Butterflies arriving from Africa in large numbers.

It was reported last week that the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly was being spotted in exceptionally large volumes in Finland. Their parents had set off from North Africa in February / March, reproducing en-route, with their offspring reaching Finland and Northern Europe. 

The Painted Lady is a large butterfly (wing span 5-9 cm) and is identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has 5 white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hind wings carry 4 small submarginal eyespots on dorsal and ventral sides. Those on the dorsal side are black,

     
The Painted Lady butterfly is a regular visitor to Finland, but it is not able to winter in the country.
The migration volumes vary greatly from one year to the next. Last summer only a few individuals were spotted in Finland.

23 – 26 July 2009.

The sailing competition, The Tall Ships' Races, is an annual event held in European waters with the Tall Ships visiting the Baltic Sea region only every fourth year. For the third time Turku, in southern Finland, will be one of the host ports.

The big sailing ships will be berthed along the Aurajoki River’s banks from Thursday to Sunday 23-26 July 2009. The vessels will start racing from Gdynia in Poland to St. Petersburg and will then arrive in Turku. The vessels will continue racing from Turku to Klaipeda in Lithuania.

On the previous two occasions when Turku hosted the event, 1996 and 2003, they attracted nearly a million visitors and were the biggest events in Finland that year.

100 magnificent class A, B, C and D sailing ships are due to arrive in Turku at the end of July. The vessels are some of the greatest sailing ships in the world. Many of the ships are open to the public during their stay.

The event area extends from the Martinsilta Bridge towards Turku Castle on each side of the Aurajoki River. The official opening of the event takes place on 23 July 2009 at Varvintori Square. A full and free programme will take place around the visit.  Highlights will include the Crew Parade, the Prize ceremony and the race start at Airisto. Top concerts, stalls and different performances will be arranged along the banks of the river, at the Varvintori Square and on a stage which will be set up in front of the maritime centre, Forum Marinum.

Once again their promises to be an amazing line up of Finnish and International bands at Provinssirock this summer. The festival takes place in western Finland just outside the city of Seinäjoki. This relaxed festival attracts huge crowds for three days of music and art across several stages and tents.

It is being held in the Törnävä Festival Park for the 31st time. The park is located 4km from the city centre. This is approximately an hours walk alternatively festival buses run every 15-20 minutes also stopping at camp sites and temporary school accommodation.

Last years 3 day event attracted a record breaking 75,000 people!

As well as a host of top Finnish bands the event also features bands from the UK, US, Australia, and Scandinavia. British acts include the Ting Tings (pictured above), Placebo, Supergrass (pictured below) and Baddies. See below for the complete listing.

Finnish Railways (VR) put on additional trains on the Friday and Sunday for the event. Visitors are encouraged to use public transport to the event.

For further details about the festival including tickets and accommodation click here.

Festival Time Table

Friday 12 June 2009

Placebo (UK)

Volbeat (DEN)

Black Stone Cherry (US)

August Burns Red (US)

Baddies (UK)

Children Of Bodom

Von Hertzen Brothers

Kolmas Nainen

Samuli Putro

Regina

Maj Karma

Nicole

Celesty

FM2000

Joensuu 1685

Snow White's Poison Bite

Saturday 13 June 2009

Manowar (US)

Opeth (SWE)

Supergrass (UK)

Emiliana Torrini (IS)

Raised Fist (SWE)

Veto (DK)

Hot Leg (UK)

HolyHell (US)

Apulanta

Kotiteollisuus

Stam1na

Amorphis

Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo

Don Johnson Big Band

Rubik

Risto

Le Corps Mince de Francoise

The Conscript Band of the Defence Forces feat. Veeti Kallio

Brüssel Kaupallinen

Anssi8000 & Maria Stereo

Zacharius Carls Group

Time Traveller

Murena

Asa & Jätkäjätkät

Sunday 14 June 2009.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (AUS)

Editors (UK)

Seasick Steve (US)

Ting Tings (UK)

Hjaltalín (IS)

Vesa-Matti Loiri

Egotrippi

The Crash

Sunrise Avenue

Anna Puu

Callisto

Sara

Soul Captain Band

Joose Keskitalo & Kolmas Maailmanpalo

Hamilton Groove

Wedding Crashers

Pop over to Tallinn or Stockholm with Viking Line.

If you are planning to be in Helsinki this summer make the most of the location and build a few days into your itinerary to hop over to one of the neighbouring capital cities. Stockholm in Sweden and Tallinn in Estonia are on Helsinki’s doorstep. A major deciding factor should be the opportunity sail on one of the amazing Viking Line ships which are very much part of the holiday experience rather than just an arduous journey from A to B.

Visiting Stockholm.

Viking Line’s MS Gabriella or MS Mariella sail from Helsinki harbour each evening at 17.30 and arrive the following morning in Stockholm at 09.40. Both harbours are very central, allowing easy access to the ship and for sightseeing. The ship sails through the stunning archipelago for those wishing to take in the views.  While on board choose from a range of restaurants, the most popular and competitively priced being the Viking Dinner buffet where the numerous dishes featured include sumptuous local sea food. The Viking Buffet menu price also includes wine or beer.

Following dinner relax in one of the many bars listening to live music, take in the show or dance the night away in the massive nightclub.

You can visit Stockholm for just a day, returning on the ship to Helsinki that evening or pre-book a competitively priced hotel package and explore for a day or two.

A return sailing allowing the day in Stockholm and 2 nights on board the Viking Line ship starts from £164 per person based on two sharing an inside cabin. The Viking buffet dinner is £28 per person including wine or beer. Stockholm hotels start from £68 per room per night.

Visiting Tallinn.

Hop on board Viking Lines newest vessel that combines the features of a ship and a catamaran – Viking XPRS for the 2 ½ hour journey from Helsinki to Tallinn. Those in a hurry can pop over for the day. The schedule gives you 4 hours to experience the highlights of Tallinn.  

If you have more time, we strongly recommend using more of it to explore this beautiful and historical city. You can do this by taking the Viking XPS evening sailing, having dinner and overnight onboard before disembarking early the next morning for a full day in Tallinn or buying a crossing and hotel package.

The day visit (4 hours in Tallinn) costs from £27 per person.

The night on board and full day in Tallinn costs from £40 per person based on two sharing an inside cabin for the outward journey and returning as a foot passenger.     

Hotel packages including the Viking XPRS return ticket and accommodation start at £65 per person based on sharing a twin room for one night.

To check availability and prices contact our reservations department on Tel 0844 499 0880 or email info@emagine-travel.co.uk.

For summer fine dining and relaxation.

In Helsinki, Finland, a sign that May has arrived and summer is on its way is that ferries start to operate to the nearby islands and will do so until September.

Locals flock to the archipelago to sun bathe, swim, fish, and to make the most of the wonderful summer cafes and restaurants.

The pretty island restaurants serve a wide range of cuisine from traditional seafood snacks to cordon bleu gourmet dishes.

The cafes and restaurants get very busy at weekends so book ahead.

Chez Dominique named on the Worlds Top 50 restaurants List.

Hans Välimäki and his team at Helsinki’s Chez Dominique restaurant will have been celebrating this week with the publication in Restaurant Magazine of the list of The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009. The restaurant was listed 21^st, an increase of 18 places from last year.

First and second places remained unchanged, El Bulli in Spain and The Fat Duck in the UK, respectively.

Chez Dominique was established in 1998 and along the way gained and retains two Michelin stars. The modern cuisine combines Nordic and French influences.

For further details about Chez Dominique click here.

To see the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009 full list click here.

Taking place in Åland.

This year Åland will host the 13^th Island Games from 27 June to 07 July 2009. It is going to be the largest event in the history of the games.

The ‘Inter-Island’ Games were born in the Isle of Man in 1985, with the intention of bringing together a number of small islands from different parts of the world in friendly competition as part of the Isle of Man’s Year of Sport.

The first event was such a success it was agreed the festival would continue every other year with the island taking turns in playing host. Since 1985 ten more island have joined the event and the number of sports has increased from 7 to 15.

Venue	Number of sports	Number of Islands	Number of Competitors
1985 Isle of Man	7	15	700
1987 Guernsey	9	18	1049
1989 Faroe Islands	11	15	800
1991 Aland	13	17	1500
1993 Isle of Wight	14	19	1448
1995 Gibraltar	14	18	1214
1997 Jersey	14	20	2000
1999 Gotland	14	22	1858
2001 Isle of Man	15	22	2020
2003 Guernsey	15	23	2129
2005 Shetland	15	24	1658
2007 Rhodes	14	25	2343

This years host Åland is an autonomous and unilingually Swedish region in Finland. Åland is a beautiful archipelago made up of 6,500 islands and skerries, of which 6,400 are larger than 3,000 m2. The largest island is the main island of Åland, which makes up 70 per cent of the Islands' total land area and is home to 90 per cent of the population. The population is approx. 26,700 persons, almost half of whom live on the only town in Åland, Mariehamn.  Åland has its own flag (blue with a yellow and red cross), licence plates and stamps. A special stamp will be issued in July in honour of the games.

At this games the sports include: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Judo, Sailing, shooting, swimming, Table tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Windsurfing.

Stunning medals have been designed especially for the event winners.

The islands participating this year are:

Alderney, Bermuda, Cayman, Falklands, Faroe Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Gotland, Greenland, Guernsey, Hitra, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Menorca, Orkney, Prince Edward Island, Rhodos, Saaremaa, Sark, Shetland, St Helena, Western Isles, Ynys Mon and Åland.

For further details about the event click here.