So Much to See, So Little Time

So, in as little as 3 weeks I will be back home for Christmas! My, hasnt time gone fast?! I'm glad I'm coming back though - there is still so much to see and do! Especially since a lot of things are closed over winter, and some things I have left for the spring in particular, such as going to the Archipelago, or the Alands (I cant do the funky Swedish A atm).

Still, I should have plenty of time next semester. I just hope they get used to not seeing me at work much. I need at least 2 weeks off I know already - one for the trip to Lapland, and one for the trip to Russia. Then also my friends and/family should be coming to visit at some point, so would be good to take time off and show them around. And then last night I met up with another girl I know who is staying the year too, and she has all these extravagant plans of trips, so maybe will get to tag along on a few of them. We'll see....

My friend from Helsinki may or may not still be coming to visit. Which means, I probabaly should do some tidying up just in case, hehe. Will continue with my Stockholm posts when I get the time (maybe tues night?).

I hate HTML!!!!

Can't believe how long it took me to sift through the Html for the last post just because I copied and pasted from word (I wrote the post at work). Actually, I'm gonna blame windows for inserting the useless Html in the first place. Gah!

Stockholm Diary - Part 1

We were getting the overnight ferry from Turku to Stockholm Thursday night. So I had the pleasure of a full day at work before heading to the harbour at 7. Once on the boat, we faffed about a bit and missed going up to see it leaving, so by the time we got on deck all you could see were islands of trees… and the odd bird.

So we had a wonder round the rest of the ship (quick look in the duty free) and then back to the cabin for food. Some people went to have a boogie, but I was so tired, I just headed to bed. In order to take up less room for when the other 3 girls returned, I took a top bunk. My god it was scary! I used to sleep in a bunk-bed as a kid, but it had a rail to stop you falling out – this didn’t! I was convinced the boat was gonna start tipping in the night and I would fall out. So I clung to the wall for the night. I survived.

We were woken by a Finnish man knocking on the doors, opening them to shout Huomenta in at you and then closing it again. On the third Huomenta he wanted to take the dirty sheets so we had to get up. On the fourth he seemed surprised we were still there “could you, slowly, erm, get out” Haha. So we left…

It was 6:30am Swedish time. The sun had barely risen. It was -2°C. So after dumping our bags, did we decide to go find a café to keep warm until the town woke up too? No, instead we wondered around the old town. On the way, we found the first of many churches, which we entered through a door that said “no entry for public” on the other side. But we were already through by then… oops.

The next church was closed (all winter!) but I love its church spire. It was hollow and metal, and I’d never seen anything like it before...

We then went further into the old town. I had completely lost my bearings by this point, so was just walking around taking it all in. We went through some narrow side-streets and saw some interesting buildings, but eventually we decided that nothing was open, and we were freezing, so we went and found a nice café.

After the café, we headed off in search of the Royal Palace. We had sort of walked past it earlier, but headed in the wrong direction. So we went back for a proper look and wondered all around the outside. It was beautiful. Although the guards were a little strange. They would talk to you if you stepped inside their little black line marked around their huts, and they were watching you and everything going on around them. Very different to the Beefeaters of London. The Palace opened at 12, so we wondered off for a little while until it was open but come back as we decided we would like to look inside.

So we went to a beautiful church next to it. My favourite church of the trip (I told you there were many). I don’t know what it was about it that I liked more than the others, but it was very charming. The interior was a bit bizarre in places. The most beautiful part though was the area where you could light a candle. Instead of just placing it on the side, you could place it in a giant spherical globe…

We then went to a few tourist shops, and headed back to the Palace….

Busy Busy Busy

Grrrr, blooming virus's (Or Drive-By Downloads, as Rachel has informed me they are called). Stupid thing just wasted half my evening and all I had to do was clear my private data. Oh well, at least it wasnt anything too malicious.

I have sorted through my Stockholm pics, and will do some proper updating soon. Went back to work today, so definitely on the mend. Out with the language circle tomorrow night and then think for hot chocolate friday night, then there's all sorts going on saturday night (plus my friend from Helsinki is visiting!) and then sunday night I've been invited for a Korean food night, then monday night is knitting again (I finished my hat this week!) and then Tuesday my tutor from England is coming for a visit, the Wednesday is a big Language Cicle party, then Thursday I'm meeting my travel buddies to swap pictures from Stockholm, and then friday I'm off to Seinajoki for the weekend, and then Monday will be knitting again and then FINALLY tuesday I might be able to update! Wow! That is gonna be a busy few weeks!

Hmm, so apologies if you dont hear much from me over the next week or so. Will try to type a few things up at work (apparently the new assays I'll be starting on Friday have 2 hour incubation periods = lots of mindless net surfing), so you might still hear from me yet!

Thanks Postergirl!

Before I get into the proper diary-type posts from Stockholm, I just want to post a quick one about my Cd shopping experience.

Postergirl recently wrote a guide to Cd shopping in Stockholm, which I read at the time, and came back to thursday just before setting off for Stockholm, noting down the best of her suggestions. As it turned out, my hostel was on St Eriksgatan, the same street as two of her suggestions. So after checking in, I headed off to do some serious bargain hunting. I was not disappointed.

I went in Record Hunter first (as it was the first one I came to) and decided this would suit me very well, but decided to check out the other shop just a few shops down the street. I didnt take to this shop so went back to record hunter.

In the basement they have many new and used CDs, with the Swedish artists separated out. Most of these were then in a buy 4 for the price of 3 offer (although when I ask the cashier if I was right in thinking that is what the Swedish meant, he jokingly said 'no no, it means these are double the price' - haha, very funny).

So anyway, I managed to find 4 Cds that I wanted - Måns Zelmerlöw, Stand By For... (been waiting for so long to get it), BWO, Prototype (the only BWO Cd they had in the basement), Danny, Heartbeats, and September (her self-titled debut). I also found Sara Bareilles tucked in next to BWO and decided for an extra 50kr it would be worth getting 5 for the price of 4.

Only disappointment was not finding E.M.D's album, which was quite high on my wish list. I found it upstairs for 129kr, but thought I only had another 75kr and therefore not enough even if I put one of the 50kr CDs back.

So I go to the cashier; 'Was there anything in particular you were looking for but didnt find, because we have lots more out back that we just dont have shelf-space for'. I explained that I wanted E.M.D's album, and found it here, but didnt have enough kroner on me. After a bit of bargaining, and finding another 20kr tucked in my purse, they let me have it for just 95kr!

So I walked away with 6 Cds for 295kr, and was a very happy girl. As it turned out, I didnt have time to do any shopping at all the next day, so was so glad to get everything I wanted in one shop!

Surprisingly I didnt find any Charlotte Perrelli, Sanna Neilsen or The Ark in the basement, but I found the ones I really really wanted and a few extra. I havent got round to listening to them all yet, but what I've heard so far makes me very happy :)

So in summary, if you only have a limited amount of time, and happen to be in the area, definitely check out Record Hunter at St Eriksgatan 70 for your cheap Swedish Cd needs.

On The Mend

Feeling much better today, although still not got much appetite yet. Managed some soup with my bread today, and bought some ice cream, but it was perhaps a bit too rich. Lots of lemonade too :)

So didnt get round to blogging much. Spent all day in bed watching Gossip Girl (my new obsession). And uploading my new Cds (see upcoming post). Mån's album is soooo good, I cant believe its taken me so long to get a copy! Anyway, hoping to head upstairs to do a bit more knitting soon, and see how that goes. Not sure if I'm strong enough to brave the snow for work tomorrow given I'm still not really on solid foods, but we'll see how it goes.

Oh, and got the pictures off my camera. just shy of 300! How is that possible in 2 days I have no idea. Will sort through and put the best in an album for your pleasure soon enough.

Back in Turku

So I return to Finland after an nice weekend in Stockholm. Far from perfect but on the whole very enjoyable. Stockholm was quite different to what I expected, but it was still very beautiful. We wondered around the old town, saw the royal palace, I went CD shopping, visited the christmas market at Grona Lund, and went to the Vasa Museum. Quite a lot for 2 days I guess. However, the christmas market was a bit of let down, and I ended up with food poisoning on the ferry ride back to Finland.... So not the best end to the weekend.

Still feeling a bit fragile, so might be a while before I get round to blogging about the weekend properly. But then again, I doubt I'll make it to work tomorrow, so maybe boredom will send me into a blogging frenzy.

Let It Snow!

One last quick post before Stockholm...

We have snow in Turku! Lots of it!

Stockholm Tomorrow

Was planning to write a short update today, but got distracted by thanksgiving dinner... Story for another time. Anyway, I'm going to Stockholm tomorrow!!! Will be back sunday to tell you all about it, and hopefully have some pictures. Apparently the forecast saturday is for snow!

Number one fan?

Love this pic.

(Thanks to blogmax)

Nobody's Perfect

My new housemate isnt perfect! Hurrah!

I live with 2 girls. One never talks to me unless she wants to borrow something. The other used to sit and have a cup of tea with me occasionally, and was generally very nice. She moved out 2 weeks ago. My new housemate (who is Russian) doesnt really talk to me much (although we still say hello etc) but doesnt make a point of avoiding me either like the other girl.

Anyway, when she moved in, she spent the whole weekend cleaning. Which made me feel guilty. She continued this trend, by defrosting the freezer, continuing to clean etc etc. I also thought she was emptying the bins (something that rarely happened before she moved in).

Tonight I went onto the balcony to find 2 weeks of bin bags mercilessly thrown out onto it! It gave me a great sense of satisfaction to know she wasnt perfect. I stood and enjoyed the view for a while (of the skyline, not the rubbish), before returning to my room feeling a lot better.

Observations

That was a bit of a mammoth post wasnt it? I really should update more often. Thought I better put todays activity as a separate post as it will mostly be pictures. I actually took nearly 100 photos within an hour. Which is shocking, since I'm not normally a snap-happy sort. Although I admit to becoming a bit snap happy since i've been here. I'm constantly taking photos on the way to/from work of the sunrise/set.

Anyway, today when I woke up it actually seemed quite bright outside, so suddenly had ideas of going to look at St Michaels Church on the other side of town, and also finally to go and have a look at the observatory. This is a beautiful white building that sits apon a hill, and which you can see from all over Turku. As I went to catch the bus into town, it seemed it was a lot colder than anticipated, and on the way into town it looked as though it was trying to snow. So I decided to just head for the observatory.

This is in part of Turku that is now the handicrafts museum, and the only remaining areas of old Turku saved from the major fire. Its also set in a beasutiful park, so the whole area is very beautiful. First you have the handicrafts museum...



And then I discovered a Summer Theatre, with some nice views...



The best views of the city were to be found in front of the observatory...




Then of course there was the observatory itself...




Oh, and I even got a glimspe of the church I was initially planning to visit...


And then I headed home.
I think this is my favourite area of Turku. Not including Ruissalo. I imagine in the summer it would truely beautiful, although the trees would block some of the views, so there is beauty in all seasons I guess.

The Week Revised

Sundays are slow in Finland, so lets see if I can type up this weeks goings on...

Saturday 8/11
I went along to the Jubilee concert of the Åbo Akademi symphony orchestra. It was really nice to listen to a live orchestra again. I used to play in a brass band back home, and my aunt and uncle would often take me to orchestra concerts, so it was a nice nostalgic feeling. Except of course this orchestra were blooming fantastic (compared to our learners brass band at least). The first half featured a novel composistion by the orchestra's composer and had a Finnish zither as the solo instrument. I have never seen this instrument before and it was surprising the range of different sounds that it could produce. There were then some pieces with a clarinet solo. The second half was my favourite though. It featured a daramtic peice by Sibelius (a famous Finnish composer, who has a monument dedicated to him in Helsinki, which I have vistied). I prefered this purely because there was much more brass. They then finished off with Finlandia, Sibelius's most famous piece and a sort of unofficial national anthem for Finland.

Sunday 9/11
I went back to Ruissalo to the sea sauna with Carrie, my fellow native speaker of the English Language Circle (except she's american, but dont let that put you off). The weather was miserable, but it meant that the sea actually looked like the ocean rather than just a lake, as the winds were causing waves that splashed along the coast. Also it was so misty you couldnt see the islands. The sauna was in a beautiful littel wooden cottage, with a real og fire in the main room, and then the sauna round back. We had the sauna to ourselves for the most part. We did try and follow the Finns down to the sea where they were swimming without a care in the world, but it was absolutely freezing. I managed to go in once, but my hands were nearly blue by the time we came out, so after that we just stuck to putting our feet in to cool off. All in all, a relaxing way to spend sunday afternoons.

Monday 10/11
After talking to Finns in the language circle, Carrie had the idea of setting up a knitting club as a kind of spin-off from the language circle. So now every monday we plan to meet, knit, drink tea and chat. Last week I missed them in the Kauppatori, so didnt have any yarn, but carrie lent me some of her left-overs and I made a bookmark... This week I plan to stock up on wool and try out for a hat :) My aunt often tried to teach me to knit, but I never stuck at it long and so would always forget. I prefered cross-stitch to be honest. I quite enjoyed it last week actually, and can see how knitting a jumper or hat is more practical than cross-stitching a horse onto a tea-towel...

Thursday 13/11
The language circle met again, and this time we just went to a pub. We went to Poro, which is Finnish for reindeer. I've been there once before and really liked it. Its all decorated with fur and antlers, and funky lighting. And they do a mean hot chocolate.


After that, some of us carried on to Bounce Around the World, a night organised by one of ESN. It was to feature international music from all around the world, and I tried to help out by providing some songs, but it seems that it had all gone a bit pear-shaped for the guy organising it, and the international music was only being played in the lobby while the main dance-floor was filled with the usual generic stuff. So we sat in the lobby. Was cool to see a couple of Russian girls going a a bit mad when Gore Zima by Dima Bilan came on. I enjoyed the company and the music, but the actualy club and atmosphere was a bit of a disspointment. A nice idea, just poorly exicuted I think...

Saturday 15/11
Me and a friend decided to head for a museum. There are a number of museums in Turku, and despite visiting a few in Helsinki, I hadnt thought about going to any here really (apart from the castle, which I guess could count as a museum). So we chose to visit the Aboa Vetus | Ars Nova museum, which is a museum of archeology and contemporary art... Strange combination. I'm not really a fan of art museums, but I like history, and with Turku being the oldest town in Finland there is a lot of it here.
For the archeology section of the museum, you descend into an actual excavation of Turku, where you can wonder around the old unearthed streets of medieval Turku. There is a running story of a fictional character called Matti, based on fact, that guides you around the museum, and lots of activities for children to take part in (although we tried a few, never too old). the highlight is possibly the chapel, where you can light a candel and say a prayer. A very intesting museum, which is worth the entrance fee alone.
The art section of the museum I was not so interested in, but since its all in the one entrance fee, we went around anyway. There was an exhibition of the CoBrA group of artists, who apparently formed 60 years ago and were influential in the development of modern art. It was alright I guess, but I've never been a fan of art in general. I always feel like I'm missing something. Although there were two pieces that I liked a lot.
Overall, I would recommend a visit to this museum, if your in the area. Its right in the centre of town, and a generally enjoyable mixture of art and history.

Stockholm on Thursday!!!

Seems like its been ages since I signed up for the trip, and it seems like ages since I've been anywhere other than Turku/Helsinki. But its finally here! On thursday we will be getting the overnight ferry to Stockholm (so after a full day at work :/) which gives us an early arrival on friday (6am!) and then a full day saturday (where we'll be going to a local christmas market) before getting the overnight ferry back again. So three nights, but only 2 days. Means I get all day sunday to recover,

I'm so excited!!!

I'm A Lazer(girl) for Life!

Ok, trying to write a new post about my week (which has been pretty standard, but busy and a lot of fun), but the inspiration just isnt coming. So I'll post a song instead.

I've been loving the electropop lately; Vinegar (Anna Abreu), Radio (Danny), among others. But by far the most listened to this week is a new song from Mr Sergey Lazarev! I've been loving this song for a while (Thanks to EQ) but finally the video has been released this week. Its all very stylish, and Mr lazarev is looking rather dishy. :)

Oh and the song is ace too! Its called Lazerboy;

It's Like I Can't Breathe

I never really got into Never Mind the Buzzcocks, despite being a huge Bill Bailey fan, but came across the latest series on youtube recently and decided to see how they'd manage without Bill. Well, I have to say I've rather gotten into it now. I used to think Simon Amstell was an idiot when he was on Popworld, but his humour has grown on me lately. I love these British quiz shows that arent really about the quiz at all - 8 out of 10 cats, and QI being the best. Anyway, this scene in the first episode of the new series of NMTB is hilarious and probably the reaon I kept watching...

Another Week Over (A New One Just Begun?)

Ok, enough with the random songs posts. Time for a proper update. I won't do a day-by-day thing like normal, because well, most of them would go something like this. xxxday - went to work, rushed off my feet, went home, slept. So lets just do the highlights shall we...

Thursday (30th Oct);
The English Language Circle hosted an 'international food night'. It was something we talked about it the first meeting (when there was 30 of us) but with the deteriorating numbers of people coming (about 5 a week now) I wasnt expecting much. But the response was huge. We had about 20 people sharing food from their home countries. Some put more effort into it than others (a packet of chocolate chip cookies from the supermarket to represent America?). Anyway, I decided to make Toad in the Hole, as it is a traditional popular dish of Britain. And supposedly easy to make. Although, I've never made it before it seemed to turn out pretty well. The sausages arent really as good as we have back home (they're more like frankfurters here) so was a bit worried. But people seemed to like it :) i have to say, I loved some of the other dishes. Notably the Korean rice balls, and the Finnish cinnamon buns. Very yummy :p


Friday (31st Oct);
Friends birthday. Pizza. Pub. Karaoke. Bacon. Rave. Mess.

Saturday/Sunday (1st and 2nd Nov);
4th Annual European Film festival. There must be some sort of film society at the university, and they ran the whole programme of the festival for 3 days for free! So with nothing better to do for the weekend I went along to watch a few. I saw a German film, about a guy who is so lonely that he steals a family and holds them hostage in his flat. Strange, but compelling. Had no idea where it was heading or how it would end, so kept me interested for the 90mins. Then I watched some shorts, my favourite being a British one called Speechless.
Sunday I saw an Irish film called Satalites & Meteorites. It was a love story going on in the minds of two coma patients. But it all starts to go wrong when the doctors try to wake up said coma patients. If you liked films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which I dont) and Science of Sleep (which I love) then you should definitely keep your eyes peeled for this one. I do hope its gets a proper release. After that I watched some more shorts (well, 2) which were very weird, and not really worth much mention.

Thursday (6th Nov);
Halloween-themed Sitz party! Seems a bit weird to still be doing Halloween the day after guy fawks night, but then thats not really a concern here I guess. Anyway, you can read about the tradition that is the Sitz party here, but the general gist is, a seated meal, with alcohol and singing. You have a 'King and Queen' who lead the singing and control the 'citizens'. We got to sing traditional Sitz songs (in both Swedish and Finnish, as well as some English and German). There is also a question set out by the 'King and Queen' which is answered going around the room at various intervals in the night. Given the American elections seeming to take over the media of every western country of late, our question was based on Obama's campaign slogan - change. Luckily I didnt have to answer in the end.
Anyway, the whole thing was quite a fun idea, and I think done properly would be great. But I think it relys on the Finns nature of following rules, even when drunk, which the other Europeans *cough* Spanish *cough* dont do so well, and after a while it felt like our 'King and Queen' were losing control of the drunken masses, so we decided to duck out early (but after the punsch of course).

And thats pretty much my week summed up. Tomorrow is a jubilee concert of the Abo Akademi, where a full simphonie Ochestra will be playing some classical Finnish compositions, such as Finlandia by Sibelius. Should be a good atmosphere I think.

I Guess There's Got To Be A Break In The Monotony

Time for another random video. Here It Goes Again by OK Go. Those white shoes are mesmerising. One of the best videos ever made;