Good morning Helsinki!

It does feel a little bit weird that the sun is shining so brightly while cycling home from the bar.. (Either I'm really late or it's really only a month until midsummer.)

Goodnight everyone!

Sinebrychoff park

Oh yes, the sun is here, but (as it usually always is in Finland) not to stay - so you better enjoy it while it lasts. And Finns truly know how to enjoy those first warm days in the spring (or any warm days anytime actually). Anywhere in the city, any patch of green is more or less packed with people - parks, yards, the esplanade (singular, we only have one..) and the seaside. People eat, drink, read, sleep or, like I bravely tried yesterday in my favorite park a block away, study.

I don't know if I already told you how it was in Singapore; even though the city is green, no-one seems to enjoy the parks (except maybe the Botanical gardens on Sundays, ok ok). And I guess it's understandable - sun isn't really a big deal when you have it every day. However, on my last days there I really, really wanted to enjoy the warmth and work (just a little bit) on my tan before coming home, but Sentosa (the island with the man-made beaches) was just a little bit too far away. So I took my book and coffee and sat down in closest park - and collected not just a few weird looks. Oh well. I'm a tourist, ok..

Mind you, the studying yesterday didn't work too well. So today, I'm sitting in the library and bravely trying to ignore the 20 degrees and sunshine outside. Where's the rain when I need it..?

This blog could be called pics from the archipelago

Since that's all I have to offer right now. (Please tell me when you get tired of it.)

A day's work.

Mufflor! Don't know the english name for these funny animals, (half deer, half sheep or something), that only live in certain places in the archipelago. For the longest time I thought the stories were a joke played on newcomers on the island (sounded too much like Möhköfantti), but no, they do exist!

Nighttime silence and darkness. Only for a few hours, though.

Eight months was enough to forget my roots - clearly, I don't know how to sauna bathe anymore. Steamed off the skin on my fingers (here, most of it is still on..) and spent a long night with my hand in a bucket of cold water. But I learned something; apparently honey is a good remedy.

The easiest, and the best of lunches - in the sunshine where everything tastes better.

When I was a kid, I used to pick these (or the blue ones) on Mother's day as a present. This year, a picture will have to do (but you were in my thoughts, dear Mom!). Happy Mother's day everyone!

Spring

I'm still freezing like hell, but it must be spring, since the tree outside my window decided to slowly dress in green.

Halleluja!

Labour Day Weekend B/W

Happy Labour Day!

I'm just about to head out to the chaos on the streets and in the parks, with some champagne and a little food for the mandatory picnic. Thank god the sun is shining this year! So I just want to wish everyone a happy Labour Day! Without any better pics, I'll share one from yesterday morning, when I started the weekend with some catering for a small party my mom organized. Yummy! (If I may say so myself.. hehe)

Now off you go, have fun and enjoy the sun!

Easter in Nagu

A weekend in the countryside filled with family (the real and the plastic one), sauna, barbeque, sunny spring days, fresh air, quiet calm sunsets, more sauna, a dip in the ice cold sea (literally icy) and then a visit to my godson (who was twice the age but just as adorable as the last time I saw him). These things that make you really, really happy and calm and warm inside.

Exciting life

I bought a new phone when I got home, and in the process of changing (it's a real process! So much for service culture in Finland..) lost all of my contacts. Well, today I got a message from someone (clearly a friend I've been talking to judging by the tone of it), asking me to lunch. For a second I thought about making it a little bit interesting, saying yes and wait and see who walks through the door. Have a little excitement in my life, you know. But then I figured it might be someone I don't really care about, so I asked.

I'm not really one to live on the edge, it seems. (Tragic discovery.)

Sauna

The Finns love the sauna, that's no secret. I got to take my first sauna bath (this is actually what Google Translate offers as the verb. Is the a better word for it?) on Saturday at my dad's place, but a sauna in an apartment can never be the same as one by the sea. So, can't wait to spend next weekend, Easter holiday, in Nagu - and try to warm up the new sauna all by myself. We'll see how it goes, at least the little pyromaniac in me will have a great time. And, if the ice is gone, I'll get to take my first dip in the sea! Brr..

Run away

While the rest of this country is sitting glued to the TV to see how our elections turns out, I can't take the tension and go for a run. Run away from the scary possibility that this country will be run by these idiots, as it looks like at the moment.

Makes me feel ashamed and wanting to move away, and I'm not the only one.