Outlandish

Estonia has actually two Independence Days. The first one was on 24th February, when they celebrate the Independence Declaration made in 1918. After the Second World War, though, they were occupied by the Soviet Union and the country was forced into communism. In 1991 when the Soviet Union was crumbling, Estonia declared itself independent again while the Soviet tanks roamed the countryside trying to stifle all hope of becoming independent again and soldiers were trying to take over the TV tower to shut down all communication channels (which obviously was much easier back then). But despite all Soviet soldiers' efforts Estonians stood their ground and on Saturday 20th August they celebrated their 25th year of Independence.  Estonians are quite patriotic, especially when I compare them to their brother nation, Finland. They take their independence seriously and Tallinn was filled with all sorts of concerts and markets and Estonian flags. In Finland people just...

It's May!! Summer is sooo close! May 1st, also known as May Day is a festive day all over the world. But nowhere do people appreciate this day as Finns do! And as always we celebrate the eve of the big day and it's traditional to go for a picnic on the actual 1st May. This great event is called Vappu and I really recommend you visit Helsinki or Turku during this festival of Spring! (Unless you're a really uptight person who cannot bare seeing people consuming too much alcohol in a public place and being very loud.)  Vappu, like most our festivities probably originate from Sweden and it was firstly seen as a celebration for Spring. Then the industrialization came along and today the day is seen more as a working class's holiday around the world. In Finland the day has been taken over by university students. They roam the cities in their colourful overalls and at 6pm on the Eve of May 1st they are allowed to put on the white caps that we receive when we gradu...

Reality starting to set in. Last week I handed in my resignation, for the first time with trepidation. I'm utterly aware that most people would never do what I'm about to do: leave a job they like in a company they like and move away from a country that they absolutely love. Yes, I'm completely nuts! We have this saying in Finland that rolling rocks don't get mossy and I think that's the story of my life in a nutshell. I get bored easily and boredom is my worst nightmare. I need new experiences and excitement in my life all the time and even though I am completely happy here in Bratislava, if I let this opportunity of discovering a new country slip away I would never  forgive myself! And as a single, childless, independent person, why wouldn't I go and be nuts :D I'm an experience-addict! But, I still have a lot of time left here and thankfully it's one of my favourite times of the year: Christmas. The markets are lit up and there's ...

Arriving to the Budapest bus station for the first time can be a bit confusing. The bus from Bratislava leaves you outside the station area and there are no signs to anything, ATM, taxis, anything. I remember the desperation, the following of random people to an underground tunnel, of trying to locate someone, ANYONE with even little English. Nowadays I'm a professional bus station goer there but I noticed a woman of about 50 years of age asking different people something. She didn't seem to be getting anywhere so I went to ask if maybe she was looking for an ATM, which there is located to a place that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is (note the clever Pirates of the Caribbean reference). So, I took her to the ATM and then back up to where the taxi stop was and I called her a taxi. She wasn't very impressed with Hungarian people for starters but at least I could sleep in peace knowing that she at least found her hotel. I was very much blessed by ...

Sziget Festival is one of the biggest in Europe, organized every August for a week in Budapest. My best friends purchased tickets there in the Spring and since Budapest is a bus ride away from Bratislava it would've been stupid to miss this chance to go check it out. We stayed in a hostel/hotel on Téréz Körút, a very nice area walking distance from the centre and the river. The place was really nice and rooms clean and with modern furnishings (points for that!), but with the price we paid (53€/night) I would've expected the owner to be in the reception when he was supposed to. As a punctual Finn there are some situations where I want service exactly when it is promised; for example if check out should be done between 10-11am I would expect someone to be in the reception to receive the keys. Not a big issue, really, we were in no hurry on Sunday, but I like things working smoothly when I travel and I'm willing to pay extra for that. In this case I felt I paid the extra ...

My first ever proper summer vacation and I can't imagine any better way of spending it than the way I did!  Just before flying to Finland the cultural differences and the leaving of important people from Slovakia was getting to be too much for me to handle. So a month in the same country with the most important people and all the familiar, if still boring, things couldn't have come sooner. Weather was horrid all month (minus the first weekend) but I had so much dog therapy and a perfect balance between activities and doing nothing that I couldn't care about such things as rain. The Best <3 Just after landing in Finland I started my vacation with a blast in  Ruisrock festival . Sunshine, best friends and awesome artists, what else do you need to throw off all the stress and gloomy feelings of the last couple of weeks! After the festival I was exhausted beyond any measure. So much so that before driving to our summer house I moved my wallet including my dr...