Siena

I somehow loose my words when I have to describe Siena, which is one of my favorite cities in Italy (and, to be honest, in the rest of the world, too). Maybe because I spend the honeymoon part of my Erasmus exchange there, trying to grasp as much of the mysteries of the Italian language as I could in one month. I had a lovely teacher Antonella and my study group was great, but even better, outside of my own classes I met some really awesome people, with whom I have kept in touch ever since - sometimes more, sometimes less. This spring when a Portuguese friend of mine suggested that we would get together in Siena this autumn, I was going through really tough times and had no slightest idea, where I would live in the autumn, if I had money and time to travel and so on.
Now I know that there are nice trips, and then there are trips that change your life, help you get back on the track, get inspired and feel like you are alive again. After unhappy times you really know how to appreciate and wonder the good time, lightness of the heart and mind, good food and wine, and great company of old friends.

Italiaaaa!

In a couple of hours I will take a metro and S-bahn here in Berlin to the main bus station, then a Meinfernbus to Leipzig (ticket from Berlin to Leipzig was only 8 € and they operate to all major cities in Germany so I might travel with them more often!) and then with my old favorite Ryanair to Pisa, then a train, or two, or three to Siena!
Most probably by the afternoon I'm so tired that I grin like an idiot when I get my first cappuccino in front of my nose and feel the sudden change of temperatures..oh yes, it should be like +27 C in Siena, where I'm heading for the weekend to have a reunion with my Erasmus friends. I'm so much looking forward to strolling on the streets of my very favorite Italian city again, going to Gelateria Nannini for ice cream - I really hope that they have the panforte flavor - and look for the familiar places that I haven't visited for 4 years.
Flight and bus tickets printed, weather checked, travel music on mp3 player, batteries for camera charged, everything in under 100 ml bottles, some Rittersport for the girls (never would dare to bring salmiakki anywhere near my French friend Clém!) and I even have done some work so I guess it's time for a short nap. Buona notte!

Itä-Berliinin taivaan alla

Juhani Seppovaaran Itä-Berliinin taivaan alla (Avain, 2006) koostuu kuvista ja pienistä kertomuksista, jotka heijastavat itäberliiniläisten nuorten aikuisten arkisia kokemuksia ennen muurin murtumista. Koska juuri tuo ajankohta on viime aikoina ollut erityisesti mielenkiintoni kohteena, lueskelin kirjan pariinkin kertaan läpi.

 

Tutkin pitkään kuvassa olevaa vanhaa karttaa, joka on Berliinin matkaoppaasta vuodelta 1929. Seppovaara kirjoittaa: "Eino Leino tunsi oppaassa esitellyn Café Unter der Lindenin nimellä Café Bauer. Leino poikkesi sinne juomaan mokkaa, tapaamaan maanmiehiään ja lukemaan Hufvudstadsbladetia sekä Päivälehteä." Joki virtaa samassa uomassa samannimisenä kuin aina, mutta kadut ja korttelit sen ympärillä ovat vaihtaneet nimeään useampaan otteeseen jopa viimeisten sadan vuoden aikana: "Leninallee on Landsberger Allee, eikä siltä risteä Ho-Chi-Minh-Strassea. Karl-Marx-Allee on Frankfurter Strasse. Alfred rakensi sen paikalle Stalinalleeta. Huomenna se saattaa olla Erich-Honecker-Allee."

Kuvat ovat välillä yhtä arkisen harmaita ja lakonisia kuin kuvauksen kohteena olevat arkiset esineet pioneeripinsseistä kukonmuotoisiin munakuppeihin, joita saa uusiotuotantoversioina esim. DDR-museosta, mutta välillä ne ovat mielikuvituksellisen värikylläisiä ja räiskyviä. Siemailin teetä aidosta DDR:stä valmistetusta teekannusta, jonka sain lahjaksi Berliinistä muuttaneelta ystävältä, ja luin isänmaan uhista:  "Länsiserkultaan Gesine oli saanut farkut. Opettaja käski raksia niistä Levis-merkin pois. Gesine neuloi merkin paikalle kangaspalasen, johon oli maalannut DDR:n ja Neuvostoliiton liput. Merkki oli opettajalle mieleen, mutta paikka takapuolen päällä sopimaton. Myös tuo ompelus piti irroittaa." Tuollaiset pienet arkiset huomiot elävöittävät DDR:n elämää huomattavasti paremmin kuin historiallisilla faktoilla ja hallitusmuotojen kuvauksilla varustetut tietokirjat.

Summer joys

I didn't travel much this summer, I would rather say that I stayed at home in Berlin (until July) and then at home in Finland (for six weeks from mid-July until the end of August) so...only now, when having returned back to Berlin, new fresh traveling ideas are filling up my head. But before turning my head for the future, here a little summary of the past weeks in form of photos.

Enjoying time with family and friends at home by cooking,baking and eating together...this is the summerly strawberry cake I made for us for midsummer's eve from the home-grown strawberries.

 

Chilling and taking the time to observe clouds (didn't have that chance too often before the holidays), and I also made good use of the new pink shoes I bought :)

 

Taking it easy on a summer cottage of a friend, in the middle of the Finnish countryside...

 

Buying all those things that you miss being abroad, like Fazer candies and rye bread.

 

Celebrating name days, birthdays and even a wedding, these are some lavender cupcakes my sister baked for her 25th birthday :)

 

I guess I traveled more in Finland than in the past years all together: I started my holidays in Joensuu & Ilosaarirock, went to Jyväskylä, good old Tampere and Lahti (without my camera!) and to Helsinki, to celebrate the end of the summer at Linnanmäki and some other nice places like Kakkugalleria where we tried several kind of sweet treats.

Surullisin juhannus

Tämä kuvastaa suurinta surkeutta, mikä suomalaisen kohtaloksi voi koitua keskikesän juhlan aikaan: muutaman kympin säästämiseksi hän päättää matkustaa juhannuslauantaina, hyvin aikaisin aamulla. Kukaan muu ei matkusta silloin, joten lento on hyvin halpa..mutta myöskään Helsinki-Vantaalle ei pääse, koska juhannuksen takia kaupunkiliikenteen bussit nuokkuvat varikoillaan perjantai-illasta pitkälle lauantai-iltapäivään, joten ainoa mahdollisuus on matkustaa perjantai-iltana ja viettää yö lentokentällä muutaman aussimatkailijan ja venäläisen perheen kanssa. Onneksi sentään Alepa oli auki.

Tulevina vuosina en kyllä aliarvioi näin ajattelemattomalla tavalla juhannuksen merkitystä henkiselle hyvinvoinnilleni.

Prague ahoi!

Some traveling plans ahead, eventually! I'm going to Prague for the Easter holiday with two of my colleagues and I started to check out this week what is actually happening there around Easter. Hannah, one of my best friends explained that there might be some whipping expected, and what I read is that it's a typical Easter Sunday tradition that the guys tie twigs together and go around whipping the girls' legs...a fertility rite :) But there are also some Easter markets to hang around, if just there weren't like million other tourists there at the same time...

What could be a trip to without any visits on cute old bookstores..as my previous trip to Prague was in the summer 2006, I have no idea anymore where I might have gone (except the Mucha museum), so I have started my researches from nothing.

 

I found this great website called Bookstore Guide that I spent quite a while reading, really nice tips and way of writing :) I might mention to the writers that some of the Berlin my favourite antiquarians are missing!

A Year in Helsinki

Just wanted to share this, because Helsinki (or let's say the Finnish landscapes) look so beautiful in it, and I had maybe a bit of Heimweh today...missing summer nights filled with light, and sunny early spring days when the snow sparkles so bright...