Month: January 2025

Tallinn – Day And Night

Yes, I have photographed each of these streets at least twenty times. Still, each time, it’s new. No matter how many other cities I visit, there will always be a special place in my heart, with full knowledge that I will never understand it and that I only see what I am allowed to see. With all its shameless catering to the tourists, amber, wool, and roasted nuts, a Medieval modest beauty is just around the corner – yes, that corner. And this one :).

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Tallinn: Afternoon Activities

We went to the Estonian National Opera to hear an unlikely “My Fair Lady” in Estonian. The alternative would be to go there on another day, but it was way better to go on the actual birthday. Also, since today is a US holiday, I didn’t have to work, so we could plan a no-rush return to Helsinki.

There are several photos and videos on the Opera website, but almost all of them are with different artists than the ones we heard yesterday (the ones below look like the right ones :))

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Tallinn

At the ferry terminal
Still Christmas at the terminal
On the ferry
Arriving to Tallinn
A view from our room at the My City Hotel

After our last time experience with a Medieval hotel we decided on slightly more modern option and chose My City Hotel which is located in a 20th century building and decorated in the 18th century style. We loved it.

At reception they asked me whether it was my birthday, and presented mw with a cute little box of local chocolate:

The room had a normal desk, which is a rarity as we found the hard way 🙂

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Pre-birthday

My economy premium was completely useless because, as I mentioned, I skipped dinner in favor of longer sleep and could not sleep because of the pain. There was no breakfast in the morning because the arrival time was lunchtime, so there was just a sandwich (and who cares about a sandwich!) Enough about misery. I arrived on time, with no lines at the border control and no questions about protein powder in my luggage.

It was sunny and way warmer than in Chicago. We went to Kmarket to get some food, and Boris said we should get some ice cream, which we unwrapped right after we exited the store and ate while walking home. I chose a Geisha cone, and it had the whole geisha candy inside 🙂

At home, we had salad and runebergs, and I went straight to bed to compensate for a sleepless night.

I slept for 11 hours straight (Boris didn’t believe me when I told him that’s what I needed, but I actually slept from 7-30 PM to 6-30 AM). I am still a little bit lightheaded, but now I think I will survive the day of adventures.

Travels

I am on a move again, doing several new things and hoping that the net will be positive.

  • Obviously, I didn’t plan it, but I fell down on the icy stairs last Friday and hurt the bottom badly. I know it will take weeks to get over, and I should be glad it didn’t happen today. By now, I can walk, sleep, sit and work at my desk, and take public transportation, and the only way it hurt is the way you sit on a plane!
  • I am flying with a connection in JFK, which I avoided for years, but when I was looking for tickets for my original trip (planned for the New Year), the price was exceptional, and the connection looked great (no terminal change), so I gave in, also trying to get out of my comfort zone. I guess getting out of your comfort zone is good :).
  • Because of the usual mixup when the flight is “operated by” a different airline, I was unable to select the seats beforehand. By the time I was able to check in, I had literally the worst seat in the Economy Premium without any option to change (all others were already taken). That’s a minus.
  • When it was time to leave, I started ordering Uber. The price of the trip to ORD was $54 for Comfort (and just a couple bucks less for regular), and then they couldn’t find a ride for me for a couple of minutes. Remembering how Boris nearly missed his flight last time and realizing that today was Friday before the long weekend, I switched to a ride to Cumberland. The price went down to $30, the car was available, and the driver smartly navigated through residential streets to avoid the traffic. We made it to Cumberland a little bit later than projected, but I didn’t complain. That’s a plus
  • When I got down to the station platform, the tableau said that the next train to ORD was in 23 minutes! AAAAA!!! But then the train appeared ten minutes later, and not crowded at all, so plus at the end.
  • When the train was pulling into the ORD station, the American Airlines app decided to give me a mobile pass, which is a huge plus, but immediately notified me about a 45-minute delay!
  • I had a three-hour connection, and there was no more delay and the food in the lounge was good, so that was a plus.
  • No terminal change and hence no additional security checks in JFK was a gigantic plus!
  • They do not have a Finnair lounge, but their AA lounge was good.
  • It turned out that there is no position for me to be half-reclined without an acute pain, so I slept for barely an hour tonight, although technically I could have a full night of decent sleep (I skipped the dinner onboard, because I ate in both longes)
  • We are supposedly arriving on time, and if I will manage to compensate my lack of sleep, it would be great!

My professional New Year Resolution

In 2025, I want…

Pizza With ODS

I’ve been to the ODS twice in the past two weeks, which is a record, especially considering everything that has happened in the past year. Both times, it was pizza-making, and I have no idea whether we will ever graduate to something more advanced, as we used to cook for years. But again, that’s progress.

There is better staff in the shelter than we have had for years, and even when the youth are not actively participating, I feel that my presence is important to them. I receive more thanks than I deserve. Last week, I said I would be able to come on Tuesday, forgetting that my meetup was scheduled for Tuesday, not for Wednesday. When I realized this mistake, I messaged the volunteer coordinator, who said it was fine. They had the kitchen ceiling painted, so it was not exactly fine. I had to bake upstairs (in the kitchen of the long-term program), so the kids were assembling the pizzas without me – all not ideal, but yay, better than nothing!

Last week was way more fun because we did everything together, but the downside was that we had unbaked dough, so we had to half-bake the crusts and then the pizzas, which took a very long time!

… I am glad I kept trying 🙂

Overheard On The CTA Bus On January 16

— My son told me yesterday: I want to study Islam. I said: You want to study something six thousand years old? Do you know what day it is today? Go and find out what happened in 1968 and figure out who you are!

From a man carrying all his possessions in a rolling cart talking to another passenger.

“When You Do Not Have To Drive”

Two days ago, I stood on the Rogers Park Metra UP-North platform, waiting for the train, and one of the fellow passengers greeted me. It was cold, and the snow just started to fall, sparkling and beautiful. A passenger said: You know, when you do not have to drive, you can enjoy it! It’s beautiful!

The Room Next Door: Pedro Almodovar’s Movie

OMG, it’s just striking! I can’t really say “good”. It’s the wrong word for this movie. Powerful. Painful. Real. Beautiful. I thought it should be great, and I wanted to watch it, but all the showtimes didn’t work, even though Siskel had twenty screenings (literally). I thought I could skip a visit to my mom on Monday and come on Wednesday, and I purchased the ticket, but then I realized that I had previously promised to come to the ODS and finally decided to ask my mom whether she would be OK if I came later. In the end, things worked out. All this was just to say I truly wanted to see this movie, and I was not disappointed.

I almost never went to Siskel Center during the fall because I had too many subscription concerts and shows. Still, in late December/early January, I wanted to catch up and went a couple of times, and one of these times was a complete disappointment/wasted time (The Girl with the Needle). This new Almodovar’s movie, however, was magnificent