Espoo Keilaranta / Kehä 1 Development - Kehitys kehittyy!

All the best for 2016 for all of us!

There is a saying "Silence is golden!", which is crap no matter if I have been silent! Now I have found a way to post pics directly from my mobile's camera and that makes it a lot easier to post and say what's on my mind.

Believe me, there is a lot... I am fully aware of the break I have had with posti and a bit annoued with myself, even if I am at the end happy with myself :o)

The decision made by the City of Espoo to build a new road solution and 2 major tower buildings at Keilaranta was made just before Christmas and already now the development work started. First task is to strip down the few trees from the small bush Area. Now it feels a bit naked while it will change. A LOT.

Only about half a year and then the metro line is open.

----
Hyvän, syvän hiljaisuuden jälkeen olen löytänyt keinon ladata tänne kuvia suoraan luurinI kamerasta...

Kehitys kehittyy, Kehä 1 ja Karhusaarentien risteysalueella on riisuttu pieni metsäalue, jotta loppuvuodesta Espoon kaupungin päätöksen mukaisesti päästään rakentamaan uutta tiehässäkkää ja 2 ISOA tornitaloa.

Metro aukeaa naapuriin puolen vuoden päästä, joten alue tulee muuttumaan paljon!

Game Day - Go Honka!

Honka is my team in basketball and football, Blues in ice hockey!
www.tapiolanhonka.fi
http://esporthonka.fi
www.blues.fi
I've told you this already before.

Today is a BIG day for the flagship team of football Honka:
They play the final game against KPV for a spot in higher league - 2nd highest in Finland - for next year. The team was dropped to the 3rd level due to financial difficulties and for the same reason the old management was out.

Today, in less than 1,5 hours:

HONKA - KPV

At Tapiolan Urheilupuisto. I'll be there!!!

HYVÄ HONKA!

Helsinki Day

Helsinki is a beautiful city and every time you can find new aspects or see something that has not been there before. Keep your eyes open.

Arrival using public transport, leaving possibility to enjoy more the second drink if you feel like it.

We had a sporty entry to the city with a sports event.

 Sports can also exhaust people - can you spot one?

Let's zoom a bit...

Shopping is naturally part of the city day and it can also be a visual experience.

At Helsinki Market Square, Kauppatori, you can find also great packaging or what do you think about these packages?

Don't be scared if it is crowded. There are not many pick pockets, while it is still possible. Overall Helsinki is a safe city!

Remember to have breaks so you don't get exhausted. Good option is the Old Market Hall, Vanha Kauppahalli, and the Finnish local specialty Lonkero. 

Next door the bistro boat Nikolai was serving salmon soup as well as salty and sweet waffles. The salty ones were great, served with a view.

They are open only for 2 weeks for this year so go there. To secure you know how to behave in their toilet, please read the instructions in English.  

I wondered a bit why there was neck-to-neck a war game advertising and blood donation service...

Comedy festival was also in the city with the funny basketball player Sami Hedberg.

If you for some reason need to work in the city, did you know that you can have access to an office with these views with a price of a nice wine bottle?

Keep your eyes open when walking around.

This one I don't get. Why...?

You might also spot interesting boats like the Delta.

Or Lucky Eight which some hockey fans recognize.

Make sure you see the city also from the sea, several options are available no matter what your budget is, you get access with the price of a bus ticket - or if you are lucky with some other means.

Check out also the Hernesaari terraces, shuttle bus goes from the city centre. Next summer.
...they closed yesterday for this year :o(

Make sure that you return to Espoo, Haukilahden Paviljonki is a great option to cool down. They have great burgers, yesterday's snack was a bit unusual as they don't regularly have sushi.

Enjoy life, have a cool one...!

THE Lunch of the Summer

Finally I had a chance to take my kids for a lunch - in a restaurant in the middle of a working day. THE lunch of the summer!!! It didn't require bells, whistles, balloons, music or showtime, neither any serious discussions, to make it a GREAT moment at least for myself. The food and the company is enough to make it!

If you are into a good steak at plain steakhouse style - or a bit closer to a grill style, go to the Grill Toro at Pohjantori, Espoo, Finland. Nothing fancy, straight forward steak & chips (French fries). Even the side salad is something you shouldn't mention.

What is worth mentioning, is the Ville Vallaton ice cream, Finnish version of the famous Dennis Menace. Enjoying that outside in the sun, doing nothing. Not bad...!

...there is a reason why the place has been open, live and busy since 1970.

Hyvää ruokahalua!

From Top to a Flop - or Staying Brave, 2 stories!

Yesterday I came across with 2 stories that were in similar nature;
One day a sportsman on top of the world, fame, glory, success, fans, money and so on.
The second day everything is gone, no more sports, no fans, no glory, no money.

Ice hockey professional Hannes Hyvönen opened a blog where he opens up in his first post, revealing the drastic change from the high fly to the deep dive. As he is a former Blues-man, he is one of the good guys ;o)
The blog of Hannes can be found here.

NBA all-star player and Olympic winner Vin Baker has opened up about his life changes, how he lost over 100 million dollars and getting rid of alcohol etc. Short story of his life change in Finnish at www.Iltalehti.fi can be found from here.

Two different stories, yet quite alike. Hats off to these brave men who speak about their challenging life phases openly. The key is to be honest to yourself, some people do not like it and that is totally OK, we can't please everyone.

On the other hand, if most people tell you that some elements in your behaviour are wrong, there is a pattern with the story, and in addition the actions / words you do or say - or you leave undone / unsaid - lead into similar unwanted results, take a deep breath, talk first to a mirror, then to some good people and think if there is something you should change yourself!

Use the mirror - and not just to see what you have left behind or running away from...!

...Damn I'm still glad I have not needed to follow their path, it would suck to wake up one morning and realize you had it all and you lost it - for one or another reason. 

Hyvää Juhannusta - Have a great Midsummer!

It's again the time of the year when particularly Finns and Swedes enjoy the supposed-to-be-summer-festive (it should be summer, seldom is...) of Midsummer, Juhannus. Most of people who have the chance head up towards countryside, a summer cottage at a lakeside or seaside.

Traffic jams (big in Finland scale, only queues in European scale), cold, crowded summer housed, wet, cold swimming, lousy cooking conditions, no shower, no electricity, wet fireplace, small beds if any...

Despite of all that, it is sooooo loveable! Beautiful Finnish countryside, out of your daily routines, outdoor cooking, wooden heated sauna, swim in a lake, talks, games, reading, BBQ, fresh air, bonfires, white nights, good company = summer at countryside - mökki life!

Stay smart particularly when you go swimming, last year at Midsummer only 1 person drowned in Finland, biggest count in the past years being from 1999: 20 people drowned!!! For the ones interested in stats, check it out from here.

Helsinki became a ghost city today at Midsummer eve at noon when all the shops and market place closed. Many restaurants and cafe's are closed, while many remain open to treat the urban Midsummer people as well as the tourists that stop by with the cruise ships.

What beats me is why can't we still let the shop keepers to decide themselves when their business would profit to keep the shop open. We have soooo many rules and limitations also with this and I can tell you the unions are doing their best to keep their position strong. Well, I'd say the unions have been fighting a battle to survive as the world around them has changed while they still try to continue as they have for decades.

In addition to my previous Midsummer posts, I'd like to share with you an article "Enjoying Midsummer the Finnish way" by thisisFinland, (also on Facebook) a news forum produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Have a great Midsummer 

- 

Loistavaa Juhannusta!

Eurovision is not Punk!

Finland tried to make the same trick as we did at 2006 when we made history by having the first ever hard rock song (by Lordi) to win the Eurovision song contest - and the first and so far (and many years to come) the only Finnish winner of the contest! This time we tried to do the trick with punk song - and that's not all, it was performed by a band called Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät - a band made up of members with learning disabilities.

BBC - among many other world media - wrote about them, link is here, and a photo by BBC below;

For their performance, check out Youube...

This time I don't have favorites, let's see how high will my interest be when the show kicks off at 10 pm Finnish time, that is 8pm UK time and 9 pm Brussels time - in about an hour!

Let the games begin!!!

Vappu / Wappu Sima Factory

My sima factory for Wappu has been operating for this year. The Wappu evening is on Thursday, 30th April, it's the summer season - or actually proper spring - opening for Finland. At the same time my Dutch friends celebrate the Queen's day, enjoy!!!

It is actually very easy to make (ssshhhhh, don't tell the ones who enjoy mine, let them think it is difficult...). Or perhaps it is easy only when you have the skills!?!

If you are somewhere outside the reach of fariinisokeri, the particular type of brown sugar, you can check an option for brewing at youtube:

...and a bit more original version:

To get more background about the festival itself, you can check my old posts.

This is also one source for Wappu info: http://wappu.fi/

Hauskaa Wapun odotusta - Looking forward to the fiesta!