cerealjoe | Entries tagged with gali and finland are bff

Hello world, I'd like to announce that it's the last day of November and I'm still cycling to work. And it doesn't involve winter tyres. Because I'm a big sissy on my bike and, I have to be honest about it, the concept of cycling on snow or ice kind of scares the shit out of me, studded tyres or not.

By the looks of it I will also be cycling well into December. On the one hand it's annoying because it means that it's a constantly warm(ish) 3-6C with decent cloud cover and drizzle every single day... but on the other hand it means I don't have to use a bus and therefore do not have to face potentially more sick people (loads of peeps are complaining about public transport coughing, sneezing and sniffling these days).

The drizzling and darkness have also made me give up officially on running. The darkness, the drizzle, the wind, it's just not fun anymore. Up until it gets cold and dry, then it gets fun again! Now it's officially full on pool season. Ah, those bright lights at 6:15am and that water at 28C, nothing like it to get me out of bed. Seriously. Why wasn't I doing this years ago?

And you know what? Finnish grandmas seem to like flowery 3D swim caps. They're awesome. Actually now that I think about it, maybe they're shower caps? Anyone know? They look a bit looser than a swim cap. (In totally unrelated stuff, the number of Finnish grandmas with perms is disappointingly low compared to Korean ajummas.)

And you know something else? This is my last "post at some point" photo full of sunshine taken back in October.

I like to joke that somewhere in the middle of October Finland and I always start divorce talks. Always. It gets worse in November, especially if it's a really rainy November. I mean... look at this!

What kind of weather is this? You'll tell me that I should be happy that it's warm. I'm not. Why? Because a warm November means two things: a rainy November and a dark November. Indeed, right now it's "day" and that means that it's a cloudy grey, it's dark and grey and the only reason I know it's not night time is because it's not pitch black outside. Otherwise one still needs to have the lights turned on at all time indoors, one still always needs a light during a bike ride, etc. Add to that the fact that it's always either raining or drizzling. Always. Forget your umbrella, it's windy too... 12m/s of constant wind. A cold, crisp -5C or colder only seems to exist in my dreams and somewhere in February, alas. Moreover, look at the temperatures, there is barely any difference between night and day, a constant tiny oscillation whereas in most cold areas there is, at least, a 10C difference. It starts getting on your nerves after a while.

I would say that I was still doing rather well before going to Denver and Boulder. But there, they have days that are almost 3 hours longer, blue skies, cold night and almost-t-shirt-days. I suppose the difference in altitude plays a large role in it all. BTW, did you know that the highest "hill" in Helsinki is 90m above sea level and used to be a landfill? It's Malminkartanonhuippu. Yeah, take that Mile High City! 90m!

Wah. Had to get it all out. Now let me go get another cup of tea and stare out the window some more. Maybe if I judge the weather enough it will decide to change soon! And let's remember happier days from the beginning of October... when a walk outside at 4pm was not done in pitch black conditions.

(btw, for those wondering, the divorce talks between Finland and me end somewhere in February when the blue skies reappear and definitely end at Vappu)

Cycling to work in negative temperatures, been there done that - not much to talk about!
(that's the frosted-over lawn on campus, low light and phone cameras are not the best of buddies.)

To be honest, I was rather dreading this commuting-in-rather-cold-temperatures thing but in the end, it's not so bad! It sure beats cycling in drizzle or worse - when the air is full of lingering water particles. The leaves have a different crunch to them. The grass fields along the way are covered in frost. The bridges are nicely frosted over. Sure it's colder but I put on a warm sweater and a coat that's good enough for skiing and everything was fine!

Okie, now that's crossed off my list of things to do. Next thing up: figure out if I want to try my hand at cycling on snow... and if I do, get snow tyres for the bike.

As the temperatures are supposed to go down a tiny bit around here and it is (or rather, "was") a bit colder in Denver, I decided it was time to invest in a warmer coat. My train of thought for choosing one was about the same as for the one I currently use - "is it waterproof? can I cycle in it? can I wear it "in town" without it looking too much like a sports-oriented jacket?" I could have very easily just gone for two warm jackets, one fancy for going out and one specifically made for outdoors activities but those town jackets just seem so impractical! They feel heavier, they seem a lot less water- and wind-proof.

Yep. Alas I could not really find any kinds of walking boots that possibly could pass as fancy boots that one could wear with a skirt at a conference. Such a shame. Well, I did see some but I cannot possibly imagine trying to wear those indoors also, they were so toasty and warm that one would probably have baked feet after thirty seconds at room temperature. Perfect for going places but not so much for staying there. Kind of like umbrellas.

What has my life become? Seriously? I used to think that I hard-core because I embraced whole-heartedly the reflectors-on-everything culture! Now I'm all about things being waterproof because of the fog/drizzle days and wind-proof for the bike. Actually yesterday I saw this amazing cycling overcoat with front anti-wind plates and a lighter back side and I was in awe. Absolutely getting one of those for next autumn if I'm cycling around a cold-ish and wind-ish place. It was just amazing, one of those things I fully understand why it's worth the 150+ bucks it was selling for! Extra wind-proof front plates! Whenever I cycle along the shore and especially between the islands, which is basically every day, I always think "I wish I had an extra newspaper to tuck into the front of my coat!" when the wind increases and the temperatures automatically drop... and this overcoat does the newspaper trick for you! Waaaahhh!

Right... back to normal life and herring! That sounds like something out of Monty Python right there. Anywho, the Baltic Herring Fair! The one and only!

( +6 - yep, people and herring! )

It appears that I am a creature of habit a lot more than I realise. Around these parts we do not get the 1st of November off but rather All Saints' Day is moved to the Saturday which happens to be anywhere from 31.10 to 06.11 and on that Saturday everything stops. It's like on Juhannus when you have to rack your brain to find an open restaurant (hint: Café Carusel is our prime choice, they always seem to be open).

And this is actually stressing me quite a bit because my week-end habits will be completely out of whack. The pool will be open on Sunday's schedule tomorrow so that means it will open later. Now I can't go there at 6:45am and... it just feels wrong! The library will not be open tomorrow nor Sunday and while I don't go to the local library every single week-end I like knowing that if I wanted to, I could always drop by! It's the same for some shops, I often like to drop by the recycling center shop if I'm in the city center and if I go have brunch somewhere but obviously it will be closed! The local shops, even the 24/7 Alepa that's a bit further down will be closed! My local Alepa and Valintatalo will be closed! I obviously will not die because they're closed but it's always nice knowing that if ever I need something I can always get it but now... I guess the shops at the railway station and the grocery shop in Kamppi will be open. But still! Argh! Feel the frustration of being used to some things and then they change for a day!

The sad part is that I'm complaining like this about my habits not being respected but for how long was everything closed on Sundays? It's only recently that most stores open then and that the library is also open.

The worst bit? It will most likely not the sunny. Enjoying a good book in the crispy cold air will not be quite a possibility.

And that will be the end of this Friday's rant.

This photo was taken at around 6:30pm in mid-September. I already thought at the time that it was getting dark much too quickly. Today though marks the first day when I cycled to and from work in complete darkness.

How things change. Still, it seems that going to bed a tad earlier and morning pool and cycling do help getting motivated to get things done. This way of dealing with the inevitable seasonal darkness seems to make me a bit of a weirdoe in most people's eyes.

Something rather weird happened yesterday when I got out of the pool to get to my bike. The moment I stepped outside the smell reminded me of that morning smell in Risoul when we go skiing. I can't even describe it, it's just that smell of cold, humidity, road, trees, everything.

Oh, and the grass was covered in frost. First time I clearly saw that. I do hope it gets drier soon because I don't really feel like taking the bus or getting winter tyres yet!

And the days are noticeably shorter. Cycling to and from work with the full bling-bling high visibility and LED lights everywhere. Safety first and all that! That makes me think of another way that Finland has transformed me over the last couple of years - now when I see someone walking without a reflector all I can think is "how silly and unsafe is that?" whereas before I didn't really see the point of those cute little bears and flowers and other things hanging off everyone's jackets and bags!

A couple of weeks ago, when we first hit temperatures close to 0C for a day or two, the number of lost gloves increased dramatically. To think that everyone should have them attached on strings like many children do!

Even more strangely I've noticed quite a few other pieces of clothing left behind all over the place. Either previously I wasn't paying attention or people just take extra layers in the morning, take one or two off while going for a walk and forget them after having a rest on a bench.

Still doesn't explain that pair of jeans I cycled by the other day. I think alcohol might be behind that one.

Slowly but surely the leaves are falling. The wind isn't helping their cause much.

It's kind of funny how one gets used to everything, including the feeling of mushy wet leaves under the bike's tyres.

And on a totally unrelated note, let me tell you about the local trash collections. In many countries everyone is forever complaining about how the bin men don't do much more than only taking the bins that have been put exactly in their designated areas right along the curb and they don't put them back correctly, etc. Here they actually come inside the back-garden/area where we keep our bikes, where there is a swim, the bbq and all of that stuff. They open the shed that houses all the different bins, wheel the correct bin a good 50m to the truck and then bring it back in. And they do it at every single building in the area and always very correctly put everything the way it's supposed to be! No one has to make sure that they bring the correct bin at the correct time to the curb, there are no trash bins standing on the pavement taking up room all day long because the person in charge wasn't there to bring them back in, etc.

I know it's an absolutely small thing but it still surprised me the first time I saw it happen. Trash collecting executed perfectly, no sense of rushing (pas de fini-parti), at a decent hour and not at 5AM. So major props to the collecting company for doing things well!

Glimpse of the day into my life: the art of planning on when to head home - the easy edition.

The "very easy edition" is when it's sunny outside. Then you head home whenever you want.

The "easy edition" is today's case when there are rain clouds headed your way from one direction and you still have some time. The screengrab below is the situation at 3:45pm today. I'd say if I head out before 5pm, I should make it home before the downpour. The key is to monitor the situation because sometimes things speed up a bit.

The "kinda tricky edition" is when there are rain clouds with decent breaks in between. You really have to time it so that you can find a half-hour window. Let's be honest thought the chances of not getting soaked are rather limited on most occasions.

The "you're fucked edition" is when the whole screen is just orange and red (it's no longer simple rain but a proper downpour) and there seems to be no end to it... so you might as well head out because you're going to be soaked at the end anyway.

Another time we'll talk about calculating your hanging out with friends so that you can still kind of manage to make it home before it's too dark because you have yet to get a proper lamp for your bike. Stay tuned!

BRB, MIA being busy and stuff.

Also please note that today I only had to cycle on wet-post-deluge roads and not in an actual deluge. That is a huge improvement. So...

Dear Finland,
You thought you could convince me to give up on cycling to/from everywhere with all that rain and cold. Well I'm a freaken trooper and there is no bad weather, there is just inadequate clothing and I am not afraid of bringing a full set of clothes to change at work if needed.
Still loads of love,
Me.

And with this I leave you with some random berries from a few weeks back.

Finland! Finland! Finland! *insert the rest of that song from Spamalot*

Not much has changed in a year, actually I would like to say that Helsinki is almost exactly the same as I remember it being last year. I don't know what I was expecting but somehow everything seems familiar, almost too familiar. My flat is different though! I have a view on an inner court yard where the bikes are kept and I have trees blocking my view of other buildings. Darn it, so much for spying too much on others.

Some things I have now realised I kind of missed like the standard Finnish dish drying cupboard above the sink. Some things I did not miss like the general state of the drunkenness of some peeps in Helsinki on a beautifully warm and clear Saturday evening (and night).

Anywho. Now I am armed with tea, so life is good. And my stuff is unpacked, oh the joy of moving with a single suitcase. Also I am greatly appreciating the micro-fibre towel I brought along, not only great for travelling but also great when it's relatively humid overall. Will have to remember to get another one.

Giving myself another few days before I bring in the suitcase and kind start throwing things inside. Till then I'm really thinking about finding a bucket or a cardboard box and starting with that... I've made way too many lists I've lost of "Things I Cannot Possibly Forget" which include such essentials to my Finnish life as:
- my bus and library cards (there is no life if they're not there)
- my K-plus card (because it's always there with the other cards)
- Finnish SIM card (if it still works, maybe I should check...)
- collection of reflectors (a month or two till we need those all the time)
- at least three of my Marimekko bags (maybe I should wash them beforehand)
- super duper winter tights collection (because I'm hardcore and wear skirts when it's freezing)
- soap (because why buy savon de Marseille abroad when you can bring your own)
- ... (that's pretty much all I've thought of so far)

I clearly have my priorities in the proper order right there. Also the other day I checked something on Reittiopas for the first time in a year and it felt like seeing an old friend again.

Till then... more sunshine, more hot temperatures. This week here - sun, min 20°C, max 30°C. In Helsinki - a bit sunshine, a bit of clouds, a bit of rain, mix 13°C, max 20°C. But hey, the day is still longer in Helsinki! Sunrise almost an hour earlier and sunset 30 minutes later!

( +4 - did everyone see the transition with the bucket? )

So unless you've been living under a rock or are not a Finn or do not have any Finnish friends or friends who live in Finland or are not a hockey fan, then you've probably seen the most important news of all this past week - yes, Finland beat Sweden and is now the world hockey champion. Had they won against Russia or Canada, meh, would have been nice but no, this is Sweden they beat.

The last time it happened was in 1995 and if you go to Finland and hang out with some hockey fans they'll tell you about "Den glider in" and why that's the song that Finns associate to the Finnish hockey team even though it's in Swedish. What happened was that the Swedes were so stocked about that world cup and they were so sure that they were going to win it that they had already a song written for it... and then, bam!, the Finns won and decided to annoy the Swedes even more and took over singing that song. And since 1995 it's like a ritual, you have to karaoke to it at least once. Have I ever mentioned that Finns are rather huge on karaoke? They've even got "karaoke taxis", they're exactly what the title says, a taxi you take a karaoke system in it and you can sing while getting to your destination.

Anyway, 95% of the people I know in Finland were going mental during the game. Even peeps who don't really care about sports! And then they won, beat Sweden 6-1 and everyone got out and seeing the photos of the craziness in Helsinki at 2pm I can imagine that it was grand. Then on Monday everyone went to the Helsinki city center to see the team and, I'll be honest, I've never seen so many people in the Helsinki city center at one time. Crazy, crazy stuff!

Now some awesome stuff about Finland and the celebrations!

- A interactive photo of all the peeps in the city center. Told ya it was madness!
- Tons of photos of the night in Helsinki. (watch out, one or two are not exactly work safe)
- This video of the coach of the team coming down the plane... and being, well, a Finn after they've won the world cup - that is not too sober. Too cup thought! (thanks

annastesia for the link)
- And now the cup is being repaired
- Cute comic referencing the lion stabbing itself in the head (see Stephen Colbert pointing it out)
- Also this is a fun look at the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish coat of arms.
- Finally, some celebrations are deemed too offensive and full of nudity for YouTube. Ah... poor Manta statue, you've seen better days!

Moving on to other lions. In Braunschweig there is the well known Wolters but there is also the Schadt's micro-brewery. And the lion connection there because their website features a lion! Totally makes sense.

The stronger brew is not bad.

( +1 - when you take a photo while someone is taking a photo of you )

It is a sad day today. Today I was reminded that I have not had any mämmi this year. Yes, I am a huge mämmi lover, especially the sugar-free kind. I can eat it with milk, cream, ice cream, anything. It's like Nutella, I can eat it by the spoonful.

And this year I am not there for mämmi season. And I do not have the courage to try and make some on my own.

Thank goodness I now know that some K-Super/Citymarkets carry it all year round.

(Zenit. Fuji 200. Eating grapefruit.)

You guys! We've been in the dark for all these years but now we can know the truth - the Moomins are one step away from being Satan's concubine!

Here are the best bits from the "truth" behind those evil Moomins:

Moomintroll is a bastard son of Moominmamma and Moominpappa. Has openly sexual relationship with Snorkmaiden. Sometimes they live in sin together in Moomin house. Troll is malevolent being out of Scandinavian mythology, originally referring to Finnish people.

Yes! Can you imagine?!? Those bastards live in sin together in Moomin house! The horror! And it is self-evident that Finns are related to trolls, why didn't I know this all these years?

Moominmamma & Moominpappa - Guardians of Moomintroll, not married, relationships are unclear. Let Moomintroll share bed with harlot Snorkmaiden under their roof.

The Hemulen - Maybe the most deviant of all creatures in Moomin valley. This seemingly harmless elder chap is truly a libertine and abomination. He lives alone, wears a purple dress, collects butterflies and stamps and like frolicking with younger males of the Moomin valley. This lewd sodomite goes constantly on sex vacations.

Oh hell no. Sex vacations and a purple dress? There is never an excuse for a purple dress!

And the list goes on... Little My is a "thieving anarchist", Snorkmaiden is a "whore", Snufkin is a "revolting freeloading hippie".

If you've never read the books, written by a "worst kind of openly lesbian feminatzi", here is a short description of Exploits of Moominpappa - "Self-explanatory. Stories of young Moominpappa indulging in world of crime, booze and gay sex." I think I'll have to go back and reread the story, I must have missed all the gay sex the first time around.

Ah! The whole thing is just trolling at its best. The whole forum actually takes trolling to a new level. ~~Guys, do tell me that it's all joking and trolling and that these people are not serious. If they are, I fear for the ones who are around them...~~

And remember kids, never touch anything Moomin related without gloves because there is great evil right there!

On a more serious note though, my lentils sprouted beautifully but my millet is taking its time. Apparently millet can be a tricky one, certainly not the one-day easy sprouting that you have with quinoa. But these things need to be learnt, no doubt.

And speaking of food... still the Zenit/Kodak 200 roll from the city center!

( +2 - out and about in the street )

Finland has had a bad influence on me. The moment there is some sun outside and it's a tad warmer I feel the need to eat ice cream. See, Finland is an awesome country because every single shop (by that I mean supermarkets and grocery stores and convenience stores,etc.) sells at least a dozen kinds of single-serving ice cream. You go to the shop, get your groceries, stop by the ice cream section, get an ice cream and eat it while walking home. Or you know, you have lunch and since it's nice outside you go the shop and get an ice cream to enjoy your lunchbreak even more.

Obviously February is the perfect month for ice cream, the sun is back (kind of), it's freezing cold and you develop an irresistible need to eat ice cream outside. Rain during the summer months is also amazing for ice cream, one of my best memories of mid-summer is us eating ice cream by the sea while soaked at around 8pm on Juhannus.

Here though most shops will not sell you single-serving ice cream. The closest thing to that is a pack of three or six tiny ice cream cups. But you know, three or six of them... so after you eat one you're still left with two or five extra ones. There are snack-shops that will sometimes serve soft-serve ice cream but it's kind of gross at best. Or they will offer three kinds of the usual Magnum/Nestlé/other brand ice cream, nothing compared to the dozens of flavours and kinds my tiny K-market had in Lauttasaari.

This whole story to say that yesterday after the Salon du Chocolat I felt like I needed some ice cream and I knew just two places that served good ones not far. So I took one of the city bikes and cycled down to the David and then left to the ice cream shops. Never had it crossed my mind that they might be closed, it was a Saturday afternoon, the time when parents take their kids out for ice cream, right? Obviously in Marseille February is still too early for ice cream, even when it's 13°C outside and kind of sunny. Boo. They were closed. Plan to get good ice cream failed.

Still, I had a walk around the beach while the sun was out. The grey "ciel bas" I talked about previously came back after a few minutes, we're really stuck with it some for more days... and it's supposed to rain starting on Tuesday.

( +5 - and some flowers! )

This morning it was freezing by my local standards on top of the Gineste, 4C! Yes, that's dangerously close to 0C. But hey, in Espoo it was -5C... so that's already a tad better.

And in case anyone was wondering where all those deep and meaningful lyrics in Finnish metal come from:

(the newsreader is just saying "that's the news for today and now Immortal will present the weather forecast". Oh and that comic has been floating around the interwebs, I have no idea where it originated)

It's funny in a way because apparently Finland is known for its metal music (I wouldn't know, it's not my piece of cake, not enough rainbows and craziness) but there seem to be very few Finns who actually listen to it. There are hoards of tourists who only come for the metal music and I've always wondered if they were kind of disappointed that in reality Finland was not all about it.

Speaking of Finland you know what I really miss? The cheap glögi that comes in tetra pack bricks. I've already been thinking of hitting a local IKEA in the hopes that they import some kind stuff that might be a good replacement.

Yeah, yeah, I know that I shouldn't talk about cheap stuff and I should just get on with the regular vin chaud but it's not the same. I want the cheap non-alcoholic stuff to which you add random concoctions of wine and vodka and other random alcohol and boil a bit with some almonds and raisins and all those goodies.

We had Monday off last and that meant a long week-end last week... alas it rained for all three days.

It was rather strange. Rain. For three days straight. I didn't sign up for this!

At least I got to hang out in my nokian boots.

( five photos of new friends and other rain things )

Right now I seem to be obsessing about the shorter days. Yes, I am not in Finland this year and therefore will most likely not have to live through the darkness-still dark-kind of grey-dark again-darkness for weeks on end. Nevertheless those days are getting shorter! It used to be that the street lamps were turned off right when I was turning right on the corner down the street and now they're turned off when I'm well past that point and on the main road.

I just checked. The shortest days in Marseille are from the 14th to the 16th of December and the day then lasts exactly 9h down to the minute. Compared to Helsinki where the shortest day is officially just under 6 hours it's not bad (I tell you it's a lie! that data does not take into account the forever grey days!) and hey at midsummer the day last 19 hours, that kind of makes up for it.

Still, the sun shines. And there are week-ends and that means adventures. And adventures were had this week-end. And sunburns have been gotten. Yes, my second sunburn of the year... if you count the tiny sunburn I got in Korea as one. And if you count this one as one, it's really tiny. But those adventures are for later posts, first small picture dump to catch up.

It will surprise no one when I say that I saw some strawberries in bloom and with green fruit at the top of the garden. Apparently there is still enough time for them to ripen. Goody good!

( 4x2 more - food, old Easter eggs and more edible stuff )

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Where is Gali(nette)?

aka The day we caught the train

Entries tagged with gali and finland are bff

In every single sense of the word.

Every marriage has its ups and downs...

Kinda cold. But not too much.

Time for some fish?

#firstworldproblems

Sun? What's that? Only grey clouds here!

Sunrise today at 8:26.

Purple and red.

Feel the gusts.

Not made out of sugar.

Non mais!

Ramblings and other things.

You'll only hear about this for two weeks!

Been waiting since 1995.

Out of all the Finnish things I could miss...

We're doomed, the Moomins are taking over the world.

Gali attempts to get ice cream. In February.

Glögi is the new black.

De la pluie, à Marseille? Mais pourquoi donc?!?

Now I crave soft sun.