Skiing the Planet

"Mongolia is kind of close, right?" Story about an attempt to ski everywhere in the world where there's snow. And in some places where there isn't. On and off-piste skiing on all continents, skiing into craters of live volcanoes, climbing, photography, and travel.

The blog about skiing around the world. The most recent blog articles can be found here:

Click here for the main site. There is also a full list, an off-piste guide, services "approved by the Planetskier", and a map.

The fourth part of a list of all blog articles can be found below. The list began in part 1 and continues in part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7.

Going to Rokokallio!
Tomorrow I'm going for a caver's association meeting in Rokokallio, Vihti. I've been there before. Actually several times, and I have an unfinished mapping project to complete...
Full story
July 2020
Pääluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Hiotun kiven luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Päällysluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Päänuotiopaikan luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kallionkololuola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kivenalusluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Syvä halkeamaluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Toinen nuotiopaikan luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kivenalusluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Halkeamaluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kahden kolon luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Lippaluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

Karhusaari swim
Time for a swim in the sea?
Full story
July 2020
Karhusaarenranta, Karhusaari, Espoo, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach)

Finnträsk swim
One more swim! This time I headed to a place that I've always dreamed about but never visited for some reason. Finnträsk is in Sarfvik, just along my bike or car route to work.
Full story
July 2020
Finnträsk, Sarfvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature)

Nupurinjärvi swim
Tuesday's swim was at the Nupuri lake. There's no official swim spot, and I thought I'd not find a place to get to the water, given all the water plants on the shores. But then there was an opening, a small rowing boat harbour...
Full story
July 2020
Venepaikka, Nupurinjärvi, Nupuri, Espoo, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature)

Lippajärvi swim
Lippajärvi has a nice sandy beach swimming place. But I wanted something more private, and with less people. After some map browsing, I discovered that there's a short walking path behind the memory illness hospital. Maybe there's something there? A forgotten beach?
Full story
July 2020
Lippajärven salainen laituri, Lippajärvi, Espoo, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)

Grani swim
It is cold today and raining heavily. But I made a plan to go out for a swim every day.
Full story
July 2020
Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)

Myllyjärvi swim
Another swim! In heavy rain, but hey, not too bad. The water is warm. In Myllyjärvi, north of lake Bodom and south of lake Sorvalampi.
Full story
July 2020
Myllyjärven luonnonranta, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland*; Myllyjärven uimaranta, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland**


Swimming* (Outdoor); Hiking**

Myllyjärvi bouldering cliff and roof cave
On my way to swimming in Myllyjärvi, I noticed a bouldering cliff, with an overhang. Quite a spectacular roof cave, maybe 35 meters long and 4-5 meters deep.
Full story
July 2020
Myllyjärven lippaluola, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic)

Kattilajärvi swim
Another evening, another swim. Trying to find a crowds-free and virus free swimming places in the hot Finnish summer :-)
Full story
July 2020
Kattilajärven luonnonranta, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland*; Kattilajärven uimaranta, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland**


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature)*; Hiking**

Sorvalampi swim
The day was nice, very sunny. I worked hard... and wanted a swim on a remote, uncrowded lake or pond in the evening. Of course, by the time I left home in the evening it was already dark and raining :-)
Full story
July 2020
Sorvalampi rocks, Sorvalampi, Espoo, Finland*; Sorvalampi beach, Sorvalampi, Espoo, Finland**


Swimming* (Outdoor); Hiking**

The new, blue, Grottan
The new Grottan magazine came in mail. Grottan is the magazine for Sweden's Caver's Association, published I think four times a year.
Full story
July 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None,Media)

Parking practice
Parking practice between tightly parked cardboard boxes. Front, back, parallel. Oh and the Volvo has been running nicely for ALMOST THREE DAYS by now.
Full story
June 2020
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Skiing

Midsummer swim
I was a bit busy among picking up groceries, work in the yard, and fetching some medicines for the kids that I almost had no time to celebrate midsummer on the eve. But, I did get a chance to put in a very nice swim!
Full story
June 2020
Jupperinranta, Kuninkainen, Espoo, Finland*; House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland**


Swimming* (Outdoor); Sauna**

Wow, what a nice midsummer present!
Whoa, the repair guys at Latokaske's Tiikeritarha really pulled a miracle this time. The cost was only 190€, despite estimate of 700€ and a mid-way statement that "they've run into issues". I was expecting at least a 1000€....
Full story
June 2020
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Volvo repair done... afraid of the cost
I'm told that the Volvo works. Now dreading to go inside to learn about the bill. Any guesses?
Full story
June 2020
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Returning to the airport after Covid-19
This isn't a busy place. In fact, on my first visit I didn't see a single person on my way in through one terminal and half-way on the walkway to the other one where I needed to pick up a rental car.
Full story
June 2020
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Flying; Travel

Frozen Brain Lake
As I was driving back from Ylläs, I came across an odd sign about Pakasaivo, which translates roughly to "Frozen Brain". What was it? I had to stop and look it up. Soon I was driving the tiny 11-kilometer road to go see it.
Full story
June 2020
Pakasaivon pieni kivenkolo, Pakasaivo, Muonio, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic); Hiking

Rethinking this car thing
After the clutch broke, I felt the situation is critical.
Full story
June 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car; Biking (Outdoor,Bike-Road,Track-Road,Track-City,Equipment)

Oops, fluids have left the clutch
Oops, fluids have left the clutch.
Full story
June 2020
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

Training the next generation Volvo drivers
Volvo is helping the next generation to drive. Or at least get used to gears, clutch and the works before entering the real driving school. First parking by the soon 18yo: car could be more center perhaps but no walls were hit. Success :-)
Full story
June 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

The book of boulders (Suomen Lohkareet)
My earlier post was about data sources for finding new caves. I've now been reading the Suomen Lohkareet (the book of boulders in Finland) book, and it is great.
Full story
June 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None,Research)

Onkalonperä?
Onkalonperä means "the backside of a hole". Fortunately, not "hole in the backside"! I saw this as I was driving towards Ylläs. I don't know anything about it, but are there are any holes or caves in that village? Maybe worth investigating...
Full story
June 2020
Onkalonperän risteys, Simo, Finland


Caving (None)

A different Ylläs 24
I decided to do my own Ylläs 24 event, to replace the one cancelled in April. It is already June, not a lot of snow remains. But some, and what a wonderful sunshine for the entire 24 hours - midnight sun was shining, as Ylläs is far above the arctic circle.
Full story
(TGR version)
June 2020
Ylläs, Finland


Skiing

Haavikkolehto cave, now with a map!
Haavikkolehto - a protected site with many boulders left by the ice age - is also very interesting from caving perspective. Likely not everything here has been found. But the most spectacular cave is known from this Retkipaikka article.
Full story
May 2020
Haavikkolehdon karhukiven luola, Suonenjoki, Finland; Haavikkolehdon karhukiven luolan sivulohkareluola, Suonenjoki, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying)

Looking for caves on Nilsiä's Mustikkamäki
I'm looking for caves... not for bears. But heard some growling and saw some big piles of sh*t, so decided to do a roundabout tour to return to the car.
Full story
May 2020
Ryömittävä lippaluola, Mustikkamäki, Nilsiä, Finland*; Kololuolanen, Mustikkamäki, Nilsiä, Finland*; Korkea lippaluola, Mustikkamäki, Nilsiä, Finland*; Pieni kulmalippaluolanen, Mustikkamäki, Nilsiä, Finland**; Pieni lippaluolanen 1, Mustikkamäki, Nilsiä, Finland**; Pieni lippaluolanen 2, Mustikkamäki, Nilsiä, Finland**


Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic); Hiking**

A tour of three closed ski areas
Wow. Three closed ski areas on one day. 500 kilometers of driving, though, on this avoid-contact-with-others trip.
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Himos, Jämsä, Finland; Kasurila, Siilinjärvi, Finland; Tahko, Finland


Skiing

Skiing Tahko on May 30th
What a wonderful experience, hiking up the 200 meters high ski hill in deserted Tahko, in sunshine. And taking a sunset ski run back to the lake, almost all of it on still preserved snow.
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Tahko, Finland*; Tahkolahden ranta, Tahko, Finland**


Skiing*; Swimming** (Outdoor)

Data sources for cave search
Yay, a delivery! I got the third book in the series of cave, canyon, and boulder books from Tuomo Kesäläinen and Aimo Kejonen! Very excited to read this as well!
Full story
June 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None,Media,Research)

Röylä hike (with cavelets!)
Röylä. A place with an ugly name and no one with interest to visit there? Not so. The forests are quite big, and full of cliffs, and indeed, no one goes there so one gets to hike alone :-)
Full story
May 2020
Röylän halkeamaluolanen, Röylä, Espoo, Finland**; Röylän lippakolonen, Röylä, Espoo, Finland*; Röylän siirtolohkareluolanen, Röylä, Espoo, Finland***


Hiking*; Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying); Caving*** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying)

Kaupunginkallio cavelet
I go hiking on a different spot on most days, as my evening exercise. This time in Kaupunginkallio, Espoo.
Full story
May 2020
Kaupunginkallion halkeamakolo, Espoo, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic)

Voitelu kunnossa. Summer waxing.
Skiing in the summer takes waxing skill. But, this time I think I managed it.
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland


Skiing

Högaberget, Espoo
Tiny cavelets on my evening walk again.
Full story
May 2020
Högabergetin siirtolohkare, Espoo, Finland*; Högabergetin lohkareluolanen, Espoo, Finland**; Högabergetin kalliolippaluolanen, Espoo, Finland***


Hiking*; Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic); Caving*** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic)

Volvo running fine. Maybe.
The Volvo is running fine, although not very much, drive only a bit every second day or say. And today I've started hearing some odd noise... and now I'm a bit worried.
Full story
May 2020
Högabergetin siirtolohkare, Espoo, Finland


Car

Gåskärr cavelets and boulders
During the quarantine, I've taken up trying to hike almost every day. It turns out that I can go within just a few kilometers from home and still end up in areas that I've not been to before. The forests not marketed as the hottest hiking areas, etc. And almost every time, there are some tiny rock holes that one could call "cavelets".
Full story
May 2020
Gåskärrin lohkareluola, Gåskär, Espoo, Finland*; Gåskärrin lippaluolanen, Gåskär, Espoo, Finland**


Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic)

Summer has been CANCELLED
I was sure that the season is over. Then... it started snowing.
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Last snow in Grani
Now THIS is really the last snow. Two meter long snow patch left... it will be gone by tomorrow. Skied the slope, nevertheless :-)
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing (Snow,Grass)

Patchy skiing in Vihti
Tero and I went to Vihti to see if we could still ski it. Vihti is the best, much snow left! A few parts not covered in snow, but one can ski through them!
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland


Skiing (Snow,Grass)

Kattilajärvi roof caves
Today's exercise was an excursion to Kattilajärvi, which was reported to have interesting cliffs. There were a couple of small caves and two interesting roof caves.
Full story
May 2020
Kattilajärven iso lippaluola, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Kattilajärven kallion lippaluola, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Kattilajärven kalliokolo, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Kattilajärven pieni lippaluola 1, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Kattilajärven pieni lippaluola 2, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Kattilajärven pieni lippaluola 3, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic)

Caves in Nuuksio's Katajasuo
Research pays off! I wanted to explore more boulder caves, but where to find boulders? I kept looking for data, and it turns out the geologic research institute had made a listing of the most valuable boulder fields in Finland. One of them was nearby, in Nuuksio, so I headed out to investigate on Sunday. No caves had been listed at that spot, but the report already made some promises about cave-like holes between the rocks. And a 50 meters wide and 10 meters deep field! I was hooked. Although it turned out the location was listed after all in the book of cave in Finland (albeit with a different name).
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Katajasuon kivikon pääluola, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Katajasuon kivikon luola 1, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Katajasuon kivikon luola 2, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Katajasuon kivikon sivuluola 1, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland; Katajasuon kivikon sivuluola 2, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying)

May the fourth be with you
Niko Nordström's art appears throughout the forests of Kauniainen. This chainsawed tree stump seems appropriate for today.
Full story
May 2020
Star Wars veistos, Kauniainen, Finland


Other

Mapping Grani's caves. If I could only find them...
For May 1st, I also wanted to see if I could add Kauniainen to the map with regards to having mapped caves.
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Kauniaisten koululuola 1, Kauniainen, Finland*; Kauniaisten koululuola 2, Kauniainen, Finland**; Siirtolohkareluola 1, Kauniainen, Finland*


Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying)

Wappurun
Wappu. There's still plenty of snow for a ski run in Vihti.
Full story
(TGR version)
May 2020
Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland


Skiing

Lights... so wrong
One headlight is always on. Even when the car is parked. The other is always off, even when driving. Sigh.
Full story
May 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Goddarsbölebergen
Still in quarantine! So, I'm hiking in a forgotten forest in Kirkkonummi. And found two caves that aren't listed in any of the cave books. One roof cave, visited by climbers for the overhang. But the other one I liked a lot. It is small, but much cave-like, dark, and with a very tight entrance :-)
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Goddarsbölebergenin lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Goddarsbölebergenin luola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Goddarsbölebergenin kolmiokolo, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Goddarsbölebergenin pieni lippaluolan kaltainen kalliojyrkänne 1, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Goddarsbölebergenin pieni lippaluolan kaltainen kalliojyrkänne 2, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying)

Ducktape is PERFECT for spring skiing
Downgrade your skis, and your ski season will become longer!
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Meltdown lockdown
It is the end of days. A meltdown, of the snow on the local ski hill.
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Finally, the final run (?)
Now THAT may have been the last run of the season.
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Lost Johanneberget cave
Jukka performed a search on cave references from the database of the Finnish National Board of Antiquities during our recent virtual meet-up. He came up with a reference to a potentia cave in Espoo that none of us had heard about. Yesterday I went to look for it...
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Johannesbergetin halkeamalaluola, Espoo, Finland*; Johannesbergetin lippaluola 1, Espoo, Finland**; Johannesbergetin lippaluola 2, Espoo, Finland**; Johannesbergetin siirtolohkareen alusluola 1, Espoo, Finland***


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic); Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic); Caving*** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

One more time?
One more skiing run? Why not. Also, I have not been to Swinghill in Nuuksio yet this winter. So Tero and I decided to go see if we could ski it. While staying far enough apart to not infect each other :-)
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Swinghill, Espoo, Finland


Skiing

Grottan arrived at mailbox
No, it is not a rat. It is a Swedish caver's magazine. Grottan is cave in Swedish.
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None,Media)

Virtual caving club meeting. In a cave.
Another caver's club virtual meeting! Nice! Since the others played around with nice picture backgrounds, I decided to have a background of my own: in a cave in Korkberget, Kirkkonummi.
Full story
April 2020
Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Pieni lippaluola 1 pohjoiskärjessä, Korkberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Pieni lippaluola 2 pohjoiskärjessä, Korkberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Social)

Lumonite BX caving light repair
My best caving light broke down last week on a nightly skiing excursion. I measured it and determined that the likely culprit was broken battery. Today the mail delivered a spare battery, and I installed and voilá, the light works again! Happy about not having to look for a new light.
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (Equipment)

Five-day winter
The official statistics are in: in southern Finland, the thermal winter lasted only five days. But, I should note that first of May and the Midsummer are still ahead of us.
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

I deny my involvement
I did *not* have anything to do with this. Really.
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

It's a snow day! We can stay home! ... Oh... wait
It's a snow day! We can stay home! ... Oh... wait
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Snowing in Vihti
It still wasn't the last run of the season! Vihti rules!
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland


Skiing

Train car in the forest
As I visiting Vihti anyway, I also wanted to see something abandoned, something not likely to have other people. I found an abandoned railway car in the middle of the forest.
Full story
April 2020
Hylätty junanvaunu, Vihti, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Vehicles)

TDM isolation
Time-division multiplexing; reserving a time slot for different entities. A telecommunications concept that can also be useful for skiing in the virus-infested world. With too many people going about during the day, I wanted to isolate myself by going to the ski hill at 1am. It was great, but I also had some equipment breakage.
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Social ski-distancing
I wanted to go skiing with my friend Jarmo. But, the dangers of infecting others... Fortunately, we found a solution: skiing at the same time on two separate slopes.
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Peuramaa, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Skiing

Lummelunda canceled :-(
For the last three years, the highlight of my caving year has been the fun, warm, and social camping week at the Lummelunda cave in Gotland. Sadly, I just received a cancellation for the flights to Gotland, due to the virus. I think this year's caving week is therefore cancelled.
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None)

Schrödinger's Volvo
Today's good news is that my insurance company paid the expensive medicine I've started taking this year, costing around 6000€ per year. Usually in Finland the medical costs are negligible but this drug is not yet on the list, yet it is at least slightly better. Timely positive news, given all the economic worries in the world plus my house loan and the teenager's costs :-) Now if I could only find an insurance company to cover for the unexpected maintenance costs from the Volvo ... :-)
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

More skiing. Daily?
Today I woke up and saw that it was sunny... warm, almost 10 degrees even at 9am. A busy day ahead, but I thought I'd go for a brief ski run while taking the first conference call.
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Stockmann in trouble 100 years ago and now
100 years ago, Frans Stockmann (Nov 1920) and his wife (Apr 1919) died in Spanish Flu. Their house project in Kauniainen was left unfinished, and remains as ruins in the forest. Today, in April 2020, lack of sales due to the Coronavirus, the famous Stockmann department store has applied for protection from its creditors ("yrityssaneeraus" in Finnish, roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 in US).
Full story
April 2020
Stockmannin rauniot, Kauniainen, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Buildings,Ruins)

Stairway to Hea...Bunker
Bunker... in Jorvas. With a ladder leading down a tight concrete shaft. How could I resist?
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Sähköaseman bunkkeri, Masala, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Kirkkonummi Cavelets
I realised last week that I need exercise, and sunshine. Today's exercise was to go caving in Kirkkonummi. But I didn't want to visit places that other people would likely be in. So I took the approach of visiting forest areas where there have been NO caves listed.
Full story
April 2020
Masalan siirtolohkareen luolanen, Masala, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Nägelsin siirtolohkareen luolanen, Hirsala, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Nägelsin lippaluolanen 1, Hirsala, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Nägelsin lippaluolanen 2, Hirsala, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Nägelsin halkeamaluolanen, Hirsala, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic)

Caver's meetup. Virtually.
What a wonderful experience - forced to not not have in-person meetings, all kinds of organizations are realising that their meetings *can* be done over network connections, and that the results are often better. We just had a caver's meet-up in Finland, and we chatted longer -- six hours -- than we ever have and had many more people participate than before.
Full story
April 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None,Social)

Another day, another conference call, another ski run
Another day, another conference call, another ski run
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Not the last run, after all
I don't often quarantine myself, but when I do, I do it next to a ski slope.
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Quarantine skiing
The last run of the season, under an increasingly tight lockdown. No police barricades were bypassed when making this video, though. And no people approached closer than the 100 meter social distancing limit.
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Keflavik airport
The Keflavik airport in Iceland had a very beautiful roof.
Full story
March 2019
Keflavik airport, Keflavik, Iceland


Flying

Minefield skiing in Israel
Back in the pre-Covid world, I had order cheap Black Friday for a quick stop in Israel, to collect yet another country for skiing. Yes, you can ski in Israel, at Mount Hermon on the border towards Syria and Lebanon. The trip turned out to be apocalyptic both because of the virus and impending world shutdown, but also because of skiing on an area that was just recently a war zone, and near the borders. Got told by the solders multiple times to not continue further.
Full story
(TGR version)
February 2020
Mount Hermon, Israel


Skiing

The Eyes of God: Prohodna Cave
An hour and half from Sofia lies the Prohodna Cave. This is a massive and easy-to-visit cave for everyone, including busloads of tourists. And who wouldn't want to look at the Eyes of God?
Full story
(TGR version)
September 2019
Prohodna Cave, Karlukovo, Bulgaria; Prohodna Cave side caves 1, Karlukovo, Bulgaria; Prohodna Cave side caves 2, Karlukovo, Bulgaria; Prohodna Cave side caves 3, Karlukovo, Bulgaria; Prohodna Cave side caves 4, Karlukovo, Bulgaria


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Cappadocia
Massive cities carved inside rock towers. Luxury hotels carved inside cliffs. Sometimes a bad weather closure day can lead to interesting other things. I'm glad we got to visit Cappadocia, Turkey.
Full story
(TGR version)
February 2020
Göreme Open Air Museum, Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey


Caving (Rock,Man-Made)

Check-up cleared!
Check-up formally cleared! Now I can drive a year with this thing, nothing more can break!
Full story
March 2020
Herttoniemen Autokatsastus, Espoo, Finland


Car

Abandoned bunker on Golan Heights
What a shitty bunker! Literally.
Full story
February 2020
Abandoned bunker, Mount Hermon, Israel


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

It really was the last trip...
It really was the last trip... for a while.
Full story
March 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Travel

Abandoned watchtower on Golan Heights
One particularly interesting thing about Mount Hermon were the military installations. Many of them. in active use, but also many that had been abandoned or that lay in ruins.
Full story
February 2020
Abandoned watchtower, Mount Hermon, Israel


Urban-Exploration (Towers,Military); Skiing

Unexpected sauna in Istanbul
Having been delayed, rerouted, and cancelled umpteen times, we spent a short night sleeping on the benches of the new Istanbul airport. But our eventual flight turned out to be in the next evening, so we asked for a hotel room for the day.
Full story
February 2020
Novotel Istanbul Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, Turkey


Sauna

Kayseri. Sauna.
My main requirement for our hotel in Kayseri was that it should have a sauna... which is fortunately quite likely in Turkey.
Full story
February 2020
Holiday Inn, Kayseri, Turkey


Sauna

Desperately seeking... any cave
As we returned from the skiing in Israel, I wanted to stop at a cave in Israel. Most of the show caves are closed in the winter, but there should be enough natural caves to visit, right? Not so... we failed to enter the ones we found for various reasons.
Full story
February 2020
Пещера, Tiberias, Israel


Caving (None)

Map map
I have now put up all my Finnish cave maps at the Planetcaver site. There's maps for 34 different caves, almost all of which are in the Kirkkonummi area. A few maps are in the works.
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None)

Miracle in Kayseri
Despite one diversion, one unplanned return to origin, one cancellation, and one delay, our ski bags arrived in Kayseri. What a miracle in the airline system!
Full story
February 2020
Kayseri Airport, Kayseri, Turkey


Travel; Flying

Grani still going strong, even in bad winter
While coming back from the grocery store, I swing by the local ski hill in Kauniainen. To my amazement, they were up and running, with a bit more than half of the slope covered by snow.
Full story
March 2020
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

New brakes
Somewhere behind the wheel are the new working, unrusted brakes and suspension. Estimate was 300€, actual bill 1300€. Apparently many hours of work to remove the old junk.
Full story
March 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Car blue gets lighter
My Volvo went to the shop today to fix the repairs that were ordered. Wish me and my wallet luck.
Full story
March 2020
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Skis came home
Ha! Skibag returned home. It got left behind last Wednesday evening as we were leaving for Israel, due to a baggage handler strike in Helsinki.
Full story
March 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Such a great repair job
This is how great my fix to the bulbs was. Came off while driving. Twice. #greatmechanic
Full story
February 2020
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

It blinks again!
It blinks again! Only had to change the 29-year old detoriating relay. And take apart half car to get to that relay :-) #volvo
Full story
February 2020
Motonet, Espoo, Finland


Car

Sauna at the Alaska Inn. In Israel of all places!
Funnily enough, our hotel was called Alaska Inn -- even if it was in Israel.
Full story
February 2020
Alaska Inn, Metula, Israel


Sauna (Infrared)

Celebrating a great check-up result
I celebrated the great checkup result by investing in new car... smell. Technically, the result was "failed" but I'll note that 1) I can drive the car still for a month and 2) the necessary repairs are not in the hull but in some insignificant parts like breaks, tires, and suspension.
Full story
February 2020
Herttoniemen Autokatsastus, Espoo, Finland


Car

Important yearly maintenance
Important maintenance before yearly checkup in 10 minutes. Wish me luck, I *do* need it this time.
Full story
February 2020
Shell Suomenoja, Espoo, Finland


Car

Ski mask fashion 2020?
Is this the ski mask fashion 2020?
Full story
(TGR version)
February 2020
Mount Hermon, Israel


Skiing

Titlis caving
While skiing on the rainy Titlis, I saw a crack cave by the slopes, and also visited an ice cave for tourists.
Full story
February 2020
Titlis ice cave, Engelberg, Switzerland


Caving (Glacier,Basic,Showtour)

Rainy day
When an opportunity opens up, one has to take it, even if the weather is -- as the Engelberg tourist office said -- "very bad". I had a couple of friends joining the trip, originally, but they all bailed out citing "heavy rain" and "100 km/h winds" as reasons. But, I had a nice ski day.
Full story
(TGR version)
February 2020
Engelberg, Switzerland


Skiing

Saunas at the Hilton Zürich Airport
It seems insane to stay at airport hotels, but this time it worked well for me. Convenient for the early morning departure, free train ticket to my meeting site, and, most importantly, a nice sauna department!
Full story
February 2020
Hilton Zurich Airport, Kloten, Switzerland


Sauna

Damn parking ticket
I got a parking ticket today on my work trip in Stockholm. Grr...
Full story
January 2020
Kista, Stockholm, Sweden


Car

Ariston Hotell sauna. Or is there one?
I always book different hotels on my trips to Sweden, to try out different areas for fun, but also to test drive different saunas. This time I booked the Ariston Hotell in Lidingö, a nice island community near Stockholm. With ski a ski hill... no snow during this bad winter though.
Full story
January 2020
Ariston Hotell, Lidingö, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

Forest Powder in Kopaonik, Serbia
Kopaonik is the premier ski resort in Serbia. And I got the premier weather arriving there, in heavy snowfall.
Full story
(TGR version)
December 2019
Kopaonik Ski Area, Kopaonik, Serbia


Skiing

Kopaonik Spa Experience
While in Serbia I stayed at the Dvori apartments, about 10 kilometres from the ski slopes. They had a quite nice spa area, with a jacuzzi and four saunas. Very relaxing!
Full story
December 2019
Dvori Apartments, Kopaonik, Serbia


Sauna (Normal,Steam,Infrared); Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Vela Spila, Korčula
It feels like I'm destined to find closed caves during the winter period. This time I wanted to visit the Vela Spila cave, an archaeologic cave site near Vela Luka, on the island of Korčula in the Croatian archipelago. But, it was closed. Figures.
Full story
January 2020
Vela Spila, Vela Luka, Korcula, Croatia


Caving (Rock,Basic)

Vrnjača špilja
Google maps promised that it would be open. And it took hours for me to get there. But, no, in the winter season there's no one at the Vrnjača špiljar or the Vranjaca cave, and the gates are closed. What a disappointment!
Full story
January 2020
Vrnjača špilja, Kotlenice, Croatia


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Kettils Grotta
Kettils Grotta (Kettil's cave) near the Rosersbergs Castle for an evening hike in the darkness and rain.
Full story
January 2020
Kettils Grotta, Rosersbergs Slott, Stockholm, Sweden


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

Lost keys
Remember how I broke my Volvo keys last week? This week, obviously, I lost the remaining key...
Full story
January 2020
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

New Year, New Volvo Troubles
Another Volvo story, now from the 2020s...
Full story
January 2020
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

My massive crash in the Ylläs 24H
During the Ylläs 24h race in 2019, around 2am I was heading down the Worldcup run at, I guess, at a bit over hundred kilometres an hour. And then something happened. I lost my skis, I tumbled, and hit myself to the icy slope pretty hard.
Full story
April 2019
Ylläs, Finland


Skiing; Sauna

Kicking myself for not skiing Kosovo
I was skiing in Kopaonik, Serbia, to collect yet another country that I've skied in :-) but on the way back I made a HUGE mistake.
Full story
December 2019
Serbia-Kosovo border, Kopaonik, Serbia


Skiing

Small cave in Obertauern
While skiing off the Gamsleiten 2 ski lift in Obertauern, we spotted a potential small cave. It was outside the pistes on a steep slope, but I skied to investigate. And found what would in Finland be classified as a cave: 2-3 meter long roof cave on a cliff. But not in Austria...
Full story
January 2020
Small cave, Obertauern, Austria


Skiing; Caving (Rock,Basic)

Kugelbunker
At the Vienna museum of military history (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum ), we saw a funny "kugelbunker", a concrete boulder for one person shelter from the world war times.
Full story
January 2020
Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna, Austria


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers)

Österreichisches Saunaerlebnis
Our quick start for year 2020 involved skiing in the Austrian alps, about an hour south of Salzburg. We found a nice, affordable hotel, LUFA in St. Michael im Lungau. While being affordable at only a bit more than 100€ per night, it had nice sauna facilities.
Full story
January 2020
JUFA Hotel Lungau, St. Michael im Lungau, Lungau, Austria


Sauna (Normal,Steam,Infrared)

Re-visiting the Vienna flak towers
​I was in Vienna already in 2018, but for 2020 Janne and I toured the Vienna museums befor e heading to the ski resorts in Austrian alps. This allowed a new visit to Haus des Meeres, the refurbished bunker-turned-into-and-aquarium, and visits to three other bunkers.
Full story
(TGR version)
January 2020
Haus des Meeres, Esterhazypark, Vienna, Austria; Flakturm Stiftskaserne, Vienna, Austria; Feuerleit Flakturm Arenbergpark, Vienna, Austria; Flakturm Arenbergpark, Vienna, Austria


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Military); Caving (Man-Made)

Caving in Tampere. In a shopping mall.
I don't go caving often, but when I do, I want to do it indoors in a dry, clean environment that is safe for everyone. I have to say that I did not expect much from the caving adventure park at the Tampere shopping mall, but I was blown away by how good this place was. Much recommended!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

November 2019
Irti Maasta, Tullintori, Tampere, Finland


Caving (Man-Made,Social); Swimming (Indoor,Balls)

Squeeze Box Finnish Championships 2019
We have a new Finnish cave squeezing record! At the "little xmas party" of the caving association, Jukka Palm and Mike Kushy both pushed through the squeeze box at just 166 millimeters. And I can't even get my fat head fit inside that distance, let alone other body parts! :-)
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

November 2019
Kangasala, Finland


Caving (None,Man-Made)

Nobel's blasting tunnels
This seemed like a good time of the year to go explore the start of Nobel industries in Vinterviken. Bunkers, tunnels, testing grounds, and simple factory buildings.
Full story
December 2019
Nobel blasting tunnels, Vinterviken, Stockholm, Sweden


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Historic); Caving (Man-Made)

Jimmy Petterson's Skiing Around the World
Today I managed to acquire a copy of Jimmy Petterson's "Skiing Around the World" book, volume II: "Collecting Ski Resorts". Can't wait to read this. Jimmy is the world's most widely travelled skier.
Full story
December 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Singapore Skiing. Finally.
I've been trying to do this for almost six years. Obviously, it is not easy to find skiing in Singapore. I've been forbidden to ski when there was snow, arrived right after a skiing place had bankrupted, found alternative skiing on off-limits sand, and hidden in despair in caves and abandoned bunkers. But Sport Quest to the rescue! Today I finally managed to ski in Singapore with the help of Sport Quest's indoor facilities at the Snow City. Snow, ice, cold, and on skis. Wonderful!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

November 2019
Snow City, Singapore, Singapore


Skiing (Indoor)

The Blue Pool in Singapore
I was on a business trip in Singapore, and stayed a few days at the Conrad Centennial hotel, before the prices got higher than in the conference hotel. And first things first, even if I was tired from the trip, I went straight to the pool on the first night.
Full story
November 2019
Conrad Centennial, Singapore, Singapore


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Lounge sauna
Every time I fly out from the non-Schengen side of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, I visit the new Finnair lounge sauna. Dark, hot bliss!
Full story
November 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Sauna

Sauna at the Studio Hotel
On the following week, I managed to score a luxury accommodation, a hotel room with a window!
Full story
November 2019
The Studio Hotel, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

Room without a window
Connect Hotel: In my quest to try all the saunas in different hotels in Sweden (or Kista, at least) I booked this hotel for a very special price... only for me. Cheap, but the room didn't come with a window. That was fine, it was a hack-documents-until-2am day anyway.
Full story
October 2019
Connect Hotel, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

Pyhä evening at Partioaitta
I visited yet another free mountain sports related evening of talks at Helsinki's Partioaitta. This a great program for interesting talks, much recommend.
Full story
November 2019
Partioaitta, Helsinki, Finland


Skiing

Lights keep being on all the time
Sigh, lights on the Volvo need to be checked *every* time I park the car.
Full story
October 2019
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

Refreshing sea dip at Sentosa
Because the bunker was close to the Sentosa island, we decided to stop in Sentosa for a quick dip into the sea. By now I was running out of time to get to the airport for my flights home, so I just stood in the sea for a bit, rather than change clothes and actually swim.
Full story
November 2019
Siloso beach, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach)

Seah Im Bunker
Once my meeting ended, I wanted to use the couple of hours I had for exploration, and got Tero to join me. I've already covered the Singapore caves and skiing... what remained was bunkers!
Full story
(TGR version)
November 2019
Seah Im Bunker, Keppel Hill, Singapore, Singapore


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Sauna & Swim in Sofia
Before the Red Cross camp opened for the caving conference, I had to stay one night somewhere, and have a place for some work conference calls. I ended up selecting the Tsarsko Selo Spa hotel. An interesting place, with many saunas and pools :-)
Full story
September 2019
Tsarsko Selo Spa hotel, Sofia, Bulgaria


Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal,Steam)

Hot pool in Santa Cruz
I stayed one night at the Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley, on a work trip. They had a pool... and a jacuzzi. Not bad.
Full story
October 2019
Hilton Santa Cruz Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, California, USA


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Moon over the missile base
I felt the urge to visit odd places, and an old Nike missile base seemed to fit the bill. But, I was quickly losing light on the only day that I could do this. Then the shortcut turned out to be non-passable, and the short hike turned into a 8-kilometre trek on steep hills. In darkness. And, somebody had removed the ruins. Trip ruined? Not quite, the moon and the sea were wonderful in the darkness.
Full story
(TGR version)
October 2019
Nike missile site SF-51, San Francisco, California, USA


Urban-Exploration (Ruins,Military)

Today's busses
Today's busses are #350 and then #380.
Full story
October 2019
Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom


Travel; Flying

The last start ...
... of this starter motor. Hopefully fixed by tomorrow.
Full story
October 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Caving equipment store?
I got an advertisement today from Verkkokauppa.com, a Finnish electronics store. The advertisement goes "everything for any cave" (or "kaikkea löytyy luolaan kuin luolaan" in Finnish). I think they meant to man caves etc, but I immediately headed to the shop to see if there was caving equipment to be bought :-)
Full story
October 2019
Verkkokauppa.com, Helsinki, Finland


Caving (Equipment)

Banff Mountain Festival 2019
This evening I'm at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Helsinki. The movies are about skiing, mountain biking, surfing, and caving. Looking forward to the film's, they've always been powerful stories.
Full story
October 2019
Savoy Theater, Helsinki, Finland


Skiing (None,Social,Media); Caving (None,Media,Social)

CMH at Amer Sports
I went to a marketing show of the Canadian Heli-ski operator, the legendary CMH, as they were visiting Helsinki.
Full story
October 2019
Amer Sports, Helsinki, Finland


Skiing

Monsters in the Duhlata Cave
If you go deep into a cave, you may encounter monsters! Or at least, white stalactite dental work :-)
Full story
September 2019
Duhlata Cave, Sofia, Bulgaria


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Hiking to the abandoned missile base
The base is not easy to find; there's a lot of tours on sale to visit the military wonders of Vis, but little actual information. I discovered the location of the base by looking at Google Maps satellite photos, but the Secret Croatia blog also helped...
Full story
August 2019
Vis missile base, Vis, Croatia


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Snow White Hall Photography Trip
Jukka and I wanted to continue our photography experiments further up in the Lummelunda cave. The most interesting stalactites are in the Snow White Hall (Snövitsalen), beyond the half-way point in the cave. This turned out to be a very long trip, however, and one where we run out of all of our lights...
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

June 2019
Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Boating,Swimming); Swimming (Indoor,Water,Underground,Waterbody-Cave)

Day at the beach (underground)
My vacation started after midsummer. And the first thing one does on a vacation is to go on a beach, of course. Underground.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

June 2019
Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Boating,Swimming); Swimming (Indoor,Water,Underground,Waterbody-Cave)

Veliki Slap Cave
In the summer I hiked around the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia. It has some well known caves (more of them in another blog article) but I also run into a small cave on the path to the biggest, 78-meter waterfall, Veliki Slap.
Full story
(TGR version)
August 2019
Veliki Slap cave, Plitvice Lakes, Croatia


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Primošten swim
Such a nice beach... also, a red tourist submarine!
Full story
August 2019
Primošten, Croatia


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach)

Morning swim at the Kekkola Manor
Another swim at the Kekkola Manor (Kekkolan kartano). This time in the morning. Refreshing!
Full story
September 2019
Kekkolan Kartano, Mikkeli, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Champagne served in a hot outdoor tub
This is how to serve champagne in Palju (a hot outdoor tub heated by wood fire): floating.
Full story
September 2019
Kekkolan Kartano, Mikkeli, Finland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna

Volvo says hi
Volvo says hi from the airport parking lot at 6am. It was already parked and off, but I had to return inside to pull the circuit breakers, to turn off lights and MCAS.
Full story
September 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Car

Siófoki Nagystrand
Before heading back home, we stopped at the little Siófoki to view lake Balaton. Siófoki has a nice old water tower for the views. And the best party beach is also in Siófoki, the Siófoki Nagystrand!
Full story
August 2019
Siófoki Nagystrand, Siófok, Lake Balaton, Hungary


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)

Military tunnels deep inside Mali Hum
The taxi drivers are a great information source. This time I asked about a hole in a cliff face, and got all the information I needed to visit it later. And it should be a safe place to go to...
Full story
(TGR version)
August 2019
Mali Hum Tunnels, Vis, Croatia


Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Bunkers)

Tito's cave
Tito was hiding out on the Vis island during WW2, reportedly on small mountaintop caves. Steps lead to the caves today from the Mount Hum road, and they can be easily visited.
Full story
August 2019
Tito's Cave, Vis, Croatia; Tito's Headquarters Cave, Vis, Croatia


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Erosion,Man-Made)

Good start
The Volvo... keeps having issue starting. Here's what a typical good start sounds like:
Full story
September 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Iljushin playground
Returning back from Budapest, Janne and I found a small but remarkable aviation museum next to the Ferenc Liszt airport. A different museum, at least from our point because it featured more of the eastern aircraft than the western ones we've seen more often. Iljushin, Tupolev, Yak, etc.
Full story
August 2019
Budapest Aero Park, Budapest, Hungary


Flying; Travel

Siuntio bunker tips from Dutch tourists
Having researched the locations of the Russian bunkers in Porkkala for years, I was surprised to learn the location of another bunker from Dutch tourists on their first day of visiting Finland. They pointed us to a small bunker few hundred meters from the large one we had visited earlier, based on their geocaching explorations.
Full story
August 2019
Siuntion täytetty pikkubunkkeri, Siuntio, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Afternoon swim at the abandoned underground submarine base
It is always nice to dip in to sea for a swim. Even if you're visiting an abandoned underground submarine base.
Full story
(TGR version)
August 2019
Ex. Yugoslavian military shelter for submarines, Rogačić, Vis, Croatia


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Bunkers,Harbours); Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Underground,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Waterbody-Other)

Massive crack cave at Korkberget
Korkberget is probably Finland's largest cave, with 300+ meters of tight tunnels underneath massive boulders. But, there's also a cliff... and if you climb half-way up the cliff, you will find an amazing crack that leads underground.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2019
Korkbergetin halkeamaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic); Climbing (Rock)

More cave
A sign for a cave? Intrigued. It turns out that it leads to the "Cave Bar More", one of the bar's listed in Business Insider's 50 incredible bars you should drink at in your lifetime list.
Full story
August 2019
Cave Bar More, Dubrovnik, Croatia


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Lights on ... again
The lights on my car are on. Again. On without the engine running... need to check them every time.
Full story
August 2019
Högberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

Cave Church
Budapest's Gellérthegyi Barlan (or the Gellért hill cave) is a cave turned into hermit's hideout, turned into peasant home, turned into a church, and then closed and sealed behind a concrete wall by the communists. Oh, and the communists also executed the head monk.
Full story
August 2019
Gellért hill cave, Budapest, Hungary


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Diósgyőri vár
What a mixture of styles! The Diósgyőri vár or Castle of Diósgyőri sits in the town of Miskolc. A medieval castle, next to a traditional church, next to regular houses, next to a massive wall of Soviet-rule era apartment blocks.
Full story
August 2019
Diósgyőr Castle, Miskolc, Hungary


History

Dungeons of Castle Eger
Janne and I visited Castle Eger in Hungary (Egri Vár in Hungarian). I loved the sign, "no ballet dancing on the top of the walls"?
Full story
August 2019
Castle Eger, Eger, Hungary


History; Urban-Exploration (Tunnels)

Harmony Spa
Today I washed the sweat and dust of the day off at the Harmony Spa. Very, very nicely coloured sauna. Hot too. And a nice blue pool.
Full story
July 2019
Harmony Spa, Budapest, Hungary


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

House of Terror
The museum of Communism's Achievements? Also known as the Museum of Terror... terrible stories about the killings, beatings, and imprisonments of the communist era. People who didn't follow the party line, or just happened to have a house that a party official wanted.
Full story
July 2019
House of Terror, Budapest, Hungary


History; Urban-Exploration (Prisons)

Labirintus: Lost in Count Dracula's Prison
A maze of caves and underground prison cells, cages, darkness, fog, and Dracula? Sign me up please!
Full story
(TGR version)
July 2019
Labirintus, Budapest, Hungary


Caving (Man-Made,Rock); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Prisons)

Hospital in the Rock
A vacation isn't a vacation unless one can visit another nuclear bunker!
Full story
(TGR version)
July 2019
Hospital in the Rock, Budapest, Hungary


Caving (Man-Made,Rock); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers)

Copying adults
Influence ... one has to be careful with that. I took my sister's twins today to their first cave. At first they were a bit scared, but soon they had helmets on, one was holding my camera and the photographing the other one going through the cave. I wonder where they learned that? :-)
Full story
July 2019
Hiidenkiven luola, Nurmijärvi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

Gallträsk swim
I've lived 25 years in Kauniainen, but today was the first time that I swam in our lake, the Gallträsk. A perfect, hot day for that.
Full story
July 2019
Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland*; House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland**


Swimming* (Outdoor); Sauna**

Gorgas Creek Cave
Cave in a park in Philadelphia? Unreal...
Full story
(TGR version)
July 2019
Gorgas Creek Cave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA


Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Quarries)

22th floor sauna
Once again in Kista, Stockholm. For work. In the summer everything seems to be better, though. Like hotel pricing. Apparently Kista is not a big vacation destination, so even the best hotels go for 60€ a night, so this time I'm staying at the Scandic Victoria.
Full story
July 2019
Scandic Victoria, Kista, Sweden


Sauna

The Black Sauna at the Finnair Platinum Lounge
I am heading to the IAB workshop & IETF but not before trying the new black sauna at the Finnair lounge with Ari.
Full story
July 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Sauna; Travel

Hunting for the Sarfvik Secrets
I went on a long bike trip today with Jarmo, to explore the Sarfvik area in Kirkkonummi. This large area of farms, forests and seafront is blocked for public road access by the local residents. Why? You can still explore the area on foot, but the walks are long. But in the summer biking is an option.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

July 2019
Abramsbyn bunkkeri, Sarfvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Golfkentän pieni siirtolohkareluola, Sarfvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland**


Urban-Exploration* (Bunkers); Caving** (Man-Made,Rock)

Recycling the Mäntyvihta
It turns out one can recycle the pine bath whisk. Just stick it in a terrace flower box, just like people normally decorate their terraces with evergreen tree branches.
Full story
June 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Sauna

Free sauna, but $$$ for shower
Kinnerstugan, north of Visby in Gotland, Sweden, has a nice sauna. Plenty hot! And it is free... except that you need 5 crown coins for the showers.
Full story
June 2019
Kinnerstugan, Gotland, Sweden


Sauna

Den Haag Spa at the Crowne Plaza
For a work meeting, I stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Hague. It turned out that they had a nice spa area, with four different saunas and good pool.
Full story
June 2019
Crowne Plaza, Hague, Netherlands


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Leppävaara mining
Today's abandoned mine exploration was in Leppävaara.
Full story
June 2019
Kaivoskallion louhos, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Kaivoskallion siirtolohkareen alusluola, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Quarries); Caving (Man-Made)

Friisinkallio: More Espoo stones ... not so good this time
On Sunday I went biking with Jarmo to look at some more advertised Espoo natural wonders.
Full story
June 2019
Friisinkallion graniitin rakoilu, Espoo, Finland; Friisinkallion rapakivilohkare, Espoo, Finland


Hiking

Spreewald
While driving around in Germany, I had an opportunity to visit the Spreewald area.
Full story
June 2019
Spreewald Therme, Burg, Germany


Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna

Mäntyvihta (pine bath whisk)
Wow. This was something else, a vihta (bath whisk) made of pine branches.
Full story
June 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Sauna

The Espoo Rapakivi Stones
I needed some exercise, the weather was great, and there's a directory of Espoo's natural wonders in the Internet. So I went a biking tour to look at some of the Rapakivi boulders.
Full story
June 2019
Tillinmäen rapakivilohkare, Tillinmäki, Espoo, Finland; Malminmäentien rapakivilohkare, Espoon keskuspuisto, Espoo, Finland; Espoon keskuspuiston rapakivilohkare, Espoon keskuspuisto, Espoo, Finland


Hiking

The new A220
I had a chance to fly the new Airbus A220 plane the other day. Wonderful, efficient, hi-tech plane! And new airplane smell!
Full story
April 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Flying

Welcome to KAINUU
Quiet place, green grass, views, a rocking chair... at an airport. Hard to believe, but there is this lounge at HEL called KAINUU.
Full story
June 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Flying; Travel

Hot as HEL
Well, it isn't really a sauna, except that it is hot, it is packed with people. And it is a decorated bus at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, affectionately known as HEL.
Full story
June 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Flying

Lummelunda, here I come!
Lummelunda week is coming up AND I'M GOING AGAIN! WOOHOOO!
Full story
May 2019
Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Boating,Swimming); Swimming (Indoor,Water,Underground,Waterbody-Cave)

Corporate sauna in a Russian harbour
I attended a workshop at a private corporate facility in Kirkkonummi, and it turns out that there was both a very nice sauna, swimming place, as well as ruins from the Russian occupation times: a railroad leading to a rock, almost disappeared harbour pier. Nice surprise!
Full story
June 2019
Corporate Sauna, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool,Waterbody-Sea); Urban-Exploration (Ruins)

Lähteen sauna
My colleagues had organised an event at the Lähteen Sauna, in the area of the Lapinlahti mental institute. Ex. institute... and Lähteen sauna is as far as I know, the oldest still operating sauna in Helsinki that is still open to public.
Full story
June 2019
Lähteen sauna, Lapinlahti, Helsinki, Finland


Sauna

EuroSpeleo, here I come!
Today I managed to sign up for the EuroSpeleo 2019, this time happening near Sofia in Bulgaria!
Full story
June 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None)

Yacht hotel. And a sauna. Obviously.
Spending the night right in Stockholm's old town? On a yacht? With an excellent sauna heated up just for you? For 1000 SEK (100€) a night? Enter Mälardrottningen... not bad at all!
Full story
May 2019
Mälardrottningen, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

Iceland
Besides the hot pools, volcanoes, and caves, I also find Iceland wonderful in other ways. On my recent two trips, I managed to find some time for quick tours of some of the usual attractions near Reykjavik, on the Golden Circle for instance.
Full story
May 2019
Gulfoss, Iceland; The Great Geysir, Iceland


Travel

Crack between the plates
I knew that there are tectonic plates, but I had no idea one can walk in the crack between them. But in Thingvellir, Iceland it is possible.
Full story
May 2019
Thingvellir, Iceland


Caving (None)

Hot Lake
While driving around a bit after the meeting ended that day, I came across a modest looking community swimming pool in Laugarvatn. But it turned out to be a luxury sauna - thermal bath facility, the Fontana. And it was on the beach of a lake where the warnings say the lake water is boiling at some places. Care for a swim?
Full story
May 2019
Laugarvatn Fontana, Laugarvatn, Iceland*; Hot Pot, Laugarvatn, Iceland**


Swimming* (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool,Thermal-Bath); Swimming** (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Thermal-Bath); Sauna* (Normal,Steam)

Banksy tunnel
While in London, we happened to walk through the Banksy Tunnel, a pedestrian walkway tunnel where graffiti is ... tolerated if not legal. Pretty nice!
Full story
May 2019
Leake Street, London, United Kingdom


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made)

Boozetunnel
Booze tunnel in Helsinki... not from prohibition times but built between Alko's factory and warehouse. Decommissioned, now as a reserve shelter. The tunnel is underneath the Ruoholahti mall, in floor -6... deep under everything else. So deep that it is even underneath the kid amusement park Hoplop in floor -5 :-)
Full story
May 2019
Ruoholahden kauppakeskus, Helsinki, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made)

Rescue team
I was worrying about the fate of the locked-up snow, when all of a sudden, some guy in black clothing and black miniskis jumped over the fence and liberated the snow. Amazing!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

May 2019
Leppävaaran jäähalli, Espoo, Finland


Skiing

Leppävaara fortifications
Jarmo and I visited the Leppävaara area fortifications, inspired by Tony Hagerlund's excellent blogs about them. There's plenty of trenches and also bunkers! These are World War I era fortifications built in a circle around Helsinki. We also found a small natural cave under a boulder!
Full story
April 2019
Bunkkeritunneli 1, Vallikallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Bunkkeritunneli 2, Vallikallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Romahtanut bunkkeri, Vallikallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Bunkkeri 1, Laturinkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Bunkkeri 2, Laturinkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Siirtolohkareen luola, Laturinkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Bunkkeri 3, Laturinkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Romahtanut bunkkeri 4, Laturinkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Iso bunkkeri, Laturinkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Tykkiasema 1, Nupukivenkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Tykkiasema 2, Nupukivenkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland; Tykkiasema 3, Nupukivenkallio, Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

So close, yet so far
I saw snow today! Outside the Leppävaara skating rink... behind bars. What did that snow do, and why is it locked up, and we're not allowed to play?
Full story
(TGR version)
April 2019
Leppävaaran jäähalli, Espoo, Finland


Skiing

Lights on, car off
Car off lights on, because too old relay and no one makes it anymore. Fortunately, fuses work as a backup. #volvo
Full story
April 2019
Nimismiehenpelto, Espoo, Finland


Car

El cheapo ski weekend
An el cheapo weekend activity: at Ylläs up North but since we're doing the 24 hour race, u don't need a hotel. 2 hours in, 22 to go. A lot of fun, old friends and, well, basically going fast & non-stop
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

April 2019
Ylläs, Finland


Skiing

It runs!
Volvo. It runs nicely. After refuelling I calculated how much fuel must have been left before the canister, and got to "-2 litres", so... And all this time I have been blaming the car.
Full story
April 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Car

Refuel
Today's Volvo story is first two buses to get to buy a fuel canister. Then...
Full story
April 2019
Shell Bemböle, Espoo, Finland


Car

Today's car repair
Today's car repair: signal light wire loose. Fortunately 0€ (in a different shop than yesterday).
Full story
April 2019
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Stuck in the parking lot
Didn't start. Leaving it at the office parking lot and taking the train, will return to investigate after some travel. Maybe broken, maybe fuel.
Full story
April 2019
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

Back in the S.A.U.N.A.
After two weeks with stiches, finally got the OK to go back to the sauna again. Bliss!
Full story
February 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Sauna

Levi Hotel Spa
After the Ylläs competition, I first had a quick shower and sauna at the Pöllö next to the slopes. But since I had a long wait for my flight, I wanted to visit a proper spa. I had not been in the Levi Hotel Spa near the airport in a long time, so time for that today!
Full story
April 2019
Levi Hotel, Levi, Finland


Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna

Three passports
Today I renewed my primary passport. With the recently renewed secondary passport, and the just expired one, there's now a stack of three passports in front of me! The expired has served well though, and will be decommissioned properly.
Full story
April 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Travel

Underground Tallinn
I had an opportunity to visit Tallinn for a couple of hours yesterday, and the obvious question was whether there'd be anything underground to visit. And there is, Kiek in de Kök bastion tunnels. But, they were closed on Monday. Luckily, however, we run into an old bunker under the Tallinn Meremuuseum.
Full story
April 2019
Tallinna linnamüür, Tallinn, Estonia; Bunker under Eesti Meremuuseum, Tallinn, Estonia


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Skiareál Klínovec
While I've already skied in Czech Republic, I wanted to see if I could briefly visit a nearby ski area after my monster 8-day meeting was over. And I found Skiareál Klínovec!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

March 2019
Skiareál Klínovec, Klínovec, Czech Republic


Skiing

Karlovy Vary
For afterski, I felt like I needed a shower. But maybe not just that... perhaps a sauna, or a dip into a pool. How about the divine thermal bath waters of Zámecké Lázně in the nearby Karlovy Vary?
Full story
March 2019
Zámecké Lázně, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool,Thermal-Bath)

Cool ride
Cool ride this morning, only for 750€ for the repairs
Full story
April 2019
AVJ-Autostyling, Espoo, Finland


Car

Communism and bunker tour
Lets say that the tour guide was not a big fan of communism.
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2019
Parukarka Park bunker, Prague, Czech Republic


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Greetings from the Volvo repair guy
Greetings, a picture... and a doubled bill. Uh. More rust than expected.
Full story
March 2019
AVJ-Autostyling, Espoo, Finland


Car

R2-D2 bunker
A bunker. A ventilation shaft. R2-D2 mod. What's not to like?
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2019
R2-D2, Folimanka Park, Prague, Czech Republic


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Technical stuff breakage day
My car is now left for good care for the next week and half while I'm on a business trip. They are fixing the rusted corner... crossing fingers that the budget won't be exceeded. Also, my dishwasher and oven broke, so there's a repair guy fixing them as well today. Luckily, same brand, so one repair guy only... sadly he didn't do cars though :-)
Full story
March 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Building HEL
Building the future of HEL... yeah right. It is hellish right now, as the traffic to the airport and parking arrangements are pretty unbearable.
Full story
March 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Flying

Rustic corner
Not a photo of my car, but of another Volvo in front of the repair shop. I'm here because rust in my car, only in one corner, but needs a fix to stay legal. Cost estimate: ~350-450€. Need to think though. What kind of car would I get for that money? Or, 100 train tickets...
Full story
March 2019
AVJ-Autostyling, Espoo, Finland


Car

Lidingö mountain range: Ekholmsnäsbacken
Another week, more work for me in Stockholm. But, I also got to visit another ski hill. My friend John also joined to try out Ekholmsnäsbacken in the small community in the Lidingö island.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

March 2019
Ekholmsnäsbacken, Lidingö, Sweden


Skiing

Not MAX
Two crashes within few months have put the Boeing 737 MAX airplanes into doubt. I'm flying today, not on a MAX due to a world-wide grounding of the plane. I sometimes flew MAXes, as Norwegian flies them between Helsinki and Stockholm.
Full story
March 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Flying

Sauna magic experiments. Failed experiments.
I was inspired by this recipe for sauna scents, and wanted to try my own variants, one with juniper and another one with tar. But the experiments failed...
Full story
March 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Sauna

Small caves in Hvitträsk
I had earlier visited Hvitträsk with Janne for the rock painting there's on a cliff. Back then we had also seen a small boulder cave. This time we returned with Jarmo, flew the drone for some video, and also found a total of seven small caves, three of which may be too small to enter but the others are clearly small caves.
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2019
Luola 1, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Luola 2, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Luola 3, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Luola 4, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Luola 5, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Luola 6, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Luola 7, Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

Hammarbybacken!
It was great weather, and the evening lights actually made the weather less of an issue. But most importantly, it was even more fun because my friend Heidi happened to be in town and joined me on the trip. Very nice!
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2019
Hammarbybacken, Stockholm, Sweden


Skiing

The Lava Tunnel
We had half a day in Reykjavik, and besides visiting a thermal bath, what could we do? Obviously, visit a cave... a lava tube. Or the Lava Tunnel, few kilometres outside the city (coordinates: N 63.9402 W 21.3971).
Full story
(TGR version)
February 2019
The Lava Tunnel, Reykjavik, Iceland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Volcanic,Morphology-Volcanic,Basic,Showtour)

Weather looks great!
I've been working and travelling in Stockholm for decades, oddly enough this week's trip is the first one where I took my skis with me. Weather on the local hill looks great; in the evening when I get off work it will also be dark. Looking forward to this! Anyone else want to join?
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2019
Hammarbybacken, Stockholm, Sweden


Skiing

Hot bath in an abandoned fish factory
Abandoned fish factory in the cold winter of Icelandic north shores. But with a hot thermal bath! What's better than lying in the pool and trying to spot whales on the sea? For 4€...
Full story
(TGR version)
March 2019
Hjalteyri, Iceland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Thermal-Bath,Waterbody-Pool)

Abandoned fish factory
On our search for thermal baths in Iceland lead us to Hjalteyri on the northern shores of Iceland, north of Akureyri. We found an abandoned fish factory with storage tanks for fish oil and herring. It was fun to explore, luckily there was no rotten fish smell left :-)
Full story
March 2019
Hjalteyri, Iceland


Urban-Exploration (Industrial,Silos,Smokestacks)

Laugaskard swimming pool
Amazing! The Laugaskard swimming pool is a community-run, swimming pool, gym, and sauna facility. What a wonderful, hot swim outside in the cold weather.
Full story
February 2019
Laugaskard swimming pool, Laugaskard, Iceland


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Steam)

Train to HEL
I took the train route to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport this morning, wanting to both see the deep underground station and to test the route should my 27-year old car some day not work :-)
Full story
February 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels,Railways)

OMG it passed!!!
Incredibly, it passed the check!!
Full story
February 2019
K1 Katsastus, Finnoo, Espoo, Finland


Car

Scared...
Scared... going into the annual check-up.
Full story
February 2019
K1 Katsastus, Finnoo, Espoo, Finland


Car

Last wash... maybe
Car wash before going into the annual check-up. Very scared.
Full story
February 2019
Shell Suomenoja, Espoo, Finland


Car

WTF? No sauna???
I was in Kista once again, and this time tried out the new hotel, Comfort Hotel Kista. A new hotel building, and very, very nice. Modern rooms but still with a warm feeling. But WTF, how can one have a new hotel without a sauna???
Full story
February 2019
Comfort Hotel Kista, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna (None)

Major maintenance done!
Learning to do major maintenance on the Volvo myself... now I have new windshield wiper blades, and can see out again #volvo
Full story
February 2019
Biltema, Espoo, Finland


Car

Russian Sauna
What a wonderful sauna. So Finnish... or so Belarussian... or, really, Russian. The Russian sauna culture is similar to Finland's, except only more so. More hot, close to 110 degrees Celsius in my case. More snowplay. More cold water. More funny hats. Maybe also more vodka.
Full story
(TGR version)
January 2019
Silichy, Belarus


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Badeschiff
Badeschiff! A great idea to swim in the middle of Berlin, in the river but yet in a clean pool. In a ship, or barge converted to a pool.
Full story
August 2017
Badeschiff, Berlin, Germany


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

The Milan Cathedral
Janne and I visited the cathedral of Milan, Duomo di Milano. This magnificent piece of art, construction, and religion was a wonder to visit, particularly from the upper floors and roof. The cathedral took a whopping 600 years to complete, and is the fourth largest church building in the world.
Full story
January 2019
Duomo di Milano, Milan, Italy


History; Urban-Exploration (Ruins)

The Luola Magazine
The "Luola" magazine from the Finnish Caving Association dropped into the mailbox today. Nice! And of course, we got two copies because there's two members in the household...
Full story
February 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None,Media)

No sauna for me :-(
No sauna for me for the next ten days. I had a small operation on my hand... and the wound has to heal
Full story
February 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Sauna

Marco Polo's Sauna
While at Gudauri, we stayed at the Marco Polo hotel. The hotel has a spa, with a small sauna, pool, and a jacuzzi. The sauna is small but fiery. It was also fun to meet Russians who wanted to talk about the infamous (and sadly, deadly) Finnish-Russian sauna world championships...
Full story
February 2019
Hotel Marco Polo, Gudauri, Georgia


Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna

Georgia views
This week I've been touring the mountains of Georgia with my friends.
Full story
February 2019
Gudauri ski resort, Gudauri, Georgia


Skiing

Tokyo commute. With skis.
I only have an evening, not enough to take a Shinkansen to the real mountains. But I do have time to visit yet another Tokyo indoor ski place. This time, the Snova Mizonokuchi! It was fun to ride through downtown Tokyo with my skis and boots, through the train system.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

January 2019
Snova Mizonokuchi, Kawasaki, Tokyo, Japan


Skiing (Indoor)

Swims were kinda average
I had an opportunity to swim twice this week. At a spa in the Tokyo evening, the water was so hot that my skin was hurting. And having come back home, I joined my colleagues for a visit at the Löyly in Helsinki. The water in the sea was ... also hurting my skin. But, on the average is was pretty nice temperatures. And in both places the views were great.
Full story
January 2019
Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan*; Löyly, Helsinki, Finland**


Swimming* (Indoor); Swimming** (Outdoor); Sauna* (Normal); Sauna** (Normal,Smoke)

Löyly!
The Löyly sauna & restaurant in Helsinki has been the most notable architecture and experience thing of recent years in Helsinki. I've been there, but not yet in the sauna side. Today it changed because my co-workers organized a very nice event there for our surfing club...
Full story
January 2019
Löyly, Helsinki, Finland


Sauna (Normal,Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Ice,Waterbody-Sea)

Check-in Moomins
Love the new luggage tags Finnair hands out, not to mention the Moomins in their Tokyo check-in desk.
Full story
January 2019
Narita Airport, Tokyo, Japan


Flying

Happiness is a start...
... of the car even if it has been a week in the cold without heating cable. I take my wins where I can.
Full story
January 2019
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Car

Toti
Janne and I got to visit the Enrico Toti, an Italian submarine on our through trip to Milan.
Full story
January 2019
Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Milan, Italy


History

The Iceman don't speak much
The icemen don't speak much, be they Finnish Formula 1 drivers or ancient frozen dead guys from the alps.
Full story
January 2019
South Tirol Museum of Archeology, Bolzano, Italy


History

Madonna di Sauna
The Hotel Milano in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, was our home for couple of days after the new year. I used their sauna every day... a typical small hotel basement sauna.
Full story
January 2019
Hotel Milano, Madonna di Campiglio, Finland


Sauna

Boiling with the best Tokyo bay view
Huh, pretty hot weather. And hot sauna. Burning in both, almost. And thick carpets in the sauna! But what a view over the sea, Tokyo downtown, and the rainbow bridge.
Full story
January 2019
Hilton Tokyo Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan


Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Better Off Dead
Better Off Dead: This is the best teen movie, ever. Really. There's skiing, romance, crappy cars, great music, ... what's not to like?
Full story
January 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Skiing

Sauna at the Stockholm Hilton
Over the years, I've stayed many times at the Hilton in Slusseln, Stockholm. Usually it is priced too expensive for me to be able to book it for business trips, but this time it was on offer at the same price as my other alternatives, so I took it. I had a visit in the sauna early in the morning before heading to my meetings.
Full story
January 2019
Stockholm Hilton, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

It did start... barely
It did start... barely! Even on warmer conditions, the engine wants to quite, and does not run unless there's enough RPMs, until the engine warms up for couple of minutes.
Full story
January 2019
Kehä II, Espoo, Finland


Car

Cold day in Volvoland
Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets: it is -23, will the Volvo start?
Full story
January 2019
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Its alive! Maybe...
Today I got my Volvo back from the shop again. It has had a well-deserved two-week vacation, having been broken before Christmas.
Full story
January 2019
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Volvo Replacement
Volvo replacement... at least for now. Comes with extra exercise which is always good :-) Oh, and the repair shop decided to have holidays so no fixes yet.
Full story
January 2019
Kauniainen station, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Länsimetro, finally
Given that I like underground places, it was surprising that it took me a year to visit Länsimetro, the new subway towards west from Helsinki. The new stations are spectacular and modern.
Full story
December 2018
Tapiola, Espoo, Finland; Iso-Omena, Matinkylä, Espoo, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Railways)

Oodi - a library
The new central library in Helsinki opened a few weeks ago. Today I had a chance to visit this widely acclaimed piece of architecture. It is wonderful!
Full story
December 2018
Oodi, Helsinki, Finland


Other

Grani Tree Stump Art
There's a guy in Kauniainen that makes art out of cut tree stumps. They are all over town... and they are wonderful. This stork is wonderful!
Full story
December 2018
Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland


Other

No car, no skilift, no problem
No car, no skilift, no problem! My car is broken, but fortunately, since I live in the world's happiest town, I can walk to the ski hill, ski down to the bus stop, take the public transport to the public swimming pool, and lock my skis in the bike rack. And return by train.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

December 2018
Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland*; Keski-Espoon Uimahalli, Espoo, Finland**


Skiing*; Sauna**; Swimming** (Indoor)

Fail... but a saviour drives by
It turns out that warning lights may actually mean something :-) I got left by the roadside. Again. But by miracle my friend Lars happened to drive by and notice my car, and me, already on a cold, long walk home. He picked me up from the darkness, so I got home :-) thank you!
Full story
December 2018
Nihtisilta, Espoo, Finland


Car

Christmas Tree Mode
Now with all warning lights on. Still runs though, at least at the moment. Christmas tree mode? #volvo
Full story
December 2018
Iso-Omena, Matinkylä, Espoo, Finland


Car

The Kauniainen Swimming Hall
I often go to various exotic saunas and swimming pools (or holes in ice), but I have to lift up also my home town swimming hall in Kauniainen. Small, old, and not particularly fancy. But, a very nice place to put in some laps.
Full story
December 2018
Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland


Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna

What now?
What now? #Volvo
Full story
December 2018
Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Car

Weather dried up, car works again
Weather dried up, car works again. In possibly unrelated news, the repair shop changed more parts (two sensors) for 290€.
Full story
December 2018
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Fortifications in Laajalahti
I recently blogged about a possible new cave in Laajalahti. But I didn't go there to look for a cave, I wanted to see the fortifications from before World War I, built by the Russians. I found many, including many small bunkers that one can easily visit.
Full story
December 2018
Laajalahden bunkkeri 1, Espoo, Finland; Laajalahden bunkkeri 2, Espoo, Finland; Laajalahden bunkkeri 3, Espoo, Finland; Laajalahden bunkkeri 4, Espoo, Finland; Laajalahden bunkkeri 5, Espoo, Finland; Laajalahden bunkkeri 6, Espoo, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Visiting the patient at the car hospital
Visited the patient today at the car hospital. First operation failed, but the doctors are hopeful.
Full story
December 2018
Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland


Car

Caves + glacier holes + volcano craters equals, surprisingly, danger!
I follow the Caving Podcast when it appears every month. Usually the stories are pretty local to US and Indiana, where the podcast is made. But this time the story they told was very interesting for anyone.
Full story
December 2018
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Caving (None)

Kittelberget roof cave
Kirkkonummi is a gift that keeps on giving! Near the caves that we had investigated in Kauhala there's a very interesting roof cave on the cliffs surrounding Kittelberget. We set out again to hike the area with Jarmo, and found more interesting things, again :-)
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

December 2018
Kittelbergetin iso lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kittelbergetin pieni lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kittelbergetin toinen pieni lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kittelbergetin kallionalusluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic)

Exploring another cave in Kirkkonummi!
This isn't really an unknown place as such -- the geocachers and climbers regularly visit these cracks and the cliff. But it hasn't been noted in any of the usual places where Finnish caves are listed. Jarmo found this place on his hike in November, and we've been exploring it on several trips since then.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

December 2018
Kauhalan luola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kauhalan luolan lohkaresivuluolat, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kauhalan luolan halkeamasivuluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kittelbergetin pieni lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Surveying)

Cave in Laajalahti? ... or not?
Espoo. While looking for the remains of fortifications in Laajalahti, I came across a possible small roof cave. Small, but maybe worth documenting since there are really very few caves in Espoo. But the question is, is this a natural cave or remains of fortifications or quarry operations in the area?
Full story
(Suomenkielinen versio)

December 2018
Laajalahden lippaluola, Espoo, Finland


Caving (Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Surveying)

I didn't need this today
I didn't need this today... car not starting... rain... tough week.
Full story
December 2018
Ilmeenkuja, Laajalahti, Espoo, Finland


Car

Slow start to the season: Hahnenkamm
The season's first run on the Streif, the famous downhill run from the Hahnenkamm. Why first? Because it was partly on grass...
Full story
(TGR version)
November 2018
Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel, Austria


Skiing

Opening day at Siberia... I mean Peuramaa
Local slopes are open! Peuramaa opened on Nov 30th, Serena on Nov 27th, Vihti Nov 23th, and I don't know about Grani or Swinghill but both are running their snow guns so hopefully soon!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

November 2018
Peuramaa, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Skiing

Sauna in the middle of the living room
An infrared sauna in the middle of the living room? What an idea!
Full story
November 2018
Cordial Golf and Wellness Hotel Kitzbühel, Kitzbühel, Austria


Sauna (Infrared); Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Ape Majava's Ski Fashion Lecture
Today I went to a fashion lecture... apparently.
Full story
November 2018
Scandinavian Outdoor Store, Tammisto, Vantaa, Finland


Equipment

Sauna at the Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza
Today I'm staying at the Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza. My usual hotel search includes the condition that it must have a sauna. Elite has one, too :-)
Full story
November 2018
Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

Kungsträdgården
Walked through the Kunsträdgården underground station again today. While the "greek findings" in the station are fake, they are nice!
Full story
November 2018
Kungsträdgården subway station, Stockholm, Sweden


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels)

Brunkebergstunneln
This week I'm working in Stockholm, and did not manage to get my usual cheap hotel near the office. Staying at the city center, I noticed a tunnel that I had not seen before: Brunkebergstunneln. A nice walkway from 1880s, 231 meters long.
Full story
November 2018
Brunkebergstunneln, Stockholm, Sweden


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made)

The Leaking Tunnel of Pisa... Pispala
I've heard stories about the logging tunnel through Pispala, but today I finally got an opportunity to go see it myself.
Full story
(TGR version)
November 2018
Pispalan uittotunneli, Tampere, Finland; Pispalan ensimmäinen uittotunneli, Tampere, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made)

Underground Art Exhibition
I'm in Paris for a meeting, and on the way to the airport we visited the abandoned underground railroad line. What did we find? An art show and sculptures deep inside the tunnels! And also wonderful graffiti!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

November 2018
Old Charonne Station, Paris, France


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made)

Tampere Muumi Airport (TMP)
Today I flew to Tampere for the first time, and was happy to find out that they've decorated the airport with Moomin pictures. This makes total sense, given the world's only Moomin museum is in Tampere. Nice!
Full story
November 2018
Tampere-Pirkkala Airport, Tampere, Finland


Flying

Bangkok Sauna
I also had to test the sauna at my meeting hotel, the Marriott Marquis Queen's Park Bangkok.
Full story
November 2018
Marriott Marquis Queen's Park, Bangkok, Thailand


Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Pool on the 26th
I may have stayed too much inside, do I need some sunshine? My hotel in Bangkok, the Hilton Sukhumvit, had a nice pool and pool bar at the 26th floor.
Full story
November 2018
Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Missed a window
Missed windows. I just arrived in Bangkok, for a working conference, with exciting technical topics filling the next nine days. But I had also been looking forward to escaping the meetings for an hour or two and skiing at the local indoor ski hill, Snow Town. But sadly, I missed it just by few months... it opened only in 2015 and closed in July.
Full story
November 2018
Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand


Other

Frankfurt is an alien space station
I got stuck at an elevator in Frankfurt the other day.
Full story
October 2018
Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany


Flying

Mustavuori photo tour
Today I went to Mustavuori to get a small hike and too see the tunnels and canyons.
Full story
October 2018
Linnoitustunneli 1, Mustavuori, Helsinki, Finland; Linnoitustunneli 2, Mustavuori, Helsinki, Finland


Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Tunnels)

Liquorice and Salmiak Festival
Today I went to Helsinki for the Liquorice and Salmiak Festival, held in Katajanokka.
Full story
October 2018
Wanha Satama, Helsinki, Finland


Other

More cave photo & flash exercise
Jarmo, Jukka, and I spent Sunday testing cave photography techniques again. I also got to show the Korkberget cave to Jukka who had not been there before. Hopefully he liked it.... to me it is by far the most interesting cave in Finland.
Full story
October 2018
Palloiluhalli, Kauniainen, Finland*; Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland**


Caving* (Man-Made); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

Nothing remarkable
Different kind of post. Nothing to report, car works. Nice dry warmish parking spot at the airport this evening, too.
Full story
October 2018
Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland


Car

Secret cave search: Bastuberg and Tallbacka
The book "Suomen Luolat" gives a hint of a cave in Kirkkonummi, near someone's yard, with fuzzy coordinates that could be off by kilometres.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

October 2018
Lohkareluola, Bastuberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic); History

Autti & Blomberg
On Thursday I attended the short film screening of Antti Autti's new film "Get Closer".
Full story
October 2018
Scandinavian Outdoor, Helsinki, Finland


Other

Crisis! Crisis!
Crisis! Blomi tells me that Jimmy Petterson -- who "has spent most of the last 40 years as a ski bum" -- has collected skiing 76 countries. Me, sadly, only 58... and some of those aren't even on snow, but sand, grass, or ash.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

October 2018
Scandinavian Outdoor, Helsinki, Finland


Other

Berghof Hintertux Wellnesshotel
On my recent trip to Austria, I stayed for a few days in Hintertux at the Berghof Hintertux Wellnesshotel. Hintertux is already by itself an amazing environment with the green hills and towering mountains and glaciers. But the Berghof turned out to be perhaps the best sauna & spa hotel that I've been to!
Full story
August 2018
Berghof Hintertux Wellnesshotel, Hintertux, Austria


Sauna (Normal,Steam,Infrared); Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Manyparts changed. Car works.
Intake manifold sealants changed, valve sealants changed, fuel injection relay changed, crankshaft position sensor cable changed, idle speed controller cleaned, and winter tires put in, 510€. Runs, at least at the moment.
Full story
October 2018
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Temporary replacement car
Temporary replacement car, because Volvo is still giving trouble. Specifically, it is giving the trouble that in the repair shop it is not giving the trouble that left me on the road. They are going to replace manyparts in case it helps.
Full story
October 2018
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Rådhuset metro station
What a wonderful metro station in Stockholm. Even if these are fake, they are nice...
Full story
October 2018
Rådhuset metro station, Stockholm, Sweden


Urban-Exploration (Tunnels)

Banff Mountain Movie Festival 2018
Banff mountain film screening @ Stockholm.
Full story
October 2018
Skandia Theater, Stockholm, Sweden


Other

Amaranten Sauna
In the 1990s I used to spend a lot of time at the Amaranten hotel in Stockholm. It has been a long time... but now I visited it again. It is still quite a decent hotel, nice rooms. However, the sauna ... leaves something to be desired.
Full story
October 2018
Clarion Hotel Amaranten, Stockholm, Sweden


Sauna

More multi-flash practice in caves
The Finnish Caving Association was having a course on basic caving. I've been on that course... but it seemed like a fun thing to do and a nice visit to Turku. And I ended up doing more practice with cave photography using multiple flashes and radio triggers.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

October 2018
Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Training)

Garbage Caving
*Every* cave that I go to in Finland seems to have at least one beer can. Lets clean them up!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

October 2018
Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic)

I guess I'll have my call here
I guess I will have my conference call from here, until the tow truck arrives.
Full story
October 2018
Laaksotie, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

I'm not starting -day
"I'm not starting" -day.
Full story
September 2018
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Car

Largest indoor ski hall... somewhere between North Korea and Siberia
I'm stuck at a meeting in northern China, somewhere between North Korea and Siberia. Abandoned concrete housing projects fill the rainy horizon in this city that no one seems to have heard of. But this does not mean that the locals cannot have nice things. Or me. World's largest indoor ski hall, for instance?
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

September 2018
Wanda Ski Park, Harbin, China


Skiing (Indoor)

Not really a cave nor could I get in...
Every time I go on a business trip, I try to look for places that I could either ski or go caving in. In Harbin, China, the language and Internet information differences were too big for me to figure out if there were any caves that I could visit. However, there was a reportedly nice bookstore that was built to resemble a cave.
Full story
(TGR version)
September 2018
Cave Bookstore, Harbin, China


Caving (Man-Made)

Sauna in Harbin
I was on a business trip in Harbin, China, at a decent hotel, the Songbei Shangri-La. It turned out that they had a VERY nice pool and sauna area.
Full story
(TGR version)
September 2018
Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin, China


Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna

St. Peter's Basilica
Janne and I visited St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.Wonderful structure, and great to see the not-for-us gardens of the Vatican from above. Would be wonderful to visit. But can you ski in the Vatican?
Full story
August 2018
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Vatican


Other

Vienna Flak Tower
Is it an aquarium or a construct of the evil nazi regime? Well, both...
Full story
(TGR version)
August 2018
Haus des Meeres, Esterhazypark, Vienna, Austria


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

The Inkoo Superbunker
There's a big contrast between warm summer evening in the countryside, and what you find a few meters under your feet: a massive, blown up Soviet-era bunker. Damp darkness, rebar that is difficult to crawl through. And we're here to practice photography!
Full story
(TGR version)
September 2018
Inkoon jättibunkkeri, Inkoo, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Something in the darkness...
Saw something in the darkness on the walk back... is it a bouncy castle or a space station? Nah, turned to be just another data center. #Kista
Full story
September 2018
Kista Space Station, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden


Urban-Exploration (Industrial)

Block cave + river = fun?
Swoosh, flushed down! This cave makes me feel like going down the drain.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2018
Saubachlhöhlen, Yspertal, Austria


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Swimming); Swimming (Outdoor,Underground,Nature,Water,Waterbody-River,Cave)

Black Snow. Again.
I was again at Hintertux for summer skiing, at the low point of the yearly snow cycle. The glaciers were dark... black even.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2018
Hintertux, Zillertal, Austria


Skiing

Nixlucke
Moonmilk. Bats. Artefacts from 1800s. Still, inexplicably, all the other 15 participants have cancelled this excursion, including one of the guides. Why? Last nights party? Perhaps, the last guy to cancel says he partied too long. Or maybe it is the rain. It has been raining cats and dogs.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2018
Nixlucke, Ebensee, Austria


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,SRT)

Dachstein Mammuthöhle
My first visit to a large cave system, in the wild. An all day adventure with geology lessons, and climbing steep and slippery clay tunnels!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2018
Dachstein Mammuthöhle, Dachstein, Austria


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Attersee
Had a nice swim in Austria's Attersee when driving past the area. Water temperature was just right, cooling me down on a hot day.
Full story
August 2018
Attersee am Attersee, Attersee, Austria


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)

Langbathseen Swim
Had a nice swim today, up the road from Ebensee. At the Langbathseen lake. Very nice, clear, blue, greenish water, and a wide beach with plenty of room even on a hot day.
Full story
August 2018
Langbathseen, Ebensee, Austria


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)

Eurospeleo Photography Workshop
This week some of us Finnish cavers are attending Eurospelo in Austria. The first session for Jukka, Tor, me, and our Canadian friend Andrew turned out to be cave photography, learning to use backlight with Philippe Crochet and Annie Guiraud. Amazing stuff, very happy that we were able to join.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2018
Gassel-Tropfsteinhöhle, Ebensee, Austria


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Training); Photography

Recycled Hamburg flak towers
During World War II, the Nazis built so called Flak Towers -- fortified air defence bunkers -- in three cities, Berlin, Vienna, and Hamburg. I had previously been in the Thumboldthain tower in Berlin. Now I was able to visit two similar bunkers in Hamburg.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

August 2018
Heiligengeistfeld Flaktürme, Heiligengeistfeld, Hamburg, Germany; Energy Bunker, Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg, Germany


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

New skis for the summer!
Skis for the summer acquired, from Ski-service in Pitäjänmäki. They opened the shop for me :-)
Full story
August 2018
Ski Service, Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland


Equipment

Skiing San Marino... on the rocks
countries_skied++; San Marino!
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

July 2018
Cesta, Monte Titano, San Marino, San Marino


Skiing; Climbing

Napoli Catacombs
Catacombe di San Gennaro is one of the underground burial sites in Naples. Janne and visited this on a tour, and were surprised.
Full story
July 2018
Catacombe di San Gennaro, Naples, Italy


History; Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Catacombs)

The Secret Keyhole
What a find! A secret garden, but with a keyhole that reveals the most beautiful view onto it, with St. Peter's Basilica exactly in the centre of the view.
Full story
August 2018
Priory of the Knights of Malta, Rome, Italy


History; Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites)

Cestius Pyramid
I did not realise there was a pyramid in Rome. Not huge, but still impressive Cestius Pyramid! Modelled after Egyptian or other pyramids, perhaps
Full story
August 2018
Cestius Pyramid, Rome, Italy


History; Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites)

World's Worst Cave Museum
You have to feel sorry for this little museum, as their resources are probably tight. But seriously... cave stalactites made of urethan without painting... bears with zippers... all-white plastic giraffes.
Full story
August 2018
Museo di Zoologia, Rome, Italy


Caving (Man-Made,Research)

Swim at the Castel Gandolfo
On our last day of the Italian tour, Janne and I drove to Lago Albano, an old volcanic crater that is now filled with water. On the rim of the crater you can find Castel Gandolfo, one of most beautiful Italian towns, the Pope's summer cottage, and wonderful views.
Full story
August 2018
Lago Albano, Castel Gandolfo, Italy


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach); History; Climbing (Volcanoes)

Grotta di Frasassi
This week I'm on a tour through Italy with Janne. I had mentioned this to Tero, who suggested that we visit Grotta di Frasassi east of Ancona. He had made a visit earlier, and saw an incredibly large cave hall. Still, I had not realised how big it was. Over 100 meters in free height, and 240 meters to the natural opening at the top.
Full story
July 2018
Grotta di Frasassi, Italy


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour)

Pool at the Hilton Sorrento Palace
While touring the Naples area, we stayed in Sorrento, at the Hilton Sorrento Palace. They had a nice pool, with a view of the Vesuvius!
Full story
July 2018
Hilton Sorrento Palace, Sorrento, Italy


Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

The Kauniainen-Vantaa-Tuusula-Espoo-Kauniainen bike ride
I had a nice bike ride with Janne today.... more than 70 kilometres, and through Vantaa to look at the airport, visit my mom in Tuusula, and back via Espoo.
Full story
July 2018
Hyrylä, Tuusula, Finland


Biking (Bike-Road,Track-Road,Outdoor)

Train to Vatican City
We tried to get to the St. Peter's Basilica twice today, but no luck. Too many people. However, we did take a look at the train line running into Vatican City.
Full story
July 2018
Vatican Railway Entrance Gateway, Rome, Italy


Travel

Sauna in Rome
After a day of waiting in lines for sights in 36 degree sunshine, it was time for a sauna. Fortunately, the Hilton Garden Inn at Calridge had one. Or two, really, a Finnish and Turkish saunas. Quite nice, quite hot, and there was a bucket of water to throw on the heater as well.
Full story
July 2018
Hilton Garden Inn Rome Claridge, Rome, Italy


Sauna

Vesuvius
Went to see the Vesuvius crater with Janne, quite interesting and of course the source of many sad fates in destroyed cities around. Overdue for eruption, too.
Full story
July 2018
Vesuvius, Naples, Italy*; Small cave at the Vesuvius, Naples, Italy**


Climbing*; Caving** (Rock,Rock-Volcanic,Morphology-Boulders,Basic)

Biking to Mont Royal
In my series of biking in the world's cities: Montreal. And visiting Mount Royal for the views and nice park experience. I particularly like the lake on the backside.
Full story
July 2018
Mont Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada


Biking (Outdoor,Bike-City,Track-City,Track-Road,Track-Trail); Climbing (Volcanoes)

Sauna at the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth
I'm staying at a conference in Montreal, at the Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth hotel.
Full story
July 2018
Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth, Montreal, Quebec, Canada


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Lightshow at the Notre-Dame
Tero and Peter convinced me to join the the AURA lightshow at the Notre-Dame basilica in Montreal. Wow, what a show. Much recommended.
Full story
July 2018
Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal, Quebec, Canada


Other

LivingWell at Heathrow Airport
The LivingWell gym club has a facility at the Terminal 4 Hilton in Heathrow. Is it any good?
Full story
July 2018
Hilton Terminal 4, Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Travel

Caverne de Saint-Léonard
I had a free afternoon on an otherwise busy business trip in Montreal, and I wanted to visit Caverne de Saint-Léonard, a famous cave right under a city park. While this is a small cave, what I found was not your typical touristy show cave, but an adventure.
Full story
(Suomenkielinen versio)

July 2018
Caverne de Saint-Léonard, Montreal, Quebec, Canada


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic)

Canadian Heatwave Snow
I had a great Sunday, starting with work work work, with some progress I think, then went skiing, and finally returned to have a nice sauna and a swim at the hotel. And afterwards met some fun new Argentinians from my meeting at a late reception.
Full story
(TGR version)
July 2018
Mont Saint-Sauveur Versant Avila, Quebec, Canada


Skiing

Cave Radios with Bo Lenander
I had an opportunity to interview Bo Lenander, Swedish Speleological Society, about cave electronics and communications equipment. In this video he explains the equipment that he has built and what it can be used for. And then we try it out in the Gotland's Lummelunda cave!
Full story
(Suomenkielinen versio)

June 2018
Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden


Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Boating,Swimming,Equipment); Swimming (Indoor,Underground,Water,Waterbody-Cave)

Solbergabadet
While at the caver's camp, I felt like I needed a shower... and a sauna. Solbergabadet in Visby to the rescue!
Full story
June 2018
Solbergabadet, Visby, Gotland, Sweden


Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool)

Camping Sauna
At the Lummelunda campsite, someone had constructed a sauna out of tarp. Rocks would be heated in a nearby fire pit, and then brought inside for the heating of the sauna.
Full story
June 2018
Lummelunda campsite, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden


Sauna

Sikalammen luola. Cave of the Pigpond.
Evening exercise, drive to Nuuksio and visit Sikalammen Luola ("Cave of the Pigpond"). I found it, although the forest in the area is difficult going.
Full story
July 2018
Sikalammen luola, Espoo, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic)

Cleaning up rat shit in the cabin
+10C, raining, high winds, cleaning up ratshit in the cabin, a fallen tree on our swimspot... HAPPY MIDSUMMER!!!
Full story
June 2018
Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland


Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)

Lummelunda Caver's Camp
I spent the last five days on the beach in Gotland, camping with Swedish cavers in their yearly meet-up. A lot of fun, sunshine, grilling and old and new friends. And caving... more about that later. Heading home now.
Full story
June 2018
Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden


Caving (None,Social)

Own sauna and bath whisk from the garden!
Rare vihta from own garden. I should cut down an overgrown jungle of trees, but first things first: using the branches for a good purpose :-) And the tree-cutting... maybe some day.
Full story
July 2018
House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland


Sauna

Utö Caving
This weekend I was at Tero's cottage in Särkisalo, and decided to check out local caves, if any. It turned out that there's quite a nice set of cracks, roofs, and boulders in Utö, at the Vårdgasberget.
Full story
June 2018
Vårdgasbergetin luola, Utö, Finland


Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic)

Kazakhstan Pioneer Camp Skiing
Back in the Soviet times, pioneer camps were known to be a place for kids to have summer camps, as well as a forum for pushing socialism ideals. But can you find powder at a winter pioneer camp? Apparently you can, as long as you are ready to ride the death trap lifts. And pay your lift rides with vodka.
Full story
(TGR version)
(Suomenkielinen versio)

February 2018
Elik-Sai Pioneer Camp, Almaty, Kazakhstan; Almatau Pioneer Camp, Almaty, Kazakhstan


Skiing

Pihlajasaari Bunker
Helsinki's recreation islands are interesting, also from the point of view abandoned military structures and ruins. Today's excursion was to Sirpalesaari.
Full story
June 2018
Pihlajasaaren öljysäiliön rauniot, Helsinki, Finland; Pihlajasaaren bunkkeri, Helsinki, Finland


Urban-Exploration (Ruins,Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Stasi Bunker
While on my way to a conference, I wanted to do a small detour to visit a bunker that I had read about. A Stasi bunker.
Full story
June 2018
Stasi bunker, Machern, Germany


Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made)

Go back to part 1 of all blog articles or continue reading from part 3.