sweden
Sauna (Normal,Steam,Other)
Such bliss. A quiet swimming pool, almost an empty sauna and showers... now we are visiting the Kauniainen (Grani) swimming hall. It is one of the oldest and most basic swimming halls in the areas around Helsinki. And it may be torn down; but for now it means low prices, quietness, and space.
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September 2023
Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)
I've been here many times before, but doing it with my friends this time made me realize an annoying thing. We visited the Itäkeskus swimming hall, a wonderful underground creation. But... one of the nicest pools in a rock-dug hole was painful when kids were screaming at the full power of their lungs. And it is a massive echo chamber. In fact, the entire swimming hall is quite bad at acoustics; hard surfaces for the sounds to bounce off.
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September 2023
Itäkeskuksen uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland
Sauna (Normal,Steam); Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers)
If your caving friend was coming over for a weekend, what would you show about the Finnish caving scene? Here's our menu for a caving buffet, covering everything from ice saunas to block caves to cracks in granite, mines, limestone caves, to salmon meals to ... did I already mention saunas? Not to forget Sibelius for dessert!
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September 2023
Viking Glory*, Stockholm, Sweden; Luolavuoren luola**, Turku, Finland; Rotkoluola***, Kaarina, Finland; Itäkeskuksen uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland****; House Arkko*****, Kauniainen, Finland; Högberget******, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Ansabunkkeri*******, Siuntio, Finland; Korkbergetin lohkareluola********, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Hvitträsk cliff*********, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Sauna* (Normal,Steam,Other); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders,Equipment); Caving*** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Equipment); Sauna**** (Normal,Steam); Swimming**** (Water,Waterbody-Pool,Indoor); Travel*****; Caving****** (Basic,,Rock,Equipment,Morphology-Erosion); Urban-Exploration******* (Bunkers); Caving******** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders); Urban-Exploration********* (Historic-Sites)
We continued the sampling of the best Finnish caves on our weekend tour, as well as played more with the nice lights we had. (Previous light story was here.)
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September 2023
Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland
Caving (Basic,Equipment,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst)
I've been here before, but it is always refreshing: the Tytyri kaivos keeps having less miners but more and more tourists and elevator researchers. This time we found a treasure: a sauna in the depths of the mine, on level 80.
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September 2023
Tytyrin kaivos, Lohja, Finland
Sauna; Urban-Exploration (Mines)
A canyon. A wonder of nature that I did not know existed in Finland. Amazing, truly amazing green views! A place so secret that I do not wish to even tell its name or coordinates, for fear of leading more traffic to this delicate natural place. The place is near Turku, however. Let's call the it "Kaarinan rotkoluola" (Kaarina crack cave). You may ask how we knew about this place. We had a friend with us with knowledge... so here we were.
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September 2023
Rotkoluola, Kaarina, Finland
Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Equipment)
Our first stop on the grand tour of southern Finland caves was in Turku, in the Luolavuori cave (The Cave Mountain Cave :-) ). We ended up trying for fun various lights, an oil lamp and a new Black Diamond headlamp that supports not just white but also red, green, and blue light. Very nice effects!
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September 2023
Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland
Caving (Basic,Rock,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders,Equipment)
While skiing in Husby, I saw something which I wanted to return to: Husbybadet, the local community swimming hall.
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September 2023
Husbybadet, Husby, Stockholm, Sweden
Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna
I had a much needed trip to see colleagues in Kista. Took the train and the boat and the bus this time... not too bad of a travel mode. Also, since the month is soon over I had to find a place to ski. Mini-skis and the snow pile by the Husby ice skating rink did the trick. Maybe three turns. At least. All obviously on different runs on this half a meter high mountain. September skiing is now done!
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(TGR version)
September 2023
Husby Ishall, Husby, Stockholm, Sweden
Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking)
As part of our exploration trip to the Njiellalanjávri area, we scouted all signs of limestone around lakes Njiellalanjávri, Toskaljärvi, Veajetjávrrit, and Láfoljávri lakes, and the mountains in between. In some cases limestone was easy to identify, known to be limestone, in other cases it was not so easy to identify by non-experts. But we think we made a reasonable analysis, and found quite many places where there is at least potential limestone. There's plenty of loose rock pieces that are clearly limestone, but the more interesting target for us were ground rock layers. Or larger collections of potential limestone rock pieces that might indicate a ground rock layer would be somewhere nearby.
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August 2023
Toskaljärven maanalainen joki*, Enontekiö, Finland; Njiellalanjávri**, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárrit***, Enontekiö, Finland
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Researching); Hiking**; Climbing***
As part of our exploration trip to the Njiellalanjávri area, we scouted all possible cave holes around lakes Njiellalanjávri, Toskaljärvi, Veajetjávrrit, and Láfoljávri lakes, and the mountains in between. We also scouted for limestone (see separate article).
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August 2023
Láfolvárritin rinteen lohkareluolanen*, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfoljávrin jyrkänteen kolmioluolanen**, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen lippaluola lohkareella***, Enontekiö, Finland; Skaidin pikkukolot****, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven maanalainen joki*****, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven jyrkänteen lohkareluolanen******, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven jyrkänteen vesiputouksen lohkareluolanen*******, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen puronuomaluolanen********, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen lohkarealusta*********, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin lohkare**********, Enontekiö, Finland; Toskaljärven jyrkänteen kolo***********, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen oviaukkokolo************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen sivuhalkeama 1*************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen sivuhalkeama 2**************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen alempi lippaluolanen***************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin harjanteen ylempi lippaluolanen****************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin pieni halkeamaluolanen*****************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfolvárritin minihalkeama******************, Enontekiö, Finland; Veajetoaivon lippaluolanen*******************, Enontekiö, Finland; Veajetjávrritin kanjonin luolanen********************, Enontekiö, Finland; Láfoljávrin jyrkänteen paperiluolanen*********************, Enontekiö, Finland
Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack); Caving*** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack); Caving**** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack); Caving***** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Surveying); Caving****** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Boulders); Caving******* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Boulders); Caving******** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Boulders); Caving********* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Boulders); Caving********** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Boulders); Caving*********** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving************ (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving************* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving************** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving*************** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving**************** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving***************** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving****************** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving******************* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Surveying,Morphology-Crack); Caving******************** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Unknown); Caving********************* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Unknown,Morphology-Unknown)
The Malmi swimming hall is one of the halls operated by Urheiluhallit Oy, a corporation running several sports facilities in Helsinki. For some reason I had never been there, had not even heard about it. I ended up visiting on its 40th birthday celebration. Quite an achievement, though undoubtedly achieved through several major renovations. In its current state, the hall is quite modern and nice.
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September 2023
Malmin uimahalli, Malmi, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)
I had not seen this before, but at the Oittaa beach on the Bodom lake there's a clever "lifebuoy", with integrated emergency boat for the rescuers to use. Very nice! We need more of these!
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September 2023
Oittaan uimaranta, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (None)
Vuosisadan tie (road of the century) or Punkaharjun Harjutie is a road built on a narrow ridge between two lakes, Puruvesi and Pihlajavesi. The road runs for several kilometers and at times the ridge is barely wider than the road. The views and the nature around the road are very beautiful, pictures of this road and ridge some of the classic Finnish tourist pictures.
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August 2023
Vuosisadan tien uimaranta, Punkaharju, Finland; Kuikonniemen uimaranta, Punkaharju, Finland
Swimming (Water,Outdoor,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
You have to agree that the name is weird, but regardless of that, Hotel Hospitz is a nice boutique hotel in Savonlinna's city center. It is small, just few rooms in two floors. But it has a bookable sauna in the basement, with direct access to the beach in front. Such a nice swim!
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August 2023
Hotelli Hospitz, Savonlinna, Finland
Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)
Woohoo, climbed one of the highest mountains in Finland! But I shouldn't mention it was only 1000 meters and few meters over. And just 250 meters to climb to from where we were. Still, a nice view. And most importantly, the only place in the neighborhood where we could get connectivity to mobile networks! Yay social networks!
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August 2023
Láfolvárrit, Enontekiö, Finland
Climbing