A Blog of Two Cities!

Some of you reading this blog will probably know little about Finland, just as I did once upon a time. Most of what I knew usually involved snow, Santa Claus and film locations for old spy movies. Add to that names such as Mannerheim, Sibelius, Viren, Hyypiä, Räikkönen, Litmanen, Häkkinen, Grönholm, Lordi and that was about it for me. 
Ten years later including three years living here and the story has changed. I now know more about Finland, a lot more. 

Visitors to Finland will most likely arrive at Helsinki airport and continue on to the capital.  Helsinki’s a great place to start, full of all the amenities and attractions a modern city should have. There’s certainly no shortage of things to do and see. However, I would recommend seeing it in the summer months, as the winter cold might get a little uncomfortable if you’re not prepared, especially down by the harbour. I still get the chills thinking about all that ice on the harbour. Indeed, summer would be my preference in any case. In fact you might find yourself as surprised as I was on my first summer visit to Helsinki. It was a lot warmer than I expected, and there was so much colour in the city from a variety of trees, flowers and even the buildings. It can often have a sort of Parisian feel to it in a certain districts.

Helsinki Esplanade in the summer.

However, if you do have more than just a long weekend, I can recommend looking beyond Helsinki.

Yes, there’s a lot more to see in Finland, and unfortunately this blog post isn’t big enough to tell you everything. I’d love to tell you all about the nice nature spots I’ve seen and my encounters with deer, elks and snakes, but that’ll have to wait for another blog. 

Instead, I will tell you about another city in Finland which I discovered since moving here. It’s the oldest city in Finland and it lies about 150 km west of Helsinki. The city is called Turku and it is also known as Åbo to it’s Swedish-speaking inhabitants. However, I prefer to call it Turku, even though I have learned to speak Swedish. I’m not being biased or disrespectful towards any one language, it’s just that I find Turku is easier to remember and easier to say. And hey, if my hometown in Ireland sounded better in Irish I’d use it all the time, but for now it will always be ‘Dublin’. 

Anyway, here's a little video I made from some photos I took while visiting Turku. I hope it gives you a mild impression of the city.

Nowadays Turku is probably best known for constructing some of the largest cruiseliners in the world. Coming from a part of Europe that also produced large ships at one stage long ago, it’s great to get the chance to see these giants of the sea this time around. I can almost imagine what the shipyards of Belfast must have been like in their day. It's sad to see what happened to the industry back then. I believe however that they have finally found a new use for the Titanic's old yard. I recently found out it is now used as a facility for culture and film. In fact I found out from a documentary while watching a dvd movie that it has the largest indoor film-set in the world. The film I watched was a fantasy adventure made here called ‘City of Ember’. It’s good to see some enterprise, employment and rejuvenation being brought to this old part of Belfast.

Now you'll have to excuse me for rambling, I tend to get sidetracked in my typing sometimes. More often I forget my initial subject completely. I suppose I'm not getting any younger, and anyway I’m no Charlie Brown,... or is it Dan? ....I don't know anymore!!  

Anyway, getting back to Finland before I really do forget where I was, let me say a few more words about the city of Turku.  
Last summer during the month of July I was lucky enough to be presented with a voucher from some Finnish friends to a luxury spa hotel in the small town of Naantali near the city of Turku. This gave me the chance to spend some time in this part of Finland. Naantali is a nice place were the Moomins live, and you can read about it in a previous blog I posted by clicking the word Naantali here or at the end of this blog. Normally I would only go to Turku to take a ferry to Sweden or whatever, so I never got to a chance to see much of the area. The first thing I noticed about Turku was the larger number of public bars compared to Helsinki. Being Irish I’m probably more qualified than most to notice these differences. Maybe I’m wrong maybe I’m right, but there just seemed to be more bars in Turku!  I get the feeling that this is perhaps due to its big population of students. Then again, Helsinki has an even bigger population of students, so I don’t know why there aren’t more bars in Helsinki. I should check the facts and statistics out before writing any of this really, but hell, it's only my small observations that are at stake here! Or maybe I'm just conjuring up a subliminal message aimed at certain readers to make more bars! :)

I felt a more relaxed atmosphere as I walked about Turku. Was it because of the lazy river Aura running through it? Or was it the lack of traffic congestion I always see in Helsinki, I really don't know!  It put me in mind of two cities in Ireland, Cork and Dublin. The city of Cork can feel more relaxing than the capital city Dublin, which also has a lot of traffic congestion like Helsinki.

As in Ireland and perhaps in Finland, it’s a well-known fact that where there are students, there are bars! It's a social thing for many students. One such bar I discovered in Turku was an old converted schoolhouse called ‘Koulu’ (Finnish word for School). This is a big old building containing different sized rooms all full with school paraphernalia from bygone years. The bar serves a nice selection of beers and ales, some of which I believe are made here in their microbrewery. I was very tempted by the décor to stay and enjoy my pint indoors, but the warm sunshine outside got the better of me. And with the added bonus of a small bar in their beer-garden how could I resist!

Beer garden at 'Koulu' Pub, Turku.

Like a lot of European countries, Finland also has a few Irish-themed bars, most of them being in the major towns and cities. And Turku is no exception. Usually I prefer to go to a Finnish bar and meet the locals, but a lot of Finns seem to like their Irish bars and tend to party harder than any of us Irish, hence I usually end up in an Irish bar by the end of the night whether I like it or not!  
After spending my day walking around Turku, and popping into one or two Finnish bars and restaurants, I happily ended up in The Castle Irish bar. It was an average Irish-themed bar inside, with a good crowd of people, most of whom seemed Finnish, all having great fun, or as we Irish say "having a bit of craic!". In fact I didn't meet one Irish person there. The bar staff seemed to be mainly English I think, so they were friendly enough :) ... And they served a nice pint of Guinness!  
It's a shame it was so expensive though, I could have drank a lot more. There were a few good singers performing in the bar that evening. Two Finnish guys singing covers of their favorite songs. A good night's entertainment!

During my evening in the Castle bar I had the honour of bumping into a local guy called 'Tumppi' (see photo above). I remembered him from a video I found on YouTube last year. He made a very informative tourist video for the city of Turku featuring himself and his dry brand of humour. 

You can watch his little video clip here,

While the Christmas lights are truly packed away now in Turku, people are still persevering with the cold Finnish winter and there's a desire to see the snow disappear at some stage. Christmas is a busy time in most places, and Turku is no exception. In fact, Turku is traditionally known as the Christmas town here in Finland, so I imagine some extra attention is required every year. And those busy people responsible for organising it down at Turku City Hall can't put their feet up just yet, because another party of sorts has just begun.

Indeed, Turku happens to be sharing the title of European Capital of Culture 2011 with Talinn this year. This title brings with it many roles for the city in promoting itself as a true centre for the arts and culture in Europe. A host of activities and exhibitions are planned throughout the year involving many local artists and public events from the city of Turku. The schedule has already started recently with the official opening ceremony. In case you may have missed it, here it is, all 35 minutes of it!!
......So stick the kettle on and grab some biscuits!!

Here's that link I promised for the blog on my visit to Naantali.

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- Alan 

                     

Check out this Finnish band from Turku called Magenta Skycode, they're pretty good. 

Magenta in March!

While the colour green may get a mention here in Finland during the month of March, the colour 'Magenta' may also feature prominently in the news. As myself and many other people prepare for the 'greening' of St.Patrick's Day here in Finland next month a band called 'Magenta Skycode' bring their mellow sounds on tour around the country.

'Magenta Skycode' are a Finnish band based in the city of Turku, 150km west of Helsinki. Their music is a sublime mix of easy tones and pleasant melodies. Think of bands such as Iceland's 'Sigur Rós' and Irish band 'God is an Astronaut' and you will be in the right ballpark. This music drags you in hypnotically and gradually grabs your full attention before you decide to listen to it over and over again. 

The band recently received accolades from the media and press in Finland after their album entitled 'Relief' (shown below) won the 'Best Alternative/Indie album' award at the Emma-Gaala music awards.

Magenta Skycode - Relief

'Magenta Skycode' are on tour in Finland during March and April 2011, playing at venues listed here. Here's a clip of the band live in Tampere from October 2010.

Thanks for reading my blog and please share it with all your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.

-Alan

   

The Unexpected Rose!

As most of us are aware today is St. Valentine's Day, and I thought I'd just write a few words about my thoughts on the matter. First of all I'll get the history lesson out of the way by just leaving a link on Saint Valentine. Any curiosities can be answered at this link. I suppose like anything related to religion and history, there's a bit of mystery and confusion of facts associated around this Saint, but all I can say is that I do know where the Relics of Saint Valentine are situated. That's an easy one, they're in my hometown of Dublin at Whitefriar Street Church. .......and if it's in Dublin it must be the real thing!

I always remember this because I used to walk past Whitefriar Street church regularly on my way to work while living in Dublin a few years ago. It was always full of tourists around this time of year, and every St.Valentine's Day they still hold a special Mass to celebrate the saint and all those who are in love in the world.

I remember being back in school and some of my classmates coming in on Valentine's Day bragging about how many Valentine's Day-cards they received in the post that day. It was normal to receive maybe two or three cards, but there were always a few boys who got a lot more. I am talking about double-figures here, and they often brought the cards in to prove it too!  I found this a little worrying as I went to an all-boy school, and I couldn't understand how any of these guys had the time to meet up with so many girls between sports and homework. Like myself, most of my close friends were struggling to find one steady girlfriend during the year, so the arrival of just one Valentine's card was a welcomed bonus. 

Valentine Cards don't have to cost much in these hard times, and after all, it's the thought that counts. Now if only they had these budget cards when I was back in school!

After the usual early stage of sending cards, a guy tends to move on to the more hardcore Valentine presents such as chocolates or flowers. Sometimes, budget prevailing, a trip to a fancy restaurant is the order of the day. Traditionally it is not unlike a guy to totally forget about Valentine's Day, or so I've been led to believe from all the female stories I heard and read about. Maybe it's the truth or maybe it's an urban legend, who knows!

This leads me on to another story, a weird one.  

It was Valentine's Day, shortly after I first came to live in Finland. I was sitting in my house having a cup of coffee when I had a visit from some of my wife's relatives. As I welcomed and greeted them into our home her uncle walked slowly over to me and handed me a big red rose. I immediately called my better half and  handed it to her. She then explained that it was actually for me. I stopped and stared in confusion at her for a minute before turning around to thank her uncle for the nice 'flower'. I had to explain that it is unusal for an Irish guy to receive flowers of any kind at any time, least of all on Valentine's Day. Well, unless he was gay perhaps, then it would look okay I suppose.  I continued at this stage to be confused and cautious. I wanted to know what this was all about. 

   

After several explanations everything was crystal clear. It turns out that the celebration of St.Valentine's Day isn't just reserved for lovers in Finland. This special day is called "Ystävänpäivä" which translates as "Friends Day", and it is not only a day of romance but a day to celebrate friendships, which I reckon is okay. And this totally explains why my wife's uncle gave me a present. Although I still find receiving flowers from another guy a bit on the weird side! Apparently when young folk graduate from college over here in Finland, they are each presented with a special white cap and a rose. Even the boys get a rose. So it's not such a big deal!

Have a happy St.Valentine's Day wherever you may be.

And as they say here in Finland on "Ystävänpäivä" or "Friends Day",

"Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!"

Thank you for visiting my blog!!!

My blog has been nominated for a blog competition online. It would help me a lot if you could give it your vote please. My thanks to all of you who voted for me last year. Hogan's Blog finished at a respectable 39th place! Now with the help of your vote again and the votes of others I hope to do better this year. Fingers crossed!! :)

To Vote, just click on the image above. Once the new page has opened simply scroll down the list to find Hogan's Blog and click the small icon beside it. Then scroll down to the bottom of list and click the Vote button.

Thank you very much and please share this with your friends!!!

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The Dead Poet's Breakfast!

The 5th of February is known as Runeberg's Day in Finland, named after Finland's national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg who was born in the town of Jacobstad, Finland on this date 1804.

'Runeberg's most famous work is Fänrik Ståls sägner (The Tales of Ensign Stål, Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat in Finnish) written between 1848 and 1860. It is considered the greatest Finnish epic poem outside the native Kalevala tradition and contains tales of the Swedish War of 1808-09 with Russia. In the war, Sweden ignominiously lost Finland, which became a Grand Duchy in the Russian empire. The poem, which is composed episodically, emphasizes the common humanity of all sides in the conflict, while principally lauding the heroism of the Finns. The first poem "Vårt land" (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) became the Finnish National Anthem. Runeberg is celebrated on 5 February each year.'

- taken from Wikipedia

While the National anthem of Finland is sung in the Finnish language by the majority of people over here, it is also sung in swedish with the same passion and pride by a part of the Finnish population living in the west and south of Finland. In my opinion there is something very special and respectful for the people of Finland to have their anthem in both languages.

   

And it is also on this day Feb 5th every year that a certain cake named 

Runeberg's torte (Finnish: Runebergintorttu; Swedish: Runebergstårta) is eaten all over in Finnish homes to celebrate this great national poet. The story goes that the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg enjoyed a torte with some brandy punsch for his breakfast every morning.

And not wanting to be disrespectful, I am only too happy to carry on this good tradition in my own home today. A little too late for breakfast, I will be eating one of these two little beauties here with a nice cup of tea later on this evening.

Thanks for reading my blog and please share it with all your friends.

-Alan

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Highway to Helsinki!

Before leaving Ireland to live in Finland I gathered my compact discs and mediocre collection of vinyl records all together for a long session of bubble-wrapping. These were all little mementos and memories with no real monetary value. Maybe they will have one day, but I will find it very hard to part with any of them if such a day arises. That's what a lot of music is to me, a reminder of a past memory in my life, whether it be good or bad. I will occasionally spend that little bit extra for any newly released music that I think is exceptional, for example 'The Bends' by Radiohead, and 'Grace' by Jeff Buckley amongst others. I do also have a lot of music which I like, simply because the price was right. Well, a bargain is a bargain!

Nowadays in a world of what I call 'invisible' music or downloads, the whole appreciation of having a hard copy of something you have paid cash for is obsolete and in a way extinct.

Over the past couple of years I discovered an event which happens annually in various locations throughout Finland. It's called Levy Messut or roughly translated Record Fair. Living back in Ireland I was used to searching through superstores like HMV, Tower Records and Virgin for all the latest releases on compact disc. But I never stopped buying old vinyl. For this I went to various small second-hand record shops like Sound Cellar and my old favorite Freebird Records. Their collections were however very limited and sometimes a little expensive for second-hand material.

So when I discovered the 'Levy' record market event here in Finland, I simply had to investigate. This event is organised between a group of record dealers from Finland, Sweden and Germany.

My first visit was back in 2008 in a town called Hyvinkää. My expectations were more than satisfied. It was held in a big indoor hall with plenty of space to move around, and they even had a public toilet and a coffee station! More importantly the selection of records was vast and all were available at a reasonable price. Well, for my budget anyway!

Needless to say I picked up a couple of favorites of which I didn't have at home already.. Here's what I got on that occasion.

Slade – 'In Flame' vinyl album €10 – playing condition 8/10

Thin Lizzy – 'The Collection' vinyl double album €8 – playing condition 9/10

Creedence Clearwater Revival – 'Travelling Band' (Russian print) vinyl album €8 – playing condition 10/10

The Stranglers – 'The Raven' vinyl album with 3D cover art €12 – playing condition 10/10

The Specials – 'More Specials' vinyl album €6 – playing condition 10/10

Various – 'Street Level' 20 New Wave Hits vinyl album €5 – playing condition 9/10

Of course, it can be a gamble as regards the condition of any record you buy at these markets. But it only takes 10 seconds to take the vinyl out of it's sleeve and check for any nasty scratches if you're concerned. You will soon realise that all of the people involved at such record markets are true professionals and care for their records more so than any of their customers.

So what's all this got to do with the Highway to Helsinki you may ask.

Well, yesterday I got the chance to go to another Levy Messut record fair, this time in Helsinki.

And that's why I took the Highway to Helsinki!

Well I tell a lie, I actually took the train. The train from Karis to Helsinki, on a gloomy Sunday afternoon. Perfect weather to be where I was heading. The hall was a bit smaller this time though, but the bargains were bigger and better! Amongst all the usual collections of UK and US releases I noticed an increase in the amount of Finnish records or Suomi Rock. I was tempted to pick up an old Levi & The Leavings album but I already have a double cd of theirs at home. This time I was looking for some Johnny Cash, something Irish, and some old-school ska/reggae like Desmond Dekker or Prince Buster. So I began my quest. It's important to practice a little bit of self-indulgence once or twice a year. This was my time, this was my bag!

And here is what I came away with this year. I could have stayed longer, only I had to catch the cheap train home! That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

Phil Lynott – 'Solo in Soho' vinyl album €3 – playing condition 9/10

The Police – 'Regatta de Blanc' vinyl album €3 – playing condition 10/10

Elvis Presley – 'Elvis Forever' 32 Hits vinyl double album €3 – playing condition 8/10

Johnny Cash – 'The Best of Johnny Cash' vinyl album €10 – playing condition 10/10

Blondie – 'Parallel Lines' vinyl album €6 – playing condition 9/10

Sinéad O'Connor – 'The Lion and The Cobra' vinyl album €3 – playing condition 10/10 (I'm not a big fan of Sinéad, but this album contains some great songs and her voice excells)

Elvis Costello and the Attractions – 'Get Happy!!' vinyl album €4 – playing condition 10/10

Horslips – 'Dancehall Sweethearts' vinyl album €12 – playing condition 10/10

…...and finally my bargain of the day!

The Equals – 'The Equals' vinyl album €1 – playing condition 10/10

featuring a young Eddie Grant!

I admit I was tempted by some classics by the likes of Pink Floyd, The Who, Beatles, Rolling Stones, AC/DC and even Uriah Heep! But I have all that I need by these artists on vinyl or compact disc already. I have the only two albums by Pink Floyd that I ever wanted, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' and 'The Dark Side of the Moon' and a cd box set of The Who. I don't think it's healthy to listen to same music all the time, a bit of diversity is important I reckon. Having said that, I did keep my distance from 'John Denver and The Muppets Christmas Album'. There are limits, you know what I mean folks!!

There is without doubt in my opinion something very satisfying about owning a vinyl record whether it is new or second-hand, as long as it's in reasonable condition. It's something to be cherished, and never be embarrassed to show it off to your friends the next time you invite them around for a drink. It's an old practice that is unfortunately dying slowly. It's something that your 'download' can't offer, plus you get the chance to discover or rediscover some great album artwork. Such artwork has become so iconic today and is well worth the album price in itself. Something else which is well worth knowing is the fact that most newly made record players on sale today have a special USB port that allows their owner to convert their vinyl records to MP3. And they are not as expensive as you may think. You can pick up such a record player with a USB function new for under €100. So now you can also listen to your vinyl collection on your mp3 player without any download costs!

For anyone reading this in Finland you might want to make note that the Levy Messut is in Hyvinkää on October 2. More details at www.record.fi

Anyone reading this in Sweden might like to check out a shop called Nostalgipalatset in Stockholm. A Swedish guy handed me a flyer from this shop. Tell him I sent you! More details at www.nostalgipalatset.com

- Now all I need to do is find is a new needle for my record player!!

Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.

- Alan