Month: July 2022

Smells Can’t Be Captured

Since early May, I meant to blog about the smells which follow me on my bike rides in Chicago, how the lilacs were heavenly, and how now they are gone and everything smells with linden. In Helsinki, lilacs were still in bloom when I arrived, but in the past two days they were almost gone and the strong smell of jasmine started to dominate. It’s one of my childhood smells, strongly associated with July. That’s how the second session of the pioneer camp smelled :).

More Helsinki

What else is there in summer? The strawberries that can’t be matched, forty flavors of ice cream, pride festivities, 86F weather for two weeks in a row.

Oodi deck – it’s almost impossible to stay there at 87F!

And also – Helsinki’s IKEA.

IKEA always gives me a sense of stability and an “all is right” feeling. Now, it is almost impossible for me to go to the Schaumburg IKEA, so most of my orders are online (which means, that IKEA food is out of reach for me). We decided to go to IKEA “just for window shopping,” but then we found these coffee cups of that perfect pale turquoise which was gone several years ago. The cups were not rectangular as Boris likes them, but they were still near perfect. We didn’t buy them because I wanted to check online first, and for some reason, my internet went down. When I checked at home, it turned out that 1) this was a new product and 2) this color was sold out in all of the IKEA stores in the US!

The next day, when I was at the Swiss PG Day, Boris went there again and got two boxes of coffee cups with saucers, and a box of espresso cups. I only managed to get one box in my luggage, and he should bring the other two when he comes to Chicago next time.

All Things In Switzerland

I was never asked for a passport – neither on my way to Zurich nor on my way back, I only had to scan the respective boarding passes, and no human ever saw it. So technically speaking, 1) it could be another person, not me, traveling 2) a person who returned might not have been a person who left. Just saying:).

Somr pictures from Zurich:

Continue reading “All Things In Switzerland” →

Seen On The Streets Of Helsinki

if a scarecrow should scare crows, these “black birds” should be called “scareseagull,” because their purpose is to keep the seagulls away from the open-air dining. However, I saw a couple of very brave seagulls making their way through, trying very carefully to avoid the black scare 🙂

Post-Pandemic Travel – One More Time

It’s funny how things are these days! When I wait in the long lines in crowded terminals and see people everywhere – shopping, eating, just wondering around – only two years after I first boarded the plane after the start of the pandemic – I can’t help but think how nobody believed it would be back to normal.

I believed, but most people around me were saying that “it will never be the same.” Yea, indeed!

There is no more testing requirement for entering the US, there are no more attestation forms, and flights to the US are overcrowded! The last time I flew back to Chicago, I got “plus” seats for nothing, not even being at a Silver tier. Now I am Silver and I had an assigned seat in the 50-s, and the closest one I was able to get without the upgrade was 40C.

On another note, when I flew to Helsinki, I was not able to receive a boarding bass when checking in at home. The website suggested uploading the COVD certificates, I did, but mine do not have a QR code, and nothing happened. To my surprise, next morning (still before my flight, I received an email that read:

Dear Hettie, 

You sent us your coronavirus related documents for a pre-check for your journey from Chicago to Helsinki on 19 June 2022. I have now checked your documents, and everything is in order for your journey. 

To receive your boarding pass, please log in to our online check-in service. In case you prefer a mobile boarding pass, just open Finnair mobile app to access it. 

Please remember to take the required coronavirus certificates with you when you travel, as you may be asked to show them at any point of your journey. 

With your certificates checked and the online or mobile boarding pass in the pocket, at the airport you can go directly to Finnair bag drop or via security to your boarding gate. To make your departure a smooth one, we ask you to arrive at the airport latest 2 hours before your flight. 

I wish you a pleasant flight with us. 

With kind regards, 

Ve-a,

Pre-check team, Finnair

So, even though I uploaded my hand-written certificate, they manually checked it!!!!

Summer Music In Helsinki

During my unplanned stay in Helsinki earlier this week, we went to two concerts. One was a short lunchtime concert at Suomenlinna Church (yes, we went there again :)).

Very short, but very pleasant

Then on Wednesday, we went to the concert of Finnish Baroque Orchestra in the Saksalainen Church in Helsinki. Boris is a part of their “friends circle”, and I never attended their concerts.

They are really-really-really good! Performing “here and now”, enjoying what they do, and giving the distinct feeling of “making the music”.

Saksalainen Church

Gotheborg: the Swedish Ship

Gotheborg, a replica of the 18th-century ship, stayed in the Helsinki Southen Harbor for Midsummer. Will almost missed the opportunity to visit it because I didn’t check the schedule in advance, but we still made it – just two hours before her departure to Stockholm.

Continue reading “Gotheborg: the Swedish Ship” →

Different Views On Abortion In Illinois

This article was printed shortly after the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe/Wade. I sent it to one of my colleagues to illustrate how complicated the issue is and why many companies are careful about not explicitly condemning this decision. It is not so unanimous even in the Blue State of Illinois.

Not like we didn’t know before.

Small Things

When I am in Finland, I always admire many small things which are just done right! There are many big things which are done right as well, like. Oodi library, or the way the trees are re-planted after major streets’ reconstructions or medical services. But sometimes, it’s these small things:

A garbage can located at the train exit

The Military Museum and The Prison Museum

There are two more museums in Hameenlinna, which are situated on the Hame Castle grounds: the Military museum, which is dedicated to the history of everything war-related in Finland, and the Prison museum, which is located in the building that served as a prison until 1993. Both of these museums are very educational, and I want to come there one more time, to learn more about Finnish history. When we were there, it was a sort of information overflow. I know that I can look up most of the topics which are covered by the museum exhibits, but it’s different.

Below are just some photos, to give an idea of the museums’ collections (and the Military museum has a huge outdoor exhibit, which was close to impossible to attend in the midday with +86 F.

The view of the Hame Castle from the Military museum
I was shocked to learn that using artillery against people was considered a sin!
The Prison museum
Solitary confinement
Force-feeding chair
Continue reading “The Military Museum and The Prison Museum” →