This is Spring?

With the pots of daffodils lining shop fronts and the display cases full of Easter eggs and bunnies, you would think that spring was in the air. But a trip outside of the city showed that here in the north, “spring” still means several feet of snow on the ground, and ice-fishing.

Helsinki, with 500,000 residents, is the second most northern capitol in the world (after Reykjavik). It is much farther north and east than Stockholm, which I didn’t appreciate until I found myself locked in cold and fog for 3 days in a row. Today, however, I decided to take a side trip to the historic town of Porvoo, about an hour to the east. It was there that Tsar Alexander I in 1809 proclaimed Finland to be a Russian Grand Duchy, having just won it from Sweden (which had occupied Finland for 650 years). It was only after that declaration that the capitol of Finland was moved from Turku (where I am headed next) to Helsinki.
The town of Porvoo, from what I could see underneath the snow, is charming, with a tranquil riverside setting. It is another place that bears visiting in the summer, as its charms were mostly obscured.

Another day of great food! Not to mention the hand made chocolate from the tiny shop opposite the 15th century cathedral in old town Porvoo.

The highlight today was seeing my sister on live video via Skype for the first time she arrived in India. She is doing really well!


Above: The largest Russian Orthodox church in Western Europe/Scandinavia makes an appearance out of the fog.