Notes from a Big Happening

Right now I’m sitting by a roaring fire in a wooden chair that Gandalf would sell his beard for, writing this as it gets darker and darker outside. On Sunday night we finally made it to Chotilsko at nine in the evening. After getting a bus from Prague to the worrisomely derelict looking bus stop in Chotilsko, we were picked up by the biggest camper van-driving longhaired hippie I’ve seen in a good while. About nine people and their backpacks piled into the van, and our tie-dye sporting chauffeur set off into the night. After driving for some time on crooked roads in the middle of the forest, we realize he's lost. All we see is mist in the beams cast by the van’s headlights. We turn around and head back, try a different turn. While neither his navigational prowess or automobile credentials evoke confidence, in my tired state I am rather amused by the realization that the journey is starting to play out like the horror movie I’ve been secretly scared it’ll turn into all along.

So it is to my surprise when after some more seemingly aimless driving in the dark, we arrive at our destination. In the darkness, you can’t really tell where you are. The outline of our hotel is visible against the night sky. Rather than resembling a mental asylum/Dracula’s castle/that house from Scream it looks like a ski chalet similar to the ones you’ll find in the Alps. Promising. The entrance hall is dominated by a big fireplace and wooden seats. The scent of food wafts in the air. People are talking happily. I breathe a sigh of relief. We sit down for a late dinner. In my booking form for this trip I had happily ticked the ‘vegan’ box when it came to food preference, and now found my supper consisting of eggplant laced with garlic, a slice of cucumber and fourteen potatoes (I counted). I head to bed, tired and in a potato coma.

The days are full of activity, from breakfast at eight in the morning to dinner at half past seven in the evening. The program so far has featured climate justice, plans for the Copenhagen climate conference and effective communication and activism strategies. When it comes to climate know-how this is the best of company; great people, good work and inspiring stuff are not lacking at this Big Happening. Neither is food. Lengthy discussions are followed by seminars, workshops and presentations, which are complemented by giant breakfasts, power lunches, cake and fruit breaks, two course dinners and bottomless mugs of tea. Before coming here I was worried the non-meat fare would be scarce. I was wrong, it’s plentiful. The kitchen peeps are keeping it vegan by replacing animal protein with a daily potato quota of 27 root vegetables per person. Fuel for more strategizing. Rock on, tubers.

Derailed and on the road.

I’m writing this on a train. Currently, I’m speeding from Copenhagen towards Hamburg. This morning I was in Stockholm. Last night I was in Turku. This evening I’ll be in Berlin, and tomorrow I’ll be in Prague. From Prague I’ll only be a hop and a skip from my final destination, Chotilsko, 50km south of Prague. Now what is so special about Chotilsko, you may wonder. Well, aside from being the potential setting of a new b-horror movie starring yours truly*, Chotilsko will play host to Friends of the Earth’s annual get together, The Big Happening. So in actual fact, I’ll be far from alone and hopefully equally far from meeting a miserable end at the maw of the wolfman/zombie/other fiend possibly residing in a small Czech village by a dam.

What I will be doing, more importantly, is meeting FOE-folk from all over Europe and strategizing on climate action, talking about Copenhagen, and working towards saving the world. Extracurricular activities might involve beer drinking, for the simple reasons of it being both good and cheap at our destination. I’m really looking forward to all of the above, in equal amounts.

But Chotilsko is still a couple of countries away, and I’m still in transit for a good many hours: Scenery changes, schedule checks, a cacophony of languages, train after train. There’s something great about getting on the rails, though. You can track the gradual changing of the view outside your window, and actually see how Sweden is different to Denmark, for example. You get to do cool things like have breakfast in Stockholm, lunch in Copenhagen and dinner in Hamburg. You have time to get through an entire book in one go. Or listen to all 168 songs currently on your iPod (I’m on 24 right now). The only thing that sucks is the lack of internet. Which is why I’m not sure if I’ll be able to post this tonight. Or if I’ll have this update online tomorrow. Or ever.

If the person reading this found my laptop somewhere with the rest of my dismembered limbs, a word of warning: run from the man with the hairy face.

* My friends seem to think that taking a train to the middle of nowhere and spending the week leading up to Halloween in the remnants of a village destroyed by the building of a huge dam, with no outsiders, no internet and limited phone network coverage, can only result in a gruesome end in which my various body parts are eventually sent home in separate packages, despite fierce garlic-wielding, ninja-chopping, silver bullet-firing attempts to save myself.

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Note from the Author: the above entry was written yesterday, and since finding an internet connection was impossible then, i'm posting it now from our hostel in Berlin. So my apologies for it coming online later than expected, but a cheer of joy to the fact that i'm still in possession of all my limbs. 

On another note, after getting a lucky six hours of sleep last night, we got up incredibly early to make it to breakfast this morning. Turns out clocks were pushed back last night, breakfast isn't served for another hour. Fail.

Eat and be cultured.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, which is why i wholeheartedly endorse its lengthier, more luxurious big brother, brunch. A haggard looking bunch of last night's drunken heroes can easily find a more enticing hangover breakfast than the scraps of that falafel bought at 4 am at one of the growing number of spots in Helsinki that offer weekend brunch buffets. This particular Saturday, the bunch was looking less haggard and more towards the theatre adaptation of The Jungle Book that they were attending after eating, so it was a slight dent to the happy mood when we made our way down Uudenmaankatu to find that Belly, one of the best and most decently priced brunching venues, was closed. Undeterred, we decided to head to Ekberg on Bulevardi, which serves an allegedly scrumptious brunch. Turns out it's pretty pricey, too. At 18 euros per person we turn it down and decide to continue our food forage. Fanny Goes to Hollywood by Koff park has a brilliant brunch (good teas, tapas-like dishes and croissants) but is out of the question as it only opens at 11. We consider Cafe Engel, but it entails a long walk for which we're too hungry and cold. Deciding to find somewhere closer, we walk down Albertinkatu towards Tori, which, to our mounting disappointment, is closed. 

And then, like a strike of genius, someone remembers that Primula serves brunch, which none of us have ever sampled. A stone's throw down the road, we cross our fingers and hope for the best. To our relief, we find the restaurant is open and brunch is served from ten to two in the afternoon, and is priced at a very decent 10 euros. Brunch isn't brunch unless it involves sparkling wine, and at Primula a flute of bubbly will set you back 2 euros, which makes refusing alcohol with your breakfast impossible. 

At 10.30 on Saturday, the restaurant hasn't filled up yet, and the calm is a nice contrast to the buzzing cacophony that fills Belly at brunch time. We station our bags, coats and glasses at a table by the window and head for the food. Breakfast buffets can sometimes be the downfall of a vegetarian, not to mention a vegan; sausages, scrambled eggs and bacon are a staple of hotel breakfasts that seem to make their way into every buffet, everywhere. Breakfast at Primula was no different. What was refreshingly different, though, was the variety and quality of the veggie-friendly food. From olives, marinated zucchini strips and mushrooms to three different kinds of breads (and tapenade!), to potato wedges and little donuts to fresh fruit, this breakfast is a winner in my books. We spent the best part of two hours enjoying it, and in the midst of eating decided we wouldn't tell anyone else we found the best brunch in Helsinki. This is me not telling.


After eating we headed to Kansallisteatteri for Jungle Book. Half a dozen happy free-ticket sporting friends (and one whose suit-wearing habit had resulted in him mistakenly being charged for his) file into the theatre, ready to see some Kipling on stage. 
In this adaptation, the jungle is a dystopian Helsinki, and the animals that inhabit it are portrayed in a way that sharply contradicts the original; Baloo the bear speaks russian and resembles a motorcycle gang member, and the black panther Bagheera is a drag queen with the skinniest, longest legs, highest heels and biggest headpieces. Mowgli, the only human featured, is played by 29-year-old woman, and the monkeys (by far the best and most annoying characters) are something between teen goths and cosplayers with a serious case of ADHD. The plot and message remain the same, and it's interesting to see how the story is updated to reflect contemporary society (like when Shere Khan the tiger yells "i'll kill humans to extinction" at the audience"). Old message, new setting, updated characters. Lots of laughs. And it was free, too. Go see it, and should you be a student in a suit, make sure to tell them it doesn't mean you aren't a kid.

i heart in October.

1. Nick Cave. especially on No More Shall We Part. Possibly the love of my life.
2. Vispipuuro. For those of you who have yet to be acquainted with this delicacy, check out the recipe and get cookin'.
3. Carnivàle. How have i not known about this HBO treasure until now? 
4. Festival reminiscing. Yeah summer's over, but in July at Ruisrock i drove over someone's foot!
5. Breath. Seeing yours when you go outside.
6. Baked potatoes. Cheap, easy, and you can eat them with anything.
7. Club Wanted at Lepakkomies. Rock 'n' roll dancing, neat music, burlesque shows, hell yeah.
8. Tattoos. The design for the next one is finally on paper!
9. Jack Skellington. I like him in other months too. 
10. Crowmoor Dry Pear Cider. Judging by the can, this could be zombie juice. Brraaaainnns...

Fall Cocoon.

Mornings are becoming a challenge. The colder it gets outside, the harder it becomes to venture out of bed. We've all been there. This happens to me every year. Knowing this, i thought i'd combat my morning indisposition by being better prepared this time around. I thought investing in a super-size, super-warm blanket would not only keep me toasty at night, thereby guaranteeing a good night's sleep, but would also make it easier to face the chilly, pitch-black morning. That line of thinking failed epically. Instead of making the transition from horizontal to vertical easier, my devious bedding is encouraging me to lurk under the covers indefinitely. (Further contributing to my demise, it hits the 'snooze' button a lot.)


Whether it's the wintry weather or some inexplicably bizarre need to nest, my life has revolved around food and books for the last week or so. This became evident on Sunday, when i waited in line for almost two hours for the Helsinki Vegan Food Party (Kasviskekkerit) organized by several animal rights and environmental organizations. The purpose of the event is to introduce omnivores to vegan food, but the usual suspects (veggies, vegans, raw foodies, etc.) have been known to flock to the feast as well. The hungry masses were treated to everything from starters to desserts. My personal favorites included a seriously intriguing raw food chocolate smoothie that tasted of alfalfa sprouts (weird thing is, it didn't contain said ingredient; even weirder thing, it was pretty good), and the best vegan chocolate and coconut brownies i think i've ever tasted. In the end, the wait was worth it, as partygoers were sent home with a load of goodies that included an assortment of vegan food staples, from grains and pulses to salsa and coconut chips. So now that i've got the blanket and the food, i'm all set for hibernation.


I've also got the books. I've usually got about three books i'm trying to simultaneously read. Of my current three, i just got through Dubious Deeds by Philip Ardagh. I remember picking the book up at Hietsu flea market and thinking that i've found a twisted story with happily-harrowing characters and dark humor, i.e. everything i love about contemporary cross-over children's fiction. My rejoicing was hasty. It didn't do much for me, to be honest. Using an omniscient narrator who frequently addresses and educates their reader is as annoying now as it was when Blyton did it. You can only get away with it if you're a certain Mr. Dodgson stuck in Victorian times with an altogether better story. Sorry, Phil.

Next on my list is Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, which i bought when i was in the States in May, but haven't gotten around to reading until now. I read quite a lot of Singer for an essay on Veganism that i wrote some years ago, and found his views compelling, so i'm anticipating a good read.

My third book of the moment is the bargain Vintage Tattoos book i picked up on my Friday walk. A lot of it is the basic stuff you'll find in all tattoo books, but this one has some great photos i hadn't seen before. I especially like the pictures of women, tattooed from head to toe, in the 1920s and 30s. Most of these ladies made their living at carnivals and fairgrounds as sideshow freaks. If i ever manage to get all the brilliant pictures in my tattoo folder inked into my skin, i could take a stab at a career as a tattooed lady. Too bad i'm still missing most of the ink, spend too much time in bed, and don't live in 1930. 

Friday in Pictures

I spent Thursday night riding the number three tram around Helsinki. So did an estimated trillion other students (okay, i'm not a student anymore, but studying abroad has meant that i've been excluded from this novelty... Up until now!). The reason for this intoxicant-saturated mass commute was, of course, the infamous III-kierros. The demon child of a marriage between a pub crawl and sightseeing tour,  the beer rally's goal, according to the organizers, is to get furiously wasted. I'm pretty sure all parties involved accomplished this. Since what happens after eleven drinks at eleven different bars is hardly difficult to guess, i'll impart no further details. Simply put, there was too much of this:

Luckily, i'm hardly at a loss when it comes to hangover cures. My remedy of choice this morning was this: An ice-cold strawberry smoothie with goji berries, flaxseed, cranberry juice and crushed ice (beats hair of the dog hands down!). After recovering from a serious case of rapid smoothie consumption-induced brain freeze and listening to some old school Atreyu (at least i'm not lying and claiming it was something cooler), i decided to venture out. There's this cool festival going on in Helsinki next week, called Lokaviikot. Catering to the under 25s of Helsinki, workshops, film screenings and free theatre tickets are all part of the game. Personally, i was after the theatre tickets; the thirty euros i save in scoring free theatre tickets can go towards remedying the deficit in my personal budget due to last night. It all works out. I'm really looking forward to seeing the cyberpunkish-vibed adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, and the kind people of Kansallisteatteri were happy to provide me with tickets.  


Feeling pretty good with tickets in hand, i decided to head to Hakaniemi and have a look around the market. I really like the atmosphere on a Friday; the market is packed with people going around stalls picking up good stuff for the weekend. It kinda reminds me of the market outside my building in Paris. On my walk back home, i stopped by the Botanical Garden in Kaisaniemi. The old school glass greenhouses always impress me. I didn't go inside, but instead sat around on a bench thinking about the giant water lilies that i remember seeing there when i last visited. Got distracted when i realized a creepy dude was staring at me from behind a giant oak and decided it was time to move on.

I made one more stop on my way home, at Akateeminen, and was happy to find a Vintage Tattoo book on sale. Some cool pics i think i might add to the ever-growing desktop folder called 'just get the damn tattoo already'. Absolutely starving and dead tired at this point (even the super smoothie cannot cure everything, sadly) i wreaked havoc in the kitchen, frantically throwing together some halloumi, hummous, toast, shrooms, tomatoes and tabasco, and it came out looking like this. Fries and a big sandwich can do a world of good. 

What really made my Friday, though, was the dessert i picked up at the market. Big fan of the perunaleivos. Nom nom. Best postprandial stupor ever.

It was a dark and stormy night...

The storm of death hit Helsinki last night. In addition to rattling my apartment’s rickety windows, howling in the building’s airing ducts and forcing in an entirely unwelcome chill, it persuaded me to stay the hell inside and out of its way. Pulling on socks and fumbling with my ancient heater (to no avail) i instead contemplated ice cream and a scary movie.

Despite it really being way too cold, dark and stormy for either ice cream or a scary movie, i dug out the B&J’s (cookie dough flavour), got comfy on the couch and scrolled through my Itunes library for The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari…

Dating back to 1920, the silent film in question is considered one of the first in the genre of horror movies and is an example of post WW1 German Expressionist cinema. Film studies facts aside (cause that’s about all i have, folks); I was interested in seeing this particular film because of its alleged influence on Tim Burton. 

Now i won’t give you a blow-by-blow account of the plot (but those of you who want one can find one here, cause the film really is worth seeing. I will, however, tell you what I thought. Watching black and white silent films often calls for patience on my part, cause being a kid raised on happy-coloured, sing-along, mainstream movies (i.e. the stuff of Disney), having the voice and colour sucked out of what I was watching seemed kinda like cheating when I was a kid. And kinda still does (hey I told you I ain’t no film student). Nonetheless, one must understand the grander cinematic milieu and era in which the film was produced and appreciate it in that context (black and white, yes. Silent, that too).

So I’ll give in, the mute and monochrome work. Further emphasising the mood, the painted backdrop’s jagged angles and the lengthy, flickering shots of ghoulishly masked actors enforce the sinister goings-on, contributing to the whole in a convincingly creepy way. I’ve always been one for stories, and this one was much to my liking. What I found most impressive was the way in which horror cinematised almost a century ago remains a compelling representative of the horror film genre and still manages to evoke chills in the contemporary viewer.

My eagerness to find Burton hiding in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari perhaps allowed me to find more parallels than really exist: Cesare the Somnambulist is easily identifiable as the doppelganger of Edward Scissorhands, while the town of Holstenwall looks a lot like the Victorian town in Corpse Bride, and the protagonist’s fiancée bears a striking resemblance to the Corpse Bride herself… The vision-impairing, mind-fuddling effects of a pint of B&J? I think not. See for yourself and we’ll talk.

Thursday's head start.

Since i'm currently not up to my eyeballs in a work project that threatens to take over my life and free time, i find that Thursday is a perfectly acceptable day for kicking off the weekend. Fortunately, i have friends who seem to agree. And so on Thursday evening i found myself biking through wickedly cold streets towards the blaring music and jovial ruckus of Helatorstai-klubi at Henry's pub. These Thursday nights are becoming a favorite of mine, and for good reason. Entrance is free, and the coat check is operated on a 'pay if you feel like it' basis. Beer and cider will only set you back 3.5 euros a pint, which is good news for students, cheapskates and those who can spare time from their work projects to indulge in a pint or several.


While all of the above make for a good night, it's the bands that really kick ass. Clambering on to the corner stage in their high heels, pearls and dinky hats (bar from Jay Maggis, the gangster on base), Gun Molls and Gangsters play punk rock that both sounds and looks good. I for one would like to see more ladies in vintage frocks and perfect 50s up do's playing guitar on tables. 


Taking the stage after the rocking villains was the Atom Notes. The five man band looked as if it might rock right off the tiny stage due to the enthusiastic showmanship of its three guitarists. Nothing wrong with that, and hell, the punk 'n' roll is good. No surprise there, as the band features members from the likes of Manifesto Jukebox, Endstand, Last Calls, Abduktio, Deathbed and Cold Call. This could become a regular weekend starter for me, regardless of future work-to-eyeball ratio. 

My name is Nina, and i'm a blogger.

There are some brilliant blogs out there. I don’t know if this will ever be one of them, but after some four years of toying with the idea, I thought I’d finally put my money where my mouth is and start my own. After thinking about doing this for four years, I’m hoping this endeavour has a life expectancy of more than two weeks. This is largely up to me though, and my (occasionally) somewhat lax attitude to getting things done. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

After three odd years of trying to figure out what I’d blog about, I came to the vaguely obvious conclusion that I could indeed write about my life. Now, this currently involves living in Helsinki; freelancing in the field of media, communication and events management; losing myself in the myriad of great stuff going on in the city; and making cunning plans regarding the future. Having said that, in addition to regaling my potential readership with curious anecdotes from my life, I thought I’d sneak in the occasional (very) short story, picture show or obscure poem. Plus any really good cupcakes or bearded ladies, should I come across them.

After about two and half years of agonizing over a name for the blog (believe me, the agonizing was a good thing as the text you’re currently reading could have been posted on Miss Nimb’s Miscapades in Helsinki…), I took a leaf out of Sylvia Plath’s book and called it, simply, Female Author.

So, today is day number one. Here goes nothing.