Porkkalanniemi. Back in the USSR.

After the second world war The Soviet Union demanded the use of the Porkkalanniemi peninsula as a naval base. This small area juts out into the Gulf of Finland and gave control of all naval access to St Petersburg.

Despite being deep within Finnish territory, access to the area was controlled by the Soviet military. Trains however, running along the south coast could still pass through although the windows were boarded up and photography was prohibited.

The area was finally returned to Finnish control eleven years later in 1956.

Harju OK?

The Alps were formed when Africa smashed into Europe and ruffled the continent up like a carpet on a shiny floor. The Andes are the result of the Nazca plate burrowing under the South American continent like a badger.

Unfortunately Finland escaped the exciting game of continental plate spinning and has largely been formed by huge Glaciers planing it flat every time there's an ice age. This means Finland is flat. Very flat. However, there is one exciting geological fillip to make this country a bit more interesting, the noble Esker.

Esker, or Harju in Finnish, are these cool ridges that pop up all over the country. Sometimes they look like railway embankments. They can run for kilometres and rise high above the surrounding countryside providing great views to the, often flat, lands on either side.

So, you may ask, if glaciers raked the rest of the country flat, how did Eskers form? Good question.

At the glacial maximum glaciers, normally moving like a slow frozen river, slow down and stop. Generally the glaciers around this part of the world stop when they get down to Germany, presumably retreating quicky from the weirdos playing dreadful oompah music.

Water however is a tireless beast and continues to try to move through the glacier. As it does it begins to form tunnels which get bigger and bigger. Anyone who's tried to put glacier ice in their whisky knows that the water is full of sediment and this sediment gets left behind in the tunnels. Sometimes the tunnels are huge and they fill with huge amounts of sediment. Eventually the glacier melts away and Finland is revealed but the sediment remains, still in the shape of the tunnel that housed it for so long. And that snake-like pile of sediment will eventually get covered in grass and trees and become the beautiful Eskers that we know and love.

Paradise esker

Canadian Esker

Esker heaven

One final point. The Finnish word for esker is Harju and it sounds like Are you which gifts us a great opportunity for top comedy. i.e. Harju you sure? Harju OK? Harju happy? Harju getting annoyed? Harju re-evaluating our friendship? Harju going? Harju coming back? Harju still there?