"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 first part of a list of all blog articles can be found below. The list continues in part 2, part 3, and part 4.
![]() | Christmas Caving Full story (TGR version) December 2020 Lohkarepuristimen luola, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders) | |
![]() | Sauna at the duck Tero and I stayed at the "Duck" (Ankka), a cabin near Ruka. We had driven up with Tero's car to avoid having to use flights or get too exposed to viruses. Full story October 2020 Mökki Ankka, Ruka, Kuusamo, Finland Sauna (Normal) | |
![]() | White wall I recently watched the new mini-series "White Wall" on YLE Areena. This is a Finnish-Swedish production. The plot is about a mine being converted to store nuclear waste... until they hit something strange. Full story November 2020 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None,Media); Sauna (None,Media) | |
![]() | Grottan 3 The third issue of this year's Grottan -- Swedish Caver's Association's magazine -- came in mail today. Full story November 2020 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None,Research,Media) | |
![]() | Strange rock Tero and I were on a trip... while caving was not the main purpose of the trip, as usual I also wanted visit a cave. A promising-looking hole at the Pyhä ski area turned out to not be a human-sized hole. But while returning to the airport in Rovaniemi, we drove south of the city to look at Tapulikallion onkalot (Tapulicliff holes). We founded a very weird, large boulder. Full story (TGR version) November 2020 Tapulikallion onkalot, Rovaniemi, Finland Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Other,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Weathering) | |
![]() | Not broken It isn't broken. It just needs more duct tape. Full story (TGR version) October 2020 Ruka, Kuusamo, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Dogs and caves in Löpärö Jouni had organized a tour of the Löpärö island in Sipoo for us, including the local guide Jukka showing is the cave locations. I think all of us were expecting a nice walk but pretty small caves. But were were really impressed by what we found! Just take a look at these photos by Jarmo Ruuth! (Also some by Jari or Elena.) Full story (TGR version) November 2020 Dyviksbergenin luola, Löpärö, Sipoo, Finland*; Dyviksbergenin luola 1, Löpärö, Sipoo, Finland**; Långbergetin lohkareluola, Löpärö, Sipoo, Finland***; Långbergetin lohkareluolan sivuhuone, Löpärö, Sipoo, Finland***; Långbergetin toinen lohkareluola, Löpärö, Sipoo, Finland*** Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Crack); Caving** (Basic,Rock); Caving*** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Maintenance! I've been putting this moment off for some reason. But now they are there: both of my main skis are in maintenance and repair holiday at the Ski Service. Lets see how shiny they come out! Full story November 2020 Ski Service, Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland Skiing (Equipment) | |
![]() | Laukkakoski cave Nice cave, but I had to reverse my car out of the road that led to it. No way to turn around, and road got impassable after a while. Full story November 2020 Laukkosken luolakallion onkalot, Pornainen, Finland Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Maintenance More car maintenance. Winter tires, first oil change since 2019, fixing brake lights, fixing something in the undercarriage that had been slightly damaged on some excursion :-) Full story November 2020 Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland Car | |
![]() | Looking for the Urtvuori cave I spent at least an hour trying to find the cave, despite a tag on the Google Maps from someone, as well as coordinates from the book of Finnish caves. It turned out that the cave can be entered from the middle of the sloping rock face, in the cracks that have opened in it. But what a wonderful cave there was! Full story October 2020 Urtvuoren luola, Sammatti, Finland*; Urtvuoren kalteva rakoluola, Sammatti, Finland**; Urtvuoren lippaluola, Sammatti, Finland** Caving* (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders); Caving** (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Nice basement The book Finnish Caves (Suomen Luolat) lists several caves in Perniö. I had already been in the 'Hiidenkellari' (Devil's basement), but since I needed to drive through Perniö today on my visit to Tero's summer cottage, I wanted to visit more of the caves. I chose 'Antinmäen Hohteen kellari ja paja' (The basement and workshop at the Antinmäki shine). Full story October 2020 Antinmäen Hohteen kellari ja paja, Perniö, Finland Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders) | |
![]() | Ramunder's stone Right in the middle of Tammisaari there's a classic "stone table", Ramunderinkiven onkalo (The Hole of the Ramunder's stone). Stone tables are stone formations where a rock sits on other stones. Ramunder is the strong man of old tales, and the story is that he threw a large boulder to crush some giants, giants that are now the stones holding up the boulder. Full story October 2020 Ramunderinkiven onkalo, Tammisaari, Finland Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Gneiss,Morphology-Boulders) | |
![]() | Refreshing October sea swim I had a nice, refreshing dip in the sea, mid-October. Twelve degrees. Cold, but if you compare it to the usual summer sea water temperatures, not that much lower yet... Full story October 2020 Rantasauna ystävän mökillä, Töllinkari, Salo, Finland Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Water,Outdoor,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Birthday skitrip This month's skiing was a bit of a challenge. Travel is difficult, unlike in August. Many of things that one could do were already done. Full story (TGR version) September 2020 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor,Grass,Snow) | |
![]() | Underland I got a tip from Johan at work about an interesting book, one that deals with underground wonders. The book is Underland by Robert MacFarlane. I don't really know yet what's inside, but there was a recommendation in New York Times, that can't be bad :-) Full story September 2020 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None,Media) | |
![]() | Inside the blown up central nazi navy command bunker. Alone. Need some excitement? Maybe crawling inside a blown-up bunker in the middle of dark forest would help. Hope the Nazi command is no longer on site... and that the ammunition laying in the ground isn't dangerous. Full story August 2020 Lager Koralle, Wandlitz, Germany Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Military); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Lilla Karlsö Caving Lilla Karlsö. A paradise for birds, enough to warrant ban on entering except during special times and only with a guide. Of course, we didn't know any of the stuff about the guide, but wanted to visit some caves. Turned out that we had to follow a guide, and that it actually was a very good idea to follow the guide. Full story July 2016 Kuren, Lilla Karlsö, Sweden; Suder Vagnhus, Lilla Karlsö, Sweden; Norra Vagnhus, Lilla Karlsö, Sweden Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Morphology-Erosion) | |
![]() | Solbergagrottorna Cracks... cracks... and ladders. Full story August 2016 Solbergagrottorna, Uppsala, Sweden Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Kasbergsgrottan Small cliff.. but such a nice cave and rock! Full story August 2016 Kasbergsgrottan, Väddö, Sweden Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Getsvältan Getsvältan offers great views onto the sea and a nice crawl into small caves. Full story July 2016 Getsvältan, Visby, Sweden Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Erosion,Morphology-Weathering) | |
![]() | Mäyrämäki. Badger hill. Icy holes. Those are the best ones! Full story April 2016 Mäyrämäen kellari, Lapinjärvi, Finland Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Bombergsgrottan Bombergsgrottan has a small entrance, a hole at the bottom of a big cliff. But the small hole hides a big (25m, big by Finnish standards) cave that extends left and right under the cliff. Full story April 2016 Bombergsgrottan, Liljendal, Finland Caving (Basic,Rock,Rock-Granite) | |
![]() | Roof caves on Isonniitunmäki Jarmo went further on our search in Vihti, and found some small roof caves. Full story August 2020 Lippaluolanen 1, Isonniitunmäki, Vihti, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | Hiidenkellari. Rare Karst in Finland. Such beautiful pure calcite in the ceiling and floor. And cut so exact, as if by man... but it is the works of chemistry and water. Full story August 2020 Hiidenkellari, Vihti, Finland*; Kololuolanen 1, Isonniitunmäki, Vihti, Finland**; Kololuolanen 2, Isonniitunmäki, Vihti, Finland**; Hylätty kellari, Isonniitunmäki, Vihti, Finland*** Caving* (Rock,Basic,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst); Caving** (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders); Urban-Exploration (Buildings,Ruins) | |
![]() | The Missing Hole Searching for a cave listed in the Finnish book of caves as "unconfirmed". Came up with nothing. Full story August 2020 Lähderannan kolo, Lähderanta, Espoo, Finland Caving (None) | |
![]() | Visiting the devil's church - Pirttimäen hiidenkirkko We visited this magnificent hole without really knowing much about what to expect. We had seen it listed in the book of Finnish caves, and in Retkipaikka, but the name told us little. Devil's church? Full story July 2016 Pirttimäen hiidenkirkko, Perniö, Finland Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders) | |
![]() | Sipilän luola Sammatti. Hemmetti. Wipers not working on my Volvo. Oh well. But on the other hand, we visited a very nice little cave, Sipilän luola. Beautiful forms of rock. Full story January 2017 Sipilän luola, Sammatti, Finland Caving (Rock,Basic,Granite,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Erosion) | |
![]() | 3 times 3 roof caves I recently visited three nearby places that had been listed as having large roof caves (by Finnish standards). And they did indeed deliver on that promise! In addition, I found that the three actually had three roof caves each. Nine cave visits on three trips :-) Full story August 2020 Limpanin iso lippaluola, Siuntio, Finland; Siitoonmäen lippaluola, Nummi-Pusula, Finland; Siitoonmäen lippaluolan sivuluola 1, Nummi-Pusula, Finland; Siitoonmäen lippaluolan sivuluola 2, Nummi-Pusula, Finland; Hyypiänmäen lippaluola, Nurmijärvi, Finland Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Surveying) | |
![]() | Limpan's caves An evening outing to a promised 30+ meter cave. Turns out there are three, with the biggest one 45 meters. Roof caves, so not so cave like, dark holes. But rock above your head nevertheless. Also, deer flies. Oh how I love deer flies in my hair. Full story August 2020 Limpanin lippaluola 1, Siuntio, Finland; Limpanin lippaluola 2, Siuntio, Finland; Limpanin iso lippaluola, Siuntio, Finland Caving (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack) | |
![]() | More cave searches, based merely on the name Inspired by Ralf's observation of cave-like names in the countryside, I searched for more caves from the Finnish map databases, and came up with some more placed called "Luolamäki" or cave hill. This time near Nummi-Pusula, Lohja, and Vihti. Jarmo, Ralf, and me set out to explore... with no prior knowledge of any caves in this area reported anywhere. Not in the book of Finnish caves, not in Retkipaikka, nowhere. Full story July 2020 Kyynärjärven Luolamäen lippaluolanen, Nummi-Pusula, Finland*; Kyynärjärven Luolamäen pieni lippaluolanen, Nummi-Pusula, Finland*; Kyynärjärven Luolamäen lohkareen alusluolanen, Nummi-Pusula, Finland**; Huopinmäen Luolamäen lippaluolanen 1, Nummi-Pusula, Finland*; Huopinmäen Luolamäen lippa 2, Nummi-Pusula, Finland***; Huopinmäen Luolamäen lippaluolanen 3, Nummi-Pusula, Finland*; Huopinmäen Luolamäen lippa 4, Nummi-Pusula, Finland***; Huopinmäen Luolamäen kolonen, Nummi-Pusula, Finland** Caving* (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Surveying); Caving** (Rock,Basic,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Surveying); Hiking*** | |
![]() | Siitoonmäen lippaluola -- Roof cave in Nummi-Pusula I've been using the new Luolaseura map app and database to look for nearby caves that I have not been to. This is now much more convenient than it was before :-) You can easily look at, say, all caves bigger than some number of meters and look around you. So, I wanted to go see another 50 meter roof cave that was just 40 minutes drive away. Full story August 2020 Siitoonmäen lippaluola, Nummi-Pusula, Finland; Siitoonmäen lippaluolan sivuluola 1, Nummi-Pusula, Finland; Siitoonmäen lippaluolan sivuluola 2, Nummi-Pusula, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Morphology-Boulders) | |
![]() | Back to L.U.U.K.K.I. - Kaitalampi swim I had already visited Luukki earlier, And had parking trouble, had to pay fees, etc. But it turns out the Luukki area has another lake as well, Kaitalampi. Kaitalampi is actually even better suited for swimming, and no parking fees! Full story July 2020 Kaitalammen oma uintipaikka, Kaitalampi, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Häkläjärvi swim: deep layer of mud covered by a thin layer of water It looks pretty. But on my side of the lake, there's maybe half a meter of water, and ... at least a meter, maybe more of organic mush, mud, soft icky stuff. I'm afraid I'll sink in. Full story July 2020 Häkläjärven oma uintipaikka, Häkläjärvi, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Velskolan Pitkäjärvi swim There's a nice road going alongside the Velskolan pitkäjärvi (Velskola's long lake). Unfortunately, parking is very difficult to find. Or public swimming spots! Full story July 2020 Venepaikka, Velskolan pitkäjärvi, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Social distancing in the Social Island: Seurasaari swim After the Munkkiniemi swim I wanted more :-) and went to Seurasaari ("Social Island"). By now it was past 9pm, and there were only a couple of people on the island. No one swimming on the beach. Again, I had not been here before, but what a very nice beach! Much better than the one in Munkkiniemi. Full story July 2020 Seurasaaren uimaranta, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Mud, and a bit water on top: Munkkiniemenranta swim When my work runs late in the evening (as it often does, due to working with other timezones) that causes a problem for hobbies later in the evening. I'm not super hot on going on a hike in dusk or darkness. Or the mosquitos :-) Fortunately, for my July swimming tours I still have many easily accessible places left. Full story July 2020 Munkkiniemen uimaranta, Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach,Nature) | |
![]() | Långvik beach Another day, another beach, another blue-green algae warning. I was at the Långvik beach in Kirkkonummi. Full story July 2020 Långvikin uimaranta, Långvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Boulder on Rocks My swim at the Träskbyträsket yielded an unexpected benefit: a boulder cave. A huge piece of rock standing on four other rocks, as if by design. Full story July 2020 Träskbyträsketin lohkareluola, Långvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders) | |
![]() | Park swim I wanted a swim, but it turned out that recent floods had made the Schliersee lake larger. Much larger. Full story August 2020 Schliersee, Germany Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Secret path to the beach at Tegernsee The whole Tegernsee area was crowded with people. And cars jammed on the roads. But miraculously, out of nowhere appeared first a parking lot, a walking path, and then path through the bushes to a nice beach. Full story August 2020 Tegernsee, Germany Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Weitentalbach swim. Or dip. Another fresh swim in the Hintertux valley, this time on the Weitentalbach, a small river that joins the Tuxbach. It does feel good to shed the sweat and dirt of a ski day in the guaranteed-fresh-water of these rivers. Full story August 2020 Weitentalbach, Hintertux, Austria Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-River,Nature) | |
![]() | Fresh swim at the Tuxbach. Very fresh. Brr. What do you need after a hard day of skiing on the glacier? A small refreshening, perhaps? I wanted to swim at the waterfall in Hintertux, but it turned out to be both forbidden and not feasible. However, the water from the glaciers falls through the waterfall and then onto the Tuxbach, the river running through the Hintertux valley. Full story August 2020 Tuxbach, Hintertux, Austria Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-River,Nature) | |
![]() | Achensee swim Achensee was on my way back from the slopes, on the way to the Berghotel. Why not dip in for a swim? Full story August 2020 Achensee, Austria Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Saunahut at the Berghotel I managed to find a very nice, remote mountain hotel to stay at: Berghotel Sudelfeld. They also had a sauna! Full story August 2020 Berghotel Sudelfeld, Bayrischzell, Germany Sauna | |
![]() | First flight during the pandemic I took my first flight during the pandemic. Nervous. Full story August 2020 Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying | |
![]() | The pond at the sports complex Another visit to my mom's place! While I was on my way to the airport (yikes!) I wanted to put in one more swim at the Finnish lakes. Or pond rather, the pond at the Tuusula's sport complex in Hyrylä. Full story August 2020 Tuusulan urheilukeskuksen lampi, Hyrylä, Tuusula, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Underground biking in Maastricht Biking underground, in a cave/mine? Why not when that's available! And in Maastricht it was! Full story July 2010 Sibbergroeve, Valkenburg, Netherlands Biking (Bike-Mountain,Underground); Urban-Exploration (Mines); Caving (Man-Made,Biking,Rock,Rock-Marble) | |
![]() | Hietsu swim Second to last day of July, having swam every day so far. But again, not much time for this after all the work and home stuff. I'm late, but I haven't yet been in Hietalahti or Hietsu as it is called. Since it is late and weather is kind of sketchy, I'm guessing there won't be many people. What a treat I got, wonderful sunset/storm clouds. And a nice swim! Full story July 2020 Hietaniemen uimaranta, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Rusutjärvi, the long lost beach from my childhood I saw my mom today in Hyrylä, and on the way back wanted to drop in for a swim, and visit a swimming place that I remembered from my childhood: Rusutjärvi in Tuusula. Full story August 2020 Rusutjärven uimaranta, Tuusula, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Late swim at Siikajärvi Late, again. Past 9pm, and I'm in the back-areas in Nuuksio, at the Siikajärvi lake beach. Still, while I'm swimming the RC airplane enthusiasts manage to show up to give a flying demonstration :-) Cool. Full story August 2020 Siikajärven uimaranta, Siikajärvi, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Lauttasaari beach at night Another day, another late start for trying to find somewhere new to swim in. I ended up driving to Lauttasaari, and visit their great beach on the west side. A good swim, there was a few people still on the beach after 9pm, but no crowds. Full story July 2020 Lauttasaaren uimaranta, Lauttasaari, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Beach,Water,Waterbody-Sea) | |
![]() | Hyypiänmäki massive roof cave With the new cave map service that we've been building with Ralf, I was able to make more sensible searches for known caves. In the cave map I can select the length of cave, for instance, and look for the bigger ones (albeit all Finnish caves are small). It turned out that there's supposed to be a 50-meter roof cave in Hyypiänmäki, near Klaukkala. Full story August 2020 Hyypiänmäen lippaluola, Nurmijärvi, Finland; Hyypiänmäen pieni lippaluolanen 1, Nurmijärvi, Finland; Hyypiänmäen pieni lippaluolanen 2, Nurmijärvi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic) | |
![]() | Valkjärvi swim I needed some freshening-up after my cave explorations in Klaukkala. And headed to the Valkjärvi...Another blue-green algae warning sign! But the water seemed free of at least visible algae. As far I could see... in the darkness. A quick swim and then head home to have a shower to wash off any residues. Full story August 2020 Valkjärven Tiiran uimaranta, Klaukkala, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Too crowded! I wanted to swim somewhere near Berlin. I thought Wukensee would be a nice place, but they were closing... so I drove to Bernsteinsee. They were not closed yet, but they also had way too many people. A little worried about the crowds... Full story August 2020 FKK Strand am Bernsteinsee, Marienwerder, Germany Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Turns All Year Well, it is a turn. And I was desperate. Full story (TGR version) July 2020 Kauniaisten jäähalli, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Torhola side cave If this cave wasn't next to Torhola's great karst cave, it would be remarkable. Now, it is largely ignored. Full story February 2016 Torholan luola 2, Lohja, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic) | |
![]() | The wet walk to the lake village lake Today's swim was at the Träskbyträsket ("lake village lake"). Nice swim. The only thing was ... that the lake is in the middle of nowhere, and as I approached it, it became apparent that is surrounded by a swamp. Getting wet before getting wet in the lake. Full story July 2020 Träskbyträsket, Långvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Poisonous algae, but still swimming Tuesday was difficult. The first place that I attempted to swim at in Matinkylä was signposted as having the dangerous blue-green algae in the water. And there was plenty of it, slushing green slime throughout the water. The same in the next spot... and the third. Or, there was a sign, but water actually seemed clear, so I did swim. Full story July 2020 Soukanrannan uimaranta, Soukka, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach,Nature) | |
![]() | Hiidenvesi swim... eek oil barrier snakes Ralf and I wanted to dip into the lake after a sweaty hike where we searched for possible new caves. Hiidenvesi was on the way... it looked nice, but I had never really stopped there. We went to the water... and found (eek!) oil barrier snakes drying on land. Maybe swim on other side of the peninsula? Full story July 2020 Hiidenveden venepaikka, Lohja, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Luukki swim One of the most well-known recreation areas in the Helsinki region is Espoo's Luukki. Too well known, perhaps, too many people, crowds. But when I visited Luukki on a grey evening, I found absolutely no one else there. A peaceful, calm lake. Oh, and a parking police checking my own car was properly parked :-) It was. Full story July 2020 Luukki, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach); Car | |
![]() | Suvisaaristo: Svinö swim A beach far in the south... of Espoo's Suvisaaristo :-) It is late, it is starting to rain, and there's no one on the beach. Nice. Full story July 2020 Svinön uimaranta, Suinonmäki, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Vetokannas swim Late is the key. Almost no one at the Vetokannas ex-sandpit, current beach & hangout place. Full story July 2020 Vetokannas, Kaivoksela, Vantaa, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sandpit,Beach) | |
![]() | Sundet beach and Sundsberg harbour I was looking for a place to swim in Sundberg, Kirkkonummi. My first attempt was to get to the apparent harbour on the west side, near Morbacka. Could it be a Soviet-occupation era harbour? And maybe a swimming would also be possible? This needed investigation. Full story July 2020 Sundetin uimaranta, Sundberg, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Sundbergetin satama, Sundberg, Kirkkonummi, Finland** Swimming* (Outdoor); Urban-Exploration** (Harbours) | |
![]() | Tampaja swim and the tilted house Today's swim was at the lake Tampaja, which I had never heard about before. It is a medium-sized lake near Lapinkylä in northern parts of Kirkkonummi. There's a nice public beach, but unfortunately not much space around for a more socially distanced swims. Full story July 2020 Tampajan uintipaikka, Tampaja-järvi, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Tampajan rauniosauna, Tampaja-järvi, Kirkkonummi, Finland** Swimming* (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach,Nature); Urban-Exploration** (Buildings) | |
![]() | Vitträsk swim Today's swim was at the lake Vitträsk, right across the shore from the famous Hvitträsk villa for the architects Saarinen, Gesellius, and Lindgren. There's a public swimming beach, Luoman uimaranta, but I wanted to stay on my own. There was ample. space and decent way to get to the water on both sides of the official beach. Full story July 2020 Vitträskin uintipaikka, Vitträsk-järvi, Kirkkonummi, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature,Beach) | |
![]() | Paimio cave search... on a swamp??? There are a lot of interesting data sources for searching for new caves. There are databases at the national geology research institute [1, 2, 3]. There are reports and books of boulder fields [4,5]. There are websites [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Old newspaper keyword searches [11]. And regular maps [12]. But in addition, there are also names of places. Ralf had found the names Luolaniittu (cave field, on a small hill) and Luolassuo (cave swamp, an actual swamp) in Paimio. I have to say we felt pretty silly standing in the swamp with all our caving gear. Full story July 2020 Kukonharjanmäen kivenalusluolanen 1, Kukonharjanmäki, Paimio, Finland; Kukonharjanmäen kivenalusluolanen 2, Kukonharjanmäki, Paimio, Finland; Kukonharjanmäen kivenalusluolanen 3, Kukonharjanmäki, Paimio, Finland; Kukonharjanmäen lippaluolanen, Kukonharjanmäki, Paimio, Finland; Kukonharjanmäen kallionalusluolanen, Kukonharjanmäki, Paimio, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying,Researching) | |
![]() | The furthest Volvo has been This is the furthest the Volvo has been in two years, 220 km away. There and back, and even on one 40L tank of gas. Apparently, I had only half a liter left in the tank when I got home... Full story July 2020 Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland Car | |
![]() | Aunessilta swim Aunessilta is a classic rock arch bridge in Kämmenniemi, Teisko. It is perhaps the most beautiful bridge in Finland. At least in my opinion! So why not swim under it, on a hot summer day? Full story July 2020 Aunessilta, Kämmenniemi, Teisko, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Waterbody-River,Water,Nature) | |
![]() | Kesämökki swim Swimming on your own beach... on a hot summer day, having taken a couple of days off... with your youngest with you... bliss! Full story July 2020 Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Make car great again The Volvo needs fixing again. Not a surprise. But it is a surprise that I was able to fix it. Such a great skill, great tools, beautiful result. Painter's tape to hold it in place. Full story July 2020 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Car | |
![]() | Cape Murder swim The Bodom lake is a wonderful lake with sandy beaches in northern Espoo. It is also the scene of a gruesome murder in 1960, a murder that goes unsolved until today. The site of the murder is one of the most beautiful swimming spots. But obviously a sober spot as well. Full story July 2020 Murhaniemi, Bodom-järvi, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Tuohilampi swim After-caving swim is very useful, to get rid of that mud and moldy basement smell. And replace it with the scent of freshly sprayed muddy forest pond. Nice! Full story July 2020 Tuohilampi, Vihti, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Sandpit swim in Paimio It felt VERY good. To dive in clear water, on a sandpit lake. To wash the sweat of the day's hike away. Full story July 2020 Hiekkahelmi, Paimio, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sandpit,Nature,Beach) | |
![]() | Vuohilampi swim After the failure in Matalajärvi, I looked for another place. The nearest one that I had not been to was Vuohilampi, also in Espoo and Nuuksio. After a short hike from the road I found a nice little lake, and no houses on my side of the lake. Nice! Full story July 2020 Vuohilampi, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | Sahajärvi swim - The secret rapids Fail. And fail again. My first choice of a lake turned out to be the water intake for Espoo. Maybe not swim there, in case someone doubts how well I wash my swimming pants :-) Full story July 2020 Salakoski, Sahajärvi, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature,Waterbody-River) | |
![]() | Tiny cave near Vuohilampi While walking to Vuohilampi for a swim (and eating blueberries), I found a small cave in the woods. Full story July 2020 Vuohilammen luolanen, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Too slimy! An attempt to swim in Matalajärvi... ended in a failure. I decided the slimy, still water and the extremely muddy bottom was not for me. Full story July 2020 Matalajärvi, Espoo, Finland Swimming (None) | |
![]() | Saunalahti swim Saturday's swim was in Saunalahti. At an official beach -- but since it was raining heavily, I figured there'd be no one else. I was right, except as I was leaving two groups of kids showed up, as the rain had ended. Full story July 2020 Kallvikin uimaranta, Saunalahti, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Hepolampi swim Today I went to Hepolampi for a swim. It is a medium sized forest pond, with clear but dark waters, soft bottom, and warm, quiet waters in the middle of nature. And -- guaranteed -- no one else around. There are 2-3 houses, but even they are well hidden and appeared empty. Full story July 2020 Hepolampi, Nuuksio, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Nature) | |
![]() | 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; Sivuluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Päällysluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Nuotiopaikan luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Nimetön luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kivenalusluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Syvä halkeamaluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Toinen nuotiopaikan luola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kallionalusluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland; Kysymysmerkkiluola, 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); Caving (None) | |
![]() | 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, 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, 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) | |
![]() | Tegelhagens Badplats 100 meter commute to the office from the hotel. Free bikes at the hotel. And a nice beach a bike ride away. Cannot complain! Full story June 2018 Tegelhagens Badplats, Sollentuna, Sweden Biking (Bike-City,Track-Trail,Track-Road,Outdoor); Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Training for Vertical Caving For the last two days, I've had the opportunity to be trained for techniques that are needed to traverse vertical cave shafts. Full story June 2018 Myllypuron Urheiluhalli, Helsinki, Finland Caving (Man-Made); Climbing | |
![]() | Karby Batteri More after-work bunker scouting. I thought I had already explored all the underground structures in the northern Korvlinjen, but apparently not. This "batteri" as they called it is a set of defence structures for guns, with small tunnels going from one structure to the next. Full story May 2018 Karby batteri 1, Täby, Sweden; Karby batteri 2, Täby, Sweden; Karby batteri 3, Täby, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | What's This? Mystery metal hut. I was looking for an entrance to a tunnel I saw in Rotebro, but was in the end unable to find a way in. I did, however, find an odd, round metal hut at the top of the cliffs. Full story May 2018 Metal hut, Rotebro, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Buildings); Sauna | |
![]() | Benvengudo Benvengudo, near Arles, France. Nice pool! Full story May 2018 Benvengudo, Arles, France Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Replica Cave While in France, I happened to get a number of brochures for tourist caves. One of these brochures was about the Chauvet Cave, the cave with earliest known paintings from 30 000+ years ago. But, that cave is off limits to visitors, so they built a replica of the cave nearby! Full story May 2018 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None); Travel | |
![]() | Baume Obscure Cave I was on my way to Marseille for a conference. And on the way observing other interesting things... like caves. Full story (TGR version) May 2018 Baume Obscure Cave, Cote d'Azur, France Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Grotte de Saint Cézaire Wow, that was a nice tour. Another brief cave visit while driving to my conference, but this time with a specialist guide, Eric, who has been exploring the depths of this cave. Full story (TGR version) May 2018 Grotte de Saint Cézaire, Cote d'Azur, France Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Santasport 45 minutes before I need to be at the airport. But I'm sweaty. Is there a sauna that I could visit? Yes there is. Santa's sauna. Full story May 2018 Santasport, Rovaniemi, Finland Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Ounasvaara While in Rovaniemi, of course I needed to stop at Ounasvaara, the local and legendary ski hill. They were also equally obviously no longer open, but obviously I hiked up. Full story May 2018 Ounasvaaran hiihtokeskus, Rovaniemi, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Ski software update Will software update be enough or should I stop at the repair shop? Full story May 2018 Pyhä, Finland Skiing; Equipment | |
![]() | Arktikum Coming back from Pyhä and Ruka, we had a day to spend in Rovaniemi. So we visited among other things the Arktikum museum. Complete with a northern lights simulator! Full story May 2018 Arktikum, Rovaniemi, Finland History | |
![]() | Holy Vappu! Reject spring. Ski in Pyhä! Party glasses on and champagne in backpack! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2018 Pyhä, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Petite Ceinture I'm feeling a bit alone here. The tunnel ends are too far to see even that pinhole of light. I'm in a long railway tunnel on the Petite Ceinture, the "little belt", an abandoned (I think) rail system under Paris. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2018 Old Charonne Station, Paris, France Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Coulée verte René-Dumont Jeff and I were taking a walk after our meeting in Paris, and happened to run into an "elevated linear park", the Coulée verte René-Dumont. Such a beautiful creation! Also with some old railway tunnels. Full story April 2018 Coulée verte René-Dumont, Paris, France Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Hiking | |
![]() | Deadly bunker trap Well, that was dangerous. We're very careful when we visit blown-up bunkers. But, we did not expect intentional traps, at least not recent ones. Next to a bunker in Siuntio, Jarmo almost fell into a 5-meter deep well that was covered with fresh tree branches. Would he have hurt himself if he fell in, or even if not, would he have been able to get out if he was alone? Who does this sort of thing?! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2018 Ansabunkkeri, Siuntio, Finland; Kallionreunan bunkkeri, Siuntio, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made); Hiking | |
![]() | Replacement Poles. Cutting them... Ski pole bouquet, five poles! Should be enough for redundancy, now. Full story April 2018 Ski Service, Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland; Ylläs, Finland Equipment; Skiing | |
![]() | Salomon Driver Ski Helmet Review To be honest, I did not expect much. My old helmet was broken in the back, I was flying to the Ylläs competition next day, and the Ski Service shop was closing. They had only helmet model that was even close to what I was looking for. I had to buy it. Full story April 2018 Ski Service, Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland; Ylläs, Finland Equipment; Skiing | |
![]() | Bromma Airport Many things are better in Sweden than in Finland. Take their appreciation of small city airports, for instance. Bromma is a small but thriving airport in Stockholm. Whereas in Finland... the idiots are tearing down a historic airport. Full story April 2018 Bromma Airport, Stockholm, Sweden Travel; Flying | |
![]() | Tivoliberget Forts I had a long day at my Kista office today, but on the way back to the airport I managed to scout ruins of fortifications and bunkers at Tivoliberget in Bergshamra, Solna, near Stockholm. Full story April 2018 Bunker, Bergshamra, Solna, Sweden; Ruins, Bergshamra, Solna, Sweden; Fortifications, Bergshamra, Solna, Sweden Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Ruins) | |
![]() | Ylläs 24H Live! Tero and I are joining the Ylläs 24h race. They hold the ski lifts running for 24 hours straight... and whoever skis most vertical, wins. There will be no rest :-) Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2018 Ylläs, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | New Helmet! My old helmet broke (maybe in transport), and since parts are now sticking out, I needed a new one. I got a helmet with an integrated visor, and it will be interesting to see how it works. Full story April 2018 Ski Service, Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland Equipment | |
![]() | More Sepänkylä Bunkers Olli and I went to Sepänkylä to visit more bunkers, and to fly our drones. We found a standard Soviet Porkkala bunker model, relatively intact except for the room under the gun hole. But what wonderful flowstone! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2018 Sepänkylän metsäbunkkeri, Sepänkylä, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Easter Bunny Walk April 2nd and the Easter. I'm back from the US, and far too jet lagged, but managed to go out on a walk in Kauniainen. Walked around the lake, through the small nature reserve swamp, through the underground tunnels... and also saw an easter bunny :-) Full story April 2018 Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland Hiking | |
![]() | Pool at the Big Bear Frontier When visiting the Big Bear Lake ski areas, I stayed one night in the village, and obviously had to try their pool. Even if there was no sauna... Full story March 2018 Big Bear Frontier, Big Bear Lake, California, USA Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Service Industry The service industry is about experiences rather than products. These guys have taken that to the heart, also in a refreshingly honest manner! Full story March 2018 Home of the Hangover, Big Bear Lake, California, USA Other | |
![]() | LA Caving Cave of Munits is a wonderful cave and a sacred site on Simi Hills in San Fernando Valley, half an hour from Los Angeles downtown. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) March 2018 Cave of Munits, Los Angeles, California, USA*; Bronson Caves, Los Angeles, California, USA** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Sandstone,Morphology-Other,Basic); Caving** (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration** (Tunnels,Quarries) | |
![]() | Unmarked bunker in Stubböle found! Another guest blog article from Jarmo: He found a previously unmarked and unmapped bunker from Stubböle area. Full story March 2018 Stubbölen peltobunkkeri, Inkoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Stubböle Big Bunker Another guest blog entry from Jarmo: When I visited Stubböle a few months ago with Jari and Olli we met some local people. They pointed us to a bunker that is not shown in any maps. At that time we did not have time to check it. When Eino wanted to join me on a Sunday adventure in a perfect sunny weather we decided to go and check this bunker. Full story March 2018 Stubbölen iso bunkkeri, Inkoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Search for an Island Bunker Another guest blog entry from Jarmo: Perfect winter finally arrived and sea and lakes are frozen. Time to go skiing at the sea and at the same time check for some potential bunker locations at the islands. Full story March 2018 Södra Svartö bunkkeri 1, Inkoo, Finland; Södra Svartö bunkkeri 2, Inkoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Skiing in Romania The winter is running out, and even the HR department though that I had too little vacation. So I decided to take some last-minute cheap flights to Romania to ski in my #57th country. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) March 2018 Sinaia, Romania Skiing; Urban-Exploration (Ruins) | |
![]() | When you have to make a call When you have to make a call... you will find the way. Full story March 2018 Sinaia, Romania Skiing; Urban-Exploration (Ruins) | |
![]() | Juusjärvi Rock Paintings Last year I bought a book on ancient rock paintings in Finland. There's a painting nearby that is very hard to reach, but with the recent low temperatures, Jarmo and I figure we could cross the lake to go see it. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) March 2018 Juusjärven kalliomaalaukset, Kirkkonummi, Finland History; Hiking; Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites) | |
![]() | Porkkala. The lehti. Saw a magazine about Porkkala in the shop today. Bought it and need to read it, it will be interesting to see what material they've got, and if there's any discussion of the bunkers. Full story February 2018 S-Market Grani, Kauniainen, Finland History | |
![]() | Volvo... again Volvo... again. Generator replaced now, but it also needs a new cooler, new clutch, new exhaust pipe and eight other things. And, most seriously, to fix leaks, a new fuel system and I only have a month to put in. And there are no new parts for it, and my car is from the youngest batch, so no old good parts either. The repair shop will probably build something though. Many troubles to overcome, $$$ to spend. Full story March 2018 Autofit Latokaski, Espoo, Finland Car | |
![]() | Kiven kivi? Looking for the rock that inspired Aleksis Kivi Kiven kivi? Today's trip to look for cave underneath the large boulder in Nurmijärvi that may have inspired Aleksis Kivi in the writing of a the first significant Finnish language novel, "Seitsemän veljestä" (seven brothers). And there was a nice, 10m meter cave under the rock. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2018 Hiidenkiven luola, Nurmijärvi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying); History | |
![]() | Swim in the East: Itäkeskuksen Uimahalli I visited the Itäkeskus swimming hall after many years of not being there. It is one of my favourite community swimming pools. w Full story February 2018 Itäkeskuksen uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Underground,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Another visit to Kuusijärvi 1/ It is -15C 2/ I had a nice smoke sauna & dip to lake 3/ But my car... dead. Now waiting for the tow truck. Full story February 2018 Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor,Ice,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Will a bunker eventually turn into a cave? I wonder what happens to human-made underground structures, when enough time passes by? Will they turn into caves. or cave-like environments, eventually? Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2018 Solbackan bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | February Swim I went for a swim in the Allas Sea Pool today, again. Except that now it is February, and it is -5 C outside. Full story February 2018 Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Ice,Beach,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna | |
![]() | Croatia! Europe... the continent of many countries. So many that it is difficult to ski all of them... but on Christmas break I was able to visit Croatia, and finally ski its nice ski areas. What a wonderful experience to ski on mountains towering above the Adriatic Sea, sunshine, powder... Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2017 Sljeme ski area, Zagreb, Croatia; Platak ski area, Soboli, Croatia Skiing | |
![]() | Sauna at the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage Janne and I visited Interlaken, and stayed at the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage. A grand, old style hotel, and I of course also wanted to visit their pool & saunas department. Full story January 2018 Grand Hotel Beau Rivage, Interlaken, Switzerland Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Swiss Chocolate Adventure Uh... a museum... a ride... of chocolate. But we are in Switzerland, so it is all as expected. Full story January 2018 Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Switzerland Food | |
![]() | Skevabackgrotta: Search for the Lost Cave Jarmo and I have been looking for a lost cave. The Finnish Caves book notes a rumour of the "Skevabackgrotta" cave in Kirkkonummi, but does not give exact location. And notes that the cave entrance has collapsed. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2018 Peuramaan pieni vaakahalkeama, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Peuramaan pieni pystyhalkeama, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Peuramaan pikku halkeama ja juuttuneet kivet, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Peuramaan luola-hiidenkirnu, Kirkkonummi, Finland**; Peuramaan iso vaakahalkeama, Kirkkonummi, Finland* Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Erosion,Basic) | |
![]() | Back in the U.S.S.R. -- Aeroflot We got a chance to fly Aeroflot on our trip to Kazakhstan... I was hoping for a real historic Soviet experience, and Tupolevs. Or at least a Sukhoi Superjet. But no, sadly I was disappointed. Full story February 2018 Almaty Airport, Almaty, Kazakhstan; Sheremetyevo Airport, Khimki, Russia; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Travel; Flying | |
![]() | Kazakhstan Sauna! It turned out that our hotel, the Uyut in Almaty had a sauna, and a small jacuzzi. The sauna was almost too hot, and there was no way to throw water on it. Full story January 2018 Hotel Uyut, Almaty, Kazakhstan Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Good morning, Kazakhstan! Good morning Kazakhstan! More room to think about stuff. And search for that turn. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2018 Shymbulak, Almaty, Kazakhstan; Almaty Airport, Almaty, Kazakhstan Skiing; Travel | |
![]() | Peuramaa Devil's Churn Maps of the Peuramaa area in Kirkkonummi show a pothole or devil's churn near the ski area. Jarmo and I set out to find that, along with other potentially interesting features in the neighbourhood. Full story January 2018 Peuramaan pyöreä hiidenkirnu, Kirkkonummi, Finland Hiking | |
![]() | Life, Universe, and Everything Hiking in the woods of Kirkkonummi, thinking about life, universe, and everything. And keeping an eye open for that rumored cave somewhere. Full story January 2018 Peuramaan luola-hiidenkirnu, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Erosion) | |
![]() | Upper House Spa. Wow. It was worth waking up at 6:45am for this. If I wanted to visit the Upper House Spa at the 20th floor of this Göteborg skyscraper, I had go early before my meetings. Full story January 2018 Upper House, Göteborg, Sweden Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna | |
![]() | Hello, Hestra! I was determined to find a few hours on some evening, even if my meeting seemed to be running from 8am to at least 8pm or even 10pm... but then the local ski hill closed. Full story (TGR version) January 2018 Isaberg ski area, Hestra, Sweden Skiing | |
![]() | Switzerland ... in Hyvinkää A quick set of runs in Switzerland... of Hyvinkää. Small local hill. I was here as a kid long time ago and it looked different. I only now understand why... they moved it :-) Full story (TGR version) January 2018 Hyvinkään Sveitsi, Hyvinkää, Finland; Hyvinkään Sveitsin hiihtokeskus, Hyvinkää, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Gotthard Base Tunnel Museum The Swiss Museum of Transport in Luzern had also nice displays about the building of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. And the tunnel boring machine's sharp end! Full story January 2018 Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Switzerland History; Urban-Exploration (Tunnels) | |
![]() | Kuusijärvi Smoke Sauna Kuusijärvi smoke sauna and beach. Great public sauna, maybe best around Helsinki (?) Full story January 2018 Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Outdoor) | |
![]() | Auguste Picard At the Swiss Transport Museum, we were able to visit Auguste Picard, a passenger sub built for the 1964 World Expo. Full story January 2018 Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Switzerland History | |
![]() | Convair CV-990 Janne and I visited the Swiss Transport museum in Luzern, and were able to visit the Convair CV-990 "Coronado", in the cabin. Full story January 2018 Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Switzerland Flying | |
![]() | Östersolberg II While I was travelling for work and fun for the last couple of weeks, Jarmo had scouted several bunker sites. His visit to an incredibly large bunker in Siuntio's Östersolberg provoked our interest as well, and last Saturday Janne, Olli, and me went there as well. Full story (TGR version) January 2018 Knapantien suuri bunkkeri, Östersolberg, Siuntio, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Stubböle's Kasabergen Bunkers Jarmo, Olli and me explored the Stubböle area on Sunday, and played around with drones. This area is in Siuntio, on the Soviet occupation area of Porkkala, and they seem to have had bunkers on every little hill around the fields. Full story (TGR version) January 2018 Säiliön raunio, Stubböle, Inkoo, Finland; Pohjoinen bunkkeri, Kasabergen, Stubböle, Inkoo, Finland; Eteläinen bunkkeri, Kasabergen, Stubböle, Inkoo, Finland; Kellari, Sunnankärrsbergen, Stubböle, Inkoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | EuroSpeleo! After some prodding from friends in the Finnish Caving Society, I finally decided that I should travel to my first caving conference, the EuroSpeleo! Full story January 2018 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None) | |
![]() | Einstein Museum Einstein museum! I did not know there was one in the world. As we were returning from Interlaken with Janne, stopping at the museum in Bern was easy. Full story January 2018 Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern, Switzerland History | |
![]() | Siuntio Östersolberg I have done some Bunker hunting with kids during the last few weeks. In December I did a walk in the forest with Eino. First we visited a natural cairn that was in a list of prehistoric sites maintained by National Board of Antiquities (Museovirasto). Full story January 2018 Dalkullan kivikasa, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Lödängen bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Knapantien mahdollinen bunkkeri, Östersolberg, Siuntio, Finland; Knapantien suljettu bunkkeri, Östersolberg, Siuntio, Finland; Knapantien ilmeisesti tuhottu bunkkeri, Östersolberg, Siuntio, Finland; Knapantien suuri bunkkeri, Östersolberg, Siuntio, Finland; Sarfvikin liittymän bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Memorial) | |
![]() | Barry, the Dog Janne and I were in Switzerland, and we met Barry, the famous St. Bernard dog. Full story January 2018 Museum of Natural History, Bern, Switzerland History | |
![]() | Cosy Bunker For sale: cosy apartment with flower decorations, strongly built, safe and in the middle of nature. In good condition. Also largely underground and abandoned 100 years ago. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2018 Lugnetfortet trenches, Arninge, Stockholm, Sweden; Lugnetfortet, Arninge, Stockholm, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Järva Sauna I thought I was being smart, staying at a cheap hotel, at a Stockholm suburb I've never been to before, Järva. But there were surprises... Full story January 2018 Ibis Järva, Järva, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna | |
![]() | The Oak Road Bunker Eve of the eve... not much time, heavy rain, slush on the road... but I wanted to get out and about. And visit another bunker. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2017 Tammitien bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Vårnäs "bunker" The Lynx map about the remnants of Soviet occupation in Porkkala pointed to a bunker in Vårnäs, next to Kabanovintie. But, I think what's on the site is more likely remains of farm houses and wells/sewers. Full story December 2017 Vårnäsin rauniot, Porkkala, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Ruins) | |
![]() | Sepänkylä Parking Lot Bunker Another guest blog entry from Jarmo: Before visiting a very nice bunker in Fagerkulla with Jari, I went to a walk in a forest. The plan was to visit some interesting spots I had found from a map. I did not expect to see any bunkers but when I stepped out of the car I saw a bunker just a few meters from me. Full story December 2017 Sepänkyläntien parkkipaikan bunkkeri, Sepänkylä, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Exploration in Ingels Jarmo and I were scouting for bunkers or other interesting underground findings on Sunday. Besides finding the inaccessible Ingels bunker, we found no other bunker despite the promise from the Lynx information that there'd be a "ruins / bunker". There was only ruins! Full story December 2017 Juoksuhauta 1, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Juoksuhauta 2, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Juoksuhauta 3, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Huvilan rauniot, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kivipöytä, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Juoksuhauta 4, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Rantamökin rauniot, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kukkulan rauniot 1, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kukkulan rauniot 2, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kukkulan rauniot 3, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kukkulan juoksuhauta 1, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kukkulan juoksuhauta 2, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Mahdollinen louhos, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Sisällissodan muistomerkki, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Ruins,Quarries,Trenches) | |
![]() | Ingels Bunker Jarmo and I visited the Ingels bunker. Unfortunately, it turned out that we could only find a concrete slab, and found no way to enter or peek inside, or even figure out if there was anything underneath. Full story December 2017 Bunkkeri, Ingels, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | December Swim I went for a sauna and swim in the Allas Seapool today. Late arrival, after 8pm... and they were already closing at 9pm. Full story December 2017 Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna | |
![]() | Abandoned Soviet Bunker in Fagerkulla I had a tough week, basically trying to survive on 4-5 hours of sleep for every night, due to travel and meetings. I had talked about possibly exploring something with my friend Jarmo on Saturday. But by the time I woke up, it was already afternoon... Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2017 Fagerkullan bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Näsbacken Bunker This is a difficult bunker to get to. Not because being covered by dirt or blown up. But the whole area is guarded by, well, people who do not like other people to visit their part of the country. I have seen plenty of blocked roads, but the Sarvvik people have managed to block more than ten square kilometres of land. Full story December 2017 Näsbacken bunker, Sarvvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Faerly Hole in the Jenny Jump Forest The "Shades of Death Road" address was odd, but the day and the nature was wonderful. I found the Faerly Hole cave easily on the shores of the Ghost Lake, and walked in. It wasn't before I had crawled through a small hole that I realised something the rock walls above me were covered in layers of spiders and crickets. Thick enough to form a dark mass. And that mass had now awakened and was dropping and jumping on me. Full story December 2017 Faerly Hole, Jenny Jump State Forest, New Jersey, USA Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic); Hiking | |
![]() | Reno Swimming I finally managed to test the pool area in the Homewood Suites hotel in Reno. It was OK, even if there was no sauna... at least there was a hot jacuzzi! :-) Full story December 2017 Homewood Suites by Hilton, Reno, Nevada, USA Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Sacred Cave Sacred cave. Sacred place. Secret place. This place has suffered, but is still sacred for those who believe in it. Full story November 2017 Sacred cave, Nevada, USA Caving (Rock,Morphology-Erosion,Basic); Climbing; Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites) | |
![]() | SIN to HEL Made the classic "SIN to HEL" trip again. Full story November 2017 Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Flying; Travel | |
![]() | Singapore Caving Eight days inside a shopping mall. Enough! The question for the ninth day though was if I could find something interesting. Are there any caves in Singapore? There was scant information in the Internet, but it seemed like there could be beach caves on the Sentosa island, if we only could find low enough tide moment to reach them. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2017 Cave 1, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Cave 2, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Cave 3, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Cave 4, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Cave 5, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Cave 6, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Cave 7, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore*; Triangle stone, Sentosa, Singapore, Singapore** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Sandstone,Morphology-Erosion,Basic); Hiking** | |
![]() | No swim for you No swim for you Sir... because thunderstorm. Ok, but at least I got wet from the rain as I walked to the pool at the Swissotel & Fairmont Singapore. Full story November 2017 Fairmont Hotel, Singapore, Singapore Swimming (None) | |
![]() | Swissotel Singapore Sauna... Closed WTF? I arrived... and needed a sauna. Or at least an excuse to completing that document. Actually, I really needed a sauna to wash off travel and to warm me up from the freezing aircon climate. Full story November 2017 Fairmont Hotel, Singapore, Singapore Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Marinated Leather Jacket Mmm... should have ordered this. Full story November 2017 Tatsu, Singapore, Singapore Food | |
![]() | Bunkers in Kirkkonummi City Today's exercise was to visit the Jolkby and Lindal bunkers near Kirkkonummi center. The designation "Command Bunker" promised much, but unfortunately, we could not get in. Digging might help, but while the tunnel started promisingly, it ended in dirt and a big stone. But we were able to enter the one in Lindal! Full story (TGR version) November 2017 Lindalin bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Komentobunkkeri, Joklby, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Leikkijuoksuhauta, Jolkby, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jolkbyn potero 1, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jolkbyn potero 2, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Trenches,Vehicles); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Kalasberget II Olli and I went again to the Kalasberget bunker, to take some video and drone footage. It continues to be an amazing-looking bunker in the middle of the forest. Olli took some great pictures, and we got decent drone footage, too. The drone took some hits though. Full story November 2017 Bunkkeri 1, Kalasberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Buildings); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Collapsable Cowshed An abandoned cowshed? Or abandoned building to store abandoned cars? Not sure. But it is for sure about to collapse. The concrete looks very shaky. We were on top of the building before realising how sketchy this was. Full story November 2017 Hylätty navetta, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Buildings) | |
![]() | GoExpo: Freeskiing, Nalle Hukkataival, and Catherine Destivelle I visited the "GoExpo" this weekend, the merge of previously separate Vapaalaskuiltamat (Freeskiing Festival), Helsinki Adventure Night, and SkiExpo. Full story November 2017 Messukeskus, Helsinki, Finland Skiing; Climbing | |
![]() | Gribbylundsfortet The darkness falls early, before 4pm. Exit from the office then at 15:10, while having a conference call as you ride an Uber again; fortunately, the call ends by the time I am at the bunker. Full story October 2017 Gribbylundsfortet, Täby, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Memory of a Sauna Visited the Memory Hotel sauna. Free, but needs to be reserved. Sauna reservations are not my thing. But not a bad sauna at all! There's also a pool. Full story October 2017 Memory Hotel, Kista, Sweden Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Blasted Big Bunker Guest writer article from Jarmo: There was snow and rain, kids did not want to join and I had a schedule mismatch with Jari so I decided to stay at home. But after a while I figured that it would be nice to do some Sunday walk in the forest anyway. From local orienteering club Lynx map I had checked a bunker with an interesting description, "blasted big bunker". Full story October 2017 Kärinberget quarry, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Quarries) | |
![]() | Survey of all Kirkkonummi Caves Project! Having done the survey work last year for Korkberget, the massive cave (in Finnish class, at least), this fall I've been trying to visit other underground places in Kirkkonummi. And I have now visited and surveyed all nine known/reachable caves in Kirkkonummi. There's three more but they are either on military area, their location is not known, or they have collapsed. Full story (TGR version) October 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (Surveying,Research) | |
![]() | Viinakallio. The Booze Cliff cave. Busy busy... more than half of my weekend goes to editing documents. But I decided I would too today go out, once I complete the doc. I should be able to still go out at 4pm, with sunset at 5.30pm. Except that by the time I'm hopping onto my car, I realise the daylight savings change is making the sunset at 4.30pm. Sigh. But no matter, I have a head lamp. Onwards! Full story October 2017 Viinakallion luola, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Surveying); Hiking | |
![]() | Sonnimäki and Kalasberget Bunkers Another weekend, another set of bunkers. Today me, Jarmo, and Velma went to explore further bunkers in the Sonnimäki and Kalasberget area. We found two interesting bunkers. Full story October 2017 Bunkkeri 2, Sonnimäki, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Bunkkeri 1, Kalasberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Bunkkeri 1, Sonnimäki, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Kalasberget Small Roof Cave While searching for possible bunkers, we came across a tiny roof cave. Probably not enough to be classify as a cave, but now that I've seen it, I wanted to record its location. Full story October 2017 Pieni lippaluola, Kalasberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Vuorenmäen kulkurinluola, or the Mountain Hill's Nomad Cave It is the usual story, a "Suomen Luolat" book tells that there's a cave at certain coordinates. But when we show up, our GPS and the coordinates don't quite match. And there are caves around, possibly several, although we're not quite sure which ones the book referred to. Full story October 2017 Vuorenmäen kulkurin lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Vuorenmäen kulkurin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland**; Vuorenmäen kulkurin kivenalusluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland**; Vuorenmäen kulkurin nuotioluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland**; Vuorenmäen kulkurin ylälippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland* Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Kakarberget Cave in the Darkness Apparently, we like caving so much that we're willing to search forests in darkness, with headlamps, to look for caves. Full story October 2017 Iso lippaluola, Kakarberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Pieni kulmaluola, Kakarberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Matala lippaluola, Kakarberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Map of the Majvik Roof Cave I managed to stop at the small roof cave in Majvik when going to the office the other day. And took measurements. So here's a map! Full story October 2017 Majvikin pieni lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Majvikin pienen lippaluolan sivuluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Kirkkonummi Caves I said that I only knew four caves in Kirkkonummi. I should have checked the Suomen Luolat book, however. Or even my own archives which said I've been to five... Full story October 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None) | |
![]() | The Sonnimäki Soviet Bunkers Bunkers... where we were supposed to find a bunker was what seemed the remains of two regular houses, one with a basement. But a hundred meters away we found an almost intact Soviet bunker. Full story October 2017 Rauniotalo, Sonnimäki, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Rauniotalo ja kellari, Sonnimäki, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Bunkkeri 1, Sonnimäki, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Ruins,Vehicles); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Gruvböleberget Roof Cave Kirkkonummi underground <3 And Retkipaikka told us of yet another cave in Kirkkonummi. Full story October 2017 Gruvbölebergetin lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Nextjet The flights from Sweden were incredibly booked this week, so I ended up in returning home on an airline that I've never heard of before, 2N or Nextjet. And interesting routing, via Port. And there was an interesting rust on the airplane... Full story October 2017 Arlanda, Sweden Travel; Flying | |
![]() | Arningefortet On the way back to the airport and home, I stopped at the yet another place on the Korvlinjen, this time in Arninge, a village in Täby. There was supposed to be two fortresses or bunkers here. I found one fortress, but could not get in, and did not find the other one. Full story October 2017 Västra Arningefortet, Täby, Sweden; Östra Arningefortet, Täby, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | 100 Articles! The 2nd Korvlinjen article was the 100th blog article I've written this year. Quite a number. I've attempted to do more explorations, often local things like caves and abandoned bunkers or interesting swimming pools, in addition to the usual skiing articles. Full story October 2017 Arlanda, Sweden Travel | |
![]() | Mera Korv! Mera korv, more sausage? Once again I'm in Kista, but wanted a quick outing in the evening after a long day. The answer was once again Uber to another bunker on the Korvlinjen. Full story October 2017 Prästgårdsfortet, Täby, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | 2nd Majvik Bunker And now, with batteries in my flashlight... I stopped at another bunker in Majvik on the way home from the office. Full story October 2017 Majvikin bunkkeri 2, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Tired from a day of caving... Ralf and I went to Torhola on Sunday to draw a map. We made some progress in that, but oh boy, there are so many problems, question marks, and on top of that, it is a lot of work in cold damp place! Full story October 2017 Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Killinmäki Bunker There's just a little bit of warning tape, but most of it is gone. And one danger sign in a tree, visible from one direction only. The bunker is gone though, or hiding underground, with no easy way to enter. Just some holes in the ground that one needs to be careful of not stepping into. Full story October 2017 Killinmäen bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Degerby ZIF-25 Googling for more information about the Kirkkonummi bunkers, I found out more bunkers, obviously. But also a tidbit that there maybe 250-300 bunkers in the Kirkkonummi area. Full story October 2017 Degerbyn bunkkeri, Inkoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Majvik Bunker It is getting dark very early in Finland, so today I stopped to see a possible bunker in Majvik on the way to the office. I found a bunker with clear entrances go inside, as well as a small roof cave on a cliff near the bunker. Full story October 2017 Majvikin bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Majvikin pieni lippaluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland** Urban-Exploration* (Bunkers); Caving** (Man-Made); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Bunker on the Tulikukka Alley I used the "Parenteesi Suunnistuskartalle" database from Lynx and coming home from work, stopped at bunker location in Sarvvik. Full story October 2017 Tulikukkakujan bunkkeri, Sarvvik, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Jorvas Bunkers How can one work somewhere for 25 years, and NEVER visit a lake just a few hundred meters away? I really don't know, but in my defence I went there today. And found trenches and flooded bunkers. Full story (TGR version) October 2017 Jorvas bunkkeri 1, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jorvas bunkkeritie, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jorvas juoksuhauta, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jorvas potero 1, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jorvas potero 2, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jorvas potero 3, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Jorvas potero 4, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers,Trenches); Caving (Man-Made); Hiking | |
![]() | Book on Espoo's Nature Sights Got the "Kotinurkilta kallioille -- Espoon luontokohteet" book today in mail. Very interesting, can't wait to go through this book, and what treasures it will reveal! Full story October 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Hiking | |
![]() | Russian Bunkers in Masala Is that a green mushroom, or is somebody trying to exit a forgotten and blown-up bunker? Jarmo and Eino joined today for a walk through Masala, in an effort to again find bunkers left from the Russian occupation of Kirkkonummi. We found three bunkers, one of which was very interesting. Even if dangerous. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) October 2017 Masalan bunkkeri 1, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Masalan varastorakennus, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Masalan bunkkeri 2, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made); Hiking | |
![]() | Greetings from Neuhintertux I've been a couple times at the Hotel Neuhintertux in Austria. A wonderful place, great saunas, very nice views from the top floor pool department, and very friendly staff. And, of course, next to one of the two around the year open ski areas in Europe. Full story September 2017 Hintertux, Austria Travel | |
![]() | Silo 468 One of the large, round oil silos in Helsinki's Laajasalo has been decommissioned, and turned into a light show. Nice! Full story October 2017 Öljysäiliö 468, Helsinki, Finland Urban-Exploration (Silos,Industrial); Art | |
![]() | Sundsberg Bunker I've been resting my feet last couple of days, after some treatment by doctors. But today I felt the urge for at least a small visit, somewhere. Maybe an abandoned bunker from the Russian occupation times? Full story October 2017 Sundsberg bunkkeri, Kirkkonummi, Finland Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | StayAt Sauna This is the cheap and far-away hotel for my office visits in Sweden. But it is comfortable and the staff is friendly. I like it, now even more when I realised there's a sauna. Full story October 2017 StayAt Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna | |
![]() | Uber Exploration ... or was it urban exploration? Today's evening exercise was to find an abandoned bunker in Sweden. And when I got inside, there was shooting outside. Fortunately, it turned out to be a shooting range. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) October 2017 Skogbergafortet, Täby, Sweden Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Österbacken II In better daylight and with Jarmo's help we now found the quarry. I must have walked 20 meters from the quarry wall (a 10+ meter drop, btw) yesterday. Full story September 2017 Österbackenin päälouhos, Vantaa, Finland; Juvanmalmin louhos, Espoo, Finland; Juvanmalmin tuhottu louhos, Espoo, Finland; Österbackenin mahdollinen historiallinen louhos, Vantaa, Finland Urban-Exploration (Quarries); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | The Stockmann Ruins Today's newspaper had a story about the difficulties of the Stockmann department stories. Will they make it? However, in 1920 an even greater tragedy hit the Stockmann family and left the family house in ruins. The ruins are nearby in Kauniainen, so the day felt like a good day to visit them again. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) September 2017 Stockmannin rauniot, Kauniainen, Finland Urban-Exploration (Buildings,Ruins) | |
![]() | Can't find the Österbacken Quarry There's supposed to be an old quarry in Juvanmalmi. But I kept going up and down near the coordinates, but found nothing. Wrong coordinates? As the darkness came, I did manage however to put my painful foot to a hole in the ground, have it get twisted, and stuck. Full story September 2017 Österbackenin päälouhos, Vantaa, Finland; Österbackenin mahdollinen historiallinen louhos, Vantaa, Finland Urban-Exploration (Quarries) | |
![]() | Dalsvik Limestone Quarry Since my foot didn't like the walk I did few days ago, an obvious thing to do was to go try more quarries, and this time climb a fence. Without noticing that the fence would have ended if we had walked 10 meters further. Full story September 2017 Laaksolahden kalkkikivilouhos, Espoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Quarries) | |
![]() | Ruins of the Dalsvik Mansion Gazebo Today we visited the ruins of a gazebo in Laaksolahti (Dalsvik). The gazebo, or pavilion belonged to the Dalsvik Mansion. If all this sounds funny, in Finnish place was called "Laaksolahden kartanon huvimaja". Full story September 2017 Laaksolahden kartanon huvimajan rauniot, Espoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Ruins) | |
![]() | Dragon's Den - Smocza Jama Smocza Jama. Or Dragon's Den, an ancient cave. Despite the puffing, fire-breathing dragon, there's nothing to be afraid of, as long the dragon is fed enough cattle every week. Either cattle .... or equivalent number of humans. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2017 Smocza Jama, Krakow, Poland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Krakow Sauna I had an opportunity to visit a sauna in Poland. Obviously I took the opportunity! Full story August 2017 DoubleTree Krakow, Krakow, Poland Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Elfvik Quarries I've been sick, and with painful feet problems for a long time. I wanted to get out today, to test if I can move around. Or breathe outside air. I chose to visit the Elfvik Quarries in Espoo, near Villa Elfvik. Full story September 2017 Elfvikin louhos 1, Espoo, Finland; Elfvikin louhos 2 ja 3, Espoo, Finland; Elfvikin louhos 4, Espoo, Finland; Elfvikin louhos 5, Espoo, Finland; Elfvikin louhos 6, Espoo, Finland; Elfvikin louhos 7, Espoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Quarries) | |
![]() | Map of the Nepperi Cave Nepperi is at the center of the big controversy: is the largest cave inside Ring III in Vantaa as currently believed, or perhaps in Espoo? Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) September 2017 Nepperin luola, Espoo, Finland; Nepperin kulmalippaluola, Espoo, Finland; Nepperin sivukololuola, Espoo, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Black Snow Apocalypse. Now. Imagine bright, white snow, gently covering a mountain. Now imagine all that snow black, dirty. Melting hard ice, covered by an accumulation of pollution and dust from air. This is reality. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2017 Hintertux, Austria Skiing; Health; Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Underground Hotel Room This is the world's oldest and biggest hotel room. And it is 64 meters underground, in a cave in Arizona. Sadly, we did not have money to for the night (850 USD) but we did get a tour. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) July 2017 Grand Canyon Caverns, Arizona, USA Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Sliding from the 70th floor Take an outside slide from the 70th floor? Yes please. But, we were a bit disappointed when the slide didn't take us all the way down, just to the balcony one floor down. Full story August 2017 US Bank Tower, Los Angeles, California, USA Sliding | |
![]() | The Mannerheim Bunker A small announcement in the newspaper -- Mannerheim's bunker to open for visitors. Of course I had to go... Full story August 2017 Tamminiemi, Helsinki, Finland Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Santa Monica Beach For some reason, one of my favourite places in the greater Los Angeles area is Santa Monica. Maybe it is because on my first trip I stayed there, various fun memories from all my time there. Or the beach. Full story August 2017 Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, California, USA Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Sea,Beach) | |
![]() | Falcon 9 Booster When Janne and I were in California, we made a pilgrimage to the SpaceX headquarters. In front the building stands a used Falcon 9 booster. Impressive feat of space technology! Full story August 2017 Space X, Hawthorne, California, USA Flying | |
![]() | Space Shuttle Endeavour Janne and I managed to see yet another space shuttle, the Endeavour at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. They also have the one remaining external fuel tank on display. Full story August 2017 California Science Center, Los Angeles, California, USA Flying; History | |
![]() | Damn Foot Getting tired with my foot hurting. Another re-occurrence of the problem in May. For the last two weeks its been hurting again, on several days I've been unable to walk and on others it has been at least disturbing. All tests and X-rays show nothing. So maybe it just hurts... Full story August 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Health | |
![]() | Vegas. Yuck. Vegas. Glad we visited it briefly. Never been here before. But, all in all, and considering the breakfast options, I think it is time to move on. Full story July 2017 MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Food; Travel | |
![]() | Santa Monica and Commercial Aviation's roots I hadn't really known about this, but one of my favourite places in L.A., Santa Monica, played a large role in early commercial aviation. The Douglas Aircraft company was based here, for instance, and many iconic aircraft, DC-3 included, were designed here. Full story August 2017 Museum of Flying, Santa Monica, California, USA Flying | |
![]() | Air Force One Classic I never thought I'd visit a presidential library in the US. Couldn't imagine anything more boring. But, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library hosts a VC-137C SAM 27000, or more commonly known as the Air Force One. Full story August 2017 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California, USA Flying | |
![]() | Crystal Cave at Sequoia Janne and I are on a trip through California (and few other states). We dropped by the Crystal Cave at the Sequoia National Park. Full story July 2017 Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park, California, USA Caving (Rock,Rock-Marble,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Arizona Sauna I'm on vacation with Janne, a road trip through western US. Our hotel in Flagstaff turned out to have a sauna. Great! Full story July 2017 Flagstaff Hilton Garden Inn, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Road trip! Had plenty of meetings, but now I'm on vacation for a bit. Janne and I are headed to California for an epic road trip. With skis! Full story July 2017 Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Travel | |
![]() | Skis Present When I finished my term as a chair, my friends at the IETF gave me a truly wonderful gift: skis tagged with stickers from our meetings and little notes and signatures from everyone. Full story July 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Equipment | |
![]() | Certificate! Cool. Got a certificate in the mail from the caving course earlier in the summer :-) and clearly they were focused on things that needed improvement on my side, like responsibility and safety. Full story July 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Caving (None) | |
![]() | Meeting a Friend at Killington Patrick and I share the same hobby: skiing in as many different places around the world as we can. We had run into each other in the Internet and chatted often. But I had never met him. In spring 2016 I finally got an opportunity to do that *and* go skiing in Killington for the first time. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2017 Killington, Vermont, USA Skiing | |
![]() | Askola Potholes Most people visit the Askola potholes or devil's churns (hiidenkirnut in Finnish) as a part of a school trip. Me too, but it's been a long time since then. I remembered almost nothing. Full story May 2017 Askolan hiidenkirnut, Askola, Finland Hiking | |
![]() | Basic Caving Course in Turku The Finnish Speleological Association arranged a basic caving course in Turku in June. The course started from the basics, like crawling. A slide to teach crawling! And walking, for that we had another slide. Full story June 2017 Luolavuoren luola, Turku, Finland*; Ispoisten ranta, Turku, Finland** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Training); Swimming** (Outdoor) | |
![]() | Sauna at the Hilton... again Long meeting... but for once, I had a free Sunday morning, so I went to the sauna and pool at the Prague Hilton. Hot... spacious and well-maintained sauna. Full story July 2017 Hilton Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Bozkovské Dolomitové Jeskynĕ I had an opportunity for a brief visit to the Bozkovské Dolomitové Jeskynĕ or the Bozkov Dolomite caves. The cave system is 1060 meters long and hosts the largest underground lake in Czech Republic. Full story (TGR version) July 2017 Bozkov Dolomit Caves, Bozkov, Czech Republic Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Four saunas in Dresden Late arrival... quick dinner... and then onto testing the wellness area at Dresden's Hilton hotel. Usually, hotel saunas are simple, but not this one! Full story July 2017 Hilton Dresden, Dresden, Germany Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | GRUNT! I'm between Czech Republic and Germany, on my way to a conference. Late night arrival... tired. But, the sauna at Hotel Grunt rescued me. Full story July 2017 Hotel Grunt, Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic Sauna | |
![]() | A Kilometer Inside This is an exceptional opportunity that only opens once a year. Janne and I are crawling in the cave, guided by friendly cavers from the Swedish Speleological Association. We get to see amazing things, from stalactites to "Inre Sjön", a small lake (or rather, a pool) a kilometer into the cave. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2017 Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden*; Kanalen, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden**; Bryet, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden***; Galgbergsgrottan, Visby, Gotland, Sweden*** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Swimming,Boating); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Digging); Caving*** (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic); Swimming* (Indoor,Underground,Water,Waterbody-Cave) | |
![]() | Sauna at Lummelunda Vandrarhem Earlier this week I was on caving at the Lummelunda caving week. Afterwards... I needed some refreshing. Sauna to the rescue! Full story June 2017 Lummelunda Vandrarhem, Lummelunda, Gotland, Sweden Sauna | |
![]() | Airshow in Kaivopuisto On a Friday night I was at the airshow in Kaivopuisto. Full story June 2017 Kaivopuisto, Helsinki, Finland Flying | |
![]() | Ice-swimming in Midsummer I was just going to walk around in rain, but the sign for ice swimming caught my attention. Full story June 2017 Allas, Helsinki, Finland Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool); Sauna | |
![]() | I was on a course... ... and we started from the basics, like crawling. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2017 Cumulus Hotel, Turku, Finland Caving (None) | |
![]() | Member of the club? It is a bad sign if you get a frequent customer card from the local military surplus store. Or the "Frequent Pig" card as they call it. Full story June 2017 Varusteleka, Helsinki, Finland Caving (Equipment) | |
![]() | Map of the Högberget Cave Earlier this week I took some of my colleagues to see the interesting Högberget cave, near our office. I also took some measurements, and drew a map. Full story June 2017 Högberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Erosion,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Sauna at the Hilton I had an opportunity to get an upgrade for my room at the Tallinn Hilton Park the other day. I don't usually care for upgrades, but this one had a perk: a sauna! Full story June 2017 Hilton Tallinn Park, Tallinn, Estonia Sauna | |
![]() | Kasaberget cave and abandoned concrete houses I was searching for a place to visit this Sunday... with pretty much the only requirement being that a teenager would be interested in going. We ended up going to Kasaberget in Kirkkonummi. Full story June 2017 Abandoned warehouses, Strömsby, Kirkkonummi, Finland*; Kasabergetin luola, Strömsby, Kirkkonummi, Finland** Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Surveying); Urban-Exploration* (Buildings,Ruins); History | |
![]() | The Kalkkikallio caves in Vantaa I was looking for a quick, interesting exploration for Saturday morning, and finally drove up to Kalkkikallio caves (Limestone Hill caves) in Vantaa. Kalkkikallio is a rock hill area on the other side of the Ring III road from the IKEA store. The hill is next to a secluded, quiet area of houses. Full story June 2017 Kalkkikallion ketunluola, Vantaa, Finland*; Kalkkikallion matalan katon luola, Vantaa, Finland**; Kalkkikallion nuotiopaikan luola, Vantaa, Finland** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Surveying); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Ruins of the Bemböle Watermill Can you drive by something for 20 years, and not be aware of the wonders just few meters from the road? You can. I had not heard about the Bemböle watermill ruins. Full story June 2017 Bembölen vanha mylly, Espoo, Finland Urban-Exploration (Ruins); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Very Finnish Party This is how we do picnic in Finland. Rain, hail, cold, jackets, sulking under what cover we might find. Full story June 2017 Vallisaaren niityn bunkkeri, Helsinki, Finland Other; Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Sauna at the Elite Palace This week I'm working in Kista, and it seemed like someone had hogged all hotel rooms not just in Kista but Stockholm as well. I was lucky to get one night in a hotel in Kista, and now another night in town in one of the few remaining rooms in the city. Full story May 2017 Elite Palace Hotel, Stockholm, Sweden Sauna | |
![]() | Solamäki Caves Yesterday we went to the Solamäki caves (Solamäen luolat) in Siuntio. We found a crack system, with a large cave hall by Finnish standards, and many interesting small cracks. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2017 Solamäen luola, Siuntio, Finland*; Solamäen kivenalusluola, Siuntio, Finland**; Solamäen lippaluolanen, Siuntio, Finland*** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic,Surveying); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Surveying); Caving*** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | The Closed Ski Areas Tour Plenty of snow. Greatest snow! Biggest snow. How is skiing in Quebec today, on the third week of May? Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2017 Mont Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada; Mont Saint-Sauveur Versant Avila, Quebec, Canada; Mont Habitant, Quebec, Canada; Ski Chantecler, Quebec, Canada Skiing | |
![]() | Auberge and Spa Beaux Rêves I'm wet. Cold. Sweaty. And have 16 hours of travel ahead of me. Auberge and Spa Beaux Rêves' sauna to the rescue! Full story May 2017 Auberge et Spa Beaux Reves, Quebec, Canada Sauna; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Woven Stone. And Cave Under. I am making turns on a fresh norwegian moss, when I see something strange. A dramatic outgrowth of moss on a rock? No, it was art wrapping! The Woven Stone by Lise Wulff, a norwegian ecoartist. And a cave underneath! Full story (TGR version) May 2017 Woven Stone, Hemsedal, Norway Skiing; Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic) | |
![]() | Can Walk! The swelling has dissipated, the redness has reduced, and I am no longer in pain. Full story May 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Health | |
![]() | Can't walk Foot barely walkable today 😟 doctor thinks it is not broken, but something else. Hurt it briefly when putting on ski boot on Saturday. Was fine then, worse now. Full story May 2017 Aava clinic, Helsinki, Finland Health | |
![]() | Biking to the ski hill, in boots This morning I woke up and asked myself what would be the most stupid thing I could do today. Can you bike to a ski hill, on your ski boots? Turns out the answer is yes. Although maybe not advisable... Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2017 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing; Biking (Bike-Road,Track-Road,Outdoor) | |
![]() | Gardnos Meteorite Crater On my way back from Hemsedal, I ran into a sign for a meteorite crater near the highway at Nesbyen. The Gardnos meteorite crater is the site of a 200-300m meteorite colliding with the earth 500 million years ago. It must have been quite a hit... Full story May 2017 Nesbyen, Norway Meteorites | |
![]() | Saunablogger.cool: Norway Suffering... with no sauna after skiing. Skogstad hotel to the rescue! Full story April 2017 Skogstad hotel, Hemsedal, Norway Sauna; Food | |
![]() | I love Norway! Norway: No wet rain, no darkness, no sign of summer Full story April 2017 Hemsedal, Norway Skiing | |
![]() | Squeezing into the Nepperi cave On Sunday I needed some exercise, and decided to take a walk in the area of Pitkäjärvi in Espoo. I picked a route that would allow me to visit the Nepperi cave and took my drone just in case I needed to peek from the sky at some point. Full story April 2017 Nepperin luola, Espoo, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Dead Cat Margarine Dead cats were blended into margarine and fed to humans. We're going to a secret, abandoned tunnel to meet the ghosts of the cats. But it won't be easy to get there. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2017 Undisclosed Finnish location, Finland Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Scandic Victoria's Skybar I'm on a business trip in Kista, Sweden (probably a frequent occurrence from now on). I've previously reported about the sauna in this hotel, which I had a chance to use today. I also tested their 34th floor sky bar today. Was almost entirely empty on a weeknight, but at least they had a decent Toast skagen (traditional Swedish toast with shrimp). Recommended for small hunger. Full story April 2017 Scandic Victoria, Kista, Sweden Travel | |
![]() | Devil's Churn in Sipoonkorpi We went out on Easter Monday, for an "hour long walk". Turned out no one looked at the map, distances, or time, or took into account time for driving or gathering gear. So, we walked for three hours and returned home probably five hours later. Full story April 2017 Hiidenkirnujen ryhma, Sipoonkorpi, Sipoo, Finland Hiking | |
![]() | Seaside Walk I've been meaning to start a hobby of taking long walks... I need to get to much better shape. Partially inspired by the new sports watch I got, which reminds me when I sit still too long, and knows how many steps I've taken during the day. I'm also excited that the biking season is soon starting, hopefully with warmer temperatures than today (-1 C). Full story April 2017 Nokkalan Majakka, Espoo, Finland Walking; Food | |
![]() | Skiing with a drone A few weeks ago I got a present from my IETF friends: a Mavic Pro drone. Thank you! We've already played a lot with it, me, Olli, Janne, and many of our friends, with everyone having loads of fun with the device! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2017 Peuramaa, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Sahara, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing; Equipment; Flying | |
![]() | Abandoned railroad tunnel Today's evening excursion was to an abandoned railroad tunnel. The tunnel is 600 meters long, and in the middle of everything, at a place I've been many times, but I had never heard about the tunnel before. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2017 Undisclosed location, Helsinki, Finland Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Man-Made) | |
![]() | Wisconsin Welcome to the US, the land of lawyers and liability wavers! I had to sign a long liability waiver for just getting the ski pass for the day. Not seen that for mere tickets, though it is of course standard for hiring guides and the like. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2017 Granite Peak, Wisconsin, USA Skiing | |
![]() | Pool with a view I'm staying at the Chicago Swissotel for a conference. There was a break in Internet connectivity while we were setting up our network, so I decided to visit the sauna and pool at the 42nd floor of this high-rise hotel. Full story March 2017 Swissotel, Chicago, Illinois, USA Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Backcountry Onsen Sometimes skiing isn't just about the skiing. I can also be about hot springs in the middle of the backcountry skinning trip. We climbed Mt. Niseko Annupuri (1308m), skied the backside of the mountain and found an onsen, a Japanese hot spring. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) March 2017 Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan Skiing; Swimming (Outdoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool,Thermal-Bath) | |
![]() | Japan! Finally, the long awaited trip to Japan is starting. Janne and I are sitting on the Finnair plane at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, and ready to fly to Tokyo, and then continue on to Sapporo, and finally Niseko. There are two bus trips along the way, but hopefully we'll get there without problems. Full story March 2017 Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan Travel; Skiing | |
![]() | Over- and underground walk I ended up going around Kauniainen's Gallträsk as my activity today. The day had been sunny, but the night wasn't bad either, nice evening views. I also included the underground sports arena on my tour, and got to walk long tunnels and stop by the climbing wall in the tunnels as well. Full story March 2017 Gallträsk, Kauniainen, Finland Walking; Climbing (Wall) | |
![]() | Laajalahti Sunday. Nothing particular going on, but a pressing need to get some exercise. The sun is shining, so I decided to hike around the Laajalahti area in Espoo. Full story March 2017 Laajalahti, Espoo, Finland Hiking | |
![]() | Kangasala Caving Janne and I often visit Tampere on his winter vacation from school. We did that again, and again went to explore some caves. This time in Kangasala. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2017 Lempokiven luola, Kangasala, Finland; Ohtolan Pirunkallion luola, Kangasala, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Bird Horniness Eye Swamp Cave Bird Horniness Swamp Eye cave. A great name, at least. But is the cave great? Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2017 Lintukiiman Silmäsuon luola, Nummi-Pusula, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic) | |
![]() | Sotkamo Dress Code "Can you take my skis to the clothes check?" "Why not, we also take baseball bats." Dressed in a black suit, I'm on my way to a bar, to Zach's birthday party in Sotkamo. With boots and skis... my hotel is at the top of the hill. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2017 Vuokatti, Finland; Sotkamo, Finland; Paljakka, Finland; Vimpelinvaara, Kajaani, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Backpacks Are DEATH "It is not about your experience with backpacks, it is about PEOPLE DYING". The ski patrol's inexplicable rule prohibits me to take my backpack to the ski hill in New York. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2017 Thunder Ridge, New York, USA Skiing | |
![]() | Kinderskilift We took an airplane. A train. And hiked. For this? A kid slope half the size of my home slope in Grani. But it turns out we got to ski a route down liike no other: down the railroad tracks. And collect seven more ski areas. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2017 Obergoms, Switzerland; Realp, Switzerland; Gemsstock, Andermatt, Switzerland; Nätschen, Andermatt, Switzerland; Oberalppass, Switzerland; Sedrun, Switzerland; Disentis, Switzerland Skiing | |
![]() | Der Après-ski Zug This is a brilliant idea. The Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn doesn't just take you to the ski slopes, it also serves beer and after-ski music on the way there. Even on the 9:30am train. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2017 Nätschen, Andermatt, Switzerland; Oberalppass, Switzerland; Sedrun, Switzerland; Disentis, Switzerland Skiing; Afterski | |
![]() | A Test The sky is dark, but I can see lights behind. Suddenly a small object flies through the air. A small man. I think. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2017 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing; Equipment | |
![]() | Delamination Uh... my skis are delaminating. They already were doing it a bit earlier, and that got fixed in Skiservice. But they warned that the skis are not going to last long. I'm trying to glue the skis back together, lets see if it works. Full story January 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Equipment | |
![]() | Pata's photo advice Today I was Pata Degerman's travel and adventure photography lecture at Helsinki's Partioaitta. Cool lecture, he's a great speaker, and had many stories and good advice. Full story October 2018 Partioaitta, Helsinki, Finland Photography | |
![]() | Bulgarian Powder What's it going to be, Tero? Shall we fly tomorrow morning for a day trip to Kazakhstan? Or for day and half in Bulgaria? We opted for the latter, because that Tero disliked the ten hour wait at a Moscow airport. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2017 Vitosha, Sofia, Bulgaria; Borovets, Bulgaria Skiing | |
![]() | Windscreen Wiping in Volvo The pump in my windshield wipers failed. I drove around for a week, while periodically opening the window and spraying water to the windscreen. Full story January 2017 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Car | |
![]() | The New Leppävaara Pool I have finally visited the refurbished Leppävaara swimming pool centre. Generally, a very positive experience! So many new pools! Full story January 2017 Leppävaaran uimahalli, Espoo, Finland Swimming (Indoor,Outdoor,Waterbody-Pool,Water); Sauna | |
![]() | Vihti by Night I was contemplating going hiking when Jarmo sent me a message; he was going skiing to Vihti. I decided to join, and I'm glad I did. The late afternoon and evening lights and colours on the hill are great. Full story January 2017 Vihti ski, Vihti, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Gallen-Kallela Castle Today's morning was too slow to do anything else than to scramble to the car to get to a local museum before it closed at 4pm. Full story January 2017 Tarvaspää, Espoo, Finland History | |
![]() | Nippy? Swimming at -18C Nippy a bit? Swimming at a lake when it is -18C. Full story January 2017 Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Ice,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach) | |
![]() | Toblerone-lift At first I thought it was just an oversize advertisement. Then the ski lift took me inside it. I kept wondering what they would do to the lift, it the ski area suddenly switched to advertising M&Ms. Or worse yet, how about insurance or toilet seats? Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2016 Lenzerheide, Switzerland; Arosa, Switzerland Skiing | |
![]() | World Eskimo Forum (WEF) in Davos The world's leading eskimos meet every winter in Davos to collaborate in shaping global, regional, and industry igloos. Well not really, but to my surprise the skiing in this village mostly known for the political and business elite is quite decent. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2016 Parsenn, Davos, Switzerland; Jacobshorn, Davos, Switzerland Skiing | |
![]() | Lustkurven The sign in Malbun caught my attention: "lustkurven", lust for curves. I think they meant the skiing. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2016 Malbun, Liechtenstein Skiing | |
![]() | The Korkberget Files I want to take you to a special place. Janne and I have spent there over 20 days by now. And every day of exploration rewards us with more finds. It is nearby. An old friend. But did we know all of its secrets before? I certainly didn't. Caves in Finland are small. What if I told you about a complex system of caves, with hundreds of meters of tunnels and fifty entrances, including one that you can drive a boat in? Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2016 Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic,Boating,Surveying) | |
![]() | Funny. Really funny. Really funny. More drawings on natural stones, really nice graphics this time. This is in Torhola cave in Lohja, Finland. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) October 2016 Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Surveying) | |
![]() | Hvitträsk Rock Paintings Lazy Saturday, and all nearby caves have already been visited! Janne and I decided to visit a rock painting in the lake shores of the Hvitträsk lake in Kirkkonummi. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2016 Hvitträsk cliff, Kirkkonummi, Finland History; Hiking; Urban-Exploration (Historic-Sites) | |
![]() | Swedish Sauna I was on a work trip in the wonderful city of Kista, Sweden. I stayed at the Scandic Victoria. Our days were packed, but even if I came back very late from dinners, I wanted to do a quick test of the sauna in this fancy high-rise hotel. On floor 22, they have a gym and a sauna. Full story December 2016 Scandic Victoria, Kista, Sweden Sauna | |
![]() | Burger Place with a Half-pipe It is darn cold outside. Storm. Better go inside to the Hesburger, because they have an indoor half-pipe. The world's only burger place with one! Also, as far as I know, the only full-size half-pipe indoors in the world! Or is that only half-size, ha! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2016 Vuokatti, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Playdoci I wish I was a gardener, watering plants is so relaxing. Or a ski patroller, spraying the snow on the slopes. I also wish that I'd have a wall socket in my home for "snow" in addition to "power", "Internet", and "vacuuming". Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2016 Bucheon, South Korea Skiing (Indoor,Snow) | |
![]() | Conrad Seoul Sauna When I travel, I try to find places where I can go to a sauna. It relaxes me... Last week I was in Seoul, South Korea, staying at the Conrad. This new hotel has a very nice gym & pool & spa area on the 8th floor. The pool is free of use for hotel guests, but the sauna costs 39,000 local (about 35€) to use. Nevertheless, I needed the relaxation. Badly. Full story November 2016 Seoul, South Korea Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Yongpyong. Not Pyongyang. Fortune favours the unprepared, as long as you pick the destination in the right Korea. I didn't know where I was going, or even if there'd be snow, but suddenly I was at the 2018 winter olympics village. Country #53. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2016 Yongpyong, South Korea Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Grass) | |
![]() | 25 minutes is enough Apparently you *can* arrive at the airport 25min before intercontinental departure and still make it. Weather, taxi failure, clearing my own car from snow, stuck behind a fallen truck on the highway, not leaving enough time for these troubles, etc. Phew. Full story November 2016 Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland Travel; Flying | |
![]() | Packing for Seoul I'm packing for a business trip to Seoul. I have the formal clothing needed for my meetings, i.e., t-shirts... and USB charger... very heavy stuff. And a boatload of equipment in case I'll manage to find some ice climbing, hiking, or skiing. I'll need three checked bags just to haul all this stuff, and I still have to leave my caving gear out because it won't fit :-) Full story November 2016 Seoul, South Korea Travel | |
![]() | First trips booked! I'm tired for working too hard on an upcoming business trip, but I'm also happy that two long weekend ski trips early next year are coming together. Full story November 2016 Jorvas, Kirkkonummi, Finland Travel | |
![]() | Monttukrouvi This lazy Saturday's program for me and Janne was to visit some of the bunkers and moats around Helsinki's WWI defence structures. There are plenty of these structures, sadly all slowly rotting away. Historic sites, officially almost forgotten and certainly not cared for. Full story September 2016 Pirkkola, Helsinki, Finland Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Varberget, Nauvo Nauvo is a large island in the archipelago south of Turku, Finland. Varberget is a set of small caves on a cliff ridge that rises on the island. Full story (TGR version) September 2016 Vargberget, Nauvo, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Sauna in Hangzhou Another visit to a sauna in foreign land! This time in 杭州市 or Hangzhou, China! The sauna was in the Courtyard Marriott hotel that I stayed at. A bit dark and basic, but still large, and most importantly, the temperature was high enough and you were allowed to pour water to the heater! Full story October 2016 Courtyard Marriott, Hangzhou, China Sauna; Swimming (Indoor,Water,Waterbody-Pool) | |
![]() | Breithorn, 4164m Third time's a charm! I finally managed to ski down from Breithorn. Two failed attempts... and what a wonderful third one, with a high speed ski run down. So much fun to pass the climbers on a long trek, me going at 80 km/h while screaming from the top of my lungs as I passed them :-) Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2016 Breithorn, Zermatt, Switzerland Skiing; Climbing | |
![]() | The Unnatural Wakeup Today I had an unnatural 0700 wakeup so that I could enjoy Nuuksio morning and caves with Janne before taking off to a trip later. Full story October 2016 Vähä-Hauklammen luolat, Nuuksio, Vihti, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Srsly, Smearing Caves with Vaseline???!! We had a disturbing visit to a cave today. Somebody had not only blocked access to this cave, but also smeared vaseline all over the cave, spread broken glass, and so on. Sigh. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2016 Mätikän luola, Masku, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Sauna in Shenzhen As a saunablogger, I had to report that I've been to sauna in a new city: Shenzhen, China. The sauna was in the Pavillion hotel. Not a great sauna, but I'm glad I went anyway. Turning on the temp setting made the experience better. Full story August 2016 Hotel Pavillion, Shenzhen, China Travel; Sauna | |
![]() | The Finnair A350 Experience I've been accidentally flying the Finnair A350 on short routes, without knowing I'd be on it and expecting the usual A320s. But this week I was on the A350 for the first time on long-haul flight, Helsinki-Hong Kong-Helsinki. Full story August 2016 HKIA, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Travel | |
![]() | Anti-Gravity Lift Towers The Swiss are clever innovators. The latest example of this that I saw were the lift towers in Saas Fee. Floating in mid-air, not standing on ground like regular towers. Anti-gravity in action! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2016 Saas Fee, Switzerland*; Eispavillon, Saas Fee, Switzerland** Skiing*; Caving** (Glacier,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Soleil à Saint-Sauveur It is late May, and Saint-Sauveur is one of the only two open ski areas in the east. And I've already been to the other one, Killington. And what's more, all the ski crazies are here! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2016 Mont Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada Skiing; Sauna | |
![]() | South... but not so south I wanted go far this summer, ski the untried countries. But it was not to be, because work. And because Peru was cancelled. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2016 Hintertux, Austria Skiing; Hiking; Travel; Sauna | |
![]() | Kluterthohle I don't often relax, but when I do, it has to be muddy. Wet. And underground. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) July 2016 Kluterthohle, Ennepetal, Germany Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic) | |
![]() | Wormhole I guess we can blame ourselves, as we were looking for the wormhole. We didn't realise the world would change if we went through it. Lost in time for a while, but managed to return back to our universe by going through the wormhole again. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) July 2016 Pirunpesänkivi, Nokia, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Other,Morphology-Erosion,Basic) | |
![]() | Water in Boots Hulubergsgrottan. Sipoo, Finland. Tiny hole, only crawable. And now filled with dirty water. What could be more fun to explore? Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2016 Hulubergsgrottan, Sipoo, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic) | |
![]() | Cave Surveying Course We often have just coordinates. While Finnish caves are small, they are often also non-obvious, mere collections of holes under boulders. Would be nice to have a map, to even know if we're in the right hole. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2016 Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Training,Surveying) | |
![]() | Bruxelles Ski de Plastique Brussels has run out. They do not have enough for themselves, let alone for Greece. The Eurocrisis is getting worse. We're out of snow. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2016 Yeti Ski, Brussels, Belgium Skiing (Outdoor,Plastic) | |
![]() | Snowing in May @ The Beast The morning was warm and sunny both in Canada and US, as it should be in mid-May. Ted was planning to have a sunshine-filled ski day. But by the time we reached Killington, it was snowing. Winter conditions! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2016 Killington, Vermont, USA Skiing | |
![]() | Mayday Wappu, or first of May is a huge celebration in Finland, traditionally celebrated by hiking to a hill and drinking alcohol. This is very different from other festivities in Finland, where the part about the hill is omitted. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2016 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Serious Sports Taking sports seriously. Or Siriously. Sirious Sports is an adventure place in Pyhtää, Finland. They have skydiving and surfing simulators. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2016 Sirius Sports, Pyhtaa, Finland Surfing; Skydiving | |
![]() | Smuggler's Cave, Salo Salo, southern Finland. More than an hour away by car, and we've been in the forest for an hour now. The cave is nowhere to be found. I have coordinates, but in the wrong coordinate system and Google isn't co-operating to interpret them in the right way. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2016 Rosvoluola, Salo, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic) | |
![]() | Paraguay on Miniskis Have skis, can carry snow, will ski anything. First descent of Paraguay's highest mountain, Cerro Tres Kandu. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2016 Cerro Tres Kandu, Paraguay Climbing; Skiing | |
![]() | Broken Ribs I had an accident on a horse, skiing an ancient volcano in Africa. As people do. Broken ribs and a horseshoe-shaped bruise on my side. But I did manage to ski the remaining ski areas in Morocco. And ski down with the broken ribs. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) March 2016 Michlifen, Ifrane, Morocco; Jbel Habri, Ifrane, Morocco Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Hiking,Horse); Climbing (Mountain,Volcanoes); Riding | |
![]() | Taking the Nysse to the Slopes Tampere. A great destination for the winter vacation. But can you take the city bus to the slopes? Yes you can. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2016 Mustavuori, Tampere, Finland*; Tampereen rinteet Hervanta, Hervanta, Tampere, Finland*; Hirvi-Simunan luola, Lempäälä, Finland** Skiing*; Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic) | |
![]() | Torhola Caves in Finland may be small, but fortunately also claustrophobia-inducing. Caves are also not well known, but this one has an actual road sign and a parking lot! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2016 Torholan luola, Lohja, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic) | |
![]() | Cave Skiing I like caves and skiing, of course, but it is rare that the two mix. But in Cervinia there's small cave that you can ski through. If you dare. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2016 Cervinia, Italy*; Small cave, Cervinia, Italy**; Small cave, Cervinia, Italy*** Skiing (Outdoor,Snow,Lifts)*; Skiing*** (Outdoor,Underground,Snow,Lifts); Caving** (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Morphology-Crack,Skiing) | |
![]() | Shit! Helsinki Parks. I am envious of Tero, because he managed to ski on horse shit. I still haven't managed that. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2016 Kaivopuisto, Helsinki, Finland; Tähtitorninmäki, Helsinki, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Reminder about Paminne Sun shines on Påminne, the southernmost ski area in Finland. The hill was in bright sunshine under a blue sky, even if the parking lot, the beginning of the lifts, and the rest of Finland was under cloudy skies. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2016 Paminne, Aminnefors, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Kekesteto It was a cold night in HEL, -29 degrees at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. I felt like I needed to go south to find better skiing weather. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) January 2016 Kekestetö, Hungary*; Palvolgyi Cave, Budapest, Hungary** Skiing*; Caving** (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | A Pile of Rocks Imagine rocks thrown together, all sizes all the way up to house-sized boulders. Korkberget doesn't get more than a brief mention in "Caves of Finland". But it is one of the biggest caves in our area, and quite a maze. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015 Korkbergetin lohkareluola, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Boulders,Basic) | |
![]() | Yokohama My sorry life, episode two. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2015 Snova Shin-Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan Skiing (Indoor,Snow) | |
![]() | Cave with a View There are usually no great views from caves, at least not of the sunset. Except at Rokokallio. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015 Päällysluola, Rokokallio, Vihti, Finland*; Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland** Caving* (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic); Sauna (Smoke)**; Swimming (Ice,Water,Waterbody-Lake,Beach)** | |
![]() | Death Star Skier He spends his days in meaningless office tasks, like shifting papers around or destroying planets. But he also has a dream... of skiing. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | Högberget Cave I thought there are no caves in Finland, but there are some! This weekend's adventure was to visit the specially formed Högberget flow-erosion cave. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015 Högberget, Kirkkonummi, Finland Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Erosion,Basic) | |
![]() | Titlis in the Darkness You have to take six lifts to get to the top. And we were late, because travel. But it turns out you can also stay late. By the time we started our final 2km vertical descent, it was already dark. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015 Engelberg, Switzerland Skiing; Caving (Rock,Rock-Granite,Morphology-Crack,Basic); Sauna | |
![]() | It's a Cham! Chamonix is open, and there's powder! And under all that light powder, there's ... rocks. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) December 2015 Chamonix ski areas, Chamonix, France Skiing | |
![]() | First snow, first descent Sunday morning and the first snow! Well, a bit of white here and there. But a time to open the season in my local hill in Grani! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) November 2015 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing | |
![]() | The Ultimate Frustration What's the point of working so hard that you cannot do the things you love? I feel like I'm far too busy. To add insult to the injury, this week I'm visiting one of the greatest ski destinations in the world, Sapporo, but there isn't yet any snow, and even if there were, I would not have time to go to the mountains. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) October 2015 Mt. Moiwa, Sapporo, Japan Skiing (Outdoor,Grass); Climbing | |
![]() | Chattanooga Caving I like caves, but feel suspicious of touristy tours. They usually leave a bland feeling, too easy, too packaged. Not so with Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, Tennesee! Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) October 2015 Ruby Falls, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA Caving (Rock,Rock-Limestone,Morphology-Karst,Basic,Showtour) | |
![]() | Lagunillas No Abierto. The police has blocked the road. For a moment, we accepted our fate and considered having lunch. Or going riding in the nearby ranches. But we quickly recovered, and started searching for a shortcut that would allow us to bypass the police. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2015 Lagunillas, Chile Skiing | |
![]() | OpenStreetMap When skiing or hiking at a new place, suitable maps are essential. These maps can be hard to come by, however, and most GPS maps do not contain information about walking paths, ski slopes or lifts. OpenStreetMap, however, has a lot of good information, and I have been using it in off-piste skiing, finding ski areas, and hiking around the world. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2015 Los Arenales, Araucania, Chile Skiing; Climbing; Urban-Exploration (Ski-Lifts) | |
![]() | Volcán Villarica That moment when you realise that the ski area you were going to ski at next week is closed due to the volcano erupting. The obvious next question is, of course, if I was packing skins. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2015 Ski Pucón, Villarica, Chile Skiing; Climbing | |
![]() | Riders of the Lost Arenales There are references to it in the Internet. And a sole road sign point to it. But it is nowhere to be found. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2015 Los Arenales, Araucania, Chile Skiing; Climbing | |
![]() | Pulling ABS Handle It is a hot summer. Perfect time to test avalanche gear? Full story (TGR version (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2015 House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Equipment | |
![]() | The UN Skis Hi! I am from the United Nations. I have a tank, but it is small, white and not scary at all. Honest! I also have skis, beautiful light blue skis. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) August 2015 Hämeenlinna, Hämeenlinna, Finland; House Arkko, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing (Outdoor,Grass) | |
![]() | Bunker Bouldering A blown-up bunker. Debris. Darkness. Bats. Concrete rising to the heights. Walls hanging where they should not be. An ideal climbing place, if it wasn't for the grim past of this place and the morbid pictures of soldiers. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) June 2015 Humboldthain Flaktürme, Berlin, Germany Climbing (Wall); Caving (Man-Made); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers) | |
![]() | Skiing Africa... by Mule Avalanche pack, check. Skis, check. Mule, check. I am sitting on a mule, on my way to the ski slopes in Oukaïmeden in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) February 2015 Oukaïmeden, Morocco Skiing; Climbing; Urban-Exploration (Ski-Lifts,Buildings) | |
![]() | London Ice Climbing Have ice axe. Will travel to London to go ice climbing. My cab driver thinks that is the weirdest thing he has heard his customers do. I think that if it is true, then his rides have been pretty boring. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2015 Vertical Chill, London, United Kingdom Climbing (Ice); Urban-Exploration (Buildings) | |
![]() | Honolulu Week and a half in Hawaii in a meeting, properly dressed. For some reason people stared when I visited the beach. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) May 2015 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Skiing (Outdoor,Sand); Surfing; Climbing; Hiking | |
![]() | Good Times in the Dot-Kom Bubble Last week I was in Moscow to talk about the benefits of open Internet. And, of course, I wanted to check out the local skiing scene. Fortunately, as I was leaving, СНЕЖ.КОМ offered indoor skiing on the way to the airport. Country #48 is therefore Russia. Full story (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2015 Snej.com, Moscow, Russia Skiing (Indoor,Snow) | |
![]() | One of Those Rounds This is how we do ski lifts in Finland. I wanted to give you a taste of one round of the 24-hour ski competition in Ylläs, Finland. As if doing 30+ miles of vertical in one day wouldn't be enough. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2015 Ylläs, Finland Skiing; Sauna | |
![]() | Volvo 740 Skis I bet you have not heard of Volvo skis. I did not either, nor has the Internet. But today I am testing blue Volvo 740 skis that feel almost brand new, and taking them to the ski hill on my blue Volvo 740 car. Full story (TGR version) (Suomenkielinen versio) April 2015 Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland Skiing; Equipment | |
![]() | Argentinian Dunes Argentina is too big. It is winter, but getting to the slopes in Las Leñas takes a two-hour flight and four hours of driving. My weekend is too short for that, as I have be back in my meetings in Buenos Aires soon. Full story April 2015 Pinamar, Argentina Skiing (Outdoor,Sand) | |