Long connecting time in Hong Kong between the flight from Helsinki and the one to Cebu. Had a shower in the pay-per-visit lounge and slept for four hours in their capsule rooms. Found an Illy caffe which is good to start the day with a nice cappuccino Italian style. I sit at one of these small round bar tables which you would find outside a bar in Italy. One big difference is that I am […]
In London. Only few days ago I was in NYC. High up at the 86th floor of the observatory of the Empire State Building. Looking down I already described in an earlier blog how the people walking down on the street were small. Just dots moving in slow motion crossing streets and avenues. Stopping at a red light. Passing zebra crossing. Stopping at shops and thinking whether or go in and buy that nice desk […]
Jet leg is annoying but allows also for surprises. Leave at 6:00 from the Gershwin hotel. Turn the corner of 27th St and follow the 5th Av. up towards Central Park. It is still dark and it is easy to cross the street. Still little traffic. Some 24hrs coffee shop have lights on and no customer. Just very tired waiters. Continue up. Still looking up to high rising. Streets are also been clean with water […]
Today for lunch up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. 2 min to climb 80 floors and then another slower elevators for the last 6. It was warm and not too windy on the observatory and the view stunning. High rise, low rise, avenues, streets, yellow cabs like yellow ants crawling in search of food. People like dots crossing zebra crossings. A Lego town just at the feet of the tower. Walking […]
Woke up again at 5:30. So I waited a bit and put then my running gear. Wanted to run up to Central Aprk. It is very easy to find direction. So out from hotel, pass 6th Av, reach 7th Av passing by the Empire State Building. Then down to the park, passing the lights of Times Square. Seems a bit like being in one of the movies where I have seen all these places. But […]
New York City. The Big Apple. Manhattan. Its skyscrapers, Its rectangular intersections between streets and avenues. Yesterday evening after checking in at the hotel I walked from 27th East down to the the New York University campus area. Walked in a kind of trance due to the jet lag trying to keep up to go to bed late enough. And yet, I first woke up just after midnight after dreaming of my brother and his […]
We are back in our cottage. Nice to be back for the last stage of our Finnish holiday. In a week or so I will be in Italy. Then London. So we are back in our Finnish home for a week. I wrote a lot about me in these blogs. I also thought a lot about me during this trip. Had time with girls of course. I have been a good (and very generous in […]
I am reminded how east we are by a sign I see while jogging around the two of Lappeenranta where we are visiting two friends and their daughter: 208 km to Pietari (St. Petersburg). This is the last stop before returning to our cottage. We stay at a very nice and cosy light blue wooden house. Small (but not too small) garden. An apple tree. which is dropping its fruits on the green and wet […]
We are now travelling again East. We left Tampere this morning and searched for some time for National Road 6. On the exit from town we passed the hospital where Venla was born. We travel and travel. The girls are getting tired of the car and of changing place every day or second day. But they are good and continue with their strange way of communicating in Finnish with the mother and English among themselves. […]
We are back in Tampere. Is this my alma mater? Where I got my PhD. Or does the alma mater remains the university where one get his or her first degree? (in my case Parma). Do not know and in truth do not care much. It is just nice to be back here. It is 21:56. Outside is almost dark. A wind coming from the west makes the scattered clouds fly fast over the town. […]