Pargas

Last weekend me and Mira decided we would investigate one of the islands. Turku has what is supposed to be a very beautiful Archipelago region. I think perhaps best appreciated from a boat or a bike, but it is possible to get a bus to some of the more populated areas. After much discussion, we decided to head to Pargas (or Parainen in Finnish). This is supposedly the sort of 'capital' of the Archipelago and just a 40minute bus ride away.

Apon arrival, we discovered there was a strange market going on. I later found out this was for Paraisten Päivät (Parainen days?). Anyway, there was some odd music, a man on a segway, a man in a tutu offering potatoes, a stag night party (more on that later), and most notably a CD stall selling Swedish CDs :) Actually I didnt buy any as I'll be going to Stockholm soon, and am confident I'll find them cheaper there, but still it was exciting to see Måns, Sanna Nielsen, Alcazar, MF and many others.

After looking at a map we decided to head towards what looked like a nature trail. It was also close to a beach. As we walked along the coast, the sun started to think about shining... We then cut through a very nice little residential area. I'm guessing these are very sought after houses. They were fairly big (in terms of Finland at least), had lovely gardens, and most had views of the ocean. Also as we were walking along, we passed another group walking along who said a friendly 'Hej/Hei' to us as we went past! What?! That never happens in Finland. I've decided if I move to Finland permanently, this is where I want to live. Especially after we reached the beach...


The sun came out, and I decided to go for a paddle. It was so nice. I could have happily gone for a swim in fact. Although I nearly did when I foolishly decided to try and walk along a group of rocks. They were a bit slippery...


After that we went and sat on the pier so I could wash and dry my feet without the issue of sand. Unfortunately I somehow ended up flinging my sock into the ocean :/ So I had to walk around with just one sock on for the rest of the day... Oh, and then it started hailing. Yes, it was cold enough to hail. In June. Crazy country.


So then we explored the woods. Not much to say really. Trees, plants, pine cones, you know the drill. However, due to the recent rain, it did smell nice. Must be the Brit in me, but I love the smells after it rains.


We then went to explore the old town. Well, it was no Porvoo, but there was an interesting church. Something about the shiny roof made me think of the Wizard of Oz for some reason.


We then went back to the river, where we found a nice little cafe place to sit and have what was in fact a very big portion of chips and a burger. Yum Yum. Possibly the highlight of the day was the stag party mentioned earlier. Sadly I have no photographic evidence, but the stag was dressed up in a blonde wig and carried a guitar to serenade unsuspecting victims with. Luckily we were not one of these victims, so it was just funny :)


After that we went back into the old town and continued to walk around marveling at all the lovely big houses. After sufficiently walking off said burger and chips we went and sat down by the bay again, and watch a seagull attempting to catch his own lunch. Was quite impressive to watch him diving for the fish. Didnt see him actually catch any mind you...


And then it was time to say goodbye to Pargas. It was a fun day. The only way it could have been better is if the weather had been a bit better, and if we had found the mysterious sheep farm, haha! But still, it was so nice to get out of Turku for a while. In some ways it did feel like we had gone abroad (Swedish was the main language, and although most of what we heard was Finnish, shops and signs were all written in Swedish first, and then Finnish). I would definitely like to see some of the other islands before my time here is up.

I Was Just Walking Around in the Sun...

The summer is finally arriving in Finland. Or maybe its just the spring, I cant tell. Either way the sun was shining beautifully yesterday. So after work I met with Mira for pizza and then we went for ice cream along the river. We went for a soft-ice/99 flake style ice cream this time. Except of course they don't have flakes here :( BUT they did have a choice between vanilla, chocolate, or a mix of the two! Magic. So we sat along the river for a while until the sun went behind some bushes. In search of more sun, we went higher. Towards the observatory hill. We found a second spot, but once again the sun moved behind some trees, so we continued yet higher until we were practically at the top of the hill. Success. Anyway, I'm not sure whether it was the prolonged sun exposure, the high altitude, or a sugar rush, but I was in such a bizzare mood. It was the best afternoon I've had in a while. It made me feel young again, in the days when you could just chill out with friends without a care in the world and forget about the passing of time.

I have some pictures and a song to share with you. In my crazy state I ended up singing a random selection of songs to the increasingly concerned Mira. This being one of them...





I should mention that Mira had never heard of Adam and the Ants before. Anyway, I also have some lovely photos. They're just of the sunshine, but still...

BBQ tonight! Although its partly a farewell party for my housemate who is leaving early tomorrow morning. There have been a few goodbyes this week. It makes me sad. Mostly because it reminds me that it will be my turn before long :(

Hyvää Vappua

May the 1st in Finland is a national holiday looked forward to by many Finns. Many have even told me they prefer it to Christmas. Then again, their Christmas doesnt seem as much fun :p

But yes, May 1st, or Vappu, is a 2 day celebration of... well I'm not sure actually. But its important for students. If you graduate from a Finnish 'high school' then you get a funny white hat that looks like part of a navy uniform. They have a little gold emblem, which is different for each region. But essentially they all look the same. On April 31st the celebrations begin. Well actually, some people start ealier in the week, and various societies at the university hold gatherings with drinks and traditional Vappu snacks. My celebrations started with the annual speach made by the head of the utu (university of turku) students union. This is held on the hill by the art museum, just north of the kauppatori. And there's were many many many people. There was some music and a choir before the speach, after which the students can then put on their caps. Although mainly a student celebration, many adults and all ages were there to listen to the speach and take part in the tradition. Have a look at some of my pictures to get an idea of the atmosphere...
After that we walked down to the river where there is a statue of ... someone. Every year she gets 'cleaned' by some of the dentist students before getting her cap. To be honest this was a bit lame. In helsinki the statue is a fountain so the cleaning is well, real. But anyway. After that everyone goes off to private parties, and the town is overtaken by drunken Finns.

The next day, actual Vappu, there is a mass picnic held on Vartiovuorimaki (something like that). Its the observatory hill, one of my favourite places in Turku, and something I believe I have written about quite a few times. Well, the place was strewn with sleeping hungover Finns, picnic blankets, mini BBQ's, and there was also a stage with more bands and a DJ and more speaches. Oh, and there was also free ice cream and free fanta :) Again, pictures say more than words...

Lapland Pictures

I havent had time this week to write up a diary of my Lapland trip, but for those of you that are interested you can view my photo album of pictures from the week here...

Lapland

Cold Snap

I just want to share a few pics with you. The river here in Turku has been frozen for a while now, and I kpet meaning to take a photo. Friday I missed the bus, so decided to finally go and do it. So here are a selection of the photos taken.

New Pic

Oh, and check out the new pic ---------->

Thought I'd get rid of the stolen one and add one of my own masterpieces, hehe. Actually really love the pictures I took of Turku in the snow. Will have to share the best ones with you soon.

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.

Pictures of Turku and Tallinn

I've uploaded a couple more photo albums for your pleasure. First up we have a more complete set of photos of the lovely Tallinn And also, we have a selection of photos from an afternoon spent wondering around the town that is my home for the next 10months. Turku;

For some reason, Picasa no longer wants to let me embed photo albums into a post, but you can find a link to the photo albums in my list over on the right ------------>

First Attempt at being a Tourist.

So I finally managed to get my camera working last night (as you could gather) and today after a gruelling day of speaking Finnish, it stopped raining and the sun came out! Hurrah! So I did a quick sweep of the harbour area and some of the other areas and took some snaps. I forgot my map, so just followed the english-speaking tourists. Its quite a lovely city, but the traffic lights take way too long to change.

Anyway, I've uploaded the album for your amusement.

Early Sightseeing in Helsinki

Edit: I've added some more pictures from the art museum today, and added some captions to explain what some of the pictures are of.

Pictures

While waiting up for my brother last night, I had a play around with Picasa. What with the main purpose of this blog being to share storys and photos from my travels, I thought I'd have a look at some of the photo-sharing programmes available. Well, its a bit complicated for my simple non-technological self, but I think I've got it sussed. So I've uploaded the photos from Vienna and Bratislava. If you want to have a browse, here are the links;

Vienna

Bratislava

I've also started a little link list on the right over there ---> for you to browse them at your leisure. I've got the paris ones up there, and will most likely put my ones from Cologne on there before long too.