Wild Weekend Trip To Joensuu With Some Blueberries

Hello!

And happy Tuesday to everyone. Not much new in Kuopio, just trying to enjoy summer as much as we can. Too bad the weather hasn't been co-operating. We only get glimpses of sunshine every now and then. I have actually worn a hat and gloves in the mornings when biking to work. That is nuts!

Last weekend we went to see our friends in Joensuu, so I have some pictures from there. There would have been a music festival Ilosaari rock going on in Joensuu but we opted to go see other sights like a church and a crafts stores. How wild of us (*hahaha*).

Roadtrip to Joensuu. Dark clouds ready to dump some water on us.

Gorgeous church in Joensuu.

Huge pipe organ.

Pretty ceiling paintings dating back to 1903.

Chandelier.

Such a pretty church!

Church bell.

Really cool gravestone. This grave is so old! You can barely read the text.

Tiny flowers.

My very pregnant friend and I by the Joensuu river walk.

Joensuu has a whole block full of arts and crafts stores. Here's some of them. 

I don't have any pics from inside but believe me, they have some seriously cute stuff! I bought a handmade soap dish and salt soap bar.

Mr. Wolf and I.

Heading to the market place.

I may have visited a candy store as well (*giggle*). But at least my car ride back wasn't boring.

After our trip to Joensuu I went to pick blueberries from the nearby forest. This cute squirrel got scared of Jinx and I.

Jinx likes to sit and watch me pick berries.

Yummy superfood! I just love it that in Finland you can pick berries straight from the woods.

These sweet little snacks are so easy to make. Just put few blueberries on a toothpick and dip it in melted white chocolate. Decorate with sprinkles and then refrigerate for couple hours.

That's my weekend. What did you do?

Spring Time In Kuopio

Hello!

And long time no hear from me. Sorry about that. Spring is in full swing in Finland and I have been enjoying my free time outdoors as much as I can. Unfortunately it has been fairly rainy lately. I have been also spending time with my nephews and nieces. They are all so adorable!

And last but not least, it is time for men's world championship hockey games. That means a lot of good games that last till wee hours and I'm tired at work the next day. I still love it! I hope team Finland wins of course.

Here's my best nature photos of last and this month. I hope you enjoy them. There's couple selfies as well and other stuff too (*giggle*).

Looking for geocaches with my nephew Emil.

We had couple rough winter storms that left behind a lot of fallen trees.

Scott and Emil hugging a tree stump.

Ruins of an old mill.

Jinx was with us too!

Little monkey in a tree.

Group picture.

Huge vertical rock formation that had cute moss and ferns growing on it.

Little nooks and caves. I love it! And all this is just minutes away from our place.

Morning walk and funky trees.

Jinx is so good at posing.

Colorful sporty day.

Hiking trip at nature preserve area called Pisa. We had to jump over this cute stream.

Yoda ears (*haha*).

Nature is starting to be green again after a long winter.

Almost at the top of the Pisa hill. Huge storm was coming towards and we had to cut our hike shorter than we had planned. We still ended up getting rained on.

You can see the rain just pouring in on the left. 

But where we were standing it was sunny for a brief moment. Jinx and his funny faces.

Pisa hill is an important landmark because it use to be part of the dividing border line for Russia and Sweden back in 1595. There is a sign that tells all the visitors about the border.

You can also see he old border markings. Sweden marked its side with three crowns which is their national symbol till this day.

One more selfie before the rain.

Next day the weather was better and we went to hike at another nature preserve area called Korkeakoski. 

This time we had my niece Jenna with us too.

Scott goofing off.

Lollygagging at top of a hill.

Jinx has been happy because he has been getting a lot of long walks lately.

Scott and Jinx admiring the view.

Korkeakoski has the tallest waterfall in Finland. The word "korkeakoski" mean literally "tall radips".

Such a gorgeous day!!

It is so much fun to hang out with my niece.

I call her my mini-me.

The noise coming from all the water gushing down was really loud.

Spring time is the best time to go see Korkeakoski because summer time there might not be as much water if it hasn't been raining a lot.

I tried the water and it was COLD!

Just make sure not to fall in the rapids while taking pictures.

We also saw these two moose this month too. They were just chilling on a field in the middle of the day.

Usually moose is on the move during dusk and dawn and not at noon. 

To make sure I get enough energy to compensate for all the hiking, I made homemade onion rings. They were really really delish!!

Oh, and I also fried traditional Finnish sweet bread called "munkki".

Who loves hockey? I do!

Pretty pennywort growing in the nearby woods.

You know it is almost summer when the first strawberries appear to the stores. These ones were from Spain. We still need to wait a month or two to get Finnish strawberries.

Happy May everyone!!