Tag Archives: photography

Porvoo, July & August

August 10, 2013 chivacongelado

Spent some mroe time in the countryside with the family until the end of the summer. As usual, the rest of the photos here & here.

in english

Saint Petersburg

August 3, 2012 chivacongelado 2 Comments

Most Finns wouldn’t like to remember their country is next to Russia given the checkered history between both countries. Between that and the obnoxious visa regime, a tiny number of them visit Russia especially compared to the amount of Russians visiting Finland. I have been before in both Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and we decided to meet some friends in the Venice of the North for a day now that there is no need for visa if you arrive by ferry and stay up to 72 hours in the city. It is therefore as easy as taking the boat from Helsinki to Stockholm or Tallinn, and the experience is not too dissimilar either. We will have to come back and stay longer later, but for the meantime some pics below and the rest in Flickr as usual.

You are here — Live map of the Gulf of Finland.

Baltic Sea dusk — Dusk over the Baltic sea.

Sax in the Baltic night

Brass band welcome in St. Petersburg

Saint Isaac's Cathedral — Saint Isaac’s Cathedral.

The Hermitage. Beautifully restored facade compared to my previous visit in 2001.

Catering to American tourists — Matrioshkas catering to American tourists.

Russian fortifications in the Baltic Sea — Kronstadt, Russian fort in the Baltic Sea and former base of the Soviet Baltic fleet.

in english

Geneva

August 2, 2012 chivacongelado

We visited friends in Geneva for a few days in July. The photos, as usual, in the Flickr set.

The motto of the city is “Post Tenebras Lux” meaning “After darkness, light”.

United Nations Geneva — The League of Nations was based in Geneva. After World War II, the United Nations took over those buildings and host the second largest UN office after New York.

Parc des Bastions. John Calvin, one of the main characters in the Reformation was based here, and many French protestants were given refuge in the city.

Geneva Old Town — St. Pierre Cathedral, mixing Gothic and Neoclassical styles.

Geneva is situated at the southwest end of Lac Lemain, one of the largest lakes in Europe. The Jet d’Eau, which was supposed to be a temporary feature, is still one of the main sights over a 100 years after it was built.

in english

The grand summer 2012 tour of Finland

August 1, 2012 chivacongelado

For the first time in my life I took 4 straight weeks of holiday during the summer, and for most of that we stayed in Finland. We visited Porvoo, Nummi-Pusula, Parikkala and Nauvo, so one can say it was a grand tour of south, east and west of the country. The weather was mostly rainy, but it was still a great holiday. The pictures, as usual, in Flickr.

Southern Finland at midnight in the summer solstice

Solecito y humo del sauna — Sauna smoke and sunlight

Reno cambiando de ropa — Reindeer changing clothes 😉

Summer holidays are a perfect excuse for good food: Taco de birria con consomé

Excursión a la playa del lago — Unbeknownst to me before I moved to Finland, lakes can also have beaches 😉

Nothing else to do in the train — In long train rides you will find plenty of lonely pensive males in the bar drinking beer and watching the landscape go by.

Heroes of Ladoga landmark. Before World War II the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga was Finnish territory.

in english

Rally Mexico

March 13, 2012 chivacongelado 1 Comment

Spent a little over a week in Mexico for work. Visited Mexico City for a few days and then drove all the way to León, Guanajuato for the Rally Guanajuato Mexico. A picture summary below, the rest of the photos here.