August is the best holiday month in Northern Europe. Locals are about to start a new academic year, yet the weather is still warm, and the mosquitoes are already gone. Blueberries and raspberries are ready to be gathered in the vast forests, water in the thousands of lakes is smooth like silk and as warm as the summer evening breeze. Nightless, and therefore sometimes also sleepless, nights are over; in August we Finns admire sunsets and stargaze.
Anyone, Finns and foreigners alike, may explore Finland’s forests or countryside freely thanks to a legal concept, Everyman’s Right, unique to the Nordic countries. Picking wild berries and tasty mushrooms and fishing with a simple rod and line are allowed to everyone, but making a campfire or driving a motor vehicle off the road will require landowners permission. Fish and hunt are only allowed with appropriate permits. With rights come responsibilities – respecting others and nature!
National parks are Finland’s national treasures and ideal sites for hikers, climbers and animal spotters. All forty of them have marked hiking routes, nature trails, information boards and picnic sites. Only a few national parks and popular recreational areas have particular trails designated for mountain biking though, and off-road cycling is generally not permitted to prevent harmful erosion. The photo was taken at Hiidenportti National Park in Sotkamo.
Regardless, Finland offers excellent opportunities for biking in diverse and changing sceneries. A unique nationwide network of well-maintained and uncrowded roads is highly suitable for bicycle touring. Visit Finland’s Pyöräillen Suomessa, a website dedicated to cycling in Finland offers a vast amount of information including guides, maps, and biking routes. Pedaling is an economical way of moving around and sightseeing!
Another fun activity in nature for all ages is a modern treasure hunt – Geocaching. All you need for this fun sport are a device or a smartphone suitable for GPS positioning and a web connection. Anyone can register free of charge at the website of the worldwide geocaching community at www.geocaching.com. In case you’d like a tech-free holiday, search for geocaches with the help of a simple map is a viable option.
A well-liked activity of us northerners including a map and a compass is orienteering. Orienteering clubs arrange recreational orienteering events mainly from April to October. More precise information on these events can be found in Rastilippu service at www.rastilippu.fi. You need to create a user profile in order to use the service.
- Pick berries or mushrooms.
- Go fishing.
- Hike in a forest.
- Visit a national park.
- Bike.
- Go Geocaching.
- Try orienteering.
- Swim in a lake.
- Admire a sunset by a lake.
- Stargaze.
This summer, I’m officially a summer bucket list follower. A dear friend of mine told me about the challenge – a collection of wonderful tasks that helps kids stay away from the screens and not get bored during the break. Reminding us all about the small things in life that matter, not to speak of helping us parents to figure out some creative, yet fun, summer assignments for our children.
Summer vacation at its best cuts us away from our everyday routines at home. Kids can enjoy outdoor activities and dive into their relaxing summer reading, and in one of Finland’s multiple lakes, instead of wrestling with their homework or playing Fortnite in a tiny Parisian apartment. We, adults, can communicate in our mother tongue rather than mumble in multiple foreign languages.
I quit my permanent job at a respected international organization one and a half years ago. I had been thinking about changing the course of my life for quite some time, but it was not until I was well advanced with the web development studies at Udacity when I felt empowered enough to pull myself out of the golden gage finally.
It will take two years; I have now understood until I’ll be able to provide my financial input to our household. The first year passed by so fast while I was gathering myself: Fixing the physical problems an office work had caused and the disappointment caused by the years of fulfilling the unfulfilling tasks in an unsuitable job. Being in a position of taking orders and implementing them from nine to six, every day and every week.
Changing to a more active role of a decision maker does not come naturally but the joy to perform daily actions does when you love what you do. You have to work for and grow to your new operative functions. It is wonderfully exciting, yet frightening, to figure out how things work: how you start a business in a foreign country, how you run it and make it grow. Every day is different and challenging and I, myself, am responsible for my happiness at work.
The Udacity Nanodegree programs don’t only require us, students, to implement the skills we have acquired but at the same time provide us with the portfolio projects demanded when applying to jobs. These projects also serve as references for future work. The code has been reviewed and is, therefore, according to industry standards.
Long distance running, my oldest and dearest recreational activity, has thought me how to focus and be determined to overcome drawbacks and fatigue. The same willpower that got me through marathons or out there running when it was raining cats and dogs works now for my strength in other disciplines and areas of life.
I’ve been self-observing my progress over a year now in my two new hobbies, drawing and tennis, as well as aiming towards a new career. I notice that I progress gradually, but slowly and am content with the small accomplishments that motivate me to go on. Got that forehand shot quite right – so it is time to boost the backhand!
I’ve troubles in finding inspiration. I’m sipping my morning coffee in a beautifully designed Parisian coffee shop while writing this post. Flavor of the Belleville coffee and the ambiance of Bleu Olive should toss me into it, but no, it’s no go, again today. The energy of a young adult has vanished long ago, and bourgeois lifestyle might have drained the rest of it like those dementors in Harry Potter, who gradually deprive human minds of happiness and intelligence.
“Creativity is more important than knowledge.” I’ve loosely quoted Albert Einstein to my children. “Does it mean that we don’t need to go to school but we can just build lego or play computer games instead?” Why not, if somehow through that play, the basic concepts and rules of math, sciences, and living in a society would be transferred to you. School, in general, provides a wide variety of information: we learn the basics of math, sciences, languages, history and geography. We practice our social skills by being a part of a community; We learn discipline and to respect the rules. An excellent school also provides nurturing for the curious minds and makes them want more.
