Favorite places

I would like to tell you about one of my favorite places, the summer cottage. Situated in the Finnish countryside about 11 kms from Siuntio which is located about an hours drive from Helsinki, it is quite simply heaven.

We have two main buildings there, the sauna house and then the old farm house, which we call upstairs and downstairs, on account of the hill which separates the two. The old farm house is surrounded by 12 hectres of forest and has been in the family for over 200 years.It is usually left unused during the wintertime on account of there not being any heating, but during the summer months it is used quite regularly by the family. It is quite an adventure trying to stay there during the winter and I have tried it many times, especially just before Christmas when my brother-in-law and myself go to collect the family Christmas tree. This has been going on anually for the last 15 years or so, travelling to the cottage on the Friday and staying until Sunday morning. We often sit an remember past Christmas', was it cold, how much snow was there on the ground, was there snow at all? The coldest was a couple of years ago, at -25 it took most of the night to get the house warmed up enough to take our coats off, but generally by the time it comes to leave the house is as warm and snug as any modern house.

The cottage in springtime

But it is during the summertime when the cottage comes into its own and you feel as if you are totally cut off from the rest of the world. Surrounded by Forests of Spruce, Pine and silver birch, there is a fine view down to the lake.

A view of the old smithy

The cottage is home to a wide variety of animals and birds including many types of deer, elk and even lynx have often been spotted here.