Outlandish

After a very slow summer things have gotten quite hectic at work, on top of which my colleague is working from another country until the end of October. Most of our communication is done through Watsapp, and since text messages don't have expressions or a tone of voice, sarcasm doesn't always work in text form when you are rushed off your feet anyway. Communication difficulties on top of multiple projects and huge recruiting campaigns (in a language I am not fluent enough in) have caused a lot of stress which has come out as a lot of bickering and arguing. And I don't want to argue with my colleague, we're supposed to get on, which has added another level of stress. I must say, I am rather good at stressing out, so I was in serious need of a break. And as if Tallink was thinking along the same lines they had put boat tickets into a very nice sale last week and I got a Tallinn-Helsinki-Tallinn cruise for 30€. Unheard of! So weekend at home it was. I d...

Some people hate Christmas. Others see it as an execution of some sort. I don't understand either sort. For me Christmas is not a religious celebration but an opportunity to gather with the most important people during the darkest time of the year and enjoy wonderful food. Even though there are all the things that need to be taken care of before Christmas Eve (shopping for food with a million others, finding presents, etc.) it doesn't cause me stress... Unless my brother leaves buying his girlfriend a present to the last day and forces me to go and find something when he needs to work until late. But in any case you know that the entire city is going to be in the same supermarket and there's nothing you can do about it except take a deep breath and dive in there. Turku Cathedral In Finland there was no snow this Christmas, which suited me perfectly. We also had two hairballs to take care of. What's more the TV channels had finally understood that during...

Every time I step out of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport and start my way towards Turku I feel like I've never even been anywhere. In Finland nothing ever changes. It has a sort of consoling effect on me to know that you can always come back to the familiar and safe place. What also hasn't changed is my friends; despite getting married and having babies they are still exactly the same and thank goodness for that. I do appreciate even the hangover on Friday morning because my friends told me to join them into a student party (we graduated in 2012...) rather than spending the night in the house where the walls had started to fall on me already.  For Friday we had planned a dinner and a movie with the girls but the movie had to move when a party invitation turned up. We did have dinner though, in restaurant Fontti. They had re-done their menu completely from last year and it was brilliant. I took a pulled pork burger, but couldn't get a picture of it because it was ...

Pre-autumn, end of August and beginning of September, is the time when Swedes and Finns go catching crayfish from rivers. Then we have a feast and put Summer to rest for another year. I have only ever attended one crayfish party and that was in London. And it was a very short party for me since after couple shots of Aquavit I found myself hugging the toilet for the rest of the evening. It so happens that I have been destined to celebrate these traditional feasts abroad only: this time in Bratislava!         I was so happy when I was invited to a colleague's crayfish party here. It was a great opportunity to meet other Nordics living here and also to catch up with the people I already knew. Also, the fact that there were going to be two gorgeous golden retrievers made my RSVP be a big fat YES. When I arrived at their beautiful home I obviously had to go straight into the back yard where the dogs were kept. And it was mmmayhem! They wer...