What I did instead of homework

Sunday was supposed to be a homework day. The "problem" was it turned out to be beautiful weather. "I can't just sit in my room and study all day," I thought to myself. So I loaded up my backpack with books, papers, and my computer, and went on a mission to find The Perfect Place to Study.

First, I took the bus into the city center. On my way I passed a market, so I had to jump off and check it out:

Nice, but no good place to study there, so on I went.

This is what Helsinki looks like without snow:

Come on, bulbs! You can do it!

About 3 hours, a yarn store, and a coffee shop later, I still hadn't found The Perfect Place to Study. I was trying, really I was! It was such a nice day out that I really wanted to be outside, but every park I went to was really crowded with people. So maybe I should go to the island of Suomenlinna. Yeah, I'm sure there will be a nice place to sit and study there!

People on the ferry over to the island.

Suomenlinna

The lighthouse/church (note how blue the sky is. how could I be expected to sit inside and study on a day like that?)

Big ol' chains

I spy a thrush!

The docks

I found a little sawmill on the island! It was just like the one we have at Warren Wilson.  So I just had to drink a beer at the woodlot (which is legal in Finland so I wasn't doing anything bad).

Chillin' at the woodlot in Finland. [I tried singing Every Rose Has Its Thorn to myself, but it still wasn't like hanging out at WWC]

Lumber.  So I wasn't technically studying, but this was still forestry related!

Apparently, I wasn't the first person to drink a beer here (but I did recycle my can)

I know I've already shown this picture before, but it makes a good comparison: On the left, four o'clock in January. On the right, eight o'clock in April. It's crazy how much farther north the sun is setting now.

Long shadows

Another comparison shot: The Baltic Sea in January, and the Baltic in April.

Swans

I did a little bit of studying here while I was waiting for the ferry!

So, the day was a bit of a wash in regards to studying, but I can't say it wasn't enjoyable (and educational as well, although I sure didn't learn much about linear additive utility models).

Signs of spring

Yes, it's true: spring has finally started to arrive in Finland. And while you still wouldn't want to go out without a coat and all the winter accessories (scarf, gloves, etc), the weather feels completely different than it did a few weeks ago. It's been above freezing most days (+1 to +5 in Eurotalk) and that, combined with the longer hours of sunlight, has caused major melting to go on.

There is a dam by my house (that's actually a really neat old power station) that people have been flocking to to watch the water rise. It's pretty impressive (and a little scary).

The water was overwhelming the floodgates and coming up through the boards above the spillway.

And down the stairs.

And of course, being Finland, there is no regulation about where you can and can't go, so you have to just use your own judgement. But this makes me nervous:

We had a little Easter potluck with the Americans here.

These Mignon eggs are a Finnish Easter specialty. It's a real egg shell that's filled with chocolate-hazelnut nougat. There's a real art to shelling them too.

Now that the snow is melting, it's actually possible to go into the woods without snowshoes (although in places the snow is still over my knees, as I found out the hard way). These pictures where all taken around my campus.

Finnish birders

Living roof?

Pussy willow