Pretzels in Berlin

What happens in Berlin stays at Berlin. This might be the case for someone but not for us. At least not for this time. So, for a while ago we decided to travel to Berlin. We just wanted to have a kinda easy-going holiday in some place where we could relax and have a good time together. And we really managed to do alot even though our long weekend trip lasted only for four days.

 You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.

-Rumi

The city itself was so incredibly efforthless place to hang out and place where you could explore even some little weirder things. Meaning if you have the guts to take it to the next level. Or like us, dare to go to a proper club to dance like never before. Well, that would be all about that one wacky night.

And regardless the fact that I'm currently feeling pretty pleased with my life, I would travel to anywhere right away if I only could. There's just too many places in this globe where I haven't been yet. 

If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.

- Anatole France

On se reissaaminen vaan mukavaa. Tai noh, tällä kertaa oltiin kyllä lomalla, sillä mihinkään ei ollut kiire eikä ohjelmassa ollut yhtäkään pakollista tekemistä. Tehtiin siis mitä ja milloin huvitti. Toki meillä, tai pikemminkin ehkä minulla, oli muutama paikka missä halusin ehdottomasti käydä ja joihin pääsinkin.

Ihan joka puolelle ei tosiaan ehditty, mutta ompahan syy lähteä kyseiseen kaupunkiin joskus uudestaan. Kenties vaikka jo ensi syksynä, sillä onhan tuo Berliini aika leppoisa mesta. Oleilu oli suht huoletonta ja eniten päänvaivaa taisi tulla vain isoimmista asemista, joissa tuli muutaman kerran vaihdettua metroa. Mutta niitäkin oppi kyllä välttämään heti oman "kotireitin" tultua tutuksi. Ja niin kuin moni on jo ennen ja jälkeen matkan ehtinyt toteamaan, niin Berliinin tekee helpoksi juuri se fakta, että siellä kaikki tunnetusti toimii. Niin eikä syöminenkään tuottanut tuskaa vaan valikoimista pystyi valitsemaan vaikka currywurstin tai mac-and-cheesen!

Yksi suurta hämmennystä aiheuttaneesta piirteestä oli kuitenkin hiljaisuus. Ja joka oli siis näin suomalaisittain varsin posiitinen seikka. Siellä täällä köpötellessään tuli meinaan melko äkkiä huomattua se, että heti kun ohitti jotkin kaupat ja meni sivummalle, niin oli lähes hiiren hiljaista. Alkujaan sitä hieman oudoksui kun kerran oltiin suht isossa kaupungissa, mutta hetken päästä siitä vain nautti. Fiilis oli kuin koto-Suomessa konsanaan.

Design a life that you are inspired to live.

- Annette White

Solo in Copenhagen

A short stay at home after Prague and then I was off again. This time to Copenhagen. Sure, non-stop travelling (doing several trips without stopping) would have been easier and more economical choice, but I'd this one event where I  really wanted to attend. But I think you all know what happens when you go out and have a plast with your friends. That was a chance I knew and a choice I made. What's done is done. So, after staying up till the small hours, the actual packing for this trip happened at the last minute. But I managed to do it in a flash. 

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.

- Lovelle Drachman

I arrived to Copenhagen early in the morning. I'd plenty of time to waste 'cause I couldn't check in to the hostel until 2pm. So, without any rush I started to wander and the first place where I found myself was Nyhavn. 

I also found a place where E.T. had been. 

Nyhavn wasn't the only area where were views that could had been memorized and fitted in to postcards. You could found colorful and beatiful buildings etc. from all over the city. 

Everything you look at can become a fairy tale

and you can get a story from everything you touch.

- Hans Christian Andersen

Few of the places (like the canals with all the docks and boats) looked a lot like in Finland.

No matter where I go, I enjoy going to different kinds of churches and cathedrals. And just so that you know this applies only when I'm abroad. I don't know why or what's the thing that draws me in to them. I'm not even a religious person or anything. Maybe it's the architecture or the silence and peace you feel when you go inside of them. So once more, I'm not a believer and definitely not a belieber either. A part of me is just a bit spiritual that's all. 

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

- Nelson Mandela

Views from the Round Tower.

Christiania was undoubtedly the bizarrest place where I've visited so far. It's a freetown, a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood (expression/fact it's from Google) that lives entirely it's own life. I knew that it can be a bit restless place so I didn't go there too late in the evening. And in Christiania it's also forbidden to take any photos, but I hardly minded the warning signs. Oops.  

Three yellow dots. The symbol of Christiania. The flag of Christiania. 

Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up.

- Hans Christian Andersen

So, I'd heard something about this famous Freetown before. But still I was completely unaware of the things that had happened there in this year. As a matter of fact just few weeks before my stay in Copenhagen there had been some shooting incident in Christiania. But you can look more information about it by yourself if you want to. I'm not gonna write it down here. Nothing happened to me and now I'm safe. Now, I'm back at home.

I am free and that is why I am lost.

- Franz Kafka

Solo in Prague

Unlimited amount of free time and nothing to do? Or just too many things going on your mind and you would like to get rid of them? Do like I did and travel. Make things happen. Fulfil your dreams. I can assure you that being a solo traveler is a real blast. No, I'm not a loner. I only consider myself as a person who doesn't mind doing stuff all by myself. So, I'm just a real living example of that kind of people. And I'm totally fine with that.

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

- Hilaire Belloc

So, travelling alone is a worthy option for those who kinda enjoy their own company. It requires a bit of guts tho so that's why it's not for everyone. But I would still highly recommend it! My latest  solo destination was Prague from where all these photos have been taken from. I'm not systematical so I don't like to plan things so much in advance. All I did for this one, was booking flights and accommodation. That's all.

The one and only place where I asked some random to take a picture of me was at The John Lennon Wall. Though it would have been nice to be precisely middle of those glasses.

Maybe the best moment of your life will be on your next big adventure. 

- Siya Zarrabi

Planning my days won't start until my arrival. Not until I've get myself a map of the place. After that I'll be ready to walk around. I'll start to wander and spot sights that are worth seeing.

A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it isn't open.

- Frank Kafka

My advise is to be brave. Just go out there, the world won't bite you. Or at least that's what I'm hoping. And if you cannot get anyone to join you then that's their loss. Be open minded. Doing solo doesn't mean that you're gonna be alone around-the-clock. You'll meet other people who might be travelling alone too. Your friends and family might be crossing their fingeres while you're away though. It's a bare fact that in these days you need to think your plans a bit further. Like things that where and when you can really go alone. Especially if you're representing the same sex than I. And that's also what even I had to do. In the very end it's still all about yourself but that's enough of that.

Follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

- Frank Kafka

St. Vitus Cathedral 

Church of Saint Ludmila

Travelling is like knowledge. The more you see the more know you haven't seen.

- Mark Hertsgaard

Now, the benefits of solo travel. Is there any? Hell yeah! You can go anywhere you want to. You can do it in peace. In your own pace without rushing from one place to another. Plus you don't have to go and see sights which doesn't interest you at all. Sounds good right? So, now you know what to do next. Summa summarum I really enjoyed my time in Prague. Beautiful sights and view points from both sides of the River Vltava. Now, I cannot wait for my next trip which is only a day ahead.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

- Helen Keller

Reppureissaajan matkassa, Pariisi

Matkan viimeiselle osuudelle lähdettiin Lissabonista. Pakkasin kamani aamun pikkutunneilla ja lähdin kävelemään kohti bussipysäkkiä, josta matka jatkui lentokentälle. Oli varsin kiintoisaa seistä siinä bussia odotellen, kun paikalliset ihmiset olivat tulossa baarista kotiin ja jotain siinä ympärilläni örvelsivät. Ei siinä auttanut kun vetää naama peruslukemille ja seistä aloillaan. Jos siinä kohtaa olisi säikkynyt tai ollut muutenkin epäileväinen, niin silloin nuo örveltäjät olisivat varmasti tulleet jututtamaan. Mutta onneksi tämä Pohjolan neito ei pienistä hätkähdä, joten mitään ongelmia ei tullut. Taidettiin me siinä erään selvänä olleen paikallisen kanssa vaihtaa pari sanaa ja nauraa niiden muiden tekemisiä.

Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

- Dalai Lama

Jos joku osaa tai pystyy jostain tuolta rivien välistä huomaamaan, niin tähän asti reissu oli mennyt kuin unelma, ilman minkäänlaisia ongelmia tai vastoinkäymisiä. Tai mitä nyt pieni kömmähdys tuon Lissabonin hostellin kanssa, mutta henkilökunta oli siellä onneksi ihanan ymmärtäväisiä, joten vältyin suurilta taloudellisilta menetyksiltä. 

Kaikki muuttui kuitenkin kun vihdoin pääsin Ranskan puolelle. Matka pieneltä lentokentältä Pariisin keskustaan sujui hyvin (pienessä tupaten täydessä linja-autossa), ja sain myös apua eräältä erittäin mukavalta herrasmieheltä, joka siis auttoi minua valitsemaan oikean metrolinjan ja niin pois päin. Tiemme erosivat metrossa ja minä jatkoin totuttuun tapaan itsevarmana ja pelottomana yksikseni eteenpäin. Sitten astuin metrosta ulos yhdessä kaupungin suurimmalla asemalla, josta ulospääsy oikealle kadulle koitui harvinaisen hankalaksi :D Hetken pyörimisen jälkeen päätin mennä ulos vain jostakin ovesta, ja alkaa etsiä ystäviäni. Tapasin Pariisissa kaksi luokkakaveriani, jotka olivat myös matkustelleet ennen Ranskaan tuloa. 

Loppu hyvin, kaikki hyvin. Löysimme toisemme ja aloimme latelemaan yhteen ääneen sitä, kuinka surkea paikka Pariisi todellisuudessa oli :D Terveisin jääräpäiset suomalaiset, jotka eivät osaa sanaakaan ranskaa, ja jotka viettivät kolme päivää paikassa, jossa kukaan ei puolestaan puhunut yhtään englantia. Mutta onneksi minun ei tarvinnut olla tuossa kaupungissa yksin, sillä siitä ei olisi tullut tuskin mitään.

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I took a flight from Lisbon to Paris. So far, my trip had been like a dream. I didn't have any problems before I came to Paris. At least the one, when I had almost failed my hostel booking. Luckily, the staff in that hostel were really nice and helpful, and they understood my situation and helped me! 

My favorite thing is to go where I've never been.

- Diane Arbus

But I was so disappointed to Paris, because there were absolutely no one who could speak English. And either me or my friends can't speak any France. I met two of my friends in Paris, who had also been travelling for a while before we met. And they totally agree with me, that Paris sucks! :D Sorry for you who know how to speak France and enjoy being there.   

Things wasn't that expensive, but because we're from Finland, we need to drink coffee, because we love it! And coffee was really expensive. Then every once and a while, we bought a ticket to take the subway or buss, but then we realize that we don't have to do it! For example, the buss drivers didn't speak any English, so we just walked in and didn't care. Hahahahaaa! To us, fare dodging (matkustaminen pummilla) was the best way to go from one place to another.

Suomitytöt ja Eihveli

When the travel bug bites there is no known antidote,

and I know that I shall be happily infected 

until the end of my life.

- Michael Palin

Tarjos ne meille kolmellekin lukkoja..

Yksi lapsuuden haaveistani kävi vihdoin toteen, kun näin Kellonsoittajan kotikehdon eli Notre Damen!

Arc de Triomphe 

Riemukaaren päältä oli aivan uskomattoman hienot näkymät joka suuntaan. Sää oli tuona päivänä tosin aika sumuinen, kuten kuvista näkyy, mutta upeaa oli siitä huolimatta!

Näki sieltä Eihvelinkin uudelleen

Musée du Louvre

Meitsi ja Mona-Lisa

Taidemuseossakin voi olla kivaa

Jättimacaroooooni

Suomeen paluulennollekin ehdin just enkä melkeen :D Tuppas jäämään vähän viime tinkaan.. 

If you think adventure is dangerous,

try routine, it is lethal.

- Paulo Coelho

I bought lot of stuff, clothes and souvenirs. The trip and these past days have been amazing, and I wouldn't change a thing about them. I've become braver and gain plenty of new experiences. Life is all about finding yourself and living on the edge. So, get up and pick up your bags and go travelling. It's never too late, but it's much easier when you're young, wild and free.

Travel doesn't become adventure, until you 

leave yourself behind.

- Marty Rubin