- Posted by:
- anjci
- Under:
- Everyday musings, London, Travel
This will be an entry from the top of my luggage, currently proudly standing at 80kg. The last similar situation I can recall was leaving Helsinki almost exactly one year ago. Sadly, this time I am flying, so anything extra will come at a price… maybe I should start practising that polite smile for check-in airBaltic staff. My plane to London leaves this Friday, 7 July, 4:20pm Latvian time.
Anyway, I feel it my duty to recap the events from the month gone by before heading off. Just a nice gesture to my LJ friends and non-LJ readers (please do me a favour and pretend that you find this interesting, ok).
Having left the beloved Helsinki on 23 May, I was facing two choices: first, a beach holiday in miserable solitude for, longest, a fortnight; second, several quick trips around Europe to visit my best buddies. I hope no-one will blame me for eventually turning down the beach option…
My first stop was Norway: 26-30 May. Flew into Oslo, took the train down to Horten, spent a few fantastic days with Ole and Marit. Seafood galore (I love Norway), biking trips along the coast and in the hills, jumping on the trampoline in the garden, enjoying magnificent Norwegian views and, finally, swimming in the +10C saltsea. Eventually taking the train up to Oslo, running around for a day, having dinner with Arne and Dagrun and catching my plane to Riga. Absolutely perfect.
On Sunday, 4 June, I visited buddies in Vilnius, Lithuania. Just a short day-trip, nothing glamorous, Eurolines. It did not just pour with rain, it poured greyishly and miserably for the entire day. Never mind – Double Coffee on Gediminas pr. never seemed so cosy and welcoming. Thanks to everyone for coming!
Third stop: Frankfurt am Main, 8-13 June. I was probably looking forward to this one most, because of the FIFA World Cup 2006 and all. By an elegant stroke of luck, England was playing Paraguay the weekend I was in Frankfurt. The city was invaded by England supporters and other footie fans! And I had thought that the Ice Hockey Championship 2006 in Riga was “international”…
In short, Frankfurt was bliss. I saw many friends from my ECB internship last year, attended a church service at my dearest Christ-the-King, took lessons in shortbread baking from a genuine Scot (thanks, Eileen!), admired the new house of my amazing ECB ex-colleague Wim, got sunburnt violently in +32C together with thousands of football supporters, shopped like there was no tomorrow, topped litres of Starbucks goodness and took dozens of pictures under the skyscrapers. Really, if there is paradise on earth besides Helsinki, it is probably called Frankfurt.
To conclude my travels, a long-awaited trip to Poland finally materialised: 21-26 June. Interesting, cosmopolitan Warsaw, where I enjoyed the company of a great Finnish friend (thanks, Tapani!). My best dinner out ever was here: Absynt Restauracja Francuska – absolutely recommended! A trip to Nowy Sącz followed. Birthday party with good AIPES friends – thanks, Marisza and Asia! Staying with an authentic Polish family, getting by with a few Russian words, getting lost in the hills, repeating “Gdzie jest sklep?” using my best mimic. Spending a day in Krakow – very pretty. So there are also Polish people there, they say? Finally, back to Warsaw and out. Oh, yes, and I got a palm tree to take on a small Embraer ERJ 145. The faces of security check staff from Warsaw airport really, really should be here… but hey, I have a palm tree now – take care of it, mum, until it follows me to London.
In-between trips and post-Poland? Cycling wild, swimming in chlorine, meeting old buddies, destroying my duty free reserves (I love travelling! It expands the mind, etc), packing, repacking and missing Finland like insane. Three long hours away from London 🙁 On a positive note, got an invitation to New York to stay with an ex-English teacher from the Stockholm School of Economics. New York, here I come! No dates yet.
Anyway, off to the exciting things! Come to see me in London.
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