Outlandish

I was so hoping that this winter I would completely avoid the snow and ice-covered pavements just because I am not spending the winter months in Finland. But no... unfortunately the white shite reaches these levels every year as well. Although not in such quantities as in Northern Europe, thankfully. I've never been one of those people who run to the window smiling like crazy when the first snow falls. OK, fine, snow makes nature look beautiful but practically it makes life extremely difficult. Either there's too much of it or if there's not so much, all roads are covered in this uneven, trambled mixture of snow and ice: definite death to ankles and knees. Having gone through couple winters in the UK I must take my hat off for how this yearly phenomenon was received here. Nobody went to panic, shops, schools and offices were still open like normally, no major setbacks in traffic (as far as I know) and no people running around like headless chicken shouting ...

I found this playful "challenge"  in a Finnish blog-site where bloggers were encouraged to take a trip down memory lane to think what they were doing and where three years ago. Before I even noticed I was already counting back years and thinking where I was in January 2012. And the answer: Oh yes, darling London. A job in London was my number-one goal since the age of 10    but I never expected that this dream would come true already at the age of 23! In 2012 I was studying in Scotland and needed to find an internship. And for me there was no such option as doing my internship in Finland, so I applied to a Finnish consultancy firm located in London. I still remember being in H&M in Aberdeen when my mum called me about an e-mail I had received from the interviewer: I got the job! And I think the entire mall heard it. London is beautiful and so versatile and I totally understand why so many people want to move there. But it wasn't my cup of te...

I can't remember ever having a good weather on my birthday. On the other hand, if you are born in January, what can you expect? This year, though, on my birthday Bratislava was enjoying a weirdly warm weekend. Whereas on last Saturday, when I had arranged a birthday party for us four girls who were born in January, I opened the curtains in the morning to a terrible winter storm.  Despite my fears of people cancelling because of the weather we only had two cancellations and one of them was due to sickness. So, the party could begin! For a venue I chose Urban House café/bar in the Bratislava old town. It's a big sister of my favourite café here, Gorila.sk. Most people describe the place as a hipster place. Whether it's an accurate description, I don't know, but in my opinion it has the most relaxed atmosphere, nicely inconsistent furniture and good local wines. If you find yourself there (which I would highly recommend) do try the halloumi burger!  Unlike...

So far I've seen Slovaks and Finns to be very similar in culture and behaviour. But on Friday I had a cold reality call when it turned out that the salaries were nowhere to be seen. And what in Finland would end up in big headlines is taken with complete ignorance here. Ever since our teams were outsourced there have been problems from switching between work systems to salaries. Last month the salaries were late for one day and we were ensured that it would never happen again. Of course we believed it. Now it turns out that we shouldn't have: salaries were late for days. In Finland you go to work, remember it's the pay day, check your account and if it turns out that the salary hasn't even been transferred yet, you would turn on your heels and return home... Who would work without being paid? Apparently Slovaks would.  I was so furious I couldn't concentrate on anything, it was just so against all my principles to keep working when other people i...

Sometimes I surprise even myself. Or life does. Like this Thursday when I flew from Helsinki to Budapest where I had booked a hotel for the night. First of all when I got out of the airport there was a "black taxi" driver waiting for stupid tourists. I guess I looked stupid enough because he came straight to me: "You need a taxi?" As a regular customer to Budapest airport I knew that to get a legitimate taxi you go to a booth outside the airport and they assign you one. This guy tried to rip off 400 Forints more from me than what the drive really cost. So, I got a legitimate taxi, told him the address and the name of the hotel and he took me to the centre. He stopped in front of a hotel, yes, but it didn't have the name I was looking for. Despite my doubts that this could not be the right place he assured me "Yes, the right place" and was already loading my luggage on the pavement. Turned out the "hotel" I had booked for 16€ a night was ...

Time to get on the road again. Three weeks in Finland has been very nice, very lazy, full of wonderful food and people, and just plain simple relaxing. Most of the time I've occupied my parents' couch.  I wouldn't mind spending another lazy week here, but on the other hand I miss my friends in Bratislava and I miss the office full of people. I also miss the weather, no matter if it rains and is cloudy, as long as the temperature is above 0. My poor high heels have been completely useless here. Even though it really is too dark here and going outside is a challenge, because I don't have anything to wear in my feet and every step is a risk, I'm going to miss the snow-covered landscapes. So beautiful and peaceful! I'm also happy that we had time to go check out our summer house in the archipelago. I've missed the sea so much! But it was so cold that day that I couldn't smell the salty sea air. I was not built for the cold.  So, I...