I woke up in the morning around 7am and made some coffee before I had a look at my desk.
No papers left (CANUMA Zigarettenpapiere). Also keine Papiere. An empty pocket flask (in Finnish we say taskumatti which means you have a Matti in your pocket, i.e. no money). Some raw milk which I get at a 50% discount at Ruohonjuuri Kamppi. I mix this in my coffee to make a cafe con leche. It reminds me of my visits to Barcelona since 1996 and gives me the feeling of going on holiday every day.
So I decided to listen to some music about dress code. I have once seen Rea Garvey in Person. He was picking up his father with a Saab at Hahn Airport in Germany. I was smoking outside. They had a very loving relationship. #dresscode
Then there is Chris Rea, who likes to hang out at the beach. So do I. Mainly on the #kallio. Kallio means rock. It is also a neighborhood in Helsinki.
Here is a picture of the neighborhood Kallio. There is some snow on the ground, so the picture is not taken in summer time.
So I decided to put my Tod’s shoes on and take the bus to the city center.
There was a meeting going on today. The advertisement of Helsingin Sanomat says “Welcome to the land of free press”.
WARNING: This WordPress Blog contains hidden advertising as well as not so hidden advertising. Please contact me should you feel upset in any way, shape or form. I can then find a solution to make you happy. This makes me happy also, so it is a win-win. Ismael of the construction company STONDERA has my email. In Swedish-Finnish: “se är stondis se.”
So, let’s take a closer look at the Tod’s shoes.
But before that. Facebook just had a message.
Remembering Nelson Mandela“On what would have been his 100th birthday, we remember the former president of South Africa as a champion for human rights, dignity and freedom. Imagine the impact we could have if everyone followed his example, and tried to make a difference in the lives of others.”
A message from India. RIP Nelson Mandela.
#LondonCalling
So back to work.
A friendly message from our advertising partners:
I received a telephone number from my friend Helena. I choose not to place a call to the number as it could make some people nervous (russischer Vorwahl). Instead I will travel to St. Petersburg first, then to Moscow later.
Here are the Tod’s shoes with details. The pair in the picture above I purchased from a pediatrition in Tampere, Finn-land. I found them on tori.fi. There is a saying in Finland: “torilla tavataan” or “let’s meet at the marketplace”. Normally this involves the consumption of alcoholic beverages in appropriate quantities after the ice hockey team wins a medal at the World Championchips.
My walk on Monday July 16, 2018 started in Ruoholahti and ended at the Hakaniemen Maalaismarkkinat via Kallio. I took a metro to Hakaniemi somewhere along the way.
Along the way was also a hotdog place. A fun fact. There are around 3 million dogs in Finland and around 5 million people. I don’t know how many mobile phones there are, but most people have a few because everyone keeps buying new ones. Better recycling? Check out Sweden for efficiency in this area.
Kiitos is thankyou in Finnish. Due to legal reasons I will mention that it is Tack in Swedish, as Swedish is the second official language in Finland (Amtssprache). Finland or Finnland had about 600 years under Swedish rulership and about 200 years under tsarist Russia. Then there were some quarrels and Finland became independent.
A message from our advertising partner: Jörg & Freunde, Konstablerwache Erzeugermarkt, Frankfurt am Main.
#BerlinCalling. Where there is a will there is a way.
There are jokes that always start with “A Finn, a Swede and a Norwegian”. A new era of stand up comedy is now beginning at the Peacock Theater in Linnanmäki amusement park. I guess the name reveals a lot.
I will try something. So I am Finn. Dear Swedes and Norwegians, let’s make a new joke. I’ll start. I am a Finn. Seven Finnish brothers meet in the woods….here is a closeup picture.
Which takes us to Aleksanterinkatu in Helsinki.
But first an official message from the EU Informationskontor in Helsinki.
There is an opera or a ballet called “A French Evening” performing Sept/Oct this year. In case anyone goes and wants to kiss there, please get a seat in the back row. Here are the basics.
Yes, we understand French, the language of diplomacy.
The metro took me to Hakaniemi from where I walked around the neighborhood Kallio, inspired by New York. It is a very lively district with the streets named 3rd, 4th and 5th. The bars are the best in town and the best vibes can be found at the African nightclub. Not to mention the food. Close by is the Hakaniemen Tori (Farmer’s Market) and the Kauppahalli.
So I named the following picture 5th Avenue.
The red sign on the Church says “Warm our Hearts and not our Planet”. Obviously environmental policy is not the core discipline of the Church.
In Kallio I bumped into some protestors. Complete mavericks. One walked, one went marching and a third one was on a bike.
Then I found a record store called Black & White. The store owner didn’t identify with this color statement so we agreed to disagree. He wasn’t that unhappy about it.
I asked if the shirt is the Swedish National Team. He said, Ukraine. I said, it still looks Swedish to me. Agreeing to disagree. We were both happy.
This guy was wearing the same color, almost.
The text means “look deeper for answers”. Let’s see what we can do.
These pictures are from the farmer’s market. I promised the farmers & co at the market that I would send them some customers in return for allowing me to take pictures. I also discussed the situation with the musician. I said we would be making a kiva homma out of a fakta homma, and then turn that into a fakta homma before making kiva homma again. Det glidare in och ut.
The pictures explain something about the culture. So do the links.
Natural produce (left side): Anyone can pick berries in the forest. Or buy them. If you like you can even make money doing it, i.e. finance your holiday. There is enough. 90% of the berries stay in the woods every year and fertilize the soil. The bottles were at my local grocery store. The strawberries were from Suonenjoki where there are many strawberry producers. They had a Carneval there last Sunday.
There is a natural regulation in place, so Finland is not flooded with tourists. For those who can travel freely (EU), we have mosquitoes. They keep many away. For those who do not have a visa, the Finnish State covers permits etc. Russia is even more strict, so don’t blame me for stating the obvious.
On Monday there were birds in the sky, due to the meeting. Not the type we typically see here, but I think it was an interesting experience for many.
To see birds in nature, there are plenty of natural parks. There is also a book that can be purchased from Tea Karvinen. There was even an English print. She spent nearly two years living in the natural parks and taking pictures. I googled the pictures and it gave me a collage. Mixed pictures, but the book has pure nature for those who are interested.
Before calling it a day, time for a coffee and some background information.
I would have taken a beer, but Nico Rosberg advised not to. I wasn’t driving but I was wearing driver’s shoes, so better to be safe than sorry. They didn’t have cafe con leche so I went for a Cortado on Wood.
Last summer I heard a story that people in Lapland save heating wood. The reason is that there isn’t that much there. I suggested we send them heating wood from the south of Finland. There is plenty here. Today I talked with a neighbor and he explained why that is.
After the war Finland had to pay war reparations. To finance this, one area was chopping forests in Lapland. It was bear naked up there. And we are not talking about FKK in this case. FKK is done best by Eastern Germans by the way. Due to the short summer there, the trees have not grown back since then.
So maybe the idea of sending heating wood as a reparation to Lapland is not so bad. We could set up a public funding web site for this and have professionals deliver to a distribution center somewhere in Lapland. Jobs could be created there also for this purpose.
In addition I would be interested in finding a farmer who could grow some hemp there. Trees need decades to grow. Hemp grows in 90 days to harvest. I have a project in Helsinki….
To end this Peace Walk there is a song. This is pretty much what you may experience, should you ever decide to rent a summer cottage for a holiday somewhere along these longitudes.
And for those who like a little more salt & pepper. Please follow this link. Also very nice.
How to heat a “steam sauna”. Plenty of time for beers while adding wood.
finlandcalling.com 