It’s hard to believe, but today marks two months since we arrived in Finland! Summer is in full swing now and there seems to be a festival or two every week! We almost feel as if Turku is a different city now than it was when we first got here. The city is now in bloom, the temperature is in the upper 70’s, the market square is alive and bustling, and the Baltic Sea is a hot-spot for a summer swim. To celebrate having adapted to the Finnish lifestyle for 61 days we had dinner at a charming little restaurant along the Aurajoki River called Pinella. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fun and relaxed.
Here is that strange looking tree that I posted about at the beginning, and now that it’s in bloom. We still haven’t figured out what this tree is called, no one here seems to know.
The Wild Rose 
Hi Brittany,
I did a little online research on that tree. I believe it is a linden tree that has been heavily pruned. Lindens are commonly used along streets in cities because they don’t bust up the pavement and adapt well to urban areas. I looked at the leaves and bark and it looks like a variety of linden. The trees have been excessively pruned which gives them that knotty knuckely look. That is my best guess anyway. I am so glad everything is going well for you two. I read all of your posts.
Your envious cousin,
Fred
Thanks for looking that up, Fred! It’s been bothering me for weeks! I looked up the Linden tree, and it looks like it is indeed a heavily pruned variety of one. We’re hoping to head out to the University of Turku botanical gardens soon. I remember you telling me that whenever you travel you like to visit the botanical gardens, because they say a lot about the culture. I heard that you’re visiting Yorkville this weekend! I hope you and Sherry have fun & drive safe! Thanks for reading our posts and keeping up with us, it means a lot to us!
I agree with the Linden tree suggestion. They are everywhere in Italy, where they are called Tiglio, and they are pruned just like this. We have beautiful Tiglio tunnels leading into our village and they are all along the walls of Lucca.
The Tiglio tunnels sound lovely! The Linden trees here just line a few of the streets, including the one that we live on. They were strange looking when we first arrived in April looking like these knotted and gnarly things, but now that they’re in bloom they are quite nice.