Category: traveling

Categories
in estonia traveling

one day in tallinn


going to tallinn wasn’t on our original plans for this trip, but when mikko came home one day with discounted boat tickets… well, how could we resist? so, with little preparation and some faith on our gps, we hopped on an enourmous boat (the kind that swallows trucks!) and made the 2 and a half hours journey to estonia.
the old historic center of tallinn is a magical place, and a unesco world heritage site:

The origins of Tallinn date back to the 13th century, when a castle was built there by the crusading knights of the Teutonic Order. It developed as a major centre of the Hanseatic League, and its wealth is demonstrated by the opulence of the public buildings (the churches in particular) and the domestic architecture of the merchants’ houses, which have survived to a remarkable degree despite the ravages of fire and war in the intervening centuries. (from the unesco site)

estonian flag

and the architecture is indeed opulent and well preserved, with a distinct medieval feeling, making it a joy to just wander around, with our noses up on the air, looking for little details in the buildings, streets and cathedrals…

antiik






interesting though, most of our finish boat companions made the trip to estonia just to buy beer and other alcoholic drinks. prices were cheaper there, and as a result, on the way back we dodged a considerable number of “old lady” shopping carts, brimming with cases of beer :)

Categories
in finland traveling

squirrels!

yesterday, we were getting ready to leave the country by the end of the week. we finally got the car registration and i was all lists, coffee with friends and last minute errands. but now that our dormant healthcare system decided to wake up, and schedule the surgery my (pratically) mom-in-law needs (and has been waiting for the last 5 months), i guess we’re looking at another month or so on this sunny country.

like a bucket of cold water in the head, it feels sudden, yet… refreshing. we’ve been running around like headless chicken for the past month, and i hope that for whatever time her recovery takes, we’ll be able to tie some loose ends and slow down. that brings us to the topic of helsinki/finland, which i have been postponing for the past month. so let’s catch up.
he likes peanuts!


you know how the favorite parts of a trip often don’t come in your guidebook?

this one was a bit unexpected: squirrels! when nathalie & mikko proposed that we take a walk on seurasaari island to see the squirrels, i jumped at the idea! we barely get to see them around here (nevermind shanghai)… so, armed with a supply of peanuts and cameras, we wandered the island looking for squirrels.

they weren’t too shy, and once you found one, many more seemed to magically appear in the horizon, and before you know it they were coming at us from all sides, crawling up our legs to get that one delicious peanut! they took them all, of course, and we came back home with happy smiles and an endless supply of shaky photos… (they’re so fast!)

if you’re going to helsinki, don’t miss it! :)
up up!come here, little one!

Categories
in finland traveling

yarnbombing, from the streets of helsinki

yarnbombing, 2

Yarn bombing or yarnbombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.
While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing is almost exclusively about beautification and creativity.

from wikipedia
yarnbombing, 3
yarnbombing, 1
yarnbombing, 4

lots more examples at yarnbombing.com.

Categories
in finland traveling

kiasma




contemporary art museums and design museums are the kind of museums we like to visit in the places we go. the exhibitions may be a bit of “hit and miss” but there’s usually something thought provoking. so our first stop in finland was kiasma, the contemporary art museum of helsinki.

the architecture, by steven holl, is quite impressive (the curves on the atrium are incredible) and they give visitors ipods that guide you through the exhibits (none of those crap audiotour gadgets designed in the 70s).


the main exhibit when we visited was called “tracking traces”. it’s quite vague and hard to explain in words, so, from the booklet:

The works in the Tracking traces… collection exhibition have been divided into three thematic sections: The works under the Smudge theme explore the way in which the city is transmitted through the activity as signs and deeds. The works deal with, for example, globalization, subvertising and activism. The works under the Barcode theme use the whole spectrum of imagery offered by the visual culture as their material. The works borrow various images and in doing so change their original meanings. The third theme looks at the body as an image. Imprints are often seen as recognizable signs on the body, such as sleep wrinkles, bites or bruises. The traces left by the event may be more permanent than the physical sign.

some highlights i liked:

– an essay on patriotic food:

comunista é veado


– a surprising (and brilliant) photo essay on “animal viscera as garment”:



– a little train that ran around a room. it had a camera inside that was streaming to a mini-amphitheater on a corner, while voices from the “passengers” told their stories and recollections:

express
express

museum of contemporary art kiasma
mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 helsinki

Categories
postcrossing traveling

suomi

\\\

attending a big international postcrossing meet-up has been a dream which so far had been put on hold – for the great part of the last few years we were far away when these happened. not this time though, so we said, why not? we were in europe, the trip is quick and plane tickets are not that expensive, we didn’t know helsinki (but were extremely curious), and after a summer working from home, we could use a vacation. also, our dear friends nathalie and mikko live in helsinki, so it was a very nice opportunity to visit them :)

so we came to helsinki on a mission, but boy, were we in for a treat. stay tuned for an avalanche of nordic posts! :)