Helsinki

tags: Helsinki Finland, travel The Gates to HEL. Image: GrrlScientist, 17 February 2009 [larger view]. I am somewhere at the airport, waiting for my flight to glorious Helsinki, Finland. Since I've spent some time visiting this lovely city during the winter months, I am visiting in the summer: I've been told that Helsinki is two different cities from one season to the next. Hopefully, my flight will not crash into a bird or be zapped by lightning before I escape the dangerous NYC airspace. Last night, the storms were so heavy and dangerous that all the area airports were experiencing…
tags: Lost, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day This is the view from the view from the bus stop where I became temporarily lost, outside Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 6 March 2009 [larger view].
tags: shadow and light, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Shadows and Light on the brick walkway in downtown Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: restaurant, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day This ship is actually a restaurant in downtown Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Lantinen Pukkisaari, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Lantinen Pukkisaari. Walking on the Water on Lantinen Pukkisaari near Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Hietaniemi Hautausmaa, Hietaniemi Cemetery, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Ruusua lumessa (Roses in the snow), photographed at Hietaniemi Hautausmaa (Hietaniemi Cemetery). Image: GrrlScientist, 19 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Hietaniemi Hautausmaa, Hietaniemi Cemetery, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day A huge gravestone in Hietaniemi Hautausmaa (Hietaniemi Cemetery). Image: GrrlScientist, 19 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: sunset, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Auringonlasku (sunset). Sunset in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 1 March 2009 [larger view].
tags: Trees at sunset, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Puu auringonlaskun aikaan (Trees at sunset). Sunset in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
tags: anastamoses, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Here's a picture of some really cold birds .. but thanks to the wonders of evolution and anastamoses, their feet haven't frozen off! Photographed from the ferry that runs between Helsinki and Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). Suomenlinna is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: view from the ferry, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Näkymä lautalta (View from the Ferry). Photographed from the ferry that runs between Helsinki and Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: doorway, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Porttikäytävä, 2 Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Gulf of Finland, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: wall of ice, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Jäinen seinä (Wall of ice). Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day Footprints in the snow. Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day). This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
Talitiainen (Great Tit), Parus major. Photographed in Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery), Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2008 [larger view]. Here's my list of birds seen in the Helsinki area of Finland during my two visits. Even though I only visited for 8 days in November 2008, I actually went out on a birding trip with several grad students from the University of Helsinki, while I only once went birding during my much longer February/March 2009 visit -- to see the Eagle-owls that are nesting on the Lutheran Church (name?) in downtown Helsinki. Helsinki…
tags: Hietaniemen Hautausmaa, Hietaniemi cemetery, Etu-Töölö, Helsinki, Finland, nature, photoessay Gravestone shrouded in snow. Image: GrrlScientist, 24 November 2008 [larger view]. On my last day in Helsinki, my host and I walked through the northwestern portions of the city (Etu-Töölö -- my recent featured Image of the Day includes images from this walk) to visit several places, including Sibeliuksenpuisto (Sibelius Park) where the famous monument is located and Hietaniemen hautausmaa (Hietaniemi cemetery). This graveyard is the burial place for many famous Finns, including…
tags: south Kirkkonummi, Finland, nature, image of the day Birding in south Kirkkonummi, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist 22 November 2008 [larger view]. Thanks to two of my readers, the snowflakes on my camera lens were removed from this image. This image was improved by a reader named Brandon, who removed the snowflakes and also "bumped up the color a bit" to accentuate the gold in the vegetation.
tags: Helsinki, Finland, Espoo, Finland, photography, nature Sun setting behind a rocky ridge somewhere near the border between Espoo and Helsinki in Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 18 November 2008 [larger view]. The flight back to NYC from Helsinki was fine; long, but uneventful. The crew were great and the plane wasn't as jam-packed as the flight leaving NYC was .. I wonder why? Perhaps the children of Finnish immigrants are doing the same thing as the children of Polish and Indian immigrants are reportedly doing: leaving this country and going to their ancestral homes because the…