My Finland 100 : 51- 60

Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 

As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .

Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!

The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll continue with 51-60...

51/100
..Helsinki's Pubtram! 🍺

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 24, 2017 at 3:51am PST

52/100
..the winter is doing the hokey pokey in Finland this year! 😄 Only yesterday my street was covered in snow and this is the picture today!... Well this is the busy street I live on!!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 24, 2017 at 4:20am PST

53/100
A print of a painting I made featuring a summer landscape scene from the Nivala region of Finland. Original art is somewhere in Helsinki. 🏨

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 25, 2017 at 2:13am PST

54/100
3pm and Moomin Mamma is enjoying one last bit of Saturday sunshine! ☀ (click arrow in photo for more)

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 25, 2017 at 5:17am PST

55/100
...a photo from Turku city featuring a sculpture of Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi, one of the most successful male athletes in Olympic history and one of only four athletes to win 9 olympic gold medals. He was one of the Finnish athletic group nicknamed the 'Flying Finns'.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 27, 2017 at 5:19am PST

56/100
'Bromarf Sunset' (acrylic-on-canvas)

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 27, 2017 at 12:22pm PST

57/100
...angry birds, they're everywhere!! 🐥

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 28, 2017 at 3:14am PST

58/100
Vroom!! Vroom!! ..Finnish snow power!!...'just need some snow now and I'm good to go!! 😄 👍 ..Winha Snowmobile.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 28, 2017 at 8:10am PST

59/100
The brown bear is Finland's national animal. This is as close as I've got to one, the sculpture of a bear sitting outside the entrance to the Finnish National Museum in Helsinki. 'Called Karhu in Finnish. 🐻

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 28, 2017 at 10:44pm PST

60/100
In the town of Uusikaupunki you will find the Bonk museum where bonk machines are on display. Finnish artist Alvar Gullichsen created this peculiar creation.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Nov 28, 2017 at 11:14pm PST

Click below for more:

1- 10

11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100

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Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

- Alan

 

My Finland 100 : 11-20

Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 

As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .

Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!

The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll continue with 11-20...

11/100
Moomin troll is off on a trip today!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jun 5, 2017 at 10:26pm PDT

12/100
So up goes the big midsummer pole in Bromarf and midsummer (Juhannus/Midsommar) celebrations can begin. 

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jun 23, 2017 at 2:42am PDT

13/100
Midnight photoshot, well 12.15am to be precise. 'Could be a bit warmer though, had to wear long trousers tonight!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jun 23, 2017 at 2:23pm PDT

14/100
Tap of the morning!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jun 27, 2017 at 12:16am PDT

15/100
...old Nokia - original footwear! 👟👟 (click right side of photo for more images)

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jun 29, 2017 at 3:50am PDT

16/100
Old window in Finland.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jul 22, 2017 at 2:34am PDT

17/100
'Turku Cathedral'

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Aug 3, 2017 at 6:48am PDT

18/100

'Taking a break' (acrylic-on-canvas)

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Aug 16, 2017 at 1:27am PDT

19/100
Yum! 😘🍯 ...'not the runny kind of honey you find back in Ireland, this finnish honey is solid and tastes great in a hot coffee!!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Aug 24, 2017 at 2:38am PDT

20/100
'Raseborg Castle' (Raaseporinlinna, Raseborgs Slott)

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Aug 27, 2017 at 3:13am PDT

Click below for more:

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11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100






More of my Finland 100 coming soon, but for now I want to share this video I found online which asks the question "What do Finns think about the Finland 100 Years of Independence?" 

Share this blog!

Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

- Alan

 

Mayweather in Finland!

I just wanted to throw a blogpost in quickly as it seems the winter in Finland may finally be over, well at least until after autumn. And no, this post has nothing to do with the recent boxing fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, so apologies to any boxing fans who stumbled onto my blog here. I hope it was a good fight. I didn't see it myself unfortunately, I was fast asleep in bed!

Getting back to May-weather, last Thursday saw the arrival of Vappu, Finland's annual Mayday celebrations which actually begins on the 30th of April and can continue until May 1st or even longer for some folk depending on whether or not you have a strong head! It's traditionally a very Finnish affair with students past and present wearing their white graduation hats. I've been told that in the past students also had a blue hat which was worn during the winter months and then swapped for a white version on Vappu to celebrate the arrival of spring, summer and happy days. There are various styles of hats symbolising which area, academy or field you studied. For example if you qualified as an engineer you would normally have a long string and tassle attached to your hat. I think I prefer the normal white sailor type hat myself.

The traditional Finnish student hat

Of course as I studied in Ireland myself I don't have this white student hat. To my knowledge students in Ireland don't have student hats, maybe one or two junior schools wear them as part of a uniform but definately not used as graduation wear for Secondary School (High School). Nope, all we received was a certificate and a jolly good wave goodbye! Some third-level colleges and universities may have special graduation garments and hats similar to those found in the United States of America. These are usually rented though, so you would never see them worn annually on May day.

Anyway, with the absence of a white hat I decided to grab my old school tie instead and throw it on just for Vappu. Don't ask me why I still have my old tie, just a bit of nostalgia I suppose! I wasn't going to any Vappu parties so it didn't matter if it offended anyone or looked silly. With my striped-maroon St. David's school tie fitted on and a few drinks ready for some cocktail-experimentation I felt a bit like Harry Potter. My first trick was the exploding champagne bottle!!! Maybe I've just started a new trend for expats, wearing an old school tie on Vappu!

This years Vappu weather couldn't have been more confusing. I was planning a nice garden barbeque with friends for last Thursday, but then after a few pleasant sunny days this arrived on Wednesday morning and continued for most of the day. The final snow show!

  

With no option but to cancel my bbq plans I decided simply to enjoy a bottle of bubbly and some drinks indoors. This didn't stop those in the big cities from partying hard though  and to everyone's surprise the snow melted away like magic and sunshine brought joy to the land of Moomin and trolls. From what I heard there were actually a few new trolls crawling the streets of Helsinki on Thursday night! But overall throughout Finland people had a great day out. Lots of fun, balloons, good weather and of course champagne! Here's a video by a young mexican lady who went to the Vappu outdoor celebrations in the town of Lappeenranta in eastern Finland. She's explains what Vappu is all about in a more photogenic way than I could ever do!





You can read more about Vappu in Finland on my previous blogpost called 

Vappu! - May Day in Finland. 

- Simply click on the image below!

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- Alan 

               

                                                             

Moomin and a groovin' on a sunny afternoon!

Most of you reading this blog may recognise the well-known character featured in the video above. His name is Moomintroll from the Moomin books and cartoons. The Moomins were created in the mid-1940's by Tove Jansson, a Finnish novelist and painter. Since then it has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Personally I never understood the attraction of the Moomins when I was young. Growing up as a child in Ireland, like many other Irish children I spent a lot of time reading comics, books and looking at the television. Back then in the 1970's Irish television consisted of two national channels and three British channels. Most of the cartoons shown were from the US or the UK. So we had a huge selection to choose from. I can remember cartoons such as Battle of the Planets, Scooby Doo, Hong Kong Phooey, Wacky Races and Spiderman from the US. And then we had the likes of Mr.Benn, Captain Pugwash and the Mr.Men from the UK. The Moomins cartoon may have been shown occasionally but I never noticed. Any cartoons about a small white hippo-like creature didn't stand a chance against the all-action american cartoons. Not on my television anyway! We also had a few european cartoons which I thought were a bit strange. They mainly came from old countries like Czechoslovakia and East Germany. I later found out that some of them may have contained some East German propaganda! 

While I ignored anything to do with the Moomins when I was young, I have educated myself a little on the characters and their creator since moving to Finland. I reckon that small white hippo-troll might be a good creation for kids after all. There's no shortage of colourful characters and imagination there, that's for sure!   

Last summer I discovered one place connected to Tove Janssons famous little characters. It was Moominworld of course, a small Moomin theme park based on an island at the town of Naantali or Nådendal in Swedish. While it costs to enter the Moomin park enclosure itself, anyone can simply walk over the bridge walkway and on to the island. There's a nice little Moomin cafe there to sit and enjoy a coffee and the sun. And after that it's only a short walk into the nice Naantali marina. Here there more cafes and restaurants, including a great little boardwalk along the marina where you can find some bars with cool outdoor seating areas. A nice place to enjoy a cold beer and hear the radio playing 'Groovin' on a sunny afternoon'.

Naantali Marina, Finland

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to hang around all these nice places as I had to get back to the Naantali Spa Hotel were I was staying with my better half, courtesy of a nice little gift token given to us by some Finnish friends. Such was the irresistable pull of a hot jacuzzi and a few beers in the residents bar. We just couldn't help ourselves, you know??? :)

Next time I go back to Naantali, I will try to stay somewhere closer to the town centre. Here's a little video clip I made from the photos of my stay in Naantali.  

Share this blog!

Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.

- Alan