Stockholm via ms Viking Mariella / March 2008

It was cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm and back -again. And it feels too many times made-up. People around the boat are so same kind of as always, personal seems to be the same but fed up with their works and whit all those brainless customers. I have no idea why people seems to leave their brains home when they start a vacation. On these cruising boats it's even worst than usually. Alcohol, too much alcohol, gamblings, raunchy speaks, courting... Lot of teenagers, midlleage who search some variation for their conventional life, Asians..and us. Yaeh. Sometimes, like on these last trip, it really seems we'll be the only normal persons on the big boat. Haa..!
So viking line was something I don't necessarily want to suffer in the short run.
But Stockholm shows its nice sides again, even the feather was grey and gloomy. Södermalm is still my favorite palce in Stockholm. We take also a walk around the Old Town and ofcourse there's a lot of nice small boutiques but its like most of old towns; turists, turism, business, nothing original, nothing typically swedish. I know it's nowadays same nealry all around the world, in every small villages. Those McDonalds-H&M-VeroModa-Burberry blaa, blaa things. Still most of the places, all the good places have something their own too. Something original, something from which you really feel where you are. I haven't found that ambiance from Stockholm yet but in Södermalm I've get most close to that.
Narrow alleys, small old woody houses, cats, dogs, schools and nurserys. Ordinary life all around you. Sonorous swedish ja smiling eyes on peoples on the streets or shops. Or perhaps it's me who see just I want to see. Perhaps its because of holiday. I feel it's a real holiday when you don't think about home, work, upcoming day or anything else you see and feel at that moment. On that Wednesday 12th March I really feel I had a holiday!

Stockholm via m/s Viking Mariella - December 2007

Yaeh. We were there and we came back. Alive.

These boats...cruisings. I quess you all know what I mean. We had a nice and fun time because of ourself (no, I'm not a selfish) I mean 'cause it was nice to be together with P & M, we had a lot of talk and laugh about, dancing is nice with company, the food was good and champaign even better (with caviar and strawberries, of course) ...but then some of those cotravellers. Ugh. Too drunk, too stupid, too agressive, too harass. Personal on the boat are nice and many of them know me and my sister (we have a good glory -the sibling who dance like a crazy, who order all drinks without alcohol and who eat allways a blimey long time) now we had M with us and I quess she's coming with us also in Spring..so soon they'll know her as well ;)

Stockholm shows its nice sides again. We spend whole day in Södermalm, walking a lot and visiting in a many small and interesting butiks. Duka was a nice found and we bought our parents christmas present from there (Duka design espresso cup -set).

Changes

I spend so much time on LiveJournal and Facebook and -thank god- I have a real life too that this blog seems to be quite gratuitous. At least if I don't write anything. But I thought I could write here something from all travells I do (and I hope I get possibility to travell a lot..)
This autumn has been quite quiet.

But on the next sunday we'll go to short visit to Stockholm with my sister and our friend.

Sziget -festival 2007 / Budapest / Hungary

The biggest festival in Europe since 1993 so these were 15th festival with anout 400 000 people and nearly 1000 artist including something for everyone! It was something amazing! Something totally different than finnish rock festivals... I mean that there were loads of other things beside music... Theatre, dance, classical music, cabaret, performances, films, fine art, crafts, literary presentations, programs for kids, sports and other free time activities like logic games for me. All happenings, stages and event tents, restaurants, clothshops, record shops, sport areas were aroud that big island. Sziget means island in hungary and the festival has get it names from the place. Camping was allaround in festival-island. Every forest between those meny stages were full of tents. Around o'clock there happend something -the whole one week! DJ Party's, Reggae-, Jazz-, Soul-, WorldMusic-, MetalMusic-, Localartists...each of them had own stage and "village" aroud that; food and drink possibilities, cloths and other stuffs which might gratified those people who like to stay listening to just that music genre.
I saw Pink and Faithless and Sinead O'Connor and Within Temptations, SoulFly, Tool, The Killers, Nine Inch Nails, Negative and Hanoi Rocks and a lot of lot of other bands, one really good reggae band which name I don't know and few whose were ok...and of course those DJ's! Digital21 was amazing! also I like Dave Clarke and Motor and DJ duo Sharam/Deep Dish who play on last night. I have to go there next year again!

We stay on Hotel Noé in north Buda. It was cheap but small, nice, clean Tennis-hotel with Sauna!!! -from the hotel was walking distance to HÈV train or bus stop so it was easy to move there. I had a one week bus ticket and I really use it travelling aroud city shopping, alone, with friends or just seeing views. Every time I visit in Budapest it feels smaller and smaller, perhaps because it's not strange anymore.

The travel by bus was experience...yeah, I should use that word. Everything went fine and I could even sleep there but. Still. Next year I'll fly. Much more faster and comfortable. The best part of bus trip was staying in Cracow (2 nights) and visit in Auschwiz. Dark and gloomy place which make you serious but I think the dating just before oneweek festival was good; you don't have to stay too long in too dark feeling. Visit in Museum of House of Terror in Budapest wasn't good move from me... after auschwitz that was too much so I nearly walk through the museum whitout fucusing for those horribles. Whereas the Unicum Museo was really nice target. There was enough humor, not too much facts and of course the possibility to taste those legendary herbal bitters... I can recommend that but perhaps not to drinking those first in the morning into empty stomach. At least I couldn't.

I haven't write a lot.
I haven't done a lot lately.
Only work, golf and home-yoga.
Being at home alone, with cat friend or family.
But on weekend, next weekend, the busses starts and we go to the adventure! Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania-Poland-Hungary...Budapest and the Sziget-festival!
more about that later...

5th Summer trip - Laulasmaa / Estonia

The last week was fabulous! 7 days Yoga retreat in wellnes spa between blue see bay and silence ancient pine forest which make me think about lappland... Weather was fine and we had enough program from early morning to late night -so I slept like baby whitout any medicins. Food was fresh, healthy, mostly organic and athmosphere was kind and peaceful. My body thank's me likewise my mind -I'm like a reborn during last week...I just hope that I can keep this feeling - or perhaps develope this even better...'couse I'm Happy now and I like the feeling!

There was 60 of uss from Finland and I didn't know anyone else before (exept Kylli) but all of them were so wonderful and nice people and I guess after this there is always some friend in Shanti when I go to yoga...nice.

We visit also in Rocca-al-Mare Open Air museum which situatead quite close to Tallin. That is a place where would be nice to spend whole summer day with no hurry... The area is similar then Seurasaari in finland. There is saved 11 farm coplexes from around of estonia -from 1700 anniversary- and you can get a good picture of estonian village life in different era (well...there's no big diff whit finnish life) but I can recommend this for everyone who are interested about history. Like I'm. I like to walk aroud and create my self living in that age and wondering if I'd live there in my former life... ;D

midsummer and alcohol

midsummer fest...oh la la...I don't wana say what I think about those -on generally- My weekend was peacefull. I laid on beach, reading and listening music, I walk around in empty city and eat ice cream -at the same when most of the finns drink too much alcohol somewhere on their cabins, burn themselves while grilling sausages or sink on the lake 'cause they have to go boating even they are pissed as a newt... yeah... I love midsummer (uh!)

can't understand why people wan't to be so drunk? now in summertime there is all around those drunk people who don't seem to be very happy...they spend their holidays drinking alcohol, lost all their moneys for that and get what?!...an awfull hangover or crapulence of moral. Well, we all made our own choises...