Distractions, reflections

Continuing my round-the-world trip from Toronto to Tokyo to Beijing, I was in Helsinki for my shortest stay ever: 3 days. I’m often stayed in the west suburb of Espoo, but a short stay with a large potential for jet lag made an apartment in town more practical. In the city centre, it’s a close walk to the subway and bus station at Kamppi. There’s always something happening on the plaza.

On this day, there was a carnival. A magician would do tricks for you.

Old and young lined up to win prizes at putting.

I don’t often ride the metro in Helsinki because it doesn’t run to the suburbs. In town, though, it’s quick, and I can charge the fare on my mobile phone to run down the prepayments that I accumulate every 6 months to keep my phone number active.

One stop west is Ruoholahti. This area is near the sea, on the southwest side of the city. Read the rest of this entry →

Routing a flight through the UK is generally fortuitous, because it’s on the way to Finland. Since I’ve been coming to the Helsinki area relatively steadily during since 2003, I’ve developed a routine of doing similar things when I’m in town. On this trip, Minna and I co-taught a class at Stadia. One difference on this occasion was the grand meeting room, which is an improvement over the basement lecture hall.

When I stay at Taina’s house, my schedule follows her commute pattern. Picking up Rulle from tennis lessons in Munkkiniemi puts us near warehouse shopping, so we stock up the pantry.

On weekends, there’s an opportunity to prepare a leisurely dinner. This time, at Taina’s house in Soukka, we decided to cook Chinese food — an improvement over the choices available in local restaurants. Read the rest of this entry →