Things in Belgium I will miss - Mitä tulen kaipaamaan Belgiasta?

There are quite many things in Belgium I will miss when I will leave the country- Lahtiessani Belgiasta tulen kaipaamaan monia asioita;

- Easy access to multiple fabulous places and neighbouring countries. You can have a breakfast in Amsterdam, lunch in Brussels and dinner in Paris... /Helppo pääsy Belgian ja lähimaiden fantastisiin paikkoihin. Voit nauttia aamiaisen Amsterdamissa, lounaan Brysselissa ja illallisen Pariisissa...

- Big variation of great restaurants / Monipuolinen valikoima mahtavia ravintoloita

- Mussels / Simpukat

- Belgium chocolate, even if Finnish Fazer Blue chocolate is the best in the world / Belgialainen suklaa, vaikkakin Fazerin Sininen on maailman parasta suklaata

- Variety of fantastic beer, with reasonable price / Mahtava valikoima upeita oluita, kohtuuhinnalla

- Right price wine selection / Erinoimainen valikoima hyvän hintaisia viinejä

- Fairly good French fries / Kohtalaisen hyvat ranskalaiset

Last but most important:
The great people I have had the pleasure to meet along the way. Some have become lifelong friends, some unfortunately will fade away along the way... /

Viimeisenä mutta tärkeimpänä:
Mahtavat ihmiset jotka olen tavannut matkan varrella. Joistakin on tullut pysyviä ystäviä, jotkut valitettavasti hiipuvat matkalla...

What do I miss from Finland / Mitä kaipaan Suomesta?

When I read articles about Finns living abroad, they are very often asked the same question;
What do you miss from Finland?

As I live outside of Finland for the 5th year, I have noticed missing quite a lot the same things that I hear from others. There are though some things that you don't normally hear...

Here is my list of things I miss from Finland - Mitä kaipaan Suomesta;
- Rye bread / Ruisleipä *
- Specific rice pasty / Karjalanpiirakka *
- Meat pasty / Lihapiirakka
- Fresh season potatoes / Uudet perunat
- Specific creamy cheese / Oltermanni
- Fresh season carrots from summer market / Tuoreet porkkanat torilta
- Fazer's Blue chocolate, the best chocolate in the world / Fazerin Sininen *
(FYI for ignorant people, Belgium chocolate is good but can't beat this one)
- Specific Oreo-type biscuits, Dominos / Domino-keksit
(biscuit is not as dark as in Oreo's)
- Salted liquorice -candy / Salmiakki
(when traveling to Holland, I can get fairly good stuff but not the real one. Ikea also has got some.)
- Specific Finnish choose-your-own-candy-sorts selection / Irtokarkit, hyva yhdistelmä hedelmä- ja salmiakkikarkkeja
- Wooden heated lakeside sauna & swim in a lake / Rantasauna järven rannalla
- Proper winter with snow / Kunnon luminen talvi
- 50+ years old wooden roller coaster at Linnanmäki amusement park / Lintsin vuoristorata
...and of course friends and family!

* = I can get these fairly easy in Brussels, but the prices are ~triple to Finland. When the lust for them comes, I don't care about the price... / Näitä saa suhteellisen helposti Brysselistä, mutta hinta on ~3-kertainen Suomeen verrattuna. Mutta kun himo iskee, hintaa ei kysellä!

http://finland.fi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland

Kuria, perkele!

Olen suoraan sanoen pettynyt Suomen oikeusjärjestelmään!
Kopioi tama osoite (uuden) selainikkunan osoitekenttaan, lue ja palaa takaisin.
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http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/artikkeli/%C3%84ideille+sakkoja+lastensa+l%C3%A4psimisest%C3%A4/1135246818188
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Mita hittoa siita tulee jos ei rajoja haastaville lapsille saa naytettya teoille seurauksia muut keinot kokeiltuaan. Raja on harmaa, mutta jos oikeusjarjestelma ottaa asiakseen puida 9- ja 11-vuotaiden PIKKULASTEN asioita ja pudottaa pohjan heidan ja vanhempien valisen suhteen kehittymiselta, ollaan mielestani aika heikoilla jaljilla.

Toivon ettei kenellekaan tule vastaan tilannetta jossa lapseen tarvitsee kohdistaa mitaan mika aiheuttaa vahaisintakaan kipua, mutta jos vaihtoehtona on myontailla ja todeta etta "enhan mina voi mitaan meidan pikku lillukalle, onhan han jo 11 vuotta ja enhan mina voi hanta pakottaa..." ei tarvitse ihmetella kymmenen vuoden paasta missa kohtaa meni pieleen.

Lapset tarvitsevat rajoja, silla he eivat todellakaan tieda miten suhtautua kaikkeen mita ymparilla on. Toisaalta liian tiukat rajat voivat johtaa siihen etta "vapauden" koittaessa tulee ylilyonteja, mutta kukaan ei luvannutkaan etta on helppoa olla vanhempi.

Omamme ovat elaneet viime vuodet keskivertoon suomalaiseen lapseen verrattuna aika suojattua elamaa, joka ei ole olosuhteiden takia juurikaan mahdollistanut esimerkiksi itsenaista liikkumista kaupungilla. Toisaalta vastalahjana olemme saaneet elaa tiivista, perhekeskeista elamaa. Toivottavasti he tulevat arvostamaan sita, silla "omaa aikaa" ja itsenaisyytta he ehtivat viela kokea.

Kuten sanoin: Kuria, perkele - mutta jarkevasti. Lapset ovat fiksuja ja heidan kanssaan kannattaa puhua!

I killed Jerry!

WARNING: If you are an extreme animal lover, this story is fiction!

We have had a nice pet mouse for few years now. He has now and then appeared at the backyard and always went hiding under the tiles. We have named him Jerry, and we have no reason to believe it would not be one and same mouse from year to another. Jerry it is.

Yesterday Jerry came back from his winter-break and immediately he crossed the line. He came too close to the house and therefore invaded our "personal space". Jerry had to go.

We had two goodie-bags for mice. You put the bags in places where they move and wait for them to come and eat. Well, it didn´t take long for Jerry to come.

He opened the bag, started to eat and he stayed there at least for an hour eating the stuff.

Here he has found his way inside the bag.

The stuff makes him "dry" from inside at the back of his hiding place (which of course is on neighbor side). It goes without saying that no animal-tests have been used while developing this product ;o) I gotta say this feels a lot nicer option then the mouse traps that we had as an option...

Now Jerry is somewhere dreaming of Minnie, while we can enjoy the backyard dinners without uninvited visitors.

Wanna travel?

Get a life, not a traveling job!

I'm stuck. I rush with good feeling to the airport, only to find out flight is late.

Of course I first need to take my belt and shoes off. I also hear that "it is government decision" that ALL passangers need to take shoes off and I get to strike back:
"Perhaps it is good that you are in a process of changing the prime minister!"

If you are a supporter of UK prime minister, tough luck ;o)

What do you do when I'm in without a flight?
I buy a 600g pack of Allsorts Liquorice (as I'm at famous Terminal 5 in London) £4.99, few mints and try to get a beer. It's England, don't drink wine...

Well, at one direction you have plastic-sandwich-bar and a sushi-corner, wine&coctail bar in the middle and beer you get if you walk "all the way back there". I won't walk, I'm pissed off. Wine bar it is.

Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2006 12.5% vol. Margaret River Western Australia, 175 cl glass £6.70 served with a pleasent surprise that the flight is delayed for another 30 mins...

There is one mistake on my side:
I didn't take a taxi but drove my car to the airport and therefore I can't enjoy another glass of wine.
Bad mistake. PERKELE!

Why - Miksi?

What gets a person to go out like this? ...I am fully with you about getting the attention - this guy was serious, I wonder if his mother knows...

Mikä saa ihmisen pukeutumaan näin? ...ja hän oli tosissaan, mutta tietääkö äiti...

Why have these tubes have been on the sidewalk for almost a year?

Miksi nämä putket ovat olleet jalkakäytävällä melkein vuoden?
What is the purpose of this fenced area in the city centre?
Miksi tämä alue on aidattu ja täysin hyödyntämättä?

Why didn´t these guys have Joy Dalton with them? Was he in jail? And what got them to run 20 kilometers in such outfit?

Missä oli Joe Dalton - vankilassako? Ja miksi he juoksivat 20 kilometria moisissa asuissa?
What was this guy thinking when he bought the running shoes?
Mitä tämä mies ajatteli juoksukenkiä ostaessaan?

Why isn´t the police in all countries your friend that hands out balloons?

Miksi poliisi ei ole kaikissa maissa ystäväsi joka jakaa ilmapalloja?

Why don´t Belgium people follow the rules?

Miksi Belgit eivät noudata sääntöjä?

Why do they put mushrooms to sandals?

Miksi sandaaleihin laitetaan sieniä?

Why am I asking these questions - Miksi minä edes kysyn...?