Rosario Brancato of Belissimo Glassbar Åland islands (where we go on our summer holidays) has always been culturally a funny sort of a place. It's closer to Sweden than Finland, yet is an autonomous part of Finland. It has a rich history of seafaring; it even played a role in the Crimean war when … [Read more...]
Design from Åland: Ego Collection by Minna Rundberg
I discovered the simple designs by Åland born designer Minna Rundberg last summer when I was looking for a present for a friend's significant birthday. Then Minna had her products set out in a small corner of a shop and was just planning an internet site.I bought a pair of Prisma schnapps glasses … [Read more...]
A crayfish party for two
'I've never had a crayfish in such polite society,' said husband as the friendly waitress tied our bibs on and asked if we wished to order some schnapps. We looked at each other and smiled. 'Of course,' he said. We were sitting at a window table in a restaurant called von Knorring in Mariehamn's … [Read more...]
A large small town
That is how the tourist site Visit Åland describes Mariahamn. Something lost in translation there perhaps? For me, however, this fits perfectly, but then I speak both Finnish and Swedish (spoken here) and have by now after twenty odd years even acquired the Åland accent and use the odd, little … [Read more...]
Island life
We arrived on the island of Åland five days ago now. It was late at night and we'd spent the whole day travelling, first by plane from London to Stockholm, then by ferry to Mariehamn. My mother and step-father's house where we've spent most of our summer holidays since the children were born is … [Read more...]
