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!

Winter Walk - or just a Walk...?

Yesterday I had again the pleasure to go for a walk with Mrs. We headed towards the sea shore and it was great to see that we still have some elements of winter in place, like part of the sea was frozen. That is covered with ice so that you can even walk on it.

For some of you it might be shocking news, but last year you were able to drive on it. If you double-click the picture, it should enlarge and you might see the rescue team a.k.a. firemen apparently practicing in case someone breaks through the ice. The water is pretty cold, even though many people have a habit to swim through the winter.

Pay attention to the cover at the end of the pier: That is for the swimmers and hence there is also a water pump that keeps the water open in a small area big enought for a quick dip.

Naturally the beach cafe was open, though we didn't have a break at this one but the other further down the shore.

I've posted a picture from the cafe terrace earlier at summer time, check it out.

Continuing the theme with birds - if you checked the link above - this is what we had along the way.

That place with the ducks, weather and all reminded us both soooo much about Brussels winter. It's not that ofter I miss it, but having so great memories of several walks in the parks and woods it easily comes back in mind. Not to talk about Brussels winter weather being just like that - similar to spring in Finland.

Well, in Finland we have the dog shit revealing when the snow melts away... Unfortunately the sun was hiding behind the clouds when I took the pictures and the end result being all of them having the shade of spring dog poo all over - expect the ice.

To finish off, let's bring in some color, particularly some blue:
The Finnish ice hockey league is getting close to the play-off season. My team the Blues is about to make it in. Dang, they won the league leader Kärpät - the Weasels - on Friday. Ok, on Saturday they played again and Kärpät won it :o)

If the Blues plays strong in the last games and Jokerit - the Jokers - fail, the Blues might even make it directly to the quarter finals with 6th Place.

 

C'mon Blues!

 

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...

The streets are for us, one way or another

To whom are the streets built for?
For us of course.

Who should then decide how do we use them?
Daaaaa, us.

Well tell me then why couldn't we make a good, car free day happen also in Helsinki, Finland? As I said, it is possible and doesn't require any super initiatives. No, it is not easy but if it would be - anyone could do it.

I hope you checked out the blog comments from last Saturday 22nd Jan. A gentleman who - according to Google search - seems to be THE man for the car free and sustainable environment stuff, gave few links to the topic and checking them out I became even more convinced that we should take this seriously over here too.

No, we don't need to do it all at once but let's stop fooling around with the wanna-be-car-free-days like we have had so far in Helsinki and let's make it real! It is fun to be stuck in a traffic lights like below.

During our Brussels years we were on our bikes every year and cycled around the city. I can tell you it was truly fun going down town and cycle in places where normally we need to be aware of cars all over. During the first years our youngest one was 6 years but still 30 km cycling was a piece of cake for him too.

It's a bit like eating an elephant: you eat it in pieces. Or a version I heard - claimed to be a Brazilian one: You eat a gorilla in monkies.
...This one beats me, it must be hell of a lot better in original language. If someone knows how this should go, please inform us!

Here are few pics from the last car free day in BRU we (for now) have had the pleasure to enjoy.

This is Brussels Bourse down town, few blocks from the Grand Place. Veeeery busy road normally.

Across the road from Bourse, you can get non-Belge Churros. Muy bueno!

 As you can see, it is not only bicycles that conquer the streets: Horses in front of the Royal Palace.

 The trams and buses were operating free of charge. At the back is the art nouveaux building of Musical Instrument Museum of Brussels, worth a visit. My kids and wife did, I didn't and regret it. In minimum one should go for the view on top, cafe should be good and as we are in Belgium it means a good selection of beers for a break :o)

 If you wondered the cover of the building on the left, here it is from the front. Apparently Magritte Museum - please don't ask what it is but I think the kids said it is worth a visit. They are asleep now so can't check it...

 This one is another cover down the road at Sablon. Why should you cover a church tower with boring pic if people can enjoy a nicer view while renovation is on. By the way, if you wonder who in Finland could do these - big or small, easy or difficult, I know the man for the job.

 One neads a break once in a while, and what could be better than sitting down on a sunny terrace with a view and few beautiful Nordic looking ladies nearby...?

 And on the other hand, it is also good to have a French red and Belge blond at hand.. However, the Belge blond doesn't beat a Nordic one.

 The police is also fully in, or can you challenge the attitude of this guy putting on his roller skates?

Guys, I would have really, and I mean REALLY wanted to see the drivers of this tandem. It requires some personality and appearance to drive this beast!  

 Anyways, I wish to see busy roads in pedestrian and bicycle - or horse - usage in Helsinki. We have the Helsinki City Marathon on August 20th, why not make that a day of Run-Walk-Cycle / Juokse-Kävele-Pyöräile???

Please don't start thinking why not, but rather "how can we make it happen"!

Let's finish with a pic taken from the same spot where we one of the days said hi to the King and Queen of Belgium.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I guess I really need to start lobbying a REAL car free day for Helsinki.

From top of my head I came up with 5 names = people I personally know in Finnish Parliament, City authorities and surrounding city politics so I need to step on it. In addition there are multiple people who should be interested. Not least our Foreign Minister who used to live in Brussels for years and was a member of the Flying Finns, Brussels Track & Field Club. 

Be aware or rather spread the word!

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.

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!

Pro shaving

For some years I have tried to find a barber shop that would do the traditional shaving. I have asked around in Finland, Spain and Belgium but have not been successful. Until now.

Downstairs from the place we were staying in Brussels is a men´s barber shop and as I saw shaving brushes and other material, I went in and tried my luck – and was successful!

Just like in American movies, you sit down and enjoy. You get a warm towel on your face, thorough brushing, shaving with a knife, facial massage, again warm towel, cooling with another towel, and a nice after shave treatment. It was an enjoyable experience, but if you have a sensitive skin, they are likely to use a traditional shaver instead of the knife, but it will be done thoroughly all over. Result is as smooth as one can get form this face.

Not all the people speak English but the state-of-art bald man does and he did my treatment. Price was 19 Euros and I can truly recommend it!

Rudolphe, the men´s hairstylist
Avenue Louise 135, 1050 Brussels
Tel. +32 (0)2 534 00 14

With or without appointment

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!!!

Gourmet @ Office Canteen?

Put your hand up if you can say the office canteen offers good quality food.

If it is up, consider yourself as one of the lucky ones. Or smart ones if you

had something to do with the decision making...

I don't feel lucky.

One day this week we had at the office canteen a "sausage stake" on a menu.

Yes, a "wanna-be-steak" made of sausage. It is made out of the basic, cheap 

sausage with some veggies and cheese cover on top. I have not tasted it and 

neither I am planning to. 

You can find some more info of the sausage from from here. 

Direct translation for the sausage is "Saturday Sausage" and in French it is
"Saucission de Jambon". Gotta say the Belge version was a bit more meaty. 

That steak day I actually had a camera in the car (froze during the day 

I guess) so I could have taken a pic but I didn't dare to. 

This was not the first time they served this dish. This time they had made 

it a tex-mex version, and first I guessed it meant changing the green peas into 

corn... The "tex-mex steak" version was that exact sausage with a bit of 

tomato salsa on top and covered with some cheese. Few moments in the oven 

and voilá, lunch is served - for someone else then me!

After I started again here in Finland, wanna guess what happened when I 

asked for olive oil and vinegar?

No way Jose!

Some creamy stuff was available in a bucket. 

Tabasco?

No.

Pepper and salt I can find from a shelf on top of where we leave the 

dirty dishes.

If someone still complaints about the BRU canteen, I will kick their ass 

and drag them up here for a week ;o)

PS How do I like my sausage best then? Well, cooked like this...

PSS Sorry about the line spacing, when copy/pasting from another format does not 

always work like it should... 

Again: Airport Security

As I am writing this I have been now standing still at Brussels Airport security check line. That is quite normal, but I have been standing still for 10 mins next to a sign saying "10 MINS FROM THIS POINT".

I don't know yet what is going on, but I can give a tip to Helsinki Airport security check staff that went on strike a short while ago;

Few summers ago Finnish paper workers got greedy and tried to get even higher increases to their salaries that were already high. What happened little after?

Paper companies started to close paper mills in Finland.

What is the learning here then???

Don't get greedy or blame others. Fix it or someone else will do it. Cheaper.

...Now it has been 20 mins and still another to go...

Surprise: School theatre can be good!

Last weekend at our kids´ schoolwas a theatre play of Narnia made by middle school, classes 7-9. I must admit I was pretty sceptic about it and wasn´t expecting much but I am happy to say I was wrong!

To follow the story, it helped that I had seen the movie but the key was the quality of the performances. I´m not an expert in theatre but I was impressed by the strong roles played. We need to remember that these were 12 to 15 years old kids.

Also the production crew was all student based, only adult being the director. Excellent experience for the kids.

...You might wonder why did we go there at all?

Well, we had heard the productions are surprisingly good but that was not enough to get me to go. Having a son of our friends in a leading role did it...

Car Boot Sale was OK

Car Boot Sale was quite good, but not perfect. Weather started perfect for flip-flops and shorts but I also needed to put a jacket on at some point. Atmosphere and music was good snacks & drinks depending on each individual and in my case it was perfect. Banana for b-fast, chicken wrap for lunch and cheese & salami with a wine glass for snack.

What else does a man need? Well, the beer I had in the evening ;o)

I sold more then half of my suff and found at the end also some kids´ clothes but there was no interest to them, except a winter jacket for boys. Someone valued it much enough to pay 5 euros, but no-one even asked for a price of the nice shirts and a dress I had there. Lady next to me had loads of clothes that she was selling for 25 cents per piece and still there was no interest...

As always some people were looking for good stuff for free, but I rather keep some stuff to give for free to friends or relatives then sell to strangers for a rediculous price. One lady expected me to sell kids´ diving fins, snorkle and mask for 1 euro. I didn't. The mask & snorkle I sold for 3 euros - having bought it from Spain for about 9 euros - but the fins are still with me. That is if you have usage for fins size 36-37, come and get them!

All and all it was worth the trip, I sold 2 pairs of hockey skates - of course to a Finnish family. I was a bit surprised that the slalom skis didn´t raise any interest, but I know in US it is more common to rent the skis and you can´t make day trips for slopes down here... Then again, the nieces in Finland might appreciate some day the lack of buyers.

It was also proven that in Belgium such events need to start and finish early. That event was supposed to be from 10 am to 4 pm but almost everyone was ready to sell already 9 am and leaving around 1 pm. Cost for the spot was 20 euros and money went to the school Family Association that supports arranging different activities for the kids.

A town of Tongre is famous of flee market and antique sales on Sundays, but I have never been there. Don´t particularly wish to wake up at 6 am for such a trip. Making it to Waterloo or Sablon area before noon is tough enough...

Car Boot Sale - Kirpputorimyynti

Tomorrow at our kids´school is a Car Boot Sale - kirpputori, that should enable us to get rid of some stuff that is outdated for our family.

We have tried to find stuff that we don't need any more - things others might be willing to pay something for. Or some just to take away... We have given quite a lot toys and clothes away already, so some good pieces might be gone already and hence there will not be a single clothe for sale.

What do we have then?

I think the best pieces that I have I will not give away easily - due to having two 4-year old nieces; 3 pairs of alpine skis, boots, poles & a helmet for age range 3-10 years. We also have ice skates for almost the same range, particularly hockey skates.

However, I am not giving away my own skates. It took me 39 years to get them and probably another one to give up ice skating...

PS In case you are around, there is likely to be some wine & music around. Of course. It´s Brussels and the event is coordinated by fantastic house wifes ;o)

Busy weekend in Brussels

This weekend Brussels was full on happenings in Brussels.

On Saturday, the EU Day opened again the doors to EU buildings as well as expanded their presence on the streets. Many countries, organizations, companies etc have a booth where they offer or sell their products, activate people or just provide information. Food & drinks are also included. Of course.
There were different performances on the streets.
Some higher quality......and some lower.
Today the inner city was car with loads of events on the streets. Also the annual Avenue de Tervuren street fun was today. The street was closed from Cinquantenaire down to Woluwe Park.
In Belgium style, you had food & drinks to fulfill all needs - here with pizza you can have e.g. wine or limoncello.
These guys offered Thai specialties.
Their chicken noodle portion was pretty good for 4 euros.
Then I also spotted hot shoes - these are wooden.
And these guys were the owners - they were part of a traditional outfit...
Too bad all these happened at the same time, didn't have the energy to go to the city but there will be other events coming...

PS For some reason I saw today lots of Finnish people. In about 10 different spots I heard Finnish spoken - and unfortunately some were also visible due to their "red-neck" type of dressing ;o)