Jolly July

I know, naughty me - the posting pause happened by accident, I swear! But I have an excuse: July literally flew by as I spend the month country hopping between Austria and Finland.
However, the holidays were fabulous, and I'd like to prove it to you by showing you some of these images - the best moments of the vacation in Austria, s'il vous plaît!

The holidays consisted of...

Lovely trips in a great company to Feldkirch...

And to Dornbirn...

And to Lindau in Germany...

Nature's wonderous miracles...

The Birthday.

The venue in the garden.

The Maruler Festival Week in the beginning of July included my birthday, among others. My dream for the birthday was to have an Italian style garden party with an Alpine view. I invited just my closest friends, to whom I offered wine, beer and barbecued treats with a Finnish-Austrian touch.

Andi the Chef.

Later that evening, it was time to unwrap the prezzies. And boy, where they amazing! ;)

Without everybody's help I couldn't have organised such a great party. I would like to thank you all who were there to make this possible and to share this special day with me! It means the world to me.

Here some impressions from the helicopter flight, which was one of my gifts.

Thank you, my co-pilots!

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It's never too late to be who you might have been.
George Eliot

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Birch, Dandelions and Brownies

Summer is beautiful in Finland - it's light all day long which gives people energy, everyone's on a good mood and enjoying life. In summer you can smell dandelions and marvel at the colours of the nature.

My home town church tower.

Occasionally a good way to spend an evening is to bake. And since brownies are one of my favourite desserts, I thought it's about time to learn to bake them myself.

The region is filled with more events than my schedule allows me to visit. Hard work requires hard play time, too.

Cloudberry is blooming at a swamp.

Birch always reminds me of Finnish summer and gives me a cosy feeling.

Finnish knowhow and skills at its best. Who would still know how to make something like this?

Kaunislehto is nowadays a museum but represents a typical house from my region built in 1900s.

Twist In The Wrist

The hottest, the reddest, the coolest and the meanest vehicle of the summer is the scooter!

The stylish speedster is a must for every classy girl. It takes me to work and down town, just the way I like it. And even if it is a sportier version of the cool retro classic Vespa, it has the old touch to it!

For a moment I can imagine being in an old Italian town, scarf flapping in the back, the flies hitting the visor and my smile reaching upto my ears.

Until... Those teenage boys pass me and my scooter with their mopeds at the red lights! But then again, it's so much fun I don't even care about the ignorant kids.
Twist in the wrist says bye bye kids!

Suitcase Life

Life is throwing us with such a force that even I don't always know in which country I will wake up the next day. Luckily I tend to adapt easily - the bag is always packed and ready to go - although the bags under my eyes might point out that the rate of flights, jetlag and change of climate and diet is all too frequent...


However, I am happy to be yet back again in my native country, enjoying the blooming spring nature, delicious meals and well, even the pour-outs from the sky. In addition to work and other chores, this little creature - whose pre-teen education I took on my shoulders for the time being - keeps me occupied. Not forgetting my friends and family, either!







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It is extraordinary
how extraordinary
the ordinary person is.
-George F. Will

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Congratulations to the World Champions
in Ice Hockey 2011!!

Chile's Most Famous Legend

A couple of weeks ago we went to a long overdue tour at vineyard Concha y Toro. The winery is in Pirque in the Maipo Valley, not far from Santiago, so it was about time to see one of the world's biggest wine producers!



This time our group was mostly made out of Swiss with a few exceptions.





April is the time of harvesting the grapes. According to our guide Ronny, Concha y Toro is the second biggest winery in the world and the largest wine producer of Latin America. 70 % of their production is exported.

Visiting the vineyard is actually not recommended by the locals as it is considered very commercial. Tourist-y it is, yes - every 10 to 15 minutes a new tour departs. They get approximately 450 tourists per day in average, and during high season they can reach even a thousand guests a day. More than 80 % of the tourists come from Brazil.



This is of course what attracts the tourists - their most famous legend, Casillero del Diablo. According to the winery it means the devil's cellar, but actually it means devil's storage or pigeonhole, a place used to store things. It was a legend created to let the possible thieves believe the place was haunted.





After the quick tour around the premises, the cellar and (just) two wine tastings, it was time to continue tickling the taste buds on our own.

We chose one of their better wines, Terrunyo, with the help of a sommelier.

Commercial or not, they sure make great wine!

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Wine is bottled poetry.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

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