Our travelling has been really limited for the past months, due to changes in my employment and some other factors. The situation was going to change this weekend, as we were planning to go to Turku to meet my little sister and her family.

Unfortunately, both I and Sanna caught a stomach flu from Aapo’s kindergarten and we had to spent Friday sick. This also meant that we couldn’t go to Turku, as the illness would travel with us. For some odd reason, Aapo wasn’t sick and he demanded our full attention the whole day. Saturday was a bit better, and finally today I’m feeling good enough to sit in front of the computer — doing all tasks that I was planning to do on Friday and Saturday…

We were also planning to visit Tallinn on Easter, but as we were a bit late, all ships were fully booked on decent days and times. Travelling with a one year old child creates some limitations, such as we really can’t be travelling after eight o’clock.

Instead of Tallinn, we decided to stay home and just enjoy having four days off. As shops are closed on Friday, Sunday and Monday, we have a lot of time for the family and various tasks around the house and the Internet.

Ilmatar is the fine-dining restaurant of the recently opened boutique hotel Klaus K. The hotel enjoys an excellent location at the crossing of Mannerheimintie and Bulevardi, and thus the restaurant is quite packed during weekday evenings, too.

The menu is really fusion stuff; mixing Finnish epic Kalevala with the latest gourmet trends of the world. The end result is not that interesting, but more like peculiar. The food tastes good, but somehow the flavours do not add up and you end up wondering what is the essence of the portion…

The restaurant is expensive, especially if you are dining with your own money. The interiors are really nice and well-thought, and the service is up to bar with the other boutique hotels around the world.

www.ravintolailmatar.fi, Bulevardi 2 / 4, Helsinki, Finland +358 20 770 4714, restaurants@klauskhotel.com

I found out a few weeks ago that Finnair doesn’t offer quick getaways anymore. They posted a set of flights to certain cities in Finland and Europe with very low prices to their website every Tuesday morning at 9.00. There were 4-7 cities, a couple in Finland and the rest in Europe or sometimes in the US or Asia.

The first flights could be on the next Wednesday, and most of the outbound flights were clustered around Thursday and Friday. Return flights were available on Sundays, Mondays and sometimes also later on the week.

The service was an excellent tool to travel somewhere on a whim; maybe to visit a museum or two in London or go shopping in Milan. Sadly, it is no more. Instead, Finnair now provides new offers that you have to book in a month advance. Talk about whims now…

Polarn o. Pyret, or PO.P for short, is a refreshing children clothing shop on third floor in Kamppi shopping mall. Coming from Sweden, the clothes combine Scandinavian design with a flavour of casuality. The end result reminds me, somehow — dont’ ask why, urban people dressing for being on the countryside.

PO.P iconic design is striped clothing, a bit like Marimekko’s famous stripes, but not quite so. If you visit their website, you will instantly know what I’m trying to convey… For some, the stripes may look too bland, but I really like them among all pastel colours and cute animals that burden children clothing. Most of the stuff is also unisex, a real asset in families with two or more children.

Anyhow, the clothes are of good quality and seem to tolerate wear and tear. The prices are up to bar with the rest of the children clothes stores nearby.

www.polarnopyret.se, Urho Kekkosen katu 1, (in Kamppi shopping mall), Helsinki, Finland, +358 9 323 3023