Oh, Finland.

As Munich moved further towards spring -- fighting it every step along the way, whining and crying -- we moved our rear ends to the airport and flew to Finland. Oh, the snow banks of late March! The sunlight has been plentiful however, and it hasn't been as cold as I anticipated: this winter has been long by Helsinki standards, but overall it's been quite mild as this year found temperatures below -40C being measured nowhere in Finland.

 Here, some photos.

 

We're getting there!

What we've been up to

Family favourites. We try to pick books that don't make the parental brain melt and dribble out of the ears.

She calls this crafting. I call this "what nightmares are made of." Her Majesty has recently began insisting on gluing these little eyes on every little painting, drawing, doodle and piece of paper she's cut out from a newspaper, colouring book or the like. They follow me into my dreams.

It's what we call "mid season" in Finland

Spring!

I can see (and hear) snow melting from where I sit. Spring comes swiftly here; the weather app on my phone claims we'll have temperatures in the double digits Celsius next week, and that fits my experience from previous years.

I spent the morning going over Her Majesty's outdoors gear and wondering whether she'd benefit from another pair of water/dirt/wind resistant shell trousers. She has enough clothes now -- enough being two sets plus rain gear, which is enough for a child who goes out daily in all types of weather -- but I don't know how Germans feel about one piece suits. These are very popular in Northern Europe: children wear snowsuits in the winter, and what we Finns call "mid season" suits in spring and autumn. These tend to similar to the outmost layer of hiking gear: the fabrics are breathable and often dirt resistant, water resistant or water proof, and an excellent choice for keeping children warm and comfortable and the inner layer of clothing clean. Germans seem to prefer two part options however, or even forgoing technical clothing altogether.

We'll see what the Forest Kindergarten prefers: next week we have what Germans call an Elternabend for children starting kindergarten this April, and I'm sure they'll have more to say about practical clothing. Worst case scenario, I'll just have to buy another pair of shell trousers from Finland when we fly over in late March.

Anyway, clothes!

Softshell jacket, shell trousers, fleece jacket, rain set, four hats (not that I have a weakness for accessories or anything), two pairs of stretchy gloves, water resistant gloves, wellies and a pair of gore-tex sneakers by Superfit. The sneakers and softshell jacket are water resistant -- not water proof -- which makes them more ideal for outings to the woods when there's little to no rain.

Waterproof overall, lined wellies, leather sneakers, two sets of fleece (the turquoise and green jacket + trousers set also goes nicely with the red/turquoise set from the previous photo), mittens, waterproof gloves, three hats.

Rain gear for colder weather! The jacket is actually fleece lined, so it's excellent for temperatures slightly above 0C. I suspect this one won't see so much use in the spring however... it was indispensable in the autumn and during the warmer winter days, but I expect the daily temperature changes in spring will make us reach for clothes in two separate layers for maximum comfort and practicality. Still, it's a lovely jacket and I hope we'll get some more use out of it before my daughter outgrows it.

Not featured because I ran out of patience: wool underthings. We've plenty!

And now we have to go out to enjoy the sun!