Khajjiar (A photowalk with Diink)

Khajjiar is a hill station in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, India, located at an approximate of 24 km from Dalhousie
Khajjiar sits on a small plateau with a small stream-fed lake in the middle that has been covered over with weeds. The hill station is surrounded by green meadows and dense forests. It is about 6500 ft. (1981m) above sea level in the foothills of the Dhauladhar ranges of the Western Himalayas and snowy peaks can be seen in the distance.
Khajjiar is often called the Mini Switzerland of Himachal Pradesh and was officially baptized thus by the Swiss Ambassador on July 7, 1992. It has a rare combination of three ecosystems: lake, pasture and forest, all in one place. Khajjiar can be reached from Dalhousie, the nearest major town and hill station, by bus in an hour or so. There are two buses in the morning that leave at around 9:30. The last bus that returns from Khajjiar to Dalhousie is at 3:30 PM.

Khajjiar Lake is situated in district Chamba. It is about 1,900 m above sea level.

It is considered as a sacred place to Khajjinags (after whom this place is named after) Khajjiar has thick forest cover of the Kalatope sanctuary.

Finland (A photo-walk with Diink)

 
























Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors, which he intended to be a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval (today: Tallinn). Little came of the plans as Helsinki remained a tiny town plagued by poverty, wars, and diseases. The plague of 1710 killed the greater part of the inhabitants of Helsinki.The construction of the naval fortress Sveaborg (In Finnish Viapori, today also Suomenlinna) in the 18th century helped improve Helsinki's status, but it was not until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that the town began to develop into a substantial city.

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 588,941 (31 January 2011), making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is located some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of St. Petersburg, Russia and 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.
Greater Helsinki includes the city of Helsinki and three other cities: Espoo and Vantaa, which immediately border Helsinki to the west and north, respectively; and Kauniainen, which is an enclave within the city of Espoo. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the world's northernmost urban area among those with a population of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of a EU member state. Altogether 1.3 million people, approximately one in four Finns, live in the Greater Helsinki area.
Helsinki is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural and research centre. as well as one of northern Europe's major cities. Approximately 70% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region.

Lappeenranta (Swedish: Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of thelake Saimaa in South-Eastern Finland, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Russian border. It belongs to the region of South Karelia. With approximately 72,000 inhabitants (31 January 2011) Lappeenranta is the 13th largest city in Finland.The neighboring municipality of Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2009, and the neighboring municipality of Ylämaa on January 1, 2010.

Parikkala is located around lake Simpele and it is a part of a countryside rich with hills and chains of ridges. Settlements and artifacts dated to the Stone Age and Bronze Age have been found in Parikkala. A permanent settlement was established around the 15th century. Many demarcations had a significant impact to Parikkala's development from the Treaty of Nöteborg on August 12, 1323 to peace treaties signed in 1947 with the Soviet Union. After World War II 1/3 (199.3 km²) of Parikkala's area was handed over to the Soviet Union. Orthodoxy has been very influential in this area since the middle ages. Later, Parikkala has become known for its many dairies. Parikkala became independent in the year 1617. In the year 2004 three municipalities (Parikkala, Saari and Uukuniemi) merged to form one municipality called Parikkala.

Thats my frends,sitting on the edge having cognac ,such a beautiful place it was, so I decided to go little further and click this beautiful pic ...:) Suomellina fortress island:

The old fortress on an island just 10 minutes by small boat from the harbour. This place build long time ago to defend the city from invaders. These days its a great place for sightseeing, picnic and even beer tasting in local brewery restaurant. 

The big island outside Helsinki is a perfect place for a romantic walk. Green everywhere, and lots of history, from all the war Finland had with their neighbours Sweden and Russia. You can still see some of the guns they used.
There is also some restaurants, a couple of shops, and a food store, so you can stay out there the whole day without problem.
To the island you go by boat, which take off from the big Market place in Helsinki.
Also the boat trip is nice, takes around 15-20 minutes, and you pass a lot of small islands during the way to and from Sveaborg.
Just make sure that it’s good weather, or at least not raining, when you’re there. When it’s sunny it’s a wonderful place, but when it’s raining…Well, let me just say that it’s not crowded with places to hide away from the rain…
Make sure to take a look at all the old pieces of the fortress. My friend said it looked like the place where the hobbits, in The Lord of the Rings, were living. And I must agree with her.

Helsinki Cathedral

Visitors coming to Helsinki by ship are greeted by the outline of a strikingly white cathedral towering above the town. It is undoubtedly one of the landmarks of Helsinki.
he cathedral was designed by the Tsar's favourite architect, Carl Ludwig Engel, and completed in 1852. The layout of St Nicholas Cathedral is a regular cross, much in the style of a Russian Orthodox Church, although it is a Lutheran church. 93% of the Finnish population are Lutherans. The four small domes which can be seen on the photograph were added to the original design after Engel's death. Although the white colour looks brilliant on the exterior of the cathedral against a dark blue summer sky it makes the interior of church looks bare and even austere.
Three niches are occupied by the famous reformers Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and Michael Agricola. Michael Agricola was born in the small town of Pernaja in Finnland in 1510. He went to Wittenberg in Gemany as a student to learn more about the reformation from Luther and Melanchthon. Returning to Finnland three years later he started the refomation process in Finnland and also invented the written language of Finnish.