A beautiful and peaceful sunset moment by the bay in eastern Helsinki.

Before I moved to Finland, I had lived in Tamsui for almost 10 years, which’s situated next to an estuary in the northern Taiwan, the most famous sightseeing spot for the sunset. One thing I knew before I left Tamsui for Hesinki was that I would miss a lot taking a walk by the water.

The sunset in Tamsui, Taiwan.

After I settled in Helsinki and soon discovered that I lives in a quiet neighborhood with only a 15-min walking distance to an estuary. Coincidently, that’s exactly the same distance from my house to the estuary in Taipei. The scenery and the sound of running water are the greatest cure to my homesickness.

Slightly frozen sea surface in Lammasaari, northern east Helsinki.

When the first winter came, I realized that Helsinki gave me a chance to experience what I would have never seen in Taiwan, seeing the transition of water in different seasons, from a slightly frozen surface to a solid ice level on top of water covered by the heavy snow. People have all kinds of fun on the frozen river and near-shore seaside, such as cross-country skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling and so on. Then the spring comes, ice breaks into pieces until all melts.

A frozen bay area where citizens played cross-country skiing.

The view from the bird-watching cabin in the winter.

Sunset in Kallahti.

Swan is the national bird in Finland.

The orange horizon over the sea after sunset.

The boat’s name is m/s Suukko in Finnish, means Ms Kiss.

After moving to Helsinki, taking a walk by the seaside remains one of my favorite activities, it’s beautiful, peaceful and soothing. More than once, I jumped on the ferry to Suomenlinna to see the sunset and enjoy the breeze on the upper deck. Now I’m looking for the summer to take a swim in the ocean.

Hsiao-Pei Liao
Master Program of Creative Sustainability