Porvoo day

Thanks Minna for driving me there! What a day it was!

ruisleipä

First thing we did in Helsinki is we went to the bakery to stuff ourselves with rye bread. It is traditionally shaped into a circle with a whole in the middle for hanging up on the bakery wall.  I tried to imitate the original, without much luck. I used my rye bread starter, three times rising the dough, and I've added much more rye flour than I would to my usual staple bread (for which you can find a recipe here. Just give me a shout if you need a starter, I always have a spare jar in a fridge). 

And that is the real stuff:

more books!

Second hand bookstores are everywhere in Helsinki. There is some magic about them and the excitement of exploring the unknown, real treasure hunt. But what I like most in bookshops are the owners.

akateeminen kirjakauppa

Akateeminen Kirjakauppa is a smashing bookstore in the heart of Helsinki. I could easily spend a whole day in there. Designed by Alvar Aalto in the 60's it stretches out on three storeys, making it the biggest bookstore in Scandinavia. It has about half a million books in many languages, very friendly knowledgeable staff and even Cafe Aalto with its own bakery (and Finns are good bakers alright!).

Now it's time to look at the pictures.

An ocean of books:

And a sailor:

Skylights:

 Marble:

Signage:

Heritage and history corner:

Cafe Aalto:

the best of

Being on my own is a rare pleasure. Sitting in a cafe on a stormy afternoon without any distractions, looking through the window, watching snowflakes, sipping honeyed tea.

...

Missing children. 

...

Nah, not really :-)

This is the best shot of our week in Helsinki:

good morning

I love lazy Sunday mornings when we don't have to rush to school or anywhere. Lucy tend to sleep late and her face is always so smooth and relaxed. They smell so lovely and are easy to cuddle. Slow life, bit of sunshine, long breakfast, what else one need...

on the edge

Being in between winter and spring, how awful is that? To brighten our moods of we strode through the Botanic Gardens of beautiful city of Lodz. Cheered up a bit inhaling humid air we had bit of that Bali feeling...

Craving for more.

 

Ganesha's sweet tooth

We love Ganesh and we love this little book. Illustrated by Sanjay Patel inspires and pleases our whole family.

Olaf loves Mr Mouse - Ganesha's best pal.

I love sketches.

Lucy loves sweets.

Florian loves modern reinterpretation of Hindu deities. More here.

Here comes the broken tusk:

Next time I will wash their faces before taking any pictures, fixing that in Picasa takes a lot of time. There's the little fairy with some peanut butter smeared upon her face.