Our (almost) daily outdoors walks continue, normally close to here, in the Helsinki – Helsingfors region. Today on 26 December we walked up a hill at Noux – Nuuksio, a National Park with a protected forest and lake area some 20 kilometers west from where we live.
I remember going there some winter Sundays already as a child, skiing with my parents and brothers. Later we have been there much to enjoy the nature, and to collect mushrooms and pick wild berries. This is something you can freely do across this northern country as long as you don’t get too close to peoples’ homes.
Noux used to be a mainly Swedish-language area as it is close to the southern coast of Finland. There is still the Solvalla Sports Institute which now has a modern sports field next to it. My secondary school in Helsingfors Nya Svenska Läroverket or ”Lärkan” had a skiing cabin in Noux which during my school years far back was actively used.
Today there was no snow, just a hint of white on some open areas. So it was all about hiking and no cross-country skiing today. I wonder if the snow is still going to come, it could, even if climate change has made the winters here much less white.
During our early midday walk we met two or three families during the hour that we spent. Peace and quiet, one could say. The Helsinki – Helsingfors region is one of the greenest capitals in the world, with lots of lake- and seafronts that you can freely walk along, and the air is clean and fresh.
Guess it could be called luxury.