This year, I felt way more “in the right place” than in Montreal last year. I do not know whether to blame the conference or myself :). Below are the pictures from the conference social media or taken by other people.
Pictures From The Conference
Category: travel
Vancouver
I saw very little in Vancouver, but I liked what I saw. I liked the look and feel. I liked the bike lanes and the number of people biking to work early in the morning. I like that the traffic lights have a very short duration – that makes you less likely to try to cross on the red light. Somehow 60F which would feel chilly in Chicago, felt nice and warm in Vancouver. I would never dream to be outside in a t-shirt when it was just a little bit over 60 F in Chicago, but here it seemed fine. Moreover, I caught myself thinking that it felt more pleasan than 80F in Chicago on the day of my departure.
This half-day on Monday, when I wandered around, turned in different directions to explore the streets, and stopped at tiny coffee shops to sample desserts and gelato, was really magical. I felt it very clearly that being absolutely alone was the only way to completely relax, and that was a new feeling. I am OK attending events alone, and going placea alone, but in the past, I slways regretted when I visited a new place, and Boris was not with me to share these discoveries. This week in Vancouver, I felt differently; it felt increadibly good not needing to coordinate my moves with anybody. I saw an art gallery which was open; walked in, walked to the ticketing desk, read the current exhibits descriptions, changed my mind and walked out; all of this without checking on how a person next to me felt… and it was priceless.
Sheraton Hotel
Same as last year in Montreal, I am wondering why Canadian hotel rooms are of normal size? Even if you do not stay in the room much, it feels great to have space!
There is a pool, a hot tub, and three separate gym rooms :), and there are many people starting from 5 AM (I was waiting to catch a moment when there would be no one around so that I could take a couple of pictures.
Monday afternoon was the only time, not just during this trip, but for many weeks, that I had all for myself. And it felt great.
Travels
My flight to Vancouver was departing at 6 AM, and usually I leave the house 3 hours before departure. At that time of the day, I could not rely on public transport, so I planned to Uber-ing there. However, I decided against leaving the house at 3 AM: I was moving West, so I would have a long day anyway, and also, the AA lounge opens at 5 AM. With all of that, and with hopes that the early morning ride would be faster than the average one hour, I set my alarm clock for 3:20 AM. I took a shower the night before, and my bags were packed, so it shouldn’t have been more than 20 min, and I don’t understand why it took me more than 40. And when I placed a request for Uber, it took them more than 15 minutes to locate the driver. I started to panic, but the driver told me we had plenty of time, and he was right – we arrived at Terminal 3 at 4:40 AM. However, there was another unexpected problem: there was a construction going on in Terminal 3, and the Priority entrance was closed! They only left TSA pre-checks, and there were plenty open, but I never got it, because Priority was always faster :).
Even though they do not ask you to take the liquids and electronics out of your bag anymore, the line was so long that it took the same time as the Uber ride! (Plus the time I was running around to figure out where to go without the priority entrance). I ran into the Lounge five minutes prior to boarding, but still had time to have breakfast:
I knew that was my only chance to eat until I landed in Vancouver, because they do not serve any food (even for purchase), even on the long flights, and I had two long flights with a very short connection in LA. So I did what I almost never do: I put an apple and an English muffin into my backpack. Well, at least they served coffee on both flights! (Some flights don’t do even that!)
I landed at Vancouver on time. I heard a lot of praise for Vancouver, but I was a little bit cautious about having high expectations. After all, people are going insane about San Francisco, and I like it “objectively,” as a tourist, but I do not love it.
I loved it. It clearly reminds me of Seattle: I know they are geographically close, but I was not even thinking about it st first. I can’t tell what I liked, it was just in the air.
I was thinking, as I often do, why things are so normal everywhere else? Why can you just step out of the airport terminal, get on a high-speed train, and get to the city center in so many cities in the world, but not in Chicago? Or when will our Blue Line start to resemble these high-speed trains? Yes, I know that in many US cities, we do not have even that!
Biking In Helsinki In March
“Biking in Helsinki” is something I do regularly, but biking in March is unheard of. I can’t remember a March ever being so warm and sunny, and with all traces of snow gone. Since my flight was not until the afternoon, Boris and I went on a bike ride.
It was a very short ride by Boris’ standards, but a very nice one. Among other things, Boris showed me a bridge he was very excited about: it is open for every mode of transportation except cars :). Way to go, Helsinki!
Niguliste
Another discovery, and I am ashamed that for so many years, I was never curious enough to learn more about Niguliste Church in Tallinn. God only knows why I thought it was relatively new and didn’t realize it was one of the oldest churches in Tallinn!
Like many other historical monuments, Niguliste survived for hundreds of years, wars and sieges, all the changes of powers of the city of Tallinn, all to be completely destroyed by the Soviet bombing on March 9, 1944.
Several exhibits inside the church highlight the most important moments of it’s history, and the most significant artworks. The museum website is a great resource.
New Discoveries In Tallinn
I didn’t think Tallinn was on our agenda this time, but about a week before my trip, Boris mentioned that he thought I might enjoy an organ concert at Niguliste, and I immediately jumped on this opportunity. Recently, each time we visit Tallinn, we see something new, so I was almost certain that it would be the case again.
Usually, we take the earliest boat to Tallinn and return about four in the afternoon, but this time, we took the late morning boat and went back at 7:30PM.
We started walking, and Boris was commenting again, that this is a new part of the city because it was off limits at the Soviet occupation time being too close to the Naval base, and then I saw this sign at the corner:
I had no idea what it was, but it turned out that that’s exactly where we were heading. While I was walking there and taking the pictures, I had no idea about the history of that district, just taken away by the 19th century industrial aesthetics. Boris told me that Rotermann was an industrialist who build these factories and the living quarters around them, and that they became completely abandoned during Soviet occupation, and came back to life in the early 2000s.
Only when I was back home, I looked for more information about the Rotermann Quarter. Here is the most detailed description I found, and I think it’s totally worth reading,
Helsinki Music Center
On Friday evening, we went to one more concert. Once again, it was in the Helsinki Music Center, which I first visited last time, and loved it. This time, it was Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert was titled “I Want to Be Alive”, and that was the name of the piece which was performed after the intermission, and was composed by Daníel Bjarnason. OK, I know it sounds confusing, so let me say it again. Daníel Bjarnason was conducting, but the first part featured Wagner and Szymanowski, and in the second part, the orchestra performed the piece composed by Bjarnason, which was called “I Want to Be Alive.” And that’s also how the whole concert was called.
Once again, I love this venue!
Once again, sitting on the side when there is a soloist, is a bad idea. Boris said he remembered I said so, but he got the tickets on the side again, and it was a bad idea again/ The orchestra sounds great. The soloist when there is no orchestra, also sounds great. But not together. You have to face both the orchestra and the soloist to get a good sound.
And one more, completely unexpected! We saw Esa-Pekka Salonen in the foye!!! First I thought: no, it’s impossible; it’s just someone looking like him, because otherwise, there would be a big crowd around, and he is just talking with a couple of people. But later, when we passed by one more time, I realized that Finns were just being polite, because other people were turning their heads back after they passed this group :).
Below is some interesting art on display in the foye, and a sculpture in front of the Music Center.
… and yes, a million years ago, there was such a thing as an ice-cream after going to the movies, right?
VALO Pictures
By now, Jarco, who oversees all the technical side at Valo, is my good friend, and happily greeta me when I arrive. This time, he told me: now we have a proper app, and you can make reservations there, and you can also get your morning porrige for free. Do you like porrige?
Unfortunately, for some reason, I was unalbe to find the app in the App Store, which I reported to him later that day. Next day, when he saw me walking down for breakfast, he asked meL are you eating a proper breakfast today, or just porrige? That was, in fact, the day when I ate fruits and protein at home before heading to Valo, so I said – I was thinking just a porrige today. He said: OK, let’s go! He walked down to the cafeteria with me and told the cashier: she is booked for today, she just doesn’t have the app, can she have porrige?
That was very sweet, and although it looked like I could get the same porrige for free just showing my QR code, I was very thankful to him for taking care of me 🙂
And I can’t miss this opportunity to show VALO Works one more time. I never read the inside of the cards which are placed on the shelves in each room:
Friends And Chocolate
I can’t be in Helsinki without meeting with my friend Natasha! I was so thankful that, even though she now works full-time, she still found time to stop by my coworking space after work, and we sat and talked for almost two hours! (And yes, I love that we could do it in the same space, and it was OK with everyone)
Natasha brought me a bag of Ukrainian sweets: there is a new store operated by Ukrainian refugees, and they ship directly from Ukraine. She was happy to support their business, and the sweets taste great (and it’s a terrific idea to mix all varieties in one bag – I can barely find two of the same kind!).
(I might still bring some of them home, althought I can’t guarantee :))
