Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Missing Out On Midsummer

Last 12 years, we have spent the Midsummer at Herr Welle's parents' summer cabin. The Finnish Midsummer consists of a bonfire, sauna, good food (and drink). And mosquitos.

This year, we will miss out of this all, as we are home in Wiesbaden.

To get into some kind of Midsummer mood, I took a look at the photos of Fräulein's first Midsummer.

Rule #1: Come prepared. Mosquito nets and sprays are essential!

With the help of her cousins' toys,
Fräulein learnt to crawl during Midsummer 2011

All you in Finland, enjoy the Midsummer on our behalf, too!

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Ensimmäistä kertaa kahteentoista vuoteen vietämme juhannusta muualla kuin appivanhempieni mökillä. Koska olemme nyt kotona Wiesbadenissa, jäävät tänä vuonna väliin sauna, kokko ja perinteiset juhannusherkut.

Mutta mukavaa juhannusta teille kaikille sinne koto-Suomeen!

Finnish Babies Do Sleep In Cardboard Boxes

A couple of days ago, there was a news article on the BBC website titled 'Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes'.

If you are a Finn, you won't find anything weird in this. But if you are from somewhere else, you might be intrigued to read the article.

To put this shortly, every Finnish* mother gets a free package from the state before their baby is born. The package includes for example a snow suit, other clothes, a bath towel, nail scissors, a book, a teething toy and some muslin squares.

A quiz: find three products that were included in the maternity package in 2010

And yes, there is a mattress that fits the box!

Many parents find a full sized crib to be too large for a newborn to sleep in. The box is smaller and thus like a cozy nest for the small baby. Mothers often make some paddings for the edges of the box, but you can also buy some.

It is not a matter of not having afford to buy a small bed for the baby, but rather it is seen unnecessary to buy one that will be used only for a couple of months.

I took the maternity package when I was pregnant with Fräulein. It was not that we wouldn't be able to find all necessary things ourselves, but it was just nice to receive the package with such a long history. When I was pregnant with Baby, we already had most of the things saved from the first package, so I chose the 140 euros instead.

Neither of our girls have slept in the box, as we had my old baby bed for them to sleep in. Baby is still sleeping her nights in it, but in a month or so, we are going to change to the bigger crib, in which Herr Welle has slept when he was a baby!

Fräulein's first day at home and she is sleeping in my old baby bed

But yes, it is a true story, many Finnish babies do sleep in cardboard boxes!

*) you need to be entitled to the Finnish social security 


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Suomalaisille tässä äitiyspakkauslaatikossa nukkumisessa ei ole mitään ihmeellistä, mutta BBC:llä se ylitti uutiskynnyksen aiemmin tällä viikolla!

Go Finland!

This is an exciting day for Finland.

Right at this moment, Finland is playing against Sweden in the semifinals of the Ice Hockey World Championship. Doesn't look too good for Finland, though...

And later tonight, the Eurovision Song Contest will take place.

So, we are feeling very patriotic and cheering for Leijonat (the Lions, the Finnish ice hockey team) and Krista's team Ding Dong*.

Go Finland!

*all my European readers outside Finland, please vote for Finland tonight!

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Suomalaisille lukijoilleni taitaa olla turha edes mainita parhaillaan meneillään olevasta lätkämatsista ja illalla järjestettävistä Euroviisuista... No, täällä joka tapauksessa hurrataan Suomen puolesta. Ja ulkomailla asumisen etuna on, että voimme viisuissa äänestää Suomea!

Hyvää Vappua!

Like I mentioned last year, the celebration of May 1st is quite different in Finland and in Germany.

In here it is more about protests, where as in Finland it is all about having fun.

It is nice that as an expat you can choose the good parts of both cultures. First the German Fasching and now the Finnish Vappu!

Last week we had a chance to celebrate early Vappu in a Finnish playgroup in Frankfurt.

Even though our Vappu delicacies will arrive only this evening, we are getting into the right mood.

Happy May Day! Hyvää Vappua!

True Finn

What are we Finns known for?

Well, we all love the sauna!

And during our three weeks in Finland, Fräulein found out she loves sauna, too.

Three weeks and five visits to the sauna!

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Fräulein osoittautui oikeaksi saunatontuksi Suomi-lomallamme!

Silent Sunday

Goodbye Finland!

See you when all the snow is gone!

The Winter Wonderland

Greetings from Finland! A week has passed already...

Last Saturday we celebrated Baby's christening at Oma and Opa Welle's house. Afterwards, Herr Welle flew to China and I have spent the week at my mother's house on the west coast of Finland with the girls.

No special activities, just enjoying the Finnish winter and snow. Even though I'm not homesick (yet), one week of snow is enough for me for one winter ;)

It took some time for me to decide,
whether I should pack my Icebugs or sneakers as second shoes for the trip.
I'm pretty happy with my choice...

If you really try to imagine, you can feel the spring in the air here in Finland. But it is definitely still winter. At least, if you look at amount of snow...

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Viikko Suomi-lomaa takana. Aluksi juhlistimme Babyn kastejuhlaa anoppilassa ja tämän viikon olemme viettäneet tyttöjen kanssa Porissa äitini luona. Lunta on riittänyt... ja alkaa olla jo ihan riittävästi.

Packing

Now everything important has been packed and tomorrow morning we will head to the Frankfurt airport.

Finland, here we come!

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Huomenna lentokentälle ja sieltä Suomeen. Jee!

Where To Start...

OK, we are back in Wiesbaden. And we will stay put probably until the end of the February 2013. By then we will have a new baby. And she should have a passport so that we can fly to Finland for her christening.

While we were in Finland, autumn had arrived to Wiesbaden.

We really enjoyed our two weeks in Finland. Those were pretty active two weeks, so I have a lot to report about. I don't really even know where to start...

For now, let me just show you a picture. I'm not a very photogenic person so I don't like to show you pictures of myself. But there was a promotion of H&M autumn collection going on in Finland. And every time we passed by a picture with Lana Del Rey on it, Fräulein pointed at the picture saying "mummy!".

So, I'll leave you with a picture resembling myself. Or maybe it is just the Lederhose... ;)

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No nyt olemme palanneet takaisin kotiin Wiesbadeniin. Ja seuraava visiitti Suomeen taitaakin olla ristiäisreissu helmikuun lopussa. Suomi-reissustamme onkin paljon raportoitavaa. Mutta ennen pidempiä postauksia, yllä kuva H&M:n kampanjasta, jota Fräulein aina kaupungilla nähdessään osoitti ja sanoi kuuluvasti "äiti!".

Escort Service

If you have ended up in this post with Google search 'escort service', you might be disappointed: 
I do not provide any 'friendly' services nor maintenance for old Fords. 

The life of an expat is sometimes a bit lonely, as your family lives in a different country and you are not able to see them as often as you would like to.

I often read from the other expat blogs, how people miss their family and try to gather the finances to be able to meet them every now and then.

So, I must admit that being an expat within Europe is a "light" version of expat life. The flight from Germany to Finland takes just over two hours and by choosing a cheap airline (read: Ryanair), the expenses of the traveling aren't too high.

For example, during September, Herr Welle was traveling for two weekends. But my family was able to rush in and keep company to Fräulein and myself. First my grandmother was here, then my mother. For both of them, the costs of traveling were less than 100 euros.

On Wednesday, I will be flying to Finland for a couple of weeks together with Fräulein. Unfortunately, Herr Welle is traveling on business, so he cannot fly with us or even give us the ride to the airport.

If you have ever travelled with a toddler, you know that two hands are just not enough. First, I must get myself, our 20kg luggage and Fräulein in her buggy from the parking lot into the airport building. Then I must let Fräulein run around and consume energy before boarding the plane. And at the same time, I must take care of our belongings. The flight is scheduled so that Fräulein will (hopefully!) take her nap there. But as she is under two years old, she won't have her own seat and must sleep in my lap. Again, two hands won't be enough for me to, for example, reach my bag for a bottle of water, while she is sleeping. And then there will be the same problem with the luggage, the buggy and the toddler, when we will land to Tampere, Finland.

But to my great relief, my grandmother promised to help us! She arrived yesterday (her second visit within a month!) and will fly back to Finland with us on Wednesday! I couldn't be happier!

This escort service will definitely be worth the 100 euros, which her plane tickets cost!

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Expat-elämään liittyy monenlaisia hankaluuksia, kuten läheisten ikävöiminen ja lentomatkat naperon kanssa. Täytyy kuitenkin myöntää, että kun asuu suomalaisena Saksassa, nämä asiat ovat helpommin hallittavissa kuin jos elelisi jossain valtamerten takana.

Esimerkiksi pelkästään syyskuun aikana saimme sekä äitini että mummoni meille kylään. Ja nyt kun aiomme lentää Fräuleinin kanssa keskiviikkona Suomeen, mummoni riensi meille taas avuksi. Kuinka paljon helpompaa onkaan matkustaa, kun on kaksi paria käsiä huolehtimassa Fräuleinista ja matkatavaroista! Ja tämän seuralaispalvelun hinnaksi tuli vain noin sata euroa - todellakin sen arvoista!

Warm Welcome

We are home!

After one night in the Turku - Stockholm ferry and 1460 kilometers in our car, we finally arrived home.

Nice view when we enjoyed the evening meal on board...

...and again when having late breakfast in Jönköping

Oh boy, does it feel good to be back! I certainly enjoyed our time in Finland, but nothing beats sleeping in my own bed.

The weather has been more than welcoming. When we arrived home just before mid-night, it was actually warmer here than it was in Finland during the day...

Well, I'll just keep this post short, but I'll be back shortly with some great news! :)

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Kotona taas! Ensin Viking Linella Turusta Tukholmaan ja sitten 1460km ajomatka Wiesbadeniin, mutta täällä ollaan! Ja sää on mitä parhain.

Nyt näin lyhyesti, mutta palaan pian uusin aihein :)

Summertime - the Good And the Bad

Fräulein playing in my old playhouse.

Of our two months in Finland, only two weeks are left. The time flies!

Although the weather has not been very summery, we have been enjoying all the summer activities.

There has been weddings (two at the same time - just my luck!), summer parties and just time spent with our family and friends. What more could we need?

But sometimes the sun is covered with black clouds.

This summer, we have been cursing the alcoholics.
Especially those, who drink and drive (and crash).
And those, who smoke inside their apartments, fall asleep and ruin the homes of innocent people.

But I do not want to pass on this anger to you, so I guess I should just go outside and enjoy the sun and the warmth as long as it lasts.
But I'll be back! ;)

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Vaikka Suomen kesäsäät eivät ole olleet parhaat mahdolliset, olemme saaneet nauttia hyvästä seurasta sekä pienemmistä ja suuremmista juhlallisuuksista. Valitettavasti kaikki ei ole aina yhtä auringonpaistetta, vaan toisten typeryys voi vahingoittaa viattomia ihmisiä. 
Mutta pidemmittä puheitta - nyt nauttimaan kesäauringosta!

Still Here...

Oh no, it has been several weeks without a single blog post... I still blame it on not having my own laptop here in Finland.

But here is a short update on what we have been doing.

First, there was the Midsummer. We, like so many other Finns, enjoyed it at a summer cabin by a lake. There was a bonfire, sauna, some swimming and a huge number of mosquitoes.

At Midsummer, the weather is usually very poor, but not this year!

Afterwards, Herr Welle flew back to Wiesbaden and Fräulein and myself spent two weeks with my grandparents. They live in the village where I grew up in. To my (and especially Fräulein's) disappointment, the city had taken down several playgrounds there, and we actually found only ONE slide from the public playgrounds. I'm beginning to understand those people, who say old times were better...

The slide

Now we are back at my mother's home and have found several great playgrounds to spend our days at.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, because then my own laptop will arrive! Oh, was there something else to look forward to.... oh yes, Herr Welle will arrive, too ;)

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Jopas aika on vierähtänyt Suomi-loman merkeissä. Olemme muun muassa ehtineet juhlistaa juhannusta perinteisissä merkeissä ja koluta kovin erilaisia leikkikenttiä. Huomenna saan käsiini oman tietokoneeni, joten yritän olla vähän aktiivisempi tämän bloggaamisen suhteen...

Change of Scenery

The sky at midnight

First in Italy, then one week home in Germany, and now here in the country, where the sun shines at midnight.

Yes, we are on our summer holiday in Finland and we will be here for two months. TWO MONTHS!

It will be lovely to see our family and friends. And there is of course the advantage of the free babysitting service.

But I must admit, I feel a bit stressed as I think of these two months ahead. It means staying with our family and friends and storing all our things in our suitcases. For two months.

However, I'll try to concentrate on the positive things and enjoy the possibility of spending the summer here in Finland.

And I'll try to keep you updated about all this, although it will be a bit demanding before mid-July, when Herr Welle joins Fräulein and me, and brings my own laptop with him.

Fräulein enjoying my mother's garden

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Olemme Fräuleinin kanssa kesälomalla Suomessa. Ja aiomme olla täällä peräti kaksi kuukautta!
Yritän kirjoitella Suomi-kuulumisiamme tänne blogiin, mutta saan oman tietokoneeni vasta heinäkuussa, kun Herr Welle liittyy seuraamme.

A Coffee Complaint

I need my cup of coffee (or four) every morning.
I actually think that the German coffee tastes better than Finnish coffee.

But in those mornings, when I need to open a new coffee package, I wonder, why don't some good practices spread from one one civilized country to another*.

The Finnish coffee package:

A new vacuum package

You just pull the two sides apart...

...and you are done. 

Afterwards, you can close the package with the tape attached.

The German coffee package:

A new vacuum package

Pull off the top part.

Cut off the corners.

Try your best not to spread the coffee all over the place
when cutting open the package.

Move the coffee to a jar,
as it is impossible to close the package.

See what I mean?

*) Disclaimer: no one has encouraged me to write this post,  even if my background may suggest so... ;)


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Yksi isoimmista asioista, mitä kaipaan Suomesta, on helposti avattavat kahvipaketit!
Vaikka tämä voi jonkun mielestä olla vähän epäilyttävä aihe, voin vakuuttaa, ettei tätä kirjoitusta ole sponsoroitu ;)

From Late Winter To Blooming Spring

During our two weeks in Finland, it really started to feel like spring there, too.

Although it was barely plus degrees,
there wasn't much snow left on Friday.

But then the winter came back overnight.

The same garden on Saturday morning.

Luckily, we had our flight scheduled for Sunday afternoon. So here we are, back home in Wiesbaden!
While we were away, the spring has really sprung here!

Magnolia and tulips in bloom.

And what is even better, my grandmother is staying with us for a few days!