By far summer in Finland has some of the most beautiful nature that I've experienced. Due to the amount of rain everything is magnificently green and it's easy to be even more enchanted by it when I live so close to it. It makes outdoor activities such as biking, boating and walking very interesting.
Not too long ago, my host dad and I went on a bike ride around the Kihniö lake. It was my first time biking in a long time and when Juha said that it was 22 kilometers it didn't register that 22 km is roughly 14 miles. While it was tiring after a long school day, I didn't regret it. The bike was so beautiful and Juha taught me so many things about Kihniö while we passed them. For example, he showed me his old school, the local factories, and pointed out all the different pretty cottages. Towards the end of the ride, we passed through a wheat field and a little town.
While everything is beautiful, the one thing I am not a fan of is the BUGS. There are so many and coming from the city, I've never had to worry about them too much. For example, they have these things called moose flies and I've decided that they're Satan spawn. They get everywhere and you can't kill them! My host mom told me that they can get into your clothes and won't even die when they go though the washing machine. There's also so many mosquitoes here and everyone can probably imagine how many mosquito bites I've gotten since being here. Luckily, they can't survive the cold so I'll be saying goodbye to moose flies and mosquitoes soon when the winter weather arrives.
My host dad also took me boating on Kihniö Lake and it was so beautiful! There was so much open space and there were small islands sprinkled throughout it. One island in particular he mentioned that an old artist used to live there and that his home and sauna is now being renovated. The island was breathtaking, the forest was incredibly dense and it also had a beach area that looked perfect for swimming. Sadly, I couldn't get any photos of the home because it was private property and we couldn't go on to the island ourselves. We did however see Pyhäniemi which is translated to 'holy peninsula.' It's also located on Kihniö lake and it was so peaceful and nice to watch the sun set on it. On land there's actually a little resort area that I hear is very popular in the summer time. I briefly walked through it and there was a small restaurant, frisbee golf,(which is crazy popular in Finland, at least in my area), boats to rent, sauna, giant chess, a playground for the kiddos and many cottages.
Here are some photos of my first home and the surrounding area and lake!
The Markkola home - It's so beautiful and I'm so thankful they have taken me into their home and made me feel apart of the family!
A shed that they have on their property, there's not anything special about this picture besides the fact that I think it's pretty :D
Side note: Sorry Finland but Wenatchee has you beat on apples, nothing will top a Fuji or Gala apple from home!
A red currant berry, also known as punaherukka or punaviinimarja. It's a really common berry that's grown here and I think they're super cute.
This is probably one of my favorite pictures that I've taken here. It's the view from my host parents cabin and I took it after sitting outside for about an hour looking at it. (I did find a moose fly on me after that though, I can't escape them!)
That's all for now!
Emily 🌎