Finland March 2014 (Part 3)

My last full day in Finland went well.  It was sunny, and I did not have a meeting until noon.  So I did a self-guided architecture tour in the morning.  Helsinki is compact and has a lot of interesting architecture, as illustrated here.

Early 20th century apartments, Helsinki

Another interesting building (from earlier in the week)

Then, I had an enjoyable lunch (at a Mexican restaurant with decent food) with my colleagues before bidding them farewell.  They even gave me a gift - powdered berries for sprinkling on cereal, etc. One blueberry and one lingonberry.  I am embarrassed to say that I haven't tried them yet, but hopefully I will remember to do so this weekend on my porridge.

For the afternoon's activity, I walked to the tram museum, passing by the parliament building on the way:

"Hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament"

Remember the movie with that quote (it's not a great movie, I admit)?

Hmm...my photos from the tram museum didn't really turn out.  On my way back to town, I walked by the Sibelius monument, which was pretty interesting (and more photogenic).  He was Finland's most famous composer, and my guidebook tells me that the Finns really like their music.

Monument for Jean Sibelius 

Then, I got some chocolate for LBJ (got the kids their Angry Birds lunch boxes earlier in the week) before heading out for dinner.  It snowed a fair bit in the evening, but it was raining when I woke up the next day - good day to return to Dublin (where it was also raining).  One last photo of Helsinki - sorry for the poor quality:

Uspenski Cathedral in the background there

It was a very productive trip, and I enjoyed seeing the city, but I was very happy to return home to LBJ and the girls (who were pretty well behaved in my absence, unlike my trip to Germany in June).

Finland March 2014 (Part 2)

Day 2 in Finland started off with cloudy skies.  I had the morning free, so I attempted and failed to buy souvenirs for the girls (or anything for LBJ either).  Not for lack of effort, visiting a shopping center and two department stores, and a market.  Saw some beautiful kids clothes, but could not fathom spending 40 euros per shirt for something they'd outgrow in a couple of months.  During my failed shopping, it started to snow:

Snow and trams in Helsinki

Note the cool tram - I decided to take a tram trip, as I finally tracked down last night's restaurant: Street Gastro.  Very good pork sandwich, although in a dodgy area with massage parlors, etc.

Afternoon meetings were very productive.  Plus, I think we bought a house.  So a fancy dinner was in order - a new restaurant from the owners of two Michelin-forked (not starred, yet) restaurants.  This one is called Bronda and it has only been open 2 weeks.  It was easy to find a seat at the bar, although dining alone was a bit boring.  Plus, the beer I ordered was not a beer but more like a hard lemonade.  Oh well, the food was amazing - just wish LBJ was there to enjoy it, too.  Next time!

Day 3 went well - sightseeing in the morning.  Nice 3 course lunch at a restaurant serving Finnish cuisine - i.e. Northern European cooking using local ingredients.  It was called Ravintola Aino.  Pre- and post-lunch meetings went well.  Even had time for a little afternoon sightseeing, followed by some mediocre sushi a nearby restaurant.

Random fact: Angry Birds was created by Finns.

Finland March 2014 (Part 1)

What better place to celebrate my second St. Patrick's Day in Europe than in Helsinki, right?  Ok, maybe not.  But it was a good time to for me to take a work trip - LBJ did not have any evening lectures this week, and she had a day off from work.  So a trip this week produced minimal disruption, in theory at least.

After 2 days here, I give Helsinki a thumbs up despite mediocre weather.  The city has a lot of nice architecture, friendly people, lots of coastline, and plenty of things to do.  I did a lot of outdoor sightseeing my first afternoon as the sun was shining and the wind was gentle, if cold.

Helsinki Cathedral

Senate Square 

First stop was Senate Square, with the statue of Tsar Alexander II (who was much nicer than Alex #1).  Photos don't really do it justice - my guidebook calls it "one of the finest and mist harmonious urban spaces in Europe."  The Helsinki City Museum (visited on day #2) had an interesting display of photos of the square from the late 1800s to today.  No occupy Helsinki photos, though.

Since the forecast wasn't as good for later in the week, I did the one "must-see" activity on my list - the ferry to Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was pretty awesome, although cold - temperature around freezing.  Still, I did the main walking trail along the islands and thoroughly enjoyed it, although I didn't read ALL the signs (despite being a sign-reader in general, as my family knows all too well).

Suomenlinna Church

Suomenlinna in Spring

My only disappointment was that the brewery on the island was closed on Mondays.  So I took the ferry back to Helsinki.  A quick web search found a nice casual restaurant for dinner.  Or so I thought - turns out that it started life as a food truck, and the location was where the food truck parks for the summer.  But I stumbled upon a French-themed bar (gastropub?) complete with French-language music on the speakers.  The sign out front advertised quiche for 6 euros.  It was so yummy that I had to try the creme brûlée as well (equally yummy).  I asked the barman for any Finnish beer, and he recommends a beer from the brewery that I tried to visit earlier.  It was fate.  I had a nice conversation with two other patrons - they are opening a bakery across the street and wondered how a tourist found their favorite neighborhood bar.  Apparently, I found an up-and-coming part of Helsinki.

I'll close this posting with a housing update - looks like we have agreed upon a price, so hopefully we will be homeowners in the summer!

camogie and house hunters international

Oof, I can't believe it's been nearly a month since my last posting.  Sorry about that.

FABJ has started doing camogie at our local GAA club.  GAA is the Gaelic Athletic Association, but it's always referred to as GAA.  In fact, it took me a while to find the explanation on the GAA's website.  Anyway, a friend of LBJ's suggested team sports for FABJ.  We asked FABJ which team sport she wanted, and she chose camogie.  Of course, two weeks later she saw someone she knew doing Gaelic football (which is right before camogie), so she wanted to switch.  Fortunately, she has since forgotten about it.

Our camogie player and her sinister-looking sister

Now, on to house hunting.  The market here is crazy.  There is basically no supply and the banks are dysfunctional.  So, even though housing prices should drop, they instead have been rising in nice parts of Dublin (and a few other places).  Not good for us.  We can't get a mortgage because LBJ switched jobs recently and I apparently could be deported to Wisconsin at any moment.

That being said, we found a house that ticks nearly all the boxes.  The only one it doesn't is that it is rather ugly from the outside.  What idiot came up with the idea of pebble dash for houses?  Anyway, the house is in a great location for us.  Reasonable commute for both (with public transport options), lots of family-friendly activities, etc.  And the house had been sitting on the market for a while, so maybe we could get a reasonable price.  Nope.  It was sitting on the market because the owner would only consider an offer very close to the asking price.  We were ready to capitulate and provide that price, when, out of nowhere, another person bid on the house.  We made one counter, and then other bidder offered a price above the asking.  The last thing we wanted was a bidding war, so we told the agent that the asking price - cash - was our final offer.  We'll see - apparently the owner is considering it because the other offer is not cash.  Did I mention the challenges of actually getting a mortgage?  Banks here will also say "yes" in principle to a mortgage but then not provide the funds for the actual house.  I'll update in the next posting, which will be from Finland ...