Road tripping - with Mum and Dad...

It was like my childhood holidays. We packed the car, took the boat to Sweden and drove across Europe.

My dad had come up with the idea that he could drive me to Brussels. Mum was eager to join. This is what we used to do when me and my sisters were small, we would drive by car to Southern France or Italy from Finland. I have good recollection of those car trips across Germany; hardly making any pauses on the way, car fully packed, the views flashing by. Perhaps we spent a night in a guest house and enjoyed a great German breakfast in the morning. 

I can't remember those long boat trips across the Baltic sea to Travemunde, and this time as well, we decided to rather drive across Sweden than take the approximately 36-hours long boat trip in a potential autumn storm (also more expensive than going via Sweden).

This time it was me planning the route. Well, Via Michelin planned the route for me. A total of 17 hours of drive from Stockholm to Brussels.

Here's our route:

1) Helsinki-Turku harbor: 2 hours (with a quick stop in Kaarina). Boat at 20h55.

2) Turku-Stockholm by Viking Line Grace (118 Euros for a car, three people in a cabin and breakfast buffet), arriving to Stockholm at 6h30 local time (just in time to avoid all the traffic jams).

3) Stockholm-Eskilstrup (Denmark): 10 hours with some traffic jam around Copenhagen and three breaks on the way (including lunch at a gas station: I had a veggie burger, but I'm still doubting if it wasn't meat after all). We took the route via Öresund bridge, the setting for the great Danish-Swedish crime series "The Bridge". Bridge toll: 40 Euros.

4) Night at a lovely Bakkegaarden Bed & Breakfast in Eskilstrup. The place was set in the Danish countryside and it would have most likely been really beautiful if we could have seen it in the thick fog. The B&B is totally recommendable even though it was a bit hard to find at first. The couple keeping the place is lovely and the lady insisted in speaking in Swedish to us. "Joo, joo, vi pratar svenska, så härlig här!"

5) Leaving Bakkegaarden at 8h40. Taking the Scandlines ferry from Rodby to Puttgarden in Germany at 9h40 (69 Euros). This is the ferry where we always ate Danish red sausages when I was a kid (always? once? I don't know if it even was this ferry or the one from Sweden to Denmark...). My parents kept on asking: "But don't you remember this?" Well, after all, it was more than 20 years ago... Mum was excited about the cheap dog food in the ferry shop, but I felt that the ferry was way too crowded and the smell of sausages disgusted me.

6) Arriving to Germany at 10h25. Scenery starts to be more diverse and even though it was the first day of November, the temperature was still +20C. Dad drove 160 km/h at some points; looking cars driving past when we had a pause at a gas station, the speed looked completely crazy.

7) Driving so fast in the German autobahns, we approached Brussels much earlier than planned. We arrived there at 18h30 after driving around 9,5 hours.

8) I managed to find a little shop and bought frozen pizza for supper. My parents thought it was delicious. Sometimes it's easy to travel with non-snobs.

And then in Brussels, of course, time for Manneken Pis.

Coming up: a two-year escape to Brussels...

Oh man, only three blog entries this year! It's not like I haven't had anything to write about, the opposite actually; big and small escapes making it hard to find any time for blogging. 

Dolphin as seen in Naples beach, Florida. Oh, such a great thing to swim close to free dolphins playing wildly in the ocean.

I wanted to write about Myanmar before the big tourist groups enter the country or my recent trip to Washington and Florida;

Painting old chairs for kitchen.

I wanted to expand the content of my blog to interior design issues with the decoration boom I'm having in my new apartment;

The craziness of the amazing Shibuya crossing in Tokyo. What a wonderful and curious city!

I wanted to go through my thoughts about my encounter with the Japanese society; 

Andy Warhol exhibition in Sara Hildén art museum in Tampere was worth seeing -  especially for the photo I took of my parents with the Mao painting...

and I wanted to recommend cultural activities in Helsinki and elsewhere. 

Well, I wasn't able to follow my own guideline in blogging: keep it simple and short. If it's not simple and short, it's inexistent... 

Only two champagne glasses got broken during the housewarming party.

Less than a year ago, I bought this wonderful place in Käpylä (at least this is something I have written about) and in April we had a nice housewarming party with my flatmate. Now, six months later, I'm packing my stuff once again and embracing my new status as a landlady and Brussels resident :)

Enjoying the beginning of the hot summer in Café Esplanadi, Helsinki.

Brussels is calling. For the third time in my life, I'm moving to Brussels. As a consequence, October has been a month of goodbyes and little farewell parties. And today, on the day of departure, I need to wipe some tears.

The idea of leaving Helsinki after a gorgeous summer was a bit of a heartache but as the autumn is growing grey, the idea of being once again in the centre of Europe and living a bit of a cosmopolite life is increasingly appealing. Brussels may not be the coolest city in Europe - for sure, it is not - but it has some good qualities that I will enjoy greatly (hopefully, I will manage to write about them later). And those major disadvantages, like poor public transportation and awful biking opportunities, well, I guess I just need to learn to live with them. 

Autumn is now getting colder and darker, but I managed to enjoy some sunny autumn days in the forest - now, good to go...

Moving, especially moving to another country, can be an excellent place for making other changes in life as well. I'm thinking of new hobbies (argentine tango, painting, salsa?), more time for reading good novels and non-fiction (I still have that Piketty unread), and completely vegan diet (with some mussels, obviously). However, I also hope that I will find a good ashtanga yoga shala in Brussels. Yoga has truly been beneficial for my inner peace, clear mind and good physical health, therefore I would love to keep on practicing with good teachers. 

Getting my yoga mat from our yoga shala here was quite sad. It's been such an important place for me for the past two years. But what I have also recently realized is that I can be happy anywhere if I choose to do so.

Frog buddha in Florida... Don't take life too seriously, I think he says.

Fashion revolution: demanding ethical clothes

Last month, on April 24, a revolution took place. This time it was about fashion and the idea was to commemorate the victims of the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory in Bangladesh one year earlier. The horrible accident killed more than 1 100 garment workers manufacturing cheap clothes for our "needs" in the West. Journalist Jason Burke challenges this mindless consumption in the Guardian: "People blamed the factory owners, the builders, or the government. But isn't the real culprit our demand for cheap clothing?" Indeed it is, but rather than pillorying anyone or everyone, our responsibility now as civilized consumers is to demand for more ethical and ecologically and socially sustainable clothes as was done during the Fashion Revolution Day.

The day consisted of different events around the world to gain attention to the poor working conditions in Asia and to the lack of ethics in fashion industry. Even the Italian Vogue participated in this fashion revolution (hypocritical?). With my flatmate here in Helsinki, we went to the cute and cosy art gallery Lokal to participate in a photo session organized as part of the day's events (they had great scones for breakfast too). The point was to take photos of people wearing their favourite clothes inside-out (showing the "Made in" label). I wore one of my favourite Marimekko dresses ("Made in China"!!!) that has attracted a lot of positive feedback from my friends and strangers alike (in a scout event a German guy told me that I was the best dressed scout ever - blush!).

Wearing one of my favourite Marimekko dresses inside out. More ethical fashion, please! (You can find more photos in Twitter with #insideout)

Unfortunately Marimekko, the most well-known Finnish fashion brand, has started to manufacture more and more of its clothes abroad. I'm obviously ok with EU countries, but I'm annoyed that some of the quite expensive clothes are nowadays made in China. Who knows how the subcontractor of a subcontractor is working. I've send a few emails to Marimekko complaining about the current situation: why isn't Marimekko making its clothes in Europe any more when it is at the same time celebrating loudly its Finnish design tradition? The excuses have been weak ("there is no machinery in Finland any more" - hmmm, I wonder why) and, to my humble opinion, it's just about making more profit for the stock holders (well, of course it is). It's a pity because I'd love to buy more Marimekko clothes and wear them proudly in Finland and abroad (I should actually be given some kind of a Marimekko promotion prize for all the publicity I've done for the company outside Finland - except for this blog piece maybe...).

In the Guardian, Jason Burke continues: "Executives from big brands all make similar points when talking about the Rana Plaza collapse. They express their shock and grief... They also emphasise the importance of the garment industry to the Bangladeshi economy and the social transformation brought about by the employment of millions of young, rural women, albeit in poorly paid, monotonous jobs. One company spokesman points out that otherwise 'these women would be in the fields, in ship-breaking or shrimp farming, working as maids'. Now, he says, they are breadwinners, independent, and often with the means to pay for their kids to go to school." It is true that withdrawing the garment industry from Bangladesh would leave millions of people without a job (altogether the livelihood of 8 million Bangladeshis depends on this industry). That's why it's imperative to improve the working conditions out there. There is a need for global solidarity even though that sounds like a quite unrealistic solution. 

Personally, I think we could afford to pay much more for our t-shirts - and for ecological reasons we should pay more and buy less. However, it's sad what the business is saying (again a citation from Burke's article): "Companies do very precise work to understand the consumers and what level of quality they are willing to pay for, and a large number of consumers prefer inexpensive over respect for human rights or environment. After all, if you buy a pair of jeans at $9.99, what are you really expecting about the working conditions of those who made them or even just the environment in which they live?" This is why the strict regulations should be in the law and not in the hands of the consumers. Couldn't the EU do something (why not ask your EU parliament candidate!)?

I've discovered recently the brand Cotélac, which I really fell in love with and I think it must be somewhat ethical as the clothes are made in France and in their shops they are very willing to talk about the production. However, when I tried to inspect the issue more, I couldn't find information on the internet after a quick look. But well, Cotélac's clothes are so expensive that it is by necessity ethical and ecological as you can only buy very few of them... However, this just exemplifies how difficult it is for the consumer to know what they are buying and where all the pieces and bits are made in. Nowadays it is not even necessary to have the label of origin in the clothes; I find this actually quite shocking considering how much effort the EU is putting on the labels of food for example. I want consumer protection here too - protection against bad consciousness (or is knowing worse? it's made in China and I buy it anyway...).

Cotélac print from this spring's collection.

After the few negative words about Marimekko spelled above, I have to say that at least they have their corporate responsibility agenda clearly visible on their website. It is by the way surprising that of Marimekko's total production only 23 per cent are made outside of the EU. Surprising because each time I look at the "Made in" tag it says China, which after all only represents 8 per cent of Marimekko's manufacturing. All in all, Marimekko's website is a great source of information. This is already quite good while it doesn't impede me from challenging them to work more ethically and ecologically by sending them an email every now and then reminding them that there are consumers who care - by the way, you should do that too with your favourite company. 

p.s. Here are some tips for sustainable fashion brands from Finland.

A little self-discipline exercise

Today was the last day of my 6-day fast. This was my second time fasting so I really didn't have any doubts that I wouldn't make it. Here's how it went.

I followed a "menu" where I could have 1 dl of juice in the morning, 2 dl of juice and 2,5 dl vegetable stock for lunch and 2,5 dl of veggie stock and 1-2 dl of juice in the evening + herbal tea and water all day long. In the instructions I read, and which I also used the last time, they recommend to use a few products to stabilize the functioning of the stomach during the fast. I still had the leftovers of my last fast, but I have to say that Molkosan (milk serum) and Cynara (artichoke extract) taste so bad that after a little cost-benefit analysis, I decided not to use them.

Some benefits of fasting:

1. Some sources say that fasting can have remarkable health benefits.  Already Hippocrates recommended fasting to treat diseases. 
2. A fast gives the much needed rest to the entire digestive system and its bacteria to repair, renew and heal itself. Toxins are removed (de-toxification) and it also cleanses heavy metal from our body.
3. Fasting can enhance immunity, gives longevity, lowers risk of heart diseases, balances pH and blood sugar level, diminishes pains and allergies, cleanses blood, tissue and organs, restores liver functioning capacity and makes the complexion clean and radiant.
4. During the fast, one gets to observe the mind closely. The fast clears the mind. It also helps to understand of our food habits and cravings. Furthermore, fasting can lower our craving for sugar and other stimulants like coffee.
5. Many religious faiths in the world have encouraged the practice of fasting. Fasting is a time of introspection and emotional cleansing. Enhanced sense of joy and lightness may also appear together with increased energy and vigor.
6. A fast can be an inspiration and a kick-start for healthier eating habits.

(Sources: YogicWayOfLife, JuiceFastForHealth, A.Vogel and AllABoutFasting)

A few days before the fast, I tried to avoid alcohol (easy after 2,5 months without alcohol) and coffee and eat lightly. In addition, I ate dried plums and flax seeds in order to get my stomach working. In connection to the last point, every day during the fast I did colon cleansing that is said to be very good in preventing any side-effects of the fast (less feeling of hunger, no headaches or stomach problems).

Day 1. I started the day with a morning ashtanga yoga. After the exercise I had 1 dl of carrot juice and went to work. My colleagues weren't that surprised about my fasting, they remembered me drinking a vegetable stock for lunch one year earlier. I had a headache in the afternoon, which I normally never have and I was also super tired and had a late afternoon nap for two hours at home. However, I'm not sure if this lack of energy was associated with the fasting or with the previous weekend's active programme. Sauna in the evening was relaxing. 

I watched a documentary film on fasting from medical and health point of view. It really encouraged me as the evidence shows the multiple benefits of fasting even though the mechanism is not yet very clear. The main conclusion I made was: if you have an illness, why not try fasting to lessen its effects on you. I discovered that in Russia and Germany there are fasting clinics or rather fasting spas, where people go even for weeks to fast (in Russia only water is allowed - perhaps a bit too hard core for me) and treat their various illnesses. And it seemed to work!

Day 2. Last year I came to realise that weekend is the hardest time for self-discipline when fasting. Wherever you walk in the city, there are cafés, smell of baked bread, and people eating in the restaurants. This year, it was easier for me as I was attending a shiatsu massage course on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, I was still very sleepy and felt really cold all the time, but otherwise I felt fine. On the break, when others were having lunch, I had my 2,5 dl of vegetable stock again. The carrot juice started to taste awful in my mouth and I could only have a sip of it, luckily the veggie stock is enough to keep the hunger away. Went to bed around 21h.

Day 3. I woke up in the morning with nasty stomach pain and I was sweating like hell as if having a fever. I already felt desperate that I couldn't go to my shiatsu course, but after an hour of turning around in the bed, I finally felt ok. At the bus stop I gulped impatiently the rest of my grape juice and started feeling better immediately. The first two or three days are said to be the worst during a fast. Last time I even threw up in the morning of my second fasting day. This time it was much easier. However, the veggie juices start to disgust me... Even the tomato juice that normally tastes so good (well, normally = in the airplanes). 

My flatmate who started fasting two days after me was not feeling so well, she either had a problem with not drinking coffee or she just reacted to the lack of food with an awful headache - I've been much luckier. I gave her a shiatsu mental relaxation massage that relieved the pain at least momentarily.

Day 4. I dared to try morning yoga again. I said to myself that I could do my exercise a bit more easily and even skip the last asanas, but in the yoga shala I felt fantastic. I suddenly felt a lot of energy and vitality within me and the asanas seemed easier than ever. I felt very light. The whole day, I had almost an euphoric feeling.

In the evening, I attended my first ever housing cooperative meeting with my new neighbours that I so far haven't met almost at all. I managed to avoid all cooperative board responsibilities. An excellent day, I should say.

Day 5. Still a great feeling but the taste of all the juices really suck - even the herbal teas bore me. The new juice, beetroot, was just awful, I decided to save it to make a risotto with it after the fast. Instead, I bought some normal organic apple juice to drink - ah, so much better (and cheaper).

In the evening, I did gardening work with my neighbours. Great that I can do gardening while living in an urban apartment. Gardening is a mental holiday, it enhanced the effect of fast on mental clarity; I was fully concentrated in cutting the bushes from the correct spot.

My flatmate still had a headache, poor her. We were thinking that it might be because she didn't do the colon cleansing. Follow the instructions...

Day 6. I woke up even before the alarm rang. I was at work super early and super efficient. Last day of the fast, but I could have even continued if I hadn't planned all  sorts of food activities for the following days. Next time, I will definitely try to make it longer if my calendar allows me. 

In the afternoon, a yoga class again. It felt purely fantastic. I could do some asanas much better than normally. I wonder if it's because I have lost some kilograms and even this little change in weight makes me able to move myself better. Less belly fat on the way to hinder flexibility. Or maybe it's my super focused mind now. Who knows, but this is a good motivation to obey a lighter diet in the future as well. I felt almost sad to break the fast, it has gone so well. But ah, doing grocery shopping at Stockmann was also very nice. 

I could definitely feel the benefits of fasting: a clear mind, lighter body, increased vitality, better focus - and for sure, a greater trust in myself: wherever I set my mind, I can do it with a bit of self-discipline. I also started to think that my usual diet - even though very healthy and vegetarian - might contain too much sugar that reduces my potential energy levels. A lesson learnt, I try to cut down my sugar intake in the future in order to prolonge the feeling of vitality reached during the fast.

As you should start a fast with careful preparations, you should also break it with some precautions. Thus, I had a light meal in the evening to prepare myself for a regular food as of tomorrow. Banana-blueberry smoothie with some flax seeds and bread with avocado. Ah, the taste was so delicious. And the feeling of biting and chewing, very cool sensations. Little simple things really make you happy after a fast :)

And the food-related exercises are not over yet; I was planning to spend a month noting meticulously everything that I eat and check how much I spend on my food. Let's see if I manage to reduce sugar in my diet as well and how to rid myself of sugar cravings. The idea is also to try to eat eco-healthy but with an aim at affordability. I'll try to write some descriptions here on this little study later on.

Burmese Days

Time to write down a few words about my trip to Burma - my amazingly great trip to Burma, or Myanmar as the country is nowadays called.

Ah, these pink shoes are made for traveling - just looking at them makes me wanna go go go!

I wanted to travel to Burma before it's spoilt by other tourists (because I'm a better tourist, of course...). Indeed, the Myanmar government wants to increase the number of tourists to 20 million per year in the near future. I didn't want to see another Thailand (the likely future if 20 million of us go there annually), I wanted to see a country that people had told me to be like Vietnam two decades ago - lush forests and uncrowded sights with authentic atmosphere.

It was also interesting to visit the country just now when it's going through massive changes. The country is opening up in such a fast pace that my Lonely Planet from 2011 was in urgent need for an update. The New Yorker article The Burmese Spring from August 2012 also felt a bit old in some facts, although it gave a good overview of the political situation in the country.

Another obligatory travel reading was obviously George Orwell's critique of colonialism, the novel Burmese Days. The introduction to my edition of the novel was written by Emma Larkin and it had some interesting insights to the book that is partly based on Orwell's own experiences in this British colony in the 1920s. Larkin writes that Orwell's later books also mirrored Burma's recent history and some Burmese intellectuals actually call him "the prophet". Retrospectively, one can argue that Burmese Days, Animal Farm and 1984 form a trilogy portraying Burmese historical events from colonialism to socialist revolution and finally to dictatorship and dystopia. Luckily, it now seems that another epilog can be written to the story. Luckily, because the country has so many things to offer - let's see if I manage to post some more stories and photos here in the near future.

Great anti-colonialist travel reading. Several people also sell it in Burma, but don't be taken aback by these sellers, it's a great read!

Logistics...

I first wanted to travel to Burma from Bangkok by land, but I came to notice that it was hard to find any reliable information on the border crossings on internet, as the recent changes in the Burmese policies (to my understanding some borders were opened in July 2013) haven't yet found their way to the travelers' fora. With a visa from Berlin embassy (quick and handy, though it's quite easy to get it from Bangkok as well), it was safer to fly into the country. 

Most of the practical information on traveling in Burma was obsolete (and the Lonely Planet accommodation prices one fourth of what they are today!). I had packed a pile of new bills of 100 dollars with me and I was ready to exchange currency in the black market as was described in the guide books, but as soon as I arrived to the small Mandalay airport, I was in a queue to an official money exchange. Gone were the days when one could pay for two weeks trip in Burma with a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of whiskey. Less exciting for sure, but definitely easier. And all those stories about no ATM's accepting international credit cards in the whole country, no longer valid. 

It is actually quite easy to travel in Burma. But remember, what looks like 150 km on the map will take around 10 hours in a bus... On a boat trip from Mandalay to Bagan (11 hours), I thought I could actually bike faster to my destination. 

If someone worries about the foreign money going to the government, it is a good point to raise but you don't need an official government-approved guide to take you around, you don't need to bribe or pay for the government, and actually, to my understanding, a lot of the money spent there goes to the local people. Some guides are aware of where the money goes to the government and won't even take you there (some sights close to Mandalay). In Bagan, you must pay an entrance fee around 15 US dollars to the site and this also goes to the government. But then, is it pure hypocrisy to think of your tourist money going to dictator when you don't consider human rights in your every day life back home?