Most Finns wouldn’t like to remember their country is next to Russia given the checkered history between both countries. Between that and the obnoxious visa regime, a tiny number of them visit Russia especially compared to the amount of Russians visiting Finland. I have been before in both Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and we decided to meet some friends in the Venice of the North for a day now that there is no need for visa if you arrive by ferry and stay up to 72 hours in the city. It is therefore as easy as taking the boat from Helsinki to Stockholm or Tallinn, and the experience is not too dissimilar either. We will have to come back and stay longer later, but for the meantime some pics below and the rest in Flickr as usual.
Live map of the Gulf of Finland.Dusk over the Baltic sea.
Sax in the Baltic night
Brass band welcome in St. Petersburg
Saint Isaac’s Cathedral.The Hermitage. Beautifully restored facade compared to my previous visit in 2001.Singer Café in Nevski Prospekt.Happy graffitti.Cathedral of the Spilled blood.Matrioshkas catering to American tourists.Kronstadt, Russian fort in the Baltic Sea and former base of the Soviet Baltic fleet.
We visited friends in Geneva for a few days in July. The photos, as usual, in the Flickr set.
Walking around Geneva.Geneva choo choo for the little one.The motto of the city is “Post Tenebras Lux” meaning “After darkness, light”.The League of Nations was based in Geneva. After World War II, the United Nations took over those buildings and host the second largest UN office after New York.Parc des Bastions. John Calvin, one of the main characters in the Reformation was based here, and many French protestants were given refuge in the city.St. Pierre Cathedral, mixing Gothic and Neoclassical styles.Walking in the old town.Geneva is situated at the southwest end of Lac Lemain, one of the largest lakes in Europe. The Jet d’Eau, which was supposed to be a temporary feature, is still one of the main sights over a 100 years after it was built.
For the first time in my life I took 4 straight weeks of holiday during the summer, and for most of that we stayed in Finland. We visited Porvoo, Nummi-Pusula, Parikkala and Nauvo, so one can say it was a grand tour of south, east and west of the country. The weather was mostly rainy, but it was still a great holiday. The pictures, as usual, in Flickr.
Southern Finland at midnight in the summer solsticeSauna smoke and sunlightReindeer changing clothes 😉TurkeySummer holidays are a perfect excuse for good food: Taco de birria con consoméStorm with rainbowChapel of Silence in HelsinkiFinnish lakeUnbeknownst to me before I moved to Finland, lakes can also have beaches 😉In long train rides you will find plenty of lonely pensive males in the bar drinking beer and watching the landscape go by.Sculpture parkRussian border areaRussia starts in those woodsHeroes of Ladoga landmark. Before World War II the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga was Finnish territory.Nauvo ferryDramatic sunsetA respite from the rain
Out of 4 tragically bad options Mexicans chose the return of the PRI probably under the slogan of “he’s a son of a b**** but he’s our son of a b****” or “más vale malo por conocido que bueno por conocer”. There are plenty of allegations of fraud, cheating, misuse of funds and “electoral engineering”, but unfortunately for those asking to have a complete rematch the election law only allows for annulation of the election in conditions that would pretty much require a civil war or another sort of massive social unrest nobody in their right mind wants.
The good news is that it seems that for the first time in Mexican history we have active citizen movements outside of the government and party system. If working democratic and economic institutions are needed for a healthy country, and the only watchmen of the common good are the citizens, it is nice to see that finally we are seeing people getting involved outside of the electoral cycle.
Let’s hope it doesn’t get completely co-opted by the party system, or worse.
Yes, it was not as perfect as The Dark Knight but 3rd acts aren’t always better than 2nd ones. Still a worthwile ending to a wonderful cinematic experience. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you haven’t seen it you should!
Robert Enke was a German professional football goalkeeper who commited suicide at the top of his career, on the eve to represent his country at the 2010 World Cup. This book details his life, his career and his struggle with the pressures of professionalism and depression which led to his tragic end.
It is often unrecognized that a person’s mental health is as important as his physical one. Sadly it was only after this event that the German Football Federation started offering counselling to players.
Some summer light reading set in the Star Wars universe combining it with the horror genre and featuring some very popular characters is a wonderful way to chill out. 😀
No me importa por quién votes, pero emite un voto razonado e informado este 1ero de Julio. Los mexicanos que vivimos en el extranjero ya lo tuvimos que hacer para asegurarnos que llegaran a tiempo.
Russia won unbeaten and playing beautiful hockey, Finland was 4th and Sweden fell off in the quarters. The first worlds co-hosted between Finland and Sweden were a lot of fun, some images and videos below.
