Outlandish

Before moving to Slovakia I had never heard of the Tatras. Maybe they had been mentioned in primary school but I had forgotten all about them long ago. Turns out they are a pretty huge mountain range forming the border between Poland and Slovakia. They are also known as High Tatras since in central Slovakia there is another range of mountains called Low Tatras. A colleague of mine has a cottage there, at which we spent the previous weekend.  We woke up in the morning in to a thick fog. But since we were anyway going to climb above the fog it didn't bother us much. The first plan was to leave for the hike at 7 o'clock. We didn't quite manage it. Eventually it was already 9 when we got out of the house. And the only way was UP! We drove a little bit up the serpentine road to a chalet from which the path upwards started. And the view from the parking lot for a city girl who was born and raised in a country with no trace of mountains was breath-taking: ...

When reading Finnish newspapers I couldn't be happier that I do not live there. Not only because they've dug themselves into a ditch from which they will not get up for many years, but also because for the past week all headlines have been about the weather getting rather wintry. Whereas here in Bratislava it couldn't be much more summer-like! On Saturday I thought I'd go to Ikea to get some things for my new home, but instead I got stuck on a terrace by the river with lunch and cocktails.  But anyway, last Wednesday I finally moved to a place that I can actually call home! Thanks to my wonderful colleagues the move went super smoothly. Moving isn't one of my favourite things in life, especially when in only 4 months I've managed to gather so much stuff that even 4 suitcases could not take it all. Packing everything was easy enough, but the unpacking... well, it sort of took me 4 days. It was a busy week so Saturday was the first day that ...

When googleing sights worth seeing in Bratislava the Devin castle is the most recommended one. So far I've thought that the castle is far away but as it turns out it is located inside Bratislava borders and the distance is quite walkable. So, since the summer is showing no intentions of leaving we decided to have a nice Saturday-walk with some wine to the castle. The leaves are turning yellow, which would indicate that autumn is here. But when temperature is around 22 degrees every day it is a bit weird to think that it's already mid-October. I don't mind, though! Not at all! Who or what built that? Devin is a nice little town at the foot of the castle, right by the Slovakia-Austria border. Looking at the houses there I would guess that the town is quite new; the houses were rather modern for Slovak standards. As many Slovak towns, Devin also has wine producers. What I love about the local wines is that they are often not made of grapes, but of ...

Even with everything (eventually) going pear-shaped at work I got involved in the Fun Team. It is uncertain whether me being involved in organizing activities for another firm is permitted or not but whatever the case I will be involved in it. Just try and stop me. I like administrative work, I always have. Demanding work that requires me to use my imagination as well as doing all the routine tasks every day. Multitasking I love. I was just about to get comfortable with the stableness and the safe, simple work that I have: very routine, same responsibilities, same tasks, same everything everyday. And it's good, for a change I like that there is no risk of making enormous mistakes or having to take responsibility for much. On Sunday I gathered my notebook and headed to Gorila.sk café for lunch and for some brain storming. I need an inspiring surrounding when planning events and happenings and ways of marketing them, and where I live now... I can't find a less-inspiri...

Wasn't it Bridget Jones who said that ones one part of your life is going right another part of it falls spectacularly into pieces. I have realized this to be very true multiple times in my relatively short life. But I have also realized that no matter how bad things are life has a way of working out just fine in the end.  Me moving here has been one of the happiest things that has happened to me for yeeeears. Things have been coming my way and the latest "big win" was me getting a flat of my own in the centre really close to work with a very reasonable price. But this Monday was a bit of a reality check. Without going too much into detail global businesses are ever changing and moving operations around with the speed of light. When signing a contract here I knew there were certain risks involved working for such a huge company, but I never could've imagined that in just three months I would have to worry about whether I will still have a job after Christmas or n...