Category: travel

A Snow Storm And A Trip To Haghartsin Monastery

It started to snow on Saturday evening, and it kept snowing. And kept snowing. And it snowed all night until about 8 AM.

My hosts started to worry about whether I would be able to get to the airport in the evening, if the mountain pass wouldn’t be cleared of snow. And even before that, we planned to go to the Haghartsin Monastery, and we were unsure how the roads were going to be. By noon, however, it looked like the snow stopped, and the roads were drivable. My hosts ordered a cab, and had a unique experience of a ride on mountain serpentine roads with at least six inches of snow!

Finally, the cab driver said that he’s not goign to get us any further, and we walked a little bit up to the Haghartsin Monastery, where we had experienced the most beautiful winter fairy tale one can imagine.

Continue reading “A Snow Storm And A Trip To Haghartsin Monastery” →

Some Pictures From Dilijan

Continue reading “Some Pictures From Dilijan” →

Lufthansa Adventures

I haven’t flown Lufthansa since 2020, and back then, I didn’t have a platinum status with Finnair, so I was not spoiled with lounge access and priority boarding. Several days earlier, I decided to upgrade my second inward flight to business class, because with six hours between flights, I couldn’t imagine surviving without the lounge. On the morning of Dec 24, I received an email from LH stating that the flight was full and asking passengers to check in their carry-on baggage free of charge. I didn’t want to check my cookies, so I decided the best way was to upgrade to economy premium. This gave me boarding group 3 instead of 6.

An hour before the departure, I was called to the podium along with many other passengers … and upgraded to business class🤷🏻‍♀️

The best thing about it was that I got almost six hours of sleeping horizontally, and was pretty much a normal person in the morning. The second best thing was that they served us a special LH spiced cocktail at departure.

And chocolates on Christmas morning, and one more small chocolate box right before arrival:

And our aircraft most definitely caught the eye of Santa Claus!

I worried a little bit about security in Frankfurt, because I knew that Germans are very particular with following the rules, and was not sure what would the say about sweet potato pie and a large tin of cookies in the carry-on, but to my surprise, German security had no issues with anything, and the only things that concerned the ORD security were two bags of protein powder.

I had a lot of time to spare in Frankfurt, which I spent in two lounges (the staff of the first one said they were closing at five, but it was quieter than the other one). I took their advice, and it actually worked well. Both lounges were indeed quiet and holiday-themed.

Something that really puzzled me in the business class blounge athroom – out of all places in the world, that’s where I would least expect it!

And something that pleasantly surprised me – a Christmas mini-dinner on the late-night flight to Yerevan. I can’t even remember the last time I had a goose! This one was very well made and had dumplings and cabbage on the side.

When we arrived in Yerevan, it was 4:15 AM local time, and I still had a 1.5-hour car ride to my final destination, but overall, the travel experience was the best possible for such a long trip!

Things I Always Notice In Helsinki

My local friends do not pay attention to many things that I marvel at each time I come. For them, it’s a part of their daily life, and for me all these things are a never-ending source of a “good envy,” things I hope to see in Chicago one day.

  • Seven-year-olds taking public transportation by themselves with confidence.
  • An abundance of family-style buffets pretty much everywhere; the ability to choose what exactly and how much you put on your plate
  • Absence of homeless people. I know that I do not see them, not because they are artificially “hidden” from other people’s sight, but because it’s almost impossible to become homeless in Finland.
  • Stainless steel public toilets everywhere. I can write a large blog post just about these toilets, their perfect design, their unbreakability, their convenience, and ease of cleaning. And yes, I saw them being used for different purposes, same as in Chicago, but still.
  • The widest network of bike paths, which allows you to get by bike anywhere and safely.
  • An abundance of public spaces that are used by everyone.
  • And one more time about unhoused people, because the housing crisis in Chicago is becoming worse every day. In Helsinki, people do not need to use bus stops for living, do not need to pull around the city all their possessions in a grocery cart, and do not need to use library bathrooms to wash themselves or take a nap in a safe space. And just to be clear, I see poor people in Helsinki. I see people scavenging the garbage cans. An antique shop next to Boris’ house in Helsinki distributes stale buns (unsure from where) every morning, and I see people lining up two hours ahead of the distribution time.

And I am not even mentioning the healthcare, eldery care, and many other things. I do not think I will see it all happen in Chicago during my lifetime. But I will do what I can to make it happen.

Last Day In Helsinki

Yesterday, we were trying to do everything we didn’t have time to do during the past two weeks :). We went for a bike ride, which was great, especially because I might not have an opportunity to go for a bike ride for a while (looking at my schedule realistically).

We went to Regatta in the afternoon, and they were serving glögg in addition to their usual coffee and hot chocolate, so we ordered glögg and blueberry pie with vanilla sauce and enjoyed being inside this little fairy tale, as always.

And I can never miss their outdoor creativity!

When it became darker, I went to see whatever Christmas lights were already up:

To my surprise and delight, I found that not only Stockmann Christmas display was already up (it was not up five hours earlier when I went to get chocolate!)

And then I spent two hourse packing, and ended up with two luggage pieces!

Bach Messa In Si Minor At Toumiokirkko

I am so glad we went to this concert! Boris was doubtful whether we should go, and with it’s been raining non-stop, it was very tempting to saty at home hybernating. I am so glad I changed my made and made an executive decision to get us tickets!

After the concert, when I was energized beyond the level any espresso drink can deliver, Boris told me he underestimated how new this experiense would be for me. And actually, I do not think I ever heard Bach in a church, believe it or not! The boys choir is absolutely out of this world! (That’s a different music, but I just can’t get over them!)

And on the way home back from the concert I saw that Helsinki is being decorated for Christmas – not the full regalia, but getting there, and I hope to catch a glimpse of it tonight!

The End Of Work-Life Balance?

As everyone knows, I love the co-working space Valo, and all the staff know me and go out of their way to do the best for me. Back in January, a funny thing happened, and since then, I use it as an excuse to get out of work by 5 PM or 5:30 at the latest when I am in Helsinki. Otherwise, I am caught in things that are just starting to happen in the office when people start their work day in Chicago.

Last week, when I started to reserve rooms for the upcoming work week, I accidentally reserved two rooms for October 28 instead of One for 28th and one for 29th, and when I realized I made a mistake, I couldn’t cancel either of these reservations. When I came to Valo on Monday, I asked Jarko, a person who is responsible for all tech support, and who helped me many times before, to move this second reservation from Tuesday to Wednesday. He told me I should be able to do it myself, and showed me in the app how to proceed. I was able to cancel, and make a new reservation for October 29, but unfortunately, there were no rooms with extended display available, and I really need this second display for work.

I mentioned it to Jarko when I was in the co-worker’s lounge for my next cup of coffee on Tuesday, and I told him I will check the next morning whether there will be more rooms available. He replied that even if there won’t be any rooms, he should be able to bring an additional display to my room, and asked me whether I was going to come around 8:30. I told him that sometimes, I come earlier and work out before I start the working day, and that was it.

On Wednesday morning, I checked whether to room for the day was already assigned, and I saw that it was. The room number was 328, so when I came in, I dropped my stuff in the room, changed into gym clothes and went to the gym, being pretty happy with the fact that the room as assigned early, so I had time for a workout, and breakfast with no rush, and then I could check with Jarko the monitor situation.

After my workout, I came back to room 328, and my key was not opening it – it flashed red! I looked and the app on the phone and saw that the room number had changed, and now I had room 284 instead of 328, and it was a room with external display. I realized what happened, and went down to reception hoping to ask them to open theold room and letting me to take my stuff. They said that Jarko has changed my reservation, but then he realized that I was already in so he switched it back.

I knew that nothing was switched, so I went to see Jarko (all in my gym clothes, mind you). he was very apologetic, but I told him everything was great, and I am very thankful for his thoughtfullnes, I just need to get my stuff out :). He went to the third floor together with me, helped me to pick up everything and move it to the new room. After the move was completed, he asked: would you like me to extend your hours today? We usually do not rent the rooms with extended display for the evenings, but I want to make sure! I said: thank you, no need today, but in general – I might need it. He replied: any time!

… I didn’t share his response with my Chicago co-workers 😀

A Concert At Kirkkonummi

Boris is a “lifetime supporter” of FIBO – Finnish Baroque Orchestra, so he receives all their advertisements and often attends their concerts. The concert last Monday was at St. Michael’s Church in Kirkkonummi, where one of my Finnish friends lives. It’s always a little bit of a project to meet with her in person, precisely because she lives at a distance from Helsinki, so when Boris saw this concert announcement, he suggested we could meet up there and attend the concert together.

I am really glad we did. The church looks amazing. The oldest parts of it date back to the 13th century. Unfortunately, all of the inside was destroyed during the Soviet occupation, but the space with its outstanding acoustics is still there.

Of course, I am not a specialist in baroque music, so all six composers were unknown to me (Boris knew at least two), but the most astonishing thing I learned was that there were women composers in the 17th century, and not only nuns, and their music and their authorship actually survived through centuries. I feel so inadequate not knowing about that!

The two women composers I learned about were Isabella Leonarda and Antonia Bembo.

Isabella Leonarda
Antonia Bembo

Isabella Leonarda spent all her adult life in a convent, but Antonia Bembo was a singer and a noble person, and I was like: why didn’t I know anything about that?!

The Moomin Exhibit At The Architecture and Design Museum

After spending time in the Oodie Library, we relocated to the Helsinki Architecture and Design Museum. Since the whole of Finland (and probably the whole world) is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the first Moomin book, the museum opened an Escape to Moomin Valley exhibit.

I feel like it’s the best Moomin exhibit I’ve ever seen. It was so interesting to see how Tove Jansson’s ideas can be viewed through the architecture and design lens.

Continue reading “The Moomin Exhibit At The Architecture and Design Museum” →

In Helsinki

On Saturday, there was no rain in the forecast, and I knew it would be my only biking opportunity, so I agreed when Boris suggested to bike to IKEA and back, and have lunch there. It turned out that I overestimated my abilities, and also, it did start raining, so asked Boris to take the train for part of our trip back. It was still the longest bike ride I had in almost a month!

Lunch in IKEA
The IKEA cafe wall decorations

Later on Saturday, I went coat shopping one more time, and finally found the one I could live with:). Almost not puffy, with the hood which was not falling off, and with zipped pockets. Not ideal, but the best I could find, and under $100. So now I am finally dressed for the weather.

On Sunday, I met up with my friend Natasha and her daughter Sonia. It was a hopelessly rany day, so we started with spending time in the Oodi library, and then went the the Architecture and Design Museum to see the Moomin 80th anniversary exhibit. I took tons of pictures at this exhibit, and I will share it in a separate post. Here, I just want to mention one more time how much I love all these simple things organized the way that life is comfortable for humans.

The playzones in the library. Multiple coat racks in each corner, and the footwear shelves by the play areas. Outside, I alway marvel the bike paths, the bike turning lanes and how thoughtfully they are designed.