Stockholm, Sweden November 2009

I went Stockholm with my friend Päivi in November.
For me the trip was about two things: the formal, "working" part of it was to meet up with my professor, who is now living in Uppsala (close to STHM) and the other part was to have some fun and do some shopping with Päivi. We went by boat (Viking Line) and stayed at the Scandic Hotel Malmen, which was a good choice I think.

In Uppsala we parted ways: I met with my professor and Päivi did some shopping on her own, although she couldn't find anything to buy. The day went by too fast and I didn't have any time to meet up with old friends.

On Päivi's agenda was to meet up with some relatives in Sweden. So we also did a small trip to the suburb Lidingö, acclaimed to be the "posh" part of STHM on the last day. The short long-weekend trip went by too fast and even though we didn't do anything special, we were pretty tired when we got back home to Turku.

View from out hotel window.

Uppsala, The river Fyrisån

Uppsala, at the university library Carolina


What our BOB-minibar (bring your own beer) had to offer;)


Stockholm, Sergelstorget by night


STHM, Sergelstorget

Mikkeli, Finland October 2009

This was the first time I went to Mikkeli, located in the heart of the so called lake district of Finland. I found it a bit annoying that to get to Mikkeli, one has to go around in a circular route, either from the east or from the west. There is no straight way to get from Turku to Mikkeli (by train, that is). My route to Mikkeli was from Turku via Helsinki-Lahti-Kouvola and on the way back home I wanted to have a pit-stop in Tampere, so I went Mikkeli-Pieksämäki-Jyväskylä-Tampere. I ended the circular route the following day by taking the familiar route from Tampere to Turku.

Finland's railway route map,
Turku in the south-west, Mikkeli in the southern parts,
in the middle (a little to the east). Find it?

Welcome to Mikkeli!

I was going to participate on behalf of the Pohjola-Nordenin Nuorisoliitto (Pohjola-Norden Youth league) as their representant in Pohjola-Norden's annual meeting. I met with some politicians and members of the city council, and of course regular members of the Pohjola-Norden association and attended the theatre show, the lectures and the meeting itself. In this annual meeting I was elected to be a member in the Pohjola-Norden's council for the period 2009-2011, as a representant for the P-N Youth League, together with my fellow youth league frieds Silja, Janne and Sampo.

Luxurious accommodation for just lil' ol' me!
(All expenses paid by the Youth League:)

Silos of Mikkeli, pt I


Silos of Mikkeli, pt II


Silos of Mikkeli, pt III.
Guiding me towards the city centre...


In the lively city centre of Mikkeli they had decided
to build an underground parking space.
Turku can't make up its mind, wheter it also want one or not...
In my opinion such a thing is completely unnecessary in Turku...

The Pohjola-Norden meeting was held at the congress centre Mikaeli (click on this link).

Our Nordic flags welcoming us to the meeting.

All in all, this was a nice trip. Met with other Pohjola-Norden people with an intrest and love for the Nordic countries: networking is also a central word one could use in this case. The theatre play, dinner and the meeting itself were a good combo. I can still remember the crispy freshness of the first autumn mornings in Mikkeli...

..This leaf was still green, but soon winter came..

Kakola, Turku, Finland September 2009

Utö, Finland September 2009

Tall Ships' Races, Turku, Finland July 2009

St. Petersburg, Russia July 2009

Oslo, Norway June 2009

Bromarf, Finland June 2009

Helsingör & Copenhagen, Denmark February 2009

Stockholm, Sweden October 2008

Bergen, Norway September 2008

Riga, Latvia June 2008

Fiskars, Finland May 2008

Dublin, Ireland May 2008