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...

Pirita is one of the biggest suburban areas in Tallinn and it spreads along the city’s Eastern coastline. It continues East-wards from the Kadriorg district, which means that it is a very wealthy area with amazingly beautiful and colourful private houses from huge manor-like houses to wooden “replicas” of small castles with turrets and towers. There also lies the Kadriorg Palace  and the gorgeous parks surrounding it. The area is well worth a visit, but because it is on the opposite side of the city from the Old Town 90% of the tourists never visit the area. I am not complaining though. It is much nicer to go for walks there when you don’t have to dodge photographing tourists every other step. The weird part is how between two of the richest districts there is the poorest and the most horrendous district in Tallinn: Lasnamäki. It is the “Russian district” where you do not want to venture. I had to get my ID card from a police station there and that was quite enough of Lasn...

Finnish Summer, the tragicomic phenomenon and a global laughing stock. It is something that we Finns have developed a very black sense of humour for because otherwise we couldn't cope. We "proudly" advertise this special phenomenon in the social media where it has lately gathered quite an audience all the way in China. You always know how it's going to be and still you are every year just as or even more disappointed as last year when it was colder in July than in December and when after nine months of waiting for the sunshine all you get is black clouds that spit on you constantly. And then comes Autumn with a little bit less rain, but rain nonetheless, and the deepening darkness.  BUT! This summer so far has been surprisingly gentle. May and June were very sunny and warm, I even managed to tan so much that after a dozen years I finally got my freckles back! Obviously it rained every now and then but not all day every day. In Tallinn June was even bett...

Finally back in Tallinn after a month of traveling all over the place. Good to be back! I arrived again on the last ship on Wednesday evening and oh how wonderful it was to close the door behind me and see my perfect apartment in front of me just as I left it three weeks before. My couch, my kettle and my bed! I can't even count how many kilometers or hours I spent altogether on buses around the European subcontinent or the places where I slept. Even at my parents' place I sleep in my brother's old room so I didn't feel "at home" sleeping anywhere this past month.  But don't get me wrong, I am not complaining! This has been probably the best June I've ever had, also weather-wise! Instead of going to Turku to home office after my trip to Slovakia I was able to go home and work from there already on the second week of the month. Being able to work from basically anywhere is an absolute necessity to me these days, I don't even understand ...

Finally my trainee period of 4 months has ended and I am officially a Project Manager. A title I’ve been aiming for ever since I entered University. Why I aimed for that particularly? Because a project is a completely open concept, it can be anything and there are usually many of them at the same time, which means it’s a perfect job for me, because I don’t want every day to be the same and, most importantly, I want to be in charge :D And since I am now officially an employee I am entitled to use the holidays that have gathered up so far. And what would be a better way to waste my one week’s worth of holidays than fly to Central Europe to see some of my favourite people and places! But before that I am traveling first to Turku to see friends and family, since there’s no need for me to be in the office when I can work from wherever. Ok, I might have organized things so that I wouldn’t have to be in the office in June and scheduled all new trainees to arrive in J...

I hate rainy days. They're so grey and dark and moody. Outside air feels colder than it would if it wasn't raining. And if you accidentally forget your umbrella home in the morning and get soaked on your way home from work you also freeze to the core. But I do also love rainy days. I can't think of many things that make home more cozier than a  hard-core rain  outside while you are warm inside  surrounded by pillows and drowning in your bathrobe . A cup of tea and a movie feel like a little bit of luxury then.  Rainy days do affect me a little, I always feel much more tired when it's dark and gloomy but when you're trapped inside you also get things done that you might not do if there was an option to be outside. Maybe finally grab that book from the shelf you've been meaning to read but haven't quite found the time for it or catch up with the TV series that everybody's talking about. I also like to use this time when going outside...