Hämeenlinna

Yesterday I was in Hämeenlinna with friends. Last year when we were Tampere we decided to next time visit Hämeenlinna. We went by the 9:19 am train from Helsinki and arrived Hämeenlinna at 10:36 am.

We walked to the center to have coffee at Cafe Laurell. The café/the bakery took part in the competition Finland’s Best Bakery. They were in the finals and became second. I had in mind to have coffee and a rye bread sandwich. But, as soon as I saw all slices of cakes, pies and cupcakes I changed my mind. Rye bread I can have at home. After the coffees and goodies it was time to continue to The Häme Castle.

The main attraction for our trip. The castle was built in the end of the 1200s and the beginning of the 1300s. At 1 pm there was a guided tour for about 45 minutes. It was very interesting. Today there are many events. E.g. In December the St. Thomas Christmas Market. In April Easter Market in August Häme Medieval Fair. You can rent facilities for dinners, weddings etc. After the guide left we still stayed there for a short while.

We had booked a table at restaurant Piparkakkutalo “The Gingerbread House” to 3 pm. There was still plenty of time, so we were walking, walking, walking, talking, talking, talking and didn’t notice we had walked too far. Oops, now we had to hurry and find the way back . The restaurant is very popular and there were so many people, I think there was not one empty seat/table left. I had Karitsa Wallenberg. Steak made of ground lamb, served with red wine sauce, roasted root vegetables, mashed potato with goat cheese. It was yummy. We shared a bottle of wine. For dessert I had coffee and strawberry ice cream with strawberry sauce.

A look at the clock. Almost 6 pm. Time to walk to the railway station and the 6:23 pm train. Back in Helsinki at 7:41 pm. As always my hubby and Canelo were there to pick me up.

Such a nice day despite the bit chilly wind and gray skies. Good thing, it was not raining.

Cabbage Pie

My first cabbage pie, I think. At least as far as I can remember 😉 I complained to my husband it is ugly. He said, don’t worry, as long as it’s edible. And . . . yes, it was, actually good.

Apple Jam

Sunday afternoon I was lying on the sofa reading a book. It still was a very warm day (and still is) so the door to the terrace was wide open. Suddenly I though I heard someone calling my name from outside. Then one more time. Yes, our neighbor calling my name. I hurried out. There she was on the other side of the fence, smiling saying sorry to disturb. I said no, no, it’s OK I was just reading and was so into the book it took me a while to really come out of it back to the reality. Well, she said, just came to tell you if you are interested and want some apples you are welcome to pick. Was I interested, yes, yes, thank you I said. We have one apple tree of our own but this year the apples are no good at all. The worms have destroyed them. I went over and picked about two kilograms.

The next day I washed and cleaned the apples thoroughly. Usually I peel and core but this time I didn’t as my husband says the jam is much tastier by leaving them. I searched the web for recipes. One, with the ingridients sugar, cinnamon, lemon and vanilla, caught my attention. The vanilla was new to me. Next time I’m making apple jam I will put some vanilla into it.

Once more, dear neighbor, thank you 🙂