December 31, 2006

Snapshots 2006

For my last entry of the year, I made a compilation of some of my favourite snapshots form 2006. It was a busy year for my camera – the folder for 2006 contains about 4000 pictures – so picking the best ones out was not a piece of cake. Some of the snapshots were an obvious choice, while some were chosen just because they got my attention.

Yesterday at a party, a friend told me that 2006 had been his longest year. For me as well, it seems like every new year is longer than the previous one. It’s fantastic!!!

These pictures are in random order. Unless otherwise stated, they are taken by me. Please leave a comment if you like them- to see the original versions, just click on the pictures. Happy new year 2007!


This is Merangasse, my home street in Graz. It's definitely one of the best things 2006 gave me.


April in Helsinki. One of the first pictures I took with the new camera I got for my birthday. Some familiar sights can be seen in the background.


My flatmate Thomas in a good mood. This is in Thomawirt, a posh bar/restaurant around the corner from where we live. The picture was taken in early December.


Christmas eve 2006.


One of Graz's main attractions against a beautiful blue sky. Early December.


Another Töölönlahti picture. Spring.


Okay, here I am with my friends Sanna and Martin in Stanley, which is a settlement on the southern side of Hong Kong island. Martin and I had arrived from Helsinki this day and by the time this picture was taken, we had been awake for about 30 hours in a row. So what did we do? We went rowing in the South China Sea, of course! Oh and this one obviously wasn't taken by me.


August. A sudden rainstorm in the county of Sulkava, where we were spending a weekend at a friend's summer cottage, brought our outdoor activities to a halt. I love Finland.


This is Maiju in Riga. Our Ryanair escapade happened on the coldest weekend of the winter. While temperatures plummeted to -30 degrees celsius outside, we got to see a lot of the insides of Rigan shops and cafes.


The garrison church at Riihimäki quiets down after a long day of recordings. Dominante spent a weekend in March working on its next cd, which will hopefully come out soon.


This is one of my favourite family pictures of the year, taken in Damascus in June. Mummy, Dea and Solhi seem in the best of moods. Nana is covered by my sister but I love the way Grozney's tail makes an appearance. If that cat could talk, she'd tell you all about our family's emotional history. Make time for her.


Daddy took this picture of me leaving to Graz on the 25th of September. He should get a medal for all the pictures he has taken of people leaving in airplanes.


My hotel room (15€ a night) in the remote city of Sanliurfa in Turkey. My things are packed and I'm ready to go back to my grandparents in Syria - the next unforgettable twelve hours made up the wildest, scariest and most adrenalin-filled day of the year.


The daredevil in this picture is Mikko, with whom I spent two weeks in Ireland in August. Doolin, on the west coast.


My friends on a hike in Nuuksio national park, outside Helsinki. September.


I really like this one. Our traditional Christmas reunion.


Hong Kong's skyline at night. May.


Summit of Mount Nemrut in Turkey. I decided I would go there and I did.

December 24, 2006

More than words


The Finnish coast from OS345 last Sunday. And no, it's not the summer.

Home sweet home. Merry Christmas to everyone who makes it a celebration. To those who don't, have a great day. It's a little freaky to think of all the things which have happened this year. Time flies, yes, but I think this was my favourite year ever. Roll on, 2004!

December 12, 2006

Christmas Lights

It's getting really cold in Graz! I finally had the courage to take out my winter coat after a traumatic experience I had with it some weeks ago. The handle of the front zipper broke and I wasn't able to open the thing!! Once at home, Petra came to the rescue with a supply of safety pins. There were different colours to pick from but I went with black. Anyway, so this year's winter fashion is once again on display. Note black leather gloves!

Morning atmosphere... From my room window, I can see Austria's third-highest church spire.

A year ago today (and it wouldn't be exaggerating to say around this time) we arrived in Quito for spending Christmas with the family. I celebrated my "Ecuador-day" by listening to Hillsong Australia, writing this article in Wikipedia about Mariscal Sucre intl airport, checking current prices for plane tickets, and calling my grandmother. What would life be without memories of our best experiences ever.

Thomawirt, our favourite local restaurant/bar just around the corner, gets in the Christmas spirit.

Some other things I did during the last 24h:
-Explained my philosophical attitude to beards to Thomas and Silvia.
-Went into shock when I realised how soon I am going home.
-Attended a crisis meeting in the Hungarian room. Result: The fridge is now clearly divided into everyone's own "territory".
-Got a phone call I wasn't expecting from an important friend.
-Got a phone call I wasn't expecting (wrong number).
-Peeled carrots. For someone else!!
-Congratulated someone on a new member in our family.


12.12.2005 Seconds before touching down on UIO:s runway 35.

December 11, 2006

Vaihtelun vuoksi...

Älkää pelästykö, mutta ajattelin että olisipa välillä hauska kokeilla tänne blogiin kirjoittamista suomeksi. Tämä kieltämättä vaatii tiettyä sopeutumista minultakin, mutta katsotaan, miltä tämä meistä (sinusta ja minusta) tuntuu.

Iltataivas Grazissa viime perjantaina.

Pienimuotoisissa eilisiltaisissa kekkereissämme (ok, tämä alkaa nyt jo tuntua oudolta) meni aika myöhään. Katsoimme Petran tietokoneelta elokuvaa "Speed", jonka olen nähnyt varmaankin kymmeniä kertoja jo (ihoni menee silti aina kananlihalle kun bussi nousee lentokoneen tavoin ilmaan), ja tarjosin kavereille suomalaista kossua. Näytti maistuvan!

Tänään olin suurimman osan päivästä kotona. Pesin kaksi pyykkikoneellista (käytin kuitenkin eri pesuainetta toisella kerralla - vaihtelun vuoksi), kirjoitin artikkeleita suomalaiseen Wikipediaan, kuurasin vessanpönttömme, jatkoin Muumi-kirjan lukemista, kuuntelin Beethovenin yhdeksännen sinfonian alusta loppuun ja improvisoin itselleni aika maittavan lounaan. Illalla olin myös puhelinyhteydessä Helsinkiin, sillä pikkusisko täytti tänään 16 vuotta!

Petra ja Thomas biletunnelmissa kotona.
Kokkasimme Thomasin kanssa järkyttävän ison määrän pastaa ja söimme (melkein) kaiken. Sen jälkeen lähdimme iltakävelylle keskustaan. Kävelimme Schlossbergin huipulle, josta näimme koko valaistun kaupungin. Kun olimme taas katutasolla, löysimme futuristisen hissin (ks. kuva alla) joka vei kellotornille. Meillä ei ollut tarvittavaa matkalippua, mutta astuimme huvin vuoksi hissiin ja painoimme nappia. Suureksi yllätykseksemme hissin lasiovet menivät silti kiinni ja hujahdimme takaisin Schlossbergin huipulle. Se oli niin jännää, että painoimme taas nappia ja olimme taas hetken päästä alhaalla. Meitä vastassa oli lipuntarkastajan näköinen herra, joka ei kuitenkaan helpotukseksemme pysäyttänyt meitä.

Tarkoitus oli ollut käydä joulutorilla juomassa glögiä, mutta ymmärrettävästi kojut olivat jo kiinni - olihan kello melkein 23. Kävelimme siis takaisin kotiin, jossa saimme nauttia vielä tunnin hiljaisuudesta ennen kuin Silvia, jolla on krooninen puheripuli, palasi sukulaistensa luota kotiin ja alkoi kertoa Wienin uskomattomista nähtävyyksistä. Hänen tätinsä ostaa hänelle joka viikonloppuna niin paljon ruokaa, että maanantaisin kukaan ei yleensä löydä mitään jääkaapista. Siitä tulee mieleen, että jääkaappimme toimii myös eräänlaisena mustana aukkona. En ole vieläkään löytänyt viime viikolla kadonnutta kurkkuani, ja toivottavasti en enää löydäkään.

Kello on jo aika paljon ja edessä on viimeinen viikko opintoja ennen kotimatkaa. Ehkäpä sitä pitäisi jo käydä nukkumaan. Minusta tuntuu että sänkyni perustana toimivat vaahtokuutiot alkavat pikkuhiljaa erkaantua toisistaan - täytyy pyytää kämppiksiä auttamaan jälleenrakentamisessa ennen kuin herään lakanaojasta.

Toivottavasti ei tullut liikaa kielivirheitä. Päivitin muuten taas linkit sivupalstalla! Hyvää yötä.

December 06, 2006

A musical entry

Fumbling with the kitchen radio, Thomas found an all-new radio channel for us - it's a foreign station, maybe Slovenian? Anyway, so the soundtrack of our home no longer includes sugary teen pop stars sounding like somebody is trying to strangle them; instead, we've got great oldies like the Beatles and Elvis Presley to cook along to. All I can say is I hope I don't ever have to listen to any more Austropop at home. Let's not even go there!

Okay, so I might have been too hasty when I flatly crushed Schumann's choral music in this blog some entries ago. I got interested in some of his pieces for double chorus a cappella in a rehearsal of a choir where I'm sort of "assisting" (that includes working as a stand-in bass, accompanist and conducter all in one rehearsal) and yesterday I bought a brand-new recording of Schumann's a cappella output. It's not Brahms, but it'll do!

I just came home from our Kammerchor-rehearsal. We have a concert in January and there are a lot of evening- and night-related pieces in the programme, including an international selection of lullabies. I thought I was going to make a really intellectual impression when I walked up to my teacher after the rehearsal and suggested that the concert should be titled "Night". Well, as it turned out, that was the precise title of the concert, decided ages ago, and the pieces had been chosen based on it. I responded with a blank look, felt slightly embarassed, and walked home. When I just can't laugh at myself anymore I know I must be really tired.

Ligeti's "Reggel": one of the more meditative and tender endings in 20th century a cappella literature.

December 05, 2006

Three morning sentences

I wish I was a morning person, but I'm afraid I'm not.

And I never knew tea could taste so horrible.

I hope the day gets better.

December 03, 2006

Second-hand and emulating Jamie Oliver

Talk about freak discoveries! I've found out where all our glasses have come from. They are ex-Nutella jars. Seriously! I'm not talking about those huge ones but smaller ones I have seen only here in Austria. I opened one today (those toasts are becoming an addictive midnight ritual) and stared at it, realising it was exactly similar to the glass from which I drank water last night. Well, what else can I do but pay my tributes to the countless Erasmus exchange students who have lived here before us. We've been busy researching the history of our home and are now convinced that absolutely everything here has been bought by people like us. The very first tenants must have had fun.

Before - After.
Improvising dinner today, I made a can of peeled tomatoes explode while trying to open it. The stuff was EVERYWHERE, including my spotless white t-shirt, and made me look like Jack the Ripper back home after a busy night. I immediately got rid of the t-shirt and soaked it in water, and proceeded with my work, giving a whole new meaning to the term "Naked Chef". I cleaned up, of course, but it seems to have been in vain - now we've got Monica's dinner all over the stove instead.

The weekend has been positively revitalising! Yesterday was miserable, but today the sun was shining when I got up (just before noon) and I decided to go out for a walk to the Schlossberg. It was full of people! Afterwards, my friend and I plunged into the christmas market on Hauptplatz and had some interesting fruits coated with chocolate (See picture). Back home, I finished my book and just took it easy. It was perfect! When I go back to Finland, I have to really make an effort to clear all Sundays completely free. There's nothing better!

View from the Schlossberg.
My family is moving tomorrow.I hope they get everything safely to the new apartment. I can't wait to see it! By the way, about Schumann: I may have been too hasty with what I said about his choral music. Last week, I got to know some of his pieces for double chorus and they definitely seem worth getting to know. It's time to get ready for the night. I had a great dream last night! It was so exciting - maybe I'll tell you more about it in another entry but I was travelling in Colombia and I hope I'll find out what happens next before tomorrow. Good night!

Meanwhile, the Finnish winter never ceases to surprise.

December 02, 2006

Talking of natural coastlines...

This is part one of my Google Earth quizzes, specially designed to enhance geographical awareness and provide intellectual stimulieae. Or something. From which city is this picture?