Whew, this year has blown by in a hurry. Well, that I can understand. Off to a better year, hopefully, Omicron notwithstanding. As we are preparing for our annual Christmas in the frozen north, we thought we should see the Christmas sites in Malta first. As luck would have it, we had a perfect day to explore. With very high winds and too much rain the past few weeks, it was nice to see the sun, with a limited amount of wind.

Last Sunday while out for our walk, I asked if it was time to buy our Poinsettias. And wouldn’t your know, we were walking by a nearby Palazzo and saw some wonderful flowers in bloom. So, why indeed should we buy some when they are all around us.

Besides flowers, Christmas is often the time when many households are busy making Christmas cookies. The fragrant smell is all over the house. Well, for others it’s Hanukkah. As good a reason as any to bake some bagels. And I do love my bagels, with some schmear and lox.

So it was off to Valletta to see the sites, and be of good cheer. I think everyone else in Malta had the same thought in mind. Very busy. Although not a requirement, we wore our masks even while outside. We walked up the street from where we got off the bus by the Triton Fountain, just outside the gates to Valletta. Set up was bit of a carnival, complete with ferris wheel, a carousel and many other light-flashing devices to catch the eye of the very young. There was even an ice-rink, this year under cover.

The sites may be dazzling, but we do get hungry. We always have a great meal at Ta’ Nenu the Baker. ( https://nenuthebaker.com/ ) They specialize in Maltese cuisine. Whether tourist or local, a great place for Maltese cooking.

Looking down from heights of Valletta, across the harbour, sunset can be very spectacular.

Of course, we cannot overlook Christmas in our home village of Naxxar. We enjoy the wreaths on the doors of the homes. The fact that you won’t find many real christmas boughs on the wreaths (no fir or spruce trees grow here) does not discourage anyone.

Of course, we cannot forget our favorite village cat. No matter when we walk by, he is always in the same position. Not sure as to how he is a watch cat, as his eyes are always closed.

Well, a couple of more days and we will be heading the frozen north, our annual quest to seek out the real Santa and, of course, seek out the warmth and relaxing comfort of a spa with massages, sauna, and wonderful Finnish Christmas eve dinner (lots of herring and smoked salmon, as well as smoked ham). Hope your holidays are happy and as normal as you can make them

( Il-Milied u Is-Sena T-Tajba and a Happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.)

On a recent trip to Helsinki, the airport, Vantaa, was still undergoing major structural changes. As a result, we had to land at terminal 2, and walk to terminal 1. As they are connected, it was all covered, warm and dry. It was just a long and boring walk, at midnight. No fun!

But then, to our surprise, we were laughing and enjoying the scenery. It seems that we were passing through the Finnish Nightmares. Finnish Nightmares are the cartoon books by the Finnish scenic designer Karolina Korhonen. They tell about Matti, a typical Finn, complete with all the well known Finnish quirks.

We were no longer racing through the terminal to reach our bags. We stopped and stared at all the cartoons. And laughed. It became a fun walk. Hope you agree.

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I think the Finnish airport people got it right. Leastwise all the tourists were laughing. Finns just walked by thinking, no big deal. This is how we are. It is said that the Finns will be happy when they no longer have to be socially distanced at one meter. They can finally go back to their normal three meters separation.

And it’s not just people. Finnish cats feel the same way.

When I was in the U.S. Navy, while being trained in Florida, I remember seeing the Blue Angels demonstration team training nearby everyday in the winter. And when we lived in the Seattle area, we used to see the Blue Angels fly overhead in their annual presence in Seattle. Well, as time flies, no more Blue Angels to see, here in Malta, but still, it is great to have the annual airshow in Malta.

There were numerous individual performances by various fighter jets (F-16 and F-18). Saying they were loud when passing almost directly above us, might be a slight understatement. So, it was great when the Swiss Air Force demonstration entered for their show. Slow and not too much noise.

But the stars of the show are, without a doubt, the United Kingdom Royal Air Force demonstration team: the Red Arrows. Really enjoyed them. Hope you like the pix.

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Ġurnata kbira fil-bajja.

( A great day at the beach.)

Finally, back home, we got into the spirit of the upcoming festa in Naxxar. The festa honors Our Lady of Victory/Festa Marija Bambina. Although it is on 8 September each year, the lead-in, with decorations and fireworks start the week before. Every morning at 8AM, Noon and 8PM, there are fireworks. We are by now used to getting woken up by the loud boom boom boom in the mornings. Everyone is starting to gear up. Although the Covid has placed restrictions, they are now loosened up a bit.

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And now that the Festa is over, its now time to re-pot the forest on our terrace. Two years, and they are ready to spread out their roots. Me, I just want limes, grapefruit, mandarins, oranges, lemons and olives. The better half is supervisor in chief (farmer). The only difference is that our farm is four stories up!

Hope you enjoyed our summer with us. Life is slowly, but surely, getting back to the new normal. And time to make our plans for our annual Christmas spa trip back to the Frozen North in December. This year will be a spa holiday in Tallinn.

Before I wish you a happy harvest season, I would like to share with you our favorite part of any Festa, the fireworks. This is the one from Naxxar. The end is pretty spectacular.

Kun sigur. Ikseb jab tiegħek.

(Be safe. Get your jab.)

On to the next island. This time we went to Suomenlinna Island, about twenty minute ferry ride from the Market Square.

Suomenlinna was developed in the mid-1800’s, by the then rulers: Sweden. Over the years, its purpose was to defend the Swedes (and the Finns) from the Russians. No wonder the Finns developed an over the shoulder twitch, checking out who was coming. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. (https://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/world-heritage/)

This was our fourth visit to the island. On past trips, we walked all over the island, from beaches to gun emplacements, to a wonderful church on a hill, as well as to a WW2 Finnish submarine. So, this visit we did something new. We went for a sail!

We went for a two hour cruise (by electric motor, sail and oars) on a replica of a mid-1800’s gun sloop. Enjoy the ride.

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As it was now getting close to the end of our summer in Helsinki, we prepared for our flight home. We both have our digital Covid Passports and locator/health forms ready for our landing back home in Malta. And on to the Naxxar slimmed down festival and fireworks. And, not to mention, we had decided to re-pot the garden on our terrace.

Igawdu l-aħħar tas-sajf

(Enjoy the late summer

Take the metro to the Helsinki train station, followed up by the bus out to Seurasaari historic park. Although located within the city limits of Helsinki, the area is all rural. Set adjacent to the homes of the President and Prime Minister, Seurasaari museum is located on an island, reached by a pedestrian bridge. What better way to educate the children of Finland about their history than to put together examples of all types of homes and villages throughout Finland. Make time on your visit to Helsinki to visit Seurasaari. It will be an enjoyable day. And if you are coming from Malta, your eyes will be wide, staring at all the trees!

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During the 1800’s and earlier, life was harder than today.

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On Sundays, everyone went to church. Some traveled further than others. In this case, a 100 person boat carried church goers across the lake to worship.

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Back in the day, the Finns ate bread as they do today. Only baking was different. The harvest was once a year, the grain carefully stored, and ground to flour a few times a year to be baked to bread. After baking, it was hung up to dry, and eaten when hungry. The bread was dry and to soften it up it was dipped in milk or water.

As for coffee, Finns today drink more coffee per capita than anyone else in the world. Back then, making your morning coffee was different. First you roasted the beans, then “run them through the grinder” and finally dump the ground beans in the coffee pot. Add water. The coffee was boiled in the pot, and left to settle for a few moments to allow the grinds to sink to bottom. Some used ground eggshells to clarify the coffee. In the olden days, the coffee was served in small cups with saucers. Those who liked, added some cream or milk in the cup. Then the coffee was carefully poured from the cup on the saucer, sugar cube was popped in the mouth to be held between the lips and then coffee was slurped from the saucer to the mouth. The saucer was carefully held on the finger tops on one hand while the cup was held by the ear in the other. Once the saucer was empty the cup was replaced and then a piece of cake or a cookie was enjoyed with the remaining coffee drank from the cup. After the first cup was finished, the second cup was poured and the same ritual with sugar cube was followed.

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Like today, everyone would like a home. And like today, the home you got was the one you could afford.

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Wouldn’t mind having a modernized version of one or two houses. But……………. I will still take the 21st century!

Before we left after a full day on the island, one last sight caught our attention.

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Jittamaw li għandhom aktar gżejjer.

(Hope they have more islands.)

One of the truly amazing things about Helsinki is that there are hundreds of islands, inhabited, or not, all around. Here we will visit an outdoor museum which has buildings from throughout Finland over the years, an old fortress island, and an island with art – Helsinki Biennale .

The first island that we visited is Vallisaari island, about a 30 minute ferry ride from the Market Square in Helsinki. During Helsinki Biennial, art and events are happening all over. The Biennial is an outdoor showcase of worldwide contemporary talent celebrating free-wheeling expression. The island used to be for military use only until 2008 and it was opened for recreational use. This year artists set up their expressive art all over the island. At the end of this year, it will all be taken down, reverting to nature once again.

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Getting back to the Market Square, we headed on over to the outdoor summer food and booze festival, held this year near the Design Center, on the square, formerly the parade grounds for the military. Filled with food booths and those selling beer, wine and whiskey, it runs for most of the summer from around ten AM to ten PM every day. Here and now, you can’t wait for the sun to set below the yardarm.

Well, off we go to more islands.

Bħal tmur minn Malta għal Kemmuna.

(Like going from Malta to Comino)

Depending on geography, it was hot and hotter than hell in Europe this summer! Malta reached new highs in both temperature and water temperature this summer. In ancient days, the family crowded around the fireplace. Today, not so much. A/C’s provide comfort today. So, according to custom, and with an eye on the thermometer, we once again decided to spend late July and most of August in Helsinki, where it was merely hot for the first two weeks or so. Then it settled down to high warm, with a scattering of something called rain.

So off to sunny and hot Helsinki.

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After you digest your meal, we will be back with the next episode in the island-hopping summer of 2021.

Narak għada

(See you soon!)

When we moved to Malta for our retirement, we first lived in Ħal Lija for seven months. It is a village of about 3,500 people. A somewhat upscale village, it was very quiet, with few businesses and shops. But it has a very wonderful sense about it. And we loved walking around it. The heart of Lija was around its parish church. This view was of it during the Festa in 2019.

All band clubs, the police stations, local council and shops radiate out from the church. On one of our early walks, we were two blocks on the other side of the church, discovering the typical Maltese narrow streets, shops and restaurants.

While we have limited experience in dining at Michelin starred restaurants, I did note two obvious things. First, people weren’t dressed to the nines. It is hot, and is Malta. Leastwise no shorts or sandals! The other point was well received by us. The prices for our meal was much lower priced than other Michelin restaurants in Malta (there are 4 other restaurants with Michelin one-star!), and was in line with other upper end restaurants in Malta. So, a bargain! It wound up being just like a regular top end restaurant, with all-round better parts.

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The better half ordered off the vegan menus.

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And for my dinner, there were plenty of choices.

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With the ever presence of the Coronavirus for the past year and a half, full dining experiences have been lacking for much of the time. And this dinner reminded us of what true artists chefs have become. What is most important to note is that chefs believe you eat twice: once with your eyes and once with your stomach. Normally, price would be the stumbling block. Absent that, this dinner was extraordinary because the dinner was a feast for the eyes and stomach. And the entire staff was most attentive, professional and quite helpful. If Bahia remains in Lija longer than anticipated, we will be happy to return. So, as I have said before, no snobbishness. No waitstaff in formal attire. No one telling us how lucky we were to be here. So, it was absolutely perfect.

Oh, by the way, Bahia is the name of the locally cultivated orange. They even have one, named Chloe in the restaurant.

Iż-żminijiet qed jitjiebu; ikunu sikuri u jgawdu.

(The times are getting better; be safe and enjoy.)

Summer is getting closer now. Little rain, lots of sun and consistent warmth. But the most telling point is that I am again wearing my shorts every day! Whew, did my legs ever get white over the winter. But, most important is that restaurants are opening up again, along with retail outlets. Bars and band clubs will open up in early June. And it appears that travel between some other countries in Europe will open up in June as well. As per the new norm, it all depends if a country is Green, Amber or Red. As of today, Malta has the lowest number of cases per 100,000 in the EU, as well as the highest number of vaccine jabs per 100,000 in the EU. Today, just one new case.

Still haven’t gotten out and about with our exploration of Malta. But, it’s coming soon. In the meantime, a couple of the daily sites.

Nisperaw li dan is-sajf ikun dak kollu li kont qed tittama għalih.

(Hope this summer will be all that you were hoping for.)