Oh Belgium My Belgium!

The question again is "WHY?".

This time the props goes to the police and law enforcement people in Belgium. Violence is not the answer and we should always try to avoid it to the last point, while if you are faced with it particularly if that enganges the safety of others, it is justified to step in.

And in this case, it is justified to "neutralise" the cause of violence and danger.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30840160

On the page you have access to two videos, one with footage of the action.

To soften things for the weekend, let's see another video of Belgium wisdom and skills. This guy is an exception, as in average we basketball players are smarter than average ;o)

Have a great weekend!

FIFA Football World Cup 2014 - Let the games begin!!!

We have only some minutes to the kickoff of the football World Cup 2014 in Brazil!

There are so many interesting players to follow, some known to the big public and on top several rising stars. I'm really looking for the games - even though I will watch only some games from the 64 available ones...

The Finnish broadcasting company YLE www.yle.fi shows all the games in public TV channels in Finland and on top they have pretty good online services. If you understand Finnish, check the pages out.

My favorite is Spain. 6 years ago I was lucky enough to be in Spain when they won the EuroCup 2008 and I can tell you the party was BIG. And that was only the first one from the 3 championships in a row 2008-2010-2012.

If Spain fails, my second vote goes to childhood favorite Brazil, the hosting team. They have excellent players and home crowd, but also huge pressure to perform. 2nd is not enough for them...

The dark horse for me is Belgium with young stars. I hear Belgium is going bananas with the game fever and assumingly the (fool) Belge expect them to be in top 4. No way I say, max positions 5-8 so out from the quarter finals.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN, VIVA ESPAÑA!!!

HBD2U+ME

Puzzled...?

Happy
Birthday
To =2
You =U
And =+
Me
...got it?

Many of us have mixed feelings regarding the Facebook birthday wishes. While I at myself highly appreciate each and every wish, greeting, thumbs-up and message I got today - over 100 of them so THANKS, there is still a good reason to question if it is worth all the fuzz.

For the record: You are NOT entitled to be annoyed or at any level be pissed with me for not recognizing your Facebook birthday! I prefer to greet face-to-face, on phone, with SMS, or if via Facebook it is mainly via private message. But no, I send those only veeeeery seldom so please do not expect one.

Still, I wish again to thank each and every one of you who sent a greeting one way or another! You thought of me and took the moment to tell it to me, highly appreciated! Special wishes go to Finland and Belgium to the ones who also celebrate today - gelukkige verjaardag!

As many of you have also noticed, many businesses use the information they have about us, including the birthday info. I got a message from SAS, the airline, where they in form of congratulations wish to sell me their services and if I buy, I am awarded with 1000 extra frequent flyer miles. Yippekayeeeee or something...!

Those of you who are in Finland, did you check the flagpoles? Yes, we have had the flags up for my Birthday!!!

To all of you who happen to have a birthday this year 2014:
Happy Birthday - Hyvää Syntymäpäivää!

Alennusta Alkossa?

Jokainen meistä Alkossa asioineista on varmasti haaveillut siellä asioidessaan ruokakaupoista tutuista alennusmyynneistä - tietäen, että se on vain kaukainen haave.

Vaan eipä ole!!!

Kyllä, Alko on tyrkyttänyt poistuvia tuotteita edullisemmalla hinnalla jo pidemmän aikaa. Seuraava vaihe tässä kehityksessä on onnistua tinkimään Alkossa...!

Minulla on kieltämättä ikävä Belgian aikoja, jolloin ruokakauppakäynnillä saattoi tarjouksen pohjalta tehdä heräteostoksena esimerkiksi "Osta 6, maksa 4" -viinitarjouksia. Lauantaisin oli aika mielekästä ja houkuttelevaa käydä kaupassa, sillä juusto-, makkara-, ym. maistiaisten lisäksi pääsi usein maistamaan oluita, viinejä tai liköörejä. 

This is something which is unusual in Finland: Sale at the state governed alcohol store Alko. Yep, in Brussels it was normal to have sale in supermarkets also for alcohol, just as the tastings, but in Finland such things are no-no-no-no! You can surely buy the mild max 4,7% strong beer at the supermarkets, but all beyond that are sold in Alko. That mild beer can also be on sale, but due to heavy alcohol tax I wrote about, there is not that much room for pricing...

Hölökynkölökyn - Santé - Cheers - Skål - Kippis - Salut!

Despedida Bar Filemon at Fuengirola, Spain

May I have a moment of silence, please.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Thank you.

That was due to the sad fact that a favorite restaurant in 3 generations in our family Bar Filemon at Fuengirola, Spain has closed its doors for good, unfortunately. That means you gotta find the goodies from some place else...

Hmmmm, I know some places where to go! For example;

• Next door from Filemon. It has changed the owner, but still serve good Spanish seafood goodies, pescados y mariscos. 
• Around the corner from Filemon.
• At the Fuengirola Marina is Fran that has been a good option also earlier.

...and of course new places come and go all the time, go out and try them!

Muchas gracias Antonio, staff and particulary your son from the little extra deed!

Then I of course need to give a tip;
If you fancy a beer that is a bit stronger in taste and perhaps in other ways too, check out Bar Belga in the same corners at Fuengirola. It's in the city, few leaps from the sea front with a very friendly couple hosting it so go and check it out. They are also in Facebook.

My favorite beer from Belgium?
...well, in principle all of them. However, if I'd need to pick one single beer, the only that I am allowed to drink during the rest of my life, it would be Hoegaarden.

Salud!

Eat and Drink in Belgium - Worth a Visit!

Mrs B posted on Facebook an article that made me miss Belgium - food, drinks and of course the people. Unfortunately I must settle with Finnish, Estonian and Spanish goodies for now...

Check out this link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/belgian-cuisine-food_n_4617498.html

10 out of the 13 "foods" or better eatable/drinkable ones are on my preferred list, some of the on TOP5.

Yllä olevasta linkistä pääsee tarkistamaan 13 syytä mennä Belgiaan - tai asua siellä. 10 niistä on minunkin suosikkilistalla ja muutamat TOP5:ssä!

Bon Appétit - Hyvää ruokahalua!

Belgium - My kind of a country for a total freeze

The previous week Belgium had +15 C and many were taking out their summer clothes, getting ready for a nice beer at the terrace bars. Few days later the shit - or snow - hit the fan and served 5-15 cm of snow. For a country that collapses from 2 cm this is a disaster as they are not equipped nore skilled to handle it.

AND THE POOR GUYS GOT FRESH SNOW ALSO TODAY!

Sorry guys, the pic is not from today...

Some articles talked about 700 km of traffic jams, others about 1600 km and total freeze on the roads. Thinking of that, it is no surprise that also our kids' old school was closed. Damn, it was closed due to 2cm of snow at our first winter in Belgium - that gave us a nice laugh.

Why?
Well, we are today somewhere at # 125 of snowdays in a row. We got few some fresh snow last week also, just a bit though... Well, we are both equipped and skilled to manage it. It's fun to drive the car in the winter and with good snow on the roads: that gives me a chance to drive instead of just steering!

Another freeze in Belgium happens when ever they have a chance to go on strike - a bit like the French. Yes, of course there is often a good reason for the strike but still. Now one of the strikes has caused me a little bit of dislike as the new car that I was supposed to get beginning of March was first expected "sometime in April" and now the system shows as a production day 26th of April and as a delivery day June 1st. Let's see what happens...

• http://www.flanderstoday.eu/content/ford-genk-staff-return-work
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-18/ford-s-genk-plant-remains-shut-on-strikes-at-suppliers.html
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-23/ford-restarts-genk-production-after-parts-blockade-ends.html

I love winter!
Not Belgium.
Except the beer. And food. And some of the... people, shopping, restaurants, touristic opportunities, and...

PS I'll try to tell you soon about a winter day today.

Oh Belgium, I miss your peculiarity - Belgian omituisuuksia

There are good things in Belgium, but apparently the beer, wine and fries are only half as good as the ones in Finland. Or what could be the reason for me paying twice as much vs in Belgium for a 0,5 liters pint of Hoegaarden, 16 cl of house red wine and a small bowl of fries?


I paid in a Belgium style bistro restaurant Belge in Helsinki 8,50 Euros for the beer, 7,80 for the wine and 6,60 for the fries. In a similar place in Brussels it would have been somewhat half the price. Perkele.

Millä kielellä Belgiassa - Belgian language?

Well, not all things are in place in Belgium - even though they recently stopped collecting more days for their world record of we-don't-have-a-government-in-place -time. Big part behind that has been the language barrior and wanna-be-different -culture connected to it.

But what is the language they speak in Belgium, in addition to French?
Here is an article from Finnish newspaper about the language that is Dutch, not Flemish. I claim - and so do most non-Flemish people - that "Flemish" is just a dialect of Dutch. The Flemish people don't use their throat sounds as harsh as the Dutch do and some words are a bit different, but still it does not make it a different language. Or does it?

Hmmm, should they now change the name of "French" spoken in Belgium into "Valloon" language...?

Should we in Finland change the name of Swedish language that is spoken here into "Coastish", as majority of the Swedish speaking areas locate by the coast...?

Thoughts for Belgium!

So sad, so unnecessary. So many things left undone. So many things unsaid. So many people missing them...

...who knows, if I have come across with one of the children some years ago in Lommel...

Hyi Helsinki - Shame on Helsinki!!!

The city of Helsinki has said that they wish to spice up the city. They have encouraged a young entrepreneur when he was planning and preparing a cafe on wheels to be set up in Helsinki. Also the health authorities have supported and given clear green light for the effort.

The young man has purchased a great van from Belgium - a country of mobile waffle and ice cream bars - and invested 30.000 Euros for it.

Then comes the real thing and Helsinki should give selling locations to the mobile care.

I guess you already guess where this is leading into...?

Picture borrowed from here

Yes, unfortunately the bureaucrats in the city of Helsinki peed in their pants and gave nothing, nada, empty ticket, zero locations for the car!

I find it difficult to believe this, but it seems we are running the capital city, showroom of Finland based on ancient rules and habits based on Soviet style. If something is not separately allowed, it must be forbidden...

I truly hope there will be a positive solution to this!!!

Story in Finnish in local biz paper - tarinan tausta suomeksi Kauppalehdessä.

PS Not that surprisingly HIFK is leading 2-0 in the wins of the Finnish ice hockey final series. Let's see if the Blues is able to pull out one more magic card...

Car free city - is it possible? Organized properly or ad-hoc?

I claim it is, despite of the pitiful efforts that the Helsinki city authorities have made towards the car free day in Europe. Actually I think it is a Global initiative at some level.

Why the heck we Finns - or in this case my dear fellow countrymen responsible for the event - try to follow the rules or guidelines so strictly that the end result is lost in circumstances. or what do you think about the Helsinki way to organize a "Car Free Day in Helsinki";

• The official EU day is on Tuesday
• Helsinki decides to have their own car free day at the same day, a normal busy office/work day
• The public transport is slightly discounted
• Less than 10 blocks area in the city centre is decleared as "car free"
• Despite of the "car free" area, you can drive to the offices, shops, garages etc inside the area

No wonder the day has not had any meaning. But how about Brussels car free day then;

• The day is always on Sunday in September when the weather is still good (for Helsinki I'd recommend late August)
• Driving a car is forbidden in the whole city, including about 5 km outside to the ring road
• If you must drive due to work or other reason, you must in advance apply for a permit from the police - like we had to do once
• Public transportation is free
• The streets are taken over by people, festivals, bicycles, runners, horses and so on. It becomes a true car free day!
• http://www.dimanchesansvoiture.irisnet.be/accueil

You don't need to invent the wheel again, just investigate during one of the what-ever-you-go-to-Brussels-for-trips what the Brussels people have done. Then localize it to Finland. Sounds simple, and that's what it is - if we have the will!

At the moment we live about 10 kilometers from the city centre, but I can tell you if a proper car-free day would happen in Helsinki we would definitely drive down to the city and enjoy the streets!!!

Coming back to the question in the title;
Yes, a car free city is possible at least for one day in a year! But it does not come for free, all of us need to chip in...

Hmmmm, today the Belge people decided to organize something close to such day - with a bit different objective but we could call this an ad-hoc car free day. Or do you think these guys would welcome a car on this street?

Belgium has been without a government for 224 days, that being a record in Europe. People organized a demonstration against the situation, let's see if it makes any difference. I don't see a real long term solution to be realistic as certain basics are not in place. Flemish and Valloons - the Dutch (or "Flemish speaking" as they claim) speaking and French speaking Belge - seem to have so different view of the current problems and solutions.

The status and importance of Brussels doesn't make it easier, as Brussels is a French speaking city in the middle of Dutch speaking area. And believe me, the language barrior and with it mentality difference between these two parties is BIG.  

Uutinen Belgian hallituksen puutetta vastaan järjestetystä mielenosoituksesta löytyy täältä Helsingin Sanomien sivulta.

To read guardian.co.uk's report, click here.

Hello Sun, my old friend! Hyi loskapaska...

Today ended the sun-free period in the northest part of Finland, Utsjoki. Since Nov 27th the sun has stayed below the horizon...

The sun was above the horizon luxurious 10 minutes. If the sky was clear, people might have seen the sun properly from high places, like on top of a fell (a small mountain / big hill).

Already on Saturday the sky was glowing red. This image is from last year, compliments by YLE.

Next week the day gets longer pretty fast; Already on Monday the sun is up for over an hour. The lengthening continues day by day, until mid May the sun will not go down any more.

The white nights, nights without the night continuous days, or how ever you want to call it, continue late July when the days again start to shorten until late Nov.

This is a strange, beautiful country we live in! And I love it!

OK, about a week ago I was hating the weather; The slid was back - Loskapaska oli palannut!

It was raining pure water on and off for 2-3 days and temp was somewhat +2-3 C. The roads became like Belgium in the winter time. And now I mean the 2 half days of winter that Belgium normally has. This year I have understood they had for few days a proper winter.

...and now they are back to dull fall-type of season they call winter, just because the calendar says so...

In few days the beautiful images in southern Finland dissapeared, including Marge Simpson -lookalike BBQ at the backyard, behind one of the candle lamps. Same thing with these sticky snowfalls hanging from inch-by-inch iron bar.

Well, this pile is not as big any more but it is still there.

Same thing with the snow on top of bushes - I had to strip them from the snow before the rains came. Othewise the branches would have snapped... Let's see how these fellows survive the winter.

Now the we are back below freezing point, all the wet slid has frozen into icy bumps on the roads so it is again fun to drive - instead of just steering from one place to another.

I love winter - still!

Talvi - Vinter - Hiver - Winter in Finland, Suomessa

I love winter, rakastan talvea, jag älskar vinter, j'adore hiver, ich liebe Winter, is breá liom an gheimhridh!

Tonight I wanted to amuse you with some winter pics. I have plenty of them in the back pocket so let's see what & when comes after these... Hope you enjoy them at least a fraction of what I have enjoyed live!
----
Backyard right after the first snow in November

 Badkyard a bit later on

 Same tree at the back a bit later

 And tonight, 25th of December a reality check with the snow

 Was it smart, I don't know but it's a standard to make sure you know what the white stuff you live in the middle of is...

Muy loco!!!

A bit of chocolate info in between;
Fazer, a Finnish chocolate producer that makes also the best chocolate in the world, Fazer Blue - Fazerin Sininen, has made a "gourmet" chocolate that should be gooood. It is good, but not praline quality and what is a bit surprising (or actually not), is that the chocolate itself is not that big vs the package.

So if you want to get the best chocolate in the wold, get Fazer Blue - Fazering Sininen. If you wish to do it the "wine tasting way", go for the fantastic pralines. In Brussels a small, fantastic chocolate factory Passion Chocolat can be found at rue Pére Eudore Devroye 197, 1040 Etterbeek / Bruxelles, Belgium, about 500 meters from Montgomery roundabout. I recommend it, they also have fantastic ice cream at summer time. They are also at Grand Sablon.

Back to Finland;
Snow also comes over the door decoration.

 The moon can be beautiful also behind the trees.

 And to finish off tonight, here are two muy loco niños that seem to take after their father...

Stay tuned, more to come...

Very merry Christmas - Erinomaista Joulua!

Happy Father's Day - Hyvää Isänpäivää!!!

Today is Father's Day in Finland and what would be a better way to start it than sleeping until 1030 for the first time in months!

Wife and kids have been there to hug you before leaving for soccer practice, then your daughter comes in to ask if she could bake something. Soccer groups come back and we prepare a fantastic brunch with caviar, bacon, different cheeses including manchego and Iberico-ham - Spanish delicacies.

Desserts with fresh pineapple, freshly made white chocolate mousse and a meringue cake. And one should not forget the bubbles :o)

In Belgium the Father's Day is celebrated on 3rd Sunday of June and I gotta say it was a bit surprising when the kids came from the school with cards & gifts at the first year in Belgium.

Hyvää Isänpäivää - Happy Father's Day! I will have a talk with my father at some point today - it has been only 2 years since he passed away.

How Belgish is this?

A right to go on a stike has been considered to be part of worker's rights. This is the case at least in most of the western countries. Some have learnt to use it better than others - or what do you think of the art of striking by the French?

In my mind a strike is never a best solution, since in most cases there are no winners. It is often so that the financial loss to the worker during the strike is bigger than the achieved benefit in for example 2-3 years. Also the rules set for strikes should be honored in order not to chop your own leg. By harming the business of the company you work for, you set your job at risk.

Harm to the business performance --> Harm to the customer --> Less customers & revenue --> Less income --> Cost cutting --> Staff reduction...

I think most of you get this.

Now the Belgium air traffic controllers have decided that a spontaneus strike is the correct action to state their opinion. Apparently some of the staff should move about 50 kilometers from Charleroi Airport to Zaventem Airport at Brussels, but is it the best way to act by a strike that grounds about 700 flights in / out of the Belgium airports?

You tell me...!

Some info from here.

Again some Spanish food

I wrote earlier about the Spanish food that I very much love. At the Costa del Sol are so many nationalities represented that surely you can get also other food than Spanish.

If you wish to have British breakfast, you can get it with a reasonable price. Also other options from the British gourmet kitchen are available - and since the competition for the customers is tough, ofter the customer gets the benefit. Or what do you say about the offer below?

For the lovers of German sausages, you also have good options available.

There is also fairly big Finnish community, hence the delicious Finnish cinnemon rolls are made there in Thelman Pullapuoti.

I myself find no reason for going there on vacations. Except when I was living outside Finland. When you are living abroad for a longer period - months or years - you kind of miss certain things from your home country and what could be better than to get some delicious familiar food. That's why we visited the Brussels Seamen's Mission - Brysselin Merimieskirkko now and then. There we we also able to use the library so even more reasons for a visit. We didn't go there for any religious purpose, but to get a taste of our home country.

My main food focus at Spain trips is Spanish food in many forms, one more delicious than the other. And again, normally the price is not the issue unless you go for the fancy places in touristic areas...

One of my many favorites - the sardines - are prepared on the fire for me.

The dish doesn't look that fancy but I can tell you it is goooood!!!

Mix it with Tortilla Española and rinse it down with a glass of ice cold beer in one of the chiringuitos, the beach restaurants.

After that you can go back to the beach and dig yourself a hole for the siesta.

 I still have some cheese and chorizo left, I guess tonight could be a good time for them!

Hyvää ruokahalua!!!

The Ice Age is Over

On Wed May 12th the temperature climed above +15C for the first time this year. Yesterday May 13th was the first day temp climed above +20C and you must remember this is in Southern Finland, up North in Lapland, ~1000 km north from Helsinki, the ski season just finished.

This is exceptionally good for Finland, since I can remember only one 1st of May carneval, Vappu, when I was able to freeze in shorts. Few times I've been freezing in t-shirt but normally it has been something around +10~15 C, sometimes even below 10...

As reference I remember the first year in Brussels when the temp was +30C on 30th April. I had just come from Amsterdam to have a taste of Queen's Day and the evening was niiiiice. Also once we went to the beach (sunbathing) at mid April.

As I have said many times, I love winter and this one in Finland was fantastic! But now feel free to bring in the summer - all you have to offer up here...! Which is not much.

Except sometimes;
Today we had some heat. When leaving the office the temp was +27,5C and even now at 7:30 PM it is +24 at the backyard. Not bad at all!

I shall finish with a tip of the day;

If you think raclette is only winter food, why don't you set it out at the backyard - or if you have a covered patio, what could be nicer then enjoy it outdoors with friends in a rainy evening. No smells inside and you get to enjoy the fresh air. You just need to make sure the wine is in the right temperature ;o)

It is Vappu - or I guess my Swedish friends call it Walborg

Normally most of Finns are wasted at this point of the Vappu evening. Not all of us take the smoother option for the Vappu night and after the office day go to the market place with the kids, buy some carneval junk and only then head home.

We had plenty of time to enjoy BBQ evening with a good friend stopping by. This also enables me to feel a lot better tomorrow morning compared to most of Finns who have been boozing either in the city or parties at home.

Last year I wrote about Vappu - Walpurgis Night - Valborg - and posted some pics so I will only post the link here.

If you wanna read more about Vappu, here is a link.

Unfortunately I have not myself taken any Vappu pics for not for now but let's see if I get into it tomo. Well, here is one of fantastic home made donuts - the ones without the hole...

Veeeeery tasty!

I also have some pics about how far the spring (yes, spring - not winter as some of you might say) has progressed.

The taller trees at the back are birches. Gives you a perspective of how far in the spring we are... Yesterday I was driving to the office with +3.5 C on the meter, no wonder I miss subtropical Brussels at this time of the year.

Last weekend the sports fields had some snow to "cover" them...

I remember once sitting at one of the terraces at Grand Place (the one at the lower end with the horse inside, I think it is called Le Roy) 30 May 2005 or 2006 and it was +30C. I had just returned from the fantastic pre-Queen's Day -party in Amsterdam... If any of you guys from that trip are listening: it was a great eve!!!

Tomorrow we either will go to the city carneval or not - this is what it can look like...

 In the afternoon we shall anyway go to friends of ours for a fun afternoon...

Have fun you all, where ever you are!

PS D, Happy B-Day - wish we would be on a same continent to celebrate it!!!

PSS F****ng h***, we have been in BRU sunbathing at the beach in mid-April so I guess you can understand the frustration as I have no chance to travel up North to Lapland for skiing (yes, the slopes are still running smoothly until about mid May) and can't enjoy the summer as I have used to in the past years. Ying-Yang. Perkele...!

The joy of winter

Good morning?

No, read further...

This morning started with -18C and when the sun finally came up around 9:30 (exact time 18 Dec in Helsinki 9:23) the day became beautiful.

Today I had to go out from the office and I noticed that I have driven the "new" car for almost 3 weeks and only today noticed that I don't have sunglasses in the car. No wonder, since I said quite long time ago that next time I will be leaving the office at daylight, it will be February-March or so... Pitch black again when I left around 5 pm.

Today was the last day of fall term in our kids' old school in Brussels. Or was supposed to be but they decided to close the school since the whole of Brussels was in chaos.They got about 15 cm of snow and all hell breaks loose. Biggest part of the problem is that the Belge are not equipped to handle the situation but are still so hard headed that they head to the traffic and think they can manage it with the slick tires in their cars.

Few years back the winter lasted for half a day but that morning was pretty funny. On our way to the school I was having fun with the proper winter tires under my PanzerWagen, but again the Belge were in a wrong place at a wrong time. In the middle of one hill there was a car sideways blocking the road both ways. After waiting for a while in a queue S goes and asks what's going on and the typical Belge reply is "we are waiting for the salt truck to come".

Well, someone coming from the Nordic would have pushed the car aside but not the Belge. This reminds me of a joke my dear cousin from Vermont sent about slippery roads. Gotta find it and share it with you..

The first winter we were in Brussels, the phone rang one morning at around 0630 and it was one of the moms who passed on the message that the school was closed "because of the snow". Well, that enables us to sleep longer but still you gotta go and take a look how much snow there is. 2 cm, max an inch!

Gotta say it was hilarious for us but the kids were happy. That will never happen in Finland, no matter if it is -30C for 2 weeks (which happened when we had our highschool graduation exams).

Back to presense.

Luckily the sun only goes down around 3:30 (exact time 18 Dec in Helsinki 3:14) in the afternoon. However, as you can see form the picture taken today 2:30 early afternoon it is no wonder why we Finns are what we are ;o)

Fomral length of the day 5 hours 50 minutes.

Just wait until we get up to Lapland where the sun does not get up at all in about 6 weeks!!!

Lahden Kulta

While living outside of Finland, "Lapin Kulta" -beer, Lapland's Gold, strengthened it's position as my favorite beer from Finland.

This was not due to the taste, since I can tell you most of the beers are almost the same. Plain, simple lager. If you want to have something a bit different, the price can easily be doubled.

And what is the brewery planning to do?

Finish the production up north in Lapland and move it to south, town of Lahti. Like our main newspaper Helsingin Sanomat suggested, I guess we shall change the name into "Lahden Kulta" - Lahti's Gold.

Helsingin Sanomat 11.10.09

 

If this happens, Lapin Kulta is off of my favorite list - except when I talk to you aliens ;o) This is what you get when multi-national breweries take over and loose the touch with the origin.

Same thing was in Belgium when e.g. Hoegaarden beer was not produced any more in town of Hoegaarden. Bad image mistake for the locals but good for the business economics of scale.

Sorry Carlos, just my humble opinion about my favorite beer (one of many). 

OK, I still love Hoegaarden!