Category: Architecture

Day 87: Railway

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Train travel in Finland is incredibly comfortable and, in many instances, very convenient. But as it feels awkward to start taking photos in a train carriage, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Instead, I took a few shots at the Helsinki railway station. At a first glance, it is a quite a modest building. In fact, as I never eat at the station, I passed through the building a hundred times before properly looking around. Especially the restaurants in the old section are gorgeous Art Nouveau. Not something you expect from such a small railway station.

The metro tunnel underneath, less so.

Day 86: Old Kokkola

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I travelled to Kokkola for work today. It’s a small town on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. In spring, before the nature awakens, there isn’t all that much to see. In summer, it can be nice (so I hear).

The old town of Kokkola has some beautiful wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a few dating back to the 17th. They were definitely worth a walk.

Day 85: Small Bites

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With my siblings, good food, good drinks, and escape rooms tend to go hand in hand. That didn’t leave much time for any other sightseeing. With stormy, rainy weather, it hardly felt like a loss.

In between showers, I managed a few quick pictures around town and a short visit to Fotografiska – still my favourite photo museum in the city.

Day 83: Tallinn

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Tallinn is just a 2 hour ferry ride from Helsinki, which makes it a perfect weekend get-away with Stuart, my brother, sister, and brother-in-law.

Tallinn is an old Hansa city and the old town is just beautiful. As a tourist, one rarely wonders outside of the old town. However, one purpose for the trip was to solve a number of escape rooms – none of which are in the old town.

One down, three to go. And we got to see some of the modern Tallinn too.

Day 78: Tourist at Home

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I love being a tourist and, when travelling, I tend to cram my days full to avoid missing anything (the term FOMO was coined gor me). But as so many others, I pass the local sights with a vague decision to “see it one day”.

Bicycles have helped a lot. Stuart and I have explored most of the nearby sights in search of the next cycling destination. However, it has left a circle of approx 10km around the house, as that is really too short a distance even on a lazy day.

This watertower nearby is one such negletted destination. There is a restaurant on top and we keep postponing a visit. For the photo I got closer to the tower than  I have ever been, which only strengthened my resolve: we will definitely come to eat here… Soon.

Day 46: Long Way Up

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Most often, when I go to the office, I take the metro. I live almost at the end of the line, so even on the busiest of mornings, I can get a window seat, close my eyes, and listen to my audiobook.

Almost without exception, I come home after rush hour has passed. Rarely more than a handfull of people get off at my stop. I get the long escalator all to myself.

One of these days I will get off one station before, as that apparently has the longest escalator in Finland. So far, I have never prioritized the experience over getting home faster.

Day 21: Bo-Kaap

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I love bright colors. It’s one of the reasons traditional Afrikan fabrics appeal to me. Why would you ever wear beige if you could wear orange, turquoise and purple? Simultaneously. But I am also pretty self-concious, so I (too) often settle for safer choices.

This contradiction is what started my love affair with large earrings. You can be bold, but in a sort-of-safe way – like jumping off a cliff only halfway.

In photography, there is no need for safe choices. That’s why there are few better places to wonder around that the vibrant, bold Malay neighborhood of Bo-Kaap.

Day 162 – Baby Shower

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We had a baby shower for a colleague this morning – a lovely breakfast with all the office ladies. An event made somewhat shorter by the fact that the mother-to-be – to whom this was a surprise – went to the wrong restaurant, got stuck in traffic, and appeared 40 min late. In the meantime, there was plenty of time to take photos of the restaurant fountains.

Day 162

 

Day 146 – Dinner in a Bookstore

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As has been painfully obvious from my earlier posts – Stuart and I like two things: books and good food. Therefore it is no surprise that one of our favourite places nowadays is Social Kitchen – a fine dining restaurant in a bookstore. The store really encourages people to pick up a book from the shelf, order a drink and sit down to read – and many do.

Although we rarely sit here and read, the atmosphere and food get us coming back. Most often with friends.