Operation Ankka - This is a story about a duck. By Geoff Ballance

This first appeared in print in the Canadian Friends of Finland Spring 2020 Newsletter    

 As is often the case with duck stories, it begins on a cool, misty summer morning by a lake in Finland.  My partner Christina and I had been staying at her cousin Tapani's kesämöki, exploring the lake and surrounding countryside.  Perched at the end of a small peninsula, the cottage is situated in the ideal location to enjoy the unavoidable peace and tranquility of rural eastern Finland.  But alas, our time here had come to an end.  It was time to head back to Canada.

I grabbed our bags, threw on my jacket and stepped outside. The faded wooden deck was slowly being painted a polka-dot motif as light rain began to fall. I filled my lungs with cool pine-scented air that crept up from the lake and across the moss-covered forest floor. 

Timeless Suomenlinna - A historic travel piece

The Spring (May 2013) CFF newsletter is out.  There are 16 pages featuring historic pieces, personal opinions, poems, recipes, travel pieces and much more. It is released 4x a year and is part of your membership.

Here is a travel historic piece by Jori Ballance:

The Helsinki skyline slowly receded as we sailed away from the Kauppatori Square. We were aboard the commuter ferry Suomenlinna II, on our way to spend the day exploring the popular island fortress of Suomenlinna.    
     The mid-morning sun struggled to warm us against a brisk South Harbour breeze but managed to set the market stalls ablaze with colour.