Blissful Budapest

Those who have been reading my blog know that even though I enjoy living abroad in Finland, I really like taking an occasional  kid-free weekend getaway to other European cities.  It gives my wife and I time to get away from our daily routine while exploring new places.  We try to schedule in two "weekend getaway" trips per year and space them out accordingly.

 The spring 2013 adventure was a nice weekend trip to beautiful Budapest.  Budapest is the capital of Hungary, which is a landlocked country located almost directly in the middle of Europe.  Budapest is a city that I always wanted to visit and for some reason I neglected it during my post-college Europe whirlwind backpacking trip.  Back then it was a bit of an exotic eastern European destination and it wasn't always on the top of everyone's travel plans.  Now, along with Prague, Budapest seems to be a world class destination in eastern Europe.  We couldn't agree more and really enjoyed the city and all it had to offer.  Budapest is more or less broken into two distinct sections.  Those sections, split up by the Danube river, include the older section named Buda and the newer section called Pest.  The Buda castle, which sits high on a ridge, dominates the Buda side and is also the main tourist attraction.  On the first day we took the funicular up to the top of the high ridge to begin our exploration.  These activities included watching the changing of the guards, walking around the castle grounds and exploring the Fisherman's bastion while taking in the amazing views of Pest and the Danube.  It seems that every great capital city in Europe features a river or is a coastal town. The amazing Danube river splits the city nicely in half and greatly adds to the charm of this beautiful city.  The city also features many unique bridges, which allow people to easily access either side of the city.  The most recognizable of these is the famous Chain bridge.  We had an awesome view of the Chain Bridge as well as the Buda castle from our hotel room on the Pest side of town.

The Pest side is the more modern section of town which also has many nice features including the classic Parliament house, the Hero's Square and the famous Andrassy Avenue shopping district.  On day two, we explored this side of the town.  We kicked things off with a scheduled tour of the Parliament house.  The Parliament house seemed much more grandiose than a typical Parliament building.  The building was huge and you felt more like you were in some French palace than a government building.  One of the highlights inside is perhaps the most valuable relic of Hungarian history, the Holy crown of Hungary.  This crown which still appears in great condition is believed to be approximately 800 - 1,000 years old and a very important piece of their history.  It is guarded by 3 to 4 guards armed with swords.  These guards looked very serious and I think that one would not want to mess with them.  Later in the day we ventured down Andrassy Avenue to the "House of Terror."  This building, which is now a museum, features much of the tragic history during the last century when Hungary was dealing with Hitler and communism from the Soviet Union.  The house also was a prison and many Hungarians who were accused of not being patriotic to their government were tortured inside.  It was a fascinating but sad piece of history.  After leaving the museum we walked over to perhaps the most famous square in all of Budapest, the Hero's square.  It features large statues of all the past "Heros" of Hungarian history.  Interesting enough there was a dog training class going on at the same time we strolled the square.  The day would end with a long stroll down the shopping street Andrassy Avenue which would take us all the way down to Vorosmarty square which featured a large open air food and crafts market.  Many of the items in this market were Hungarian specialties geared toward tourists.  My wife grabbed a few souvenirs to take home and I bought a bottle of the famous Hungarian sweet dessert wine, Tokaji.

Budapest, while not Paris or Rome, is still an awesome city for a weekend getaway in Europe.  We had much to do, plenty of sites to see and good food to eat.  There are so many city getaway vacation options while living in Helsinki and Europe in general and if you are feeling a bit more adventurous than going on your typical London or Paris vacation, then Budapest makes a nice weekend.  I would recommend it, and probably sooner than later. While it is not nearly as expensive as most major western European capital cities, the prices are starting to creep up.  The values might be fading, but definitely not the charm.

Parking in Finland

Excuse me, but I need to go on a little rant now about parking in Finland.  I have been frustrated with the parking situation in Finland for sometime now and have kept quiet about it, but now I must vent a bit!  Finland is a relatively large country by European norms and is very sparsely populated.   I would expect builders here in Finland to build proper parking lots with enough space for people to park most types of cars.  Why not, since space is not that limited, with notable exception to Helsinki.  Perhaps it is the public policy to build the spaces smaller?  I am not one of these American "bigger is better" car owners with a jumbo sized SUV or Escalade. I  currently drive a mid-sized Toyota Camry family car.  There never seems to be enough space to park your car in the Helsinki-Espoo-Vantaa area (Southern Finland).  It could be the local shopping mall, your friends row home (town house) parking lot or the local Supermarket, parking is not always going to be easy.  The spots are roughly a quarter size smaller than what you would expect in the USA and making matters more difficult is that many of the parking lots are underground because of the frequent harsh weather conditions here in Finland.  When you pull into the store's underground parking lot, expect a tiny lane the usually dips down a few floors and twists and turns around hair pin corners to the bottom.  Once you are lucky enough to find a free parking spot (because spots are normally at a premium) then you can take a deep breathe and get back to your business.  There are almost never parking attendants in Finnish garages, so when you leave the lot, you usually have to pay and validate your ticket at a machine before leaving the garage unless it is a free spot.  In the case of a free (timed)  spot, you need to leave your parking disc on your dashboard.  The twenty-four hour parking disc displays the time you parked.  Most spots allow at least 1 hour if they are free.  Most folks are honest about setting their disc start time correctly when they arrive.

The winter weather also adds quite a challenge to outdoor parking.  Ice, snow and bone chilling temperatures in the early morning makes it quite the experience.  First you should spent at least 5 minutes warming up your car and scraping the ice of the windshield to ensure safe driving/parking.  Then, after arriving at one's destination, one may need to squeeze their car into an icy spot, sliding between some other cars and avoid those large clumps of snow that has been building up for weeks.  Those of us from warmer climates should definitely appreciate and not take what we have for granted.

Doesn't sound all that bad, right?  Well, if you can get past the smaller spots, tight garages and winter weather, there is the constant threat of a parking ticket.  I have received 3 parking tickets since moving to Finland.  The price in Espoo is 60 euros per ticket which is roughly 80 $, so definitely more than one would pay in the States.  Some of these tickets were my own fault for forgetting to set my parking disc, but the thing is that when you overextend your parking time or forget your disc you will almost always be popped for it.  There is no breaking the rules in Finland, they will get you almost every time.   One time my wife left the car quickly to get the change for the parking machine and in just a few minutes while she was gone, a hidden parking attendant wrote her up a ticket. It seems as if they are just sitting there and waiting, then they pounce on the opportunity to give a ticket.  In Finland it is usually very difficult to fight a ticket once it is issued.  You can attempt to email or call them, but normally they will not take the time to help or be empathetic to your situation.  Luckily, in my wife's situation, they said they allowed up to 10 minutes to get your cash, so they let her off, but that was after she emailed several times back and forth with no clear resolution.

I think that society in Finland is more geared toward public transportation.  That is probably a good thing, but some of us with families need a car which makes transportation a bit more convenient.  However, with that said I just don't understand the tight little parking spaces, strict rules about tickets and lack of parking attendants.

March snow storm in Southern Finland

After several weeks of unseasonably warm temperatures and only light snow in February, March came in a flurry....a flurry of snow that is.  A snow storm of blizzard like conditions hit overnight and left an estimated 6-8 inches (15-20 centimeters) of snow on the ground in the morning all over South and Southwest Finland.  Mid to late February had been a bit warmer than average (for Finland) and when March rolled in many people thought that maybe Spring had sprung.  Little did they know that old man winter in Finland has a few tricks left up his sleeves.  My wife and I spent about 2-3 hours clearing our driveway and cars this morning.  Mother nature always provides the best workout.  :)

A few shots to near our neighborhood:

Winter break week has arrived in Finland

Where has all the time gone?  It seems like it was just Christmas and now suddenly the ski week also known as the "winter break" has arrived.  Every school in Finland has one week off in February and that week changes depending on what part of the country you live in.  The goal is that that everyone doesn't take the week off at the same time.  Seems like a reasonable plan and then one would expect that every ski resort or vacation spot is not surrounded with millions of screaming children.  :)

What does the typical Finnish family do for a winter break?  That really depends on the family's budget and its interests.  It seems that there are two distinct types of vacations that people take during the Finnish winter holiday.  There are the sun seekers who just need a break from the long Finnish winter and there are the snow lovers, who enjoy skiing, sledding, ice skating and other outdoor winter sports.  There might even be a lucky few families who manage to do a little of both during the week long break.  The sun seekers from Finland have a few favorite destination spots.  The most popular by far seems to be the Canary Islands.  The folks from the United States might have no clue about this small cluster of Islands off the coast of Northern Africa owned by Spain.  I haven't been there myself, but it seems the Canary Islands have taken over as the Hawaiian Islands alternative for Europeans.  There are a few other sunny options in February, but none quite as popular as the Canary Islands.  Other prominent destinations for sun seeking Finns include Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in Northern Africa.  For those more adventurous with additional time on their hands, some might even venture all the way to Thailand.   There are direct flights from Helsinki to Thailand and those are growing more popular with Finns. The southern European countries of Spain, Greece and Italy are beautiful and pleasant in the winter, but also might be a bit cool this time a year so they are not as popular.

Then there is the snow sports seeking crowd. There are a multitude of options for these folks.  Many loyal to their country decide to fly or drive up to Lapland for a pseudo downhill ski vacation.  I say pseudo because if you aren't really that familiar with Finland, it is a very flat country.  The northern part of the country (Lapland, etc.) gets a bit steeper, but I think the largest mountain is Halti at only 1,324 meters.  I am from the San Francisco Bay Area and we have a 1,024 meter mountain alongside my little home town.  Suffice to say there are many 1 kilometer mountains in California and we even see mountains in the 2 and 3+ kilometer range.  Others may choose to go exploring the Alps and other wonderful ski places throughout Europe.   There are many choices scattered throughout Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and other countries.   The budget minded stay home and hit the local cross country trails, sledding hills and some small downhill resorts.  For example, within 5 to 10 minutes from my home there are hundreds of kilometers of cross country ski trails, sledding hills and natural ice rinks.  Our kids should have plenty of activities to choose from if we stay local.  I prefer to cross country ski when I have the time because it is such a great overall exercise and it is a great way to get out to the nature at the same time.  My kids enjoy skating, sledding and building snowmen.

Winter is cold, winter is long, winter is horrible.... Yea, you have already heard it all from many Finnish blogs, and I have been guilty myself of repeating similar thoughts.  In spite of everything, winter is also a joyous time of the year and the snow scenery can be captivating and magical.  Make the most of it and then take the pleasure to know that once old man winter decides to crawl back into his cave there will be bright days ahead for many months.

Chef & Sommelier - A little culinary gem in Helsinki

The restaurant itself is located in a very intimate house in the Eira district of Helsinki and seats about 20-25.  It is nicely decorated and comfortable on the inside.
The customer service is outstanding, the Sommelier Johan is full of knowledge and ready to please while Sasu, the main Chef, is energetic and excited to spread knowledge of all his organic specialties. He will actually come out from the kitchen and explain all the dishes (where he picked the herbs, who caught the fish, etc.)  This restaurant blew my mind from my previous expectations of Finnish restaurants.  They have service nailed.  Having coming from a culinary mecca such as the San Francisco Bay Area, my expectations are usually pretty high and this place delivers the goods.  I haven’t even mentioned the food, which is also outstanding.

They have a fixed price menu which is currently priced reasonably for a restaurant of this caliber.  They let you pick from 3 to 7 dishes depending on what you feel like, you can pick anything on their seasonal menu which changes 4 times a year.  Everything is fresh and organic and made with care.  I haven’t really had a dish I did not  like there.  Their wine menu, while priced a bit high, did have some nice selections from all over Europe.  I think it would be nice however, if they tossed in some California or Oregon wines to mix it up a bit.  I really look forward to every visit here which is more of a dining experience than just a dinner out.
Every time we have eaten here, we spent 2.5 – 3 hours which is quite nice if you like really taking time to savor the dishes and enjoy the surroundings.  So, if you are a local Finn, expat like myself, or tourist coming to visit Helsinki, please make a visit to this wonderful little restaurant.  You will not be disappointed.  For weekend reservations, I would recommend calling them at least 1-2 months in advance.

Settling into a busy life in Finland

One of the major reasons we moved to Finland was to slow down.  To take time away from the crazy Bay Area (California) lifestyle and enjoy a more relaxed pace of living.  In some ways it has been that, but other ways I feel we are becoming just as busy as before.

It is good to keep oneself occupied with activities, but there is always the danger of burn out.  The first year living abroad in Finland was a time for learning and discovery.  Finding out new places, bus routes, getting around the cities, getting to know neighbors and school parents, learning the general system, rules, grocery stores, etc.  You can make a case that the first year or so, you are still very much a tourist versus an expat.   I think now after 1.5 years in Finland, we have plateaued or gotten over that initial hump and are fully engaged in our day to day activities and generally feel like this is home (for now at least).  My son is now involved in karate, gymnastics and swimming classes every week while my daughter is keeping busy with sports that include swimming and soccer.  She is also looking forward to badminton and other sports.  My wife works full time and is also getting an LLM (advanced degree in law) at the same time.   I have now been working for a Finnish technology start-up (Scoopshot.com) for nearly 1 year now.  In addition to taxiing my children to all their after school activities, I engage myself in various outdoors activities such as cross country skiing, jogging and cycling.  I am realizing it is very difficult to find spare time for social outlets, but I sometimes find some treasured moments for an occasional concert or a few beers with friends.  These winter days, by the time the weekend arrives I am fully ready to just lay around and do absolutely nothing, until my inner fire to get active outdoors strikes again.

My hope is not to fall into the "rat race" in Finland that consumed our family in the United States.  On the bright side, in Finland, when time off is taken, it is really enjoyed.  I have mentioned this in previous posts, that generally when people take vacations in Finland, they take plenty of time to relax and do not check work unless it is critical.  In the US, many jobs have pressure to always be available even if you are away on vacation.

We are now deep into the middle of winter, but have turned the corner as the days are getting lighter and lighter.  The worst of the long dark days are gone for now, but we will still have to deal with about 6 weeks of winter weather until the inevitable Spring thaw begins.  Enjoy some recent pics I took during my morning walk to the bus stop.  Finland is beautiful in the winter when the trees display their fresh white coats.

Engulfed in darkness at -26 Celsius (-15F)

I told myself I wouldn't complain about this winter season in Finland.  However, the winter which commenced in late November with a blizzard, isn't even half over and I am already counting the days till Spring.  We just experienced the two coolest days of the season and the coldest single day since I moved to Finland.  Last Saturday morning it reached -26 Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit).  That was officially the coolest day I have ever experienced anywhere.  As much as I love outdoor activities, I wasn't able to go for a walk or ski.  Some days are just meant to be indoors.  I think 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit qualifies as a day you just stay inside and keep warm.  :)

A rare glimpse of  the sun

I won't lie to you, Finnish winters are definitely challenging.  Many might think that the cold, freezing weather conditions are the worst part of the winter.  While the cold is not always comfortable, in my opinion the most difficult aspect is the darkness.  This time of year in Southern Finland it gets light around 9:30 in the morning and gets dark again starting around 4:00pm. That doesn't sound all that bad, and trust me it is much worse in Northern Finland.  However, what people who don't live here don't know is that most of those days, the sun almost never appears.  It slowly creeps up the horizon each morning and sets each evening, but it is normally obscured by clouds.  This time of year, it seems the cloud cover goes on for weeks and magically all of a sudden the clouds depart leaving blue skies that I once thought had disappeared forever.  And trust me, I celebrate those days when the sky reappears to cast its bright blue spell.

Secondly, my next biggest complaint about the winter is the slippery, icy sidewalks and streets.  It makes no difference, what type of shoes you wear, you will slip if you do not walk carefully.  You must slowly trudge along, kind of like a penguin.  It sometimes feels as you are walking on glass or an ice rink. Then, sometimes a small powdery snowfall will dump a light cover on top of the ice, making it even slicker than you thought was possible.

Lastly, I must complain about the whole driving experience.  First, you must always plan on starting your car 5-10 minutes before your leave.  While the engine is warming, you can scrape off the ice layer on your windshield and windows, and if necessary dig the snow out of the driveway.  There is nothing worse than pulling out of the driveway and spinning your tires in the deep snow cover and going no where.  Then you must try to drive safely to avoid sliding all over the road, even though you are armed with the latest high tech snow tires.  Knock on wood, I haven't actually had any accidents, but several times my car slid as I tried to stop at various stop lights, nearly avoiding hitting the car in front of me.  Sometimes there is just no control and not much the driver can do.

The challenging winters are an inevitable part of living in Finland.  But, as I blogged last winter, with a positive attitude and by using some of the techniques I posted, you can overcome the winter and go on with life.  Maybe I will re-read this section myself again for tips.  :)

http://scandinavianinterlude.blogspot.fi/2012/01/tips-on-surviving-finnish-winter.html

A winter's smiles among the darkness.