Friday, December 14, 2007

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly


It's the little things that get to you. Either they add up and make you smile or they add up and make you all twisted, confused and angry.

Let's go through the list and see how you would end up at the end.

The Good

--Bread Board. I am not a serious bread eater, but the Finns must be because in every home there is the Bread Board Drawer. It is a drawer in your kitchen that you pull out to cut bread. It is pretty neat when I see people use it and we have one in our home.














--Kitchen Draining Cabinet.
"What's this?", you might ask. Well this is one of the things I think Finland got right which is the kitchen draining cabinet. I remember back home there were always paper towels down on my cabinets, draining hand washed dishes. Let's face it no matter what you have (stainless steal from Pottery Barn or not) a dish drainer on the side of your cabinet is not a pretty thing to look at. Well, here in Finland you can wash your dishes and hide them in this cabinet and it drains into your sink! It is nice to hide the the dish's existence during a dinner party.


--Cheap Transportation. Dave Ramsey (host of the Dave Ramsey Show, a financial counselor and with a Christian perspective) would be so happy for me, if he knew that I could get by in Finland without having to buy one of the biggest financial debts most of us Americans carry, the dreaded car. Right now, I don't need a car because I can get to and from work and any social event using trams, trains and buses, and oh yeah walking! All for 40 Euros a month! Think about it, 40 bucks a month for transportation! That is pretty awesome to think of the money I am saving this year because I am not driving and the limited carbon footprint I am leaving behind.


--Sauna. Yes, most Finns either have a sauna in their house or a communal one that the whole apartment complex uses, (a family would sign up for a specific time and would have it all to their self during that hour). There are five million people and over two million saunas in Finland - an average of one per household. Greg and I have one in our home as well. Taking a sauna begins by sitting in the hot room, typically warmed to 80-100 degrees Celsius (175-210 degrees Fahrenheit), for some time. Water is thrown on the hot stones topping the kiuas, a special stove used to warm up the sauna. This produces steam, known as löyly, which makes the sauna feel even hotter.

--Extra Fridge Space. Well not exactly a refrigerator but in the winter our enclosed balcony has become an extra fridge. It is perfect for the holiday season as I store my eggs, milk and holiday goodies out on our balcony!



Shot of our kitchen and dining area

The Bad
--Public Transportation. Yes yes, I know I mentioned it was a good thing just a few seconds ago. I have to tell myself it is a good thing, as I wait outside in the cold freezing wind and rain, and sometimes I tell myself this late at night when I am up against a wall, rocking and mumbling like Rainman "Good thing, public transportation Good thing"
But let's be honest here, it is public transportation! People hacking and coughing, drunks who smell like alcohol at 9:00 in the morning(you can smell them at least 5 feet away) body odor, and 99% of bus drivers can't speak English! Sometimes I have gotten on the wrong bus because of the language issue but the good thing is you can't get too lost in Helsinki.


--Sun setting at 3:00 pm


--Missing Towel Racks. Where is my bathroom towel rack to display all the pretty towels I have? I have to say I think this is one of the ugliest things in the bathroom because the towels can't ever be folded to look nice and you can't mix and match colors. You just hang your towels by pegs! YUCK





--Limited Closet Space. Where is my walk in closet!! Whoever heard of folding up all your clothes to store??!! How did this happen, that all places in Finland have such small places to put your clothes? Even in new modern apartments, the Finns can't seem to grasp closet space and make only a few inches for hanging up items. They need some serious intervention in home design. Yes, this is the extent to the hanging up closet space that I have!



















The Ugly
--1 Computer Desk, 2 Computers


--1 Bathroom !!! need I say more



The fact is, that if I can complain about such small things then the big things must be really going well.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!


This might sound crazy, but here in Finland we look forward to the snow.
Why you might ask?

Well, believe it or not it might be cold when it snows but the snow makes everything look so white and bright. When it snows it reflects what little light we have here and everything is gloriously bright and wonderful.

This is a good thing when the sunrises at 9:15 am and sets at 3:15, and the daylight gets smaller and smaller until the end of December. YIKES!

A whole week can go by and you won't see the sun at all. Yeah, the sun comes up but it pretty much makes a dark grey sky look light grey. It is a little claustrophobic when it seems that the clouds are right on top of you all day long, or should I say all 6 hours of light grey colored skies. :-)


Park near home in summer and below is the same park a week ago! See that light grey colored sky.


So far we have only had about 4 or 5 snow days and the rest has been weather with temperatures in the mid 30's with rain. Finns say it is due to global warming.

I will tell you that walking to work in cold rain ain't FUN (that's right Greg, I said ain't and it is a word!)

So it snowed here last week and Greg's friends Tim and Tarja (the j is pronounced like a y) and their baby Olaf called and asked me to meet them at a little restaurant called "Fanny Goes to Hollywood", that is about 200 meters from my apartment. I am glad they called, because I got out of the house and enjoyed a beautiful snow day.

Picture of us all at Fanny's

As I walked to Fanny's I saw a bunch of children in the park, making snowmen or should I say snow-Muumis (Muumi are famous comic figure in Finland a.k.a. Moomi)

Here are some snow-Muumin



I noticed this on my way and had to take a picture. This must be someone's honor student because this is a great snowman.

When I got close to Fanny's I saw something that I have not been able to get use to ever since I moved here. Women leave their children in the baby buggies out in the cold!

They ALL claim that babies sleep well when it is cold. So many times as I am walking around town you will see baby prams parked outside while the mother is inside enjoying a nice cup of coffee or pulla. Well, as I approached I noticed little Olaf sleeping away in his pram, how funny!

To date no baby has been stolen or frozen.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Barcelona, Spain (part 1)

I just looked at the weather back home in Texas and it is night time there with the weather in the 70’s. ahh temperatures in the 70’s…Well those temperatures are long gone for me and I won’t be seeing that again until June 2008, if I am lucky.

A snow shower came in late last night and with snow covering the ground this morning and Greg off to China, I thought it would be a perfect time to rememeber back earlier this year to our summer trip to Barcelona.

Wine and Tapas and ….what’s that nastry smell? OH MY!

Welcome to Barcelona, Spain


I had a love-hate relationship with Barcelona. It was really a wonderful place BUT Barcelona smells horrible. I'm quite serious. The entire city smells like a combination of cigarette smoke, car fumes, and poo!! You'll be walking down a side street and suddenly a gust of foul smelling wind will gush past you from an alley and almost knock you over with the smell. It's really quite horrible.



But enough about the hate and on about the love of Barcelona. Greg and I stayed in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) , which is the center of the old city of Barcelona.



Many of the buildings date from Medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona.
The Barri Gòtic retains a labyrinthine street plan, with many small streets opening out into squares.



The first day we arrived we decided to check out the area where we were staying. It was really great walking through the old streets and we loved the little shops and all the beautiful old buildings. So much history and soul.

The giant Gothic Barcelona Cathedral is a focal point of interest in the Gothic quarter.
Barcelona Cathedral is based in the old town and around the Cathedral you'll see many fine examples of Gothic architecture and Roman walls.

In front of the Cathedral is a small square where you will find street performers, cafes and interesting shops.
The area around the Cathedral has a charm and beauty that makes this location a must visit when you come to Barcelona.







After hours of walking we decided we needed to refuel and to take a lunch break. Lunch was really priced quiet well. For about 10 bucks you could get a 3 course meal and a bottle of wine. Yes bottle, not glass! In fact the wine was cheaper than a coke by several euros, so I know what my choice was....WINE!




Greg wasn't too sure about the "Lion with Potatoes"??
So, he settled for some salmon. I guess he doesn't get enough of it here in Finland. Where is your adventurous side Greg?? Come on try the lion!

After our meal and wine I was excited to see the beach. With our trusty guide book in hand


we set off in a hurry. After all, we had just left cold Wales behind and I was ready to see the sun, sand and water. We were a little disappointed by the beach in Barcelona. We tried to find the best section of the beach to take this photo as there was not much to the beach and just looked more like a local watering hole than a beachy beach, if you know what I mean. I will probably always be spoiled by beaches after my trip to Australia. Nothing ever seems to compare to the beautiful blue and teal color water and nice sand beaches of Australia.
Oh well....

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Wales

Well it is September 2nd and I am finally getting around to posting about our trips that we took in June to Cardiff, Wales and Barcelona, Spain.

The main reason why I am finally taking the time to do this now, is that it is in the 40’s today and raining! Yikes, where did the summer go. It only seemed appropriate to write about Wales today since the weather looked and felt this cold when we arrived in late June.

Wales
So our first stop was in Wales to visit Greg’s sister Joanne and her husband Kent. When we left Helsinki it was warm and sunny and midsummer was the next day. So I packed plenty of shorts, skirts, tennis shoes, and short sleeved shirts; only to arrive to weather in the upper 50’s and rain! Thank goodness Joanne loaned me a rain proof jacket, blue jeans and boots since mud and water were all around!

For starting our first leg of a summer vacation you can say that I wasn’t too thrilled to arrive to cold, rainy weather in the freaking 50’s!!! Joanne wasn’t about to let a little chill and rain ruin a good summer.
She promptly took me to see a castle which would lift any girl’s spirits!


Caerphilly Castle is the largest castle in Wales, the second largest in Britain (second to Windsor castle) built in 1268-1271.
Say hello to Joanne, what a trooper.

Walking around I was quickly caught up with a romantic fantasy; A time of castles complete with knights, damsels in distress and nonstop medieval feasting.














The next day Joanne and Kent also had another surprise for us, a drive into England for the Williams de Broë polo match between England and New Zealand.














We started off with a picnic and the people there agreed that if it didn't rain then it wasn't a proper British picnic.




Thank goodness it didn't rain and I was able to enjoy my first ever polo match. Here we are drinking Pimm's Cup, the must drink when attending polo matches. Pimm's Cup is made with the following ingredients (Pimm's No.1 with two parts lemonade, wedge of cucumber, mint leaves and slices of lemon, orange and strawberry). After several of these I was really into the match and had a lot of fun during the halftime event of stomping of the divots.

To cap off or day of celebration for such a refined and privileged sport, we drove back to Wales to visit The Tintern Abbey and to get a bite to eat at the world-renowned The Anchor.












At The Anchor you have a vast assortment of fresh meat to choose from as you can see from the picture below, we chose pork and had several doggy-bags of leftovers.














Just kidding! That is Edward the Pig and the owner of The Anchor told me that Edward is a registered pet and will never be made into bacon. Good for Edward's owner as you can see this is some pig!
The dinner we had wasn't umm that great but viewing of the Tintern Abbey quickly put that bad curry dish behind us.













(Welsh: Abaty Tyndyrn) was founded in 1131. It really is a spectacular ruin and inspired the William Wordsworth poem "Tintern Abbey".
















I was also whisked off to the World Heritage city, Bath, located in Somerset, England most famous for its historic baths fed by three hot springs. It was first documented as a Roman spa, although tradition suggests that it was founded earlier.







The waters from its spring were believed to be a cure for many afflictions. From Elizabethan to Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy.

As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of Georgian architecture, most notably the Royal Crescent.
In 2006 the Thermae Bath Spa opened. It is a day spa, combining the 'old and new'.




They offer bathing in the warm, mineral-rich waters and a range of spa treatments designed to ease the body and soothe the mind.


Sweet! Next time Greg heads off to Scotland to play some golf, I am heading here for some relaxation. oh yeah baby!


Well it is mid-day here and I better get my bum off the chair and away from the computer.