Colin Gallagher's Blog, page 3

Finnish Easter Foods

Finland wheels out a food cart of unearthly delights for certain times of the year. It’s my job to eat said food before they disappear into the shadows of the cultural kitchen for another spin around the sun.

It’s Easter. So there are a couple of foods out there in the supermarkets if you look hard enough.

Mämmi

Mämmi, the food…substance…that is so appetizing that Al Jolson crooned about it back in the 20s. Not really. Mämmi is made of water, malt, rye, salt, and sometimes molasses. So a mixture of very flat flavors. It looks like shit. It doesn’t totally taste like it. It tastes heavily of malt and it reminded me of bairín breac from Halloween back in Ireland.

I had the pleasure of tasting this twice. Once at work when a slab of it appeared in the lounge and once when I bought a small tub of it for additional scientific testing. I would never buy a slab of this which is the main way they sell it in the markets. It’s ok for a two bite/chew/mash affair but more than that and it’s just a malty chore. Adding some cream to the mix makes it more edible.

“Mignon” Egg

Made by the popular Fazer company here in Finland, this is one their annual best sellers. It’s a solid egg made of hazelnut/almond nougat inside a real egg shell. After a lifetime of hollow chocolate egg eating experiences I can’t help but feel short-changed by every Kinder or Easter egg I’ve ever had. But having just ate one of these Mignon eggs there is a reason why the rest of the world make them empty inside – it’s way too much chocolate for one person to handle. I had to eat half then put the other half in the fridge for a later assault. It’s also weird to peel a real egg shell to find chocolate inside – like some weird chocolate egg laying animal had evolved to deliver us this annual sweet treat.

Pasha/Pashka

Made of curd cheese, you can find tubs of this beside the standard yogurts in the markets. This particular tubbed version had raisins and orange peel thrown in for good measure. Again, along with the other Finnish Easter foods, it’s very full on with each bite a thick sweet creamy and fruity paste to battle your tongue. Impossible to finish in one go. So I didn’t.

 

Stay tuned for more stunning Finnish foods coming up next week as we celebrate Vappu along with its traditional food and drink treats.

A Half-Day In Zagreb, Croatia

Seventeen years ago I trundled into Zagreb train station (on a train) from Trieste, Italy. Zagreb wasn’t the final destination. No, no our goal was a more obscure (and seriously bullet ridden) northern spot on the map; Varazdin. Football is the answer you seek to the question you are asking.

My time spent in Zagreb back then was confined to the train platform and a quick sprint for a can or two of Karlovacko pivo at the nearest kiosk.

I hadn’t been to Zagreb since. My time this time around was slightly more relaxed; I was free all afternoon and evening to peruse its offerings.

A lot of things to see in Zagreb are just that. Things to see. You can stand, see, and move on so the time spent at each attraction isn’t too long. And every sight is within walking distance from each other. It’s an enjoyable city to wander.

What did I do?

Zagreb Cathedral

A pretty impressive cathedral in the league of world cathedrals. Certainly not Cologne but impressive all the same. I went twice, once in the early afternoon and once in the evening just in time for mass to end so it was interesting to see the people leaving and mingling. It’s worth noting that there was a very young demographic to the worshippers; Croatia still has to catch up with the ever-growing global discontent with the Catholic church that many young people have.

Ul. Ivana Tkalčića

The main restaurant and bar pedestrian street. You will find something to eat here. And drink. I had a good chicken burger in Rocket Burger (with a local beer) and a tasty chicken gyros in El Greco.

Stone Gate

Originating in the 13th century but most likely looking like it is today from the 18th century. A stone arch which houses a little church dedicated to Mary. Mother of God. Who else? You can walk through it, take a quick look and be on your way. Be conscious that it is a place of worship and stay out of the way of the prayer vibes directed at the statue of Mary.

St. Mark’s Church

A short pant uphill from the Stone Gate is the eye catching St. Mark’s Church. Its roof resembles one of those bead art things kids do. But better obviously. One of the better rooves I have seen. Doors were locked and I didn’t have a key.

Croatian Museum of Naïve Art

This is a fine stop to make to spend 20-30 minutes and it also closes later than the bigger art galleries in the city. 25 Kuna and you’re in. There’s only about 5 or 6 rooms but it’s an interesting look into the Naïve Art scene of Croatia over the past number of decades. Not an art movement I was familiar with but something that is on my radar now. Worth the quick peek.

Lotrščak Tower

Walking towards the funicular back down to the shopping area you will pass by the Lotrščak Tower built around the 13th century. If you find yourself around here at midday put your hands over your ears as the cannon on top fires to mark the daily occasion. And why not?

Funicular

This is a funky little mode of transport which takes about one minute to make the ascent to the upper town and obviously the descent to the lower town. It costs 4 Kuna for a scheduled trip or 20 Kuna for an ad-hoc trip. Shortest cable car in the world I hear so that’s a feather in the cap right there. After going up in it I walked back down so I could find the…

Tunel Grič

These are cool. Built during World War II and then, sadly, having to be used later on during the Croatia War of Independence as bomb shelters. These days you can use them as underground routes to different streets or just walk through them because they look pretty cool. They even have some public toilets near the main entrances.

Park Zrinjevac

A nice park in the city centre to take a stroll along. Dog watching is key here. I would imagine it becomes a hub of activity in the warm summer months. It’s got a 19th century music pavilion if that tickles your fancy.

Ban Josip Jelačić

The busy hub of activity in the centre of Zagreb. Trams roll in and roll out and people walk in every direction to wherever the hell they are going. There’s a statue of Mr. Jelačić (a general who fought for Croatian independence in the 1800s) overseeing the daily commutes of thousands.

I missed out on a number of art galleries and museums due to their 5pm closing times. I really would have like to have gone to the Muzej Mimara to see their European art collection and the Museum of Contempary Art. One museum that is up on the top of the attractions list is the Museum of Broken Relationships in the upper town beside St. Mark’s Church. Yeah, not that appealing..

So don’t get put off wandering around Zabreb for even just an afternoon as you can pack a lot in.

5 Days in Malaga, Sevilla, and Cordoba

Spain wasn’t the first place that came to mind when I thought of where we would visit as our first “other country” trip since we came back to Europe. There are a lot of other countries we have not even been to yet.

To be honest, it was the fact that Finnair were going to be flying their wide body A330s to Malaga on certain days in February 2019 that swung the favour. The fact that they switched back to their narrow body A320s a few weeks beforehand kind of soured my enthusiasm on the trip a bit. Nerd life.

Onward.

Malaga

The gateway for pale-skinned and beer swilling degenerates to disperse to the various beach side resorts dotted around the coast; Malaga itself is actually a worthwhile stopover for a day or two. There are a couple of attractions worth checking out.

Alcazaba



Both the Alcazaba and the Castillo de Gibralfaro are free to enter after 14:00 every Sunday. Something to be aware of. Otherwise it’s €3.50 for one site and €5.50 for both sites. We availed of the free entry to visit the Alcazaba on the Sunday we arrived. It’s nothing too special with some interesting yet underwhelming courtyards. The views from the walls are nothing spectacular and you get much more substantial views from the much higher up Castillo de Gibralfaro.

Castillo de Gibralfaro

You certainly do a lot more work to get the views from Castillo de Gibralfaro. It’s quite a steep walk up the hill. I saw some struggling peeps on the way up. And down. You can get a taxi. But we walked and it certainly gets the cerveza fueled heart pumping. Coming down is actually a little bit more taxing due to the steep decline at times. I wouldn’t do it in the rain.

The views from up top are excellent and give a great view of the surrounding city, sea, and mountains. The castle’s fortifications are impressive but the small exhibit is mostly reproductions of soldier outfits throughout the castle’s ages. Definitely worth a visit; just be aware of the incline/decline.

Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga

€6 gains you entry to the Malaga Cathedral. With this you get an audio guide. There are a huge variety of different “churches” inside and the architecture is pretty impressive throughout. You kind of get cathedral-ed out in this area of Spain but certainly pop in for a peek.

Mercado Central de Atarazanas

Take a wander around this food market to get a sense of the fresh food that’s available in Malaga on a daily basis. Fish, meat, olives, cheese, and vegetables a go-go. Smells happen. Lively place. There are a few eateries outside on the pavement which avail of the fresh food (and beer) in the market which were quiet early on in the day but heaving by the end of it.

Parroquia Santiago Apóstol Málaga

Not a church that will be on many to-do lists in Malaga but take 5 minutes to drop in here. Very interesting architecturally, quiet, and free. You know it ain’t touristy when it’s free.

Plaza de la Merced

Just a square with a bunch of restaurants surrounding it. The monument in the middle is an homage to fallen military.

We didn’t go to the art galleries that are recommended due to various reviews stating they were nothing special. Although Picasso was born here the museum is said to be quite underwhelming, which is a shame.

Seville (or Sevilla)

2 and a bit hours from Malaga by train lies Seville. Trains are not cheap if you go for the faster AVANT trains and we did. Single tickets will be around €35-45. Ticket machines are of the zap kind only and didn’t like our credit cards so go to the human beings in the ticket office (basic Spanish, hand gestures, morse code, and written instructions with train times help here). Game of Thrones and Star Wars fans can recreate some scenes in Seville and look silly doing it. Known, it is.

Royal Alcázar of Seville

Otherwise known as the Water Gardens of Dorne in Game of Thrones to those who are so opined. There are two queues to get in here; one for pre-booked online and one for silly people who just show up. The silly people line is always much longer. So pre-book the night before and line up in the pre-booked line from 9:10 for a 9:30 gates opening.

The building itself is impressive with some rooms standing out more than others. The grounds are nothing spectacular. There was a dead fish in one of the pools which stank a lot. A lot of other fountains were dry. Where’s Groundskeeper Willy when you need him?

I think my favourite room is the underground Baños de Maria Padilla which, if you can get it a quiet time, is a great photo opportunity.

Plaza de España

The first day we visited there there was no water here. The second time we visited there was water. It looks better with water.

Built in 1928, the Plaza de España is a long curving outside promenade type corridor type building with a large square-type thing in front with water running around it. It’s like I painted a picture with my words.

You can stand inside the curved plaza to the left of the entrance and re-create the angle from The Phantom Menace (if you want to relive that shitshow again).

Parque de Maria Luisa

It’s a moderately sized park with nothing much going on in it. If you want to walk with a little green around you then go here. There was one bird-active pond which distracted us for a few minutes.

Catedral de Sevilla

Another queue stricken attraction, keep an eye out during the late morning when the lines die down. We pre-booked the night before but there were no lines when we went. If there is a line you have to basically cut in at the gate and turn left into the pre-booked entry.

Finished in the 16th Century, this cathedral is a must visit when in Sevilla. It’s huge and has a lot of spectacular vaulted views and angles to gawk at. Genocidal maniac Christopher Columbus is buried, quite surprisingly, here. Make sure to include a trek up the Giralda tower, which has a sloped ramp going up (and down) instead of steps, the end result up top has some great views of the city and surrounding areas.

Puente de Triana leading to Triana Mercado

Nice looking bridge from the mid 19th century. It leads to the indoor Triana market where you can buy a bunch of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and stuff.

Las Setas De Sevilla

Just a cool looking architectural structure that you may pass wandering around the city. Kinda comes out of nowhere.

Cordoba

45 minutes from Sevilla back in the direction of Malaga is Cordoba. Record holder of the Spain’s hottest recorded temperature in Europe. So there. 46.9c. It’s a quaint little place with a train station situated a good 30 minute walk away from the main tourist attractions. I’ll be honest we didn’t go into the main attraction, the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, as we were all alcazared-out after Sevilla. A bit drained. It happens. Should have went but whatever. The best part of Cordoba is just walking around the small streets and alleyways on the way to random starred places on Google Maps.

Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba

There was a line at the ticket booth for this but there were ticket machines beside the line so we bought the tickets from there. I don’t know why people were lining up. But I felt great and skipped merrily away from the line-dwellers.

It’s an interesting jigsaw puzzle of a religious building as you go from a Christian looking facade exterior to a more Mosque-esque interior of large open spaces.

Puente Romano (Game of Thrones alert!!)

Cool looking bridge which holds more sway with people now that it appeared as the Long Bridge of Volantis in Game of Thrones albeit with more computer generated graphics piled on top. On the way to this we found an island of cats long the river. Yeah. Highlight of the day.

Calleja de las Flores

A small alley with blue flower pots. Really. Non-descript towns in the world take note! You too, can have a tourist attraction if you put coloured flower pots up in your shitty alleys.

Templo Romano

The biggest bullshit tourist site I saw on our travels. Right now it’s a construction site. When it’s not a construction site, it’s a row of reconstructed pillars in place of ancient original Roman pillars. Next.

Plaza de la Corredera

A very interesting and quite a large square which wouldn’t look out of place in Venice. Not at all touristy feeling and feels more like a local hang out. The buildings surrounding it look like old apartments. Quite a weird vibe of a place. Anywhere else in the world and it would be lauded as magnificent. Here, it’s just a local’s square. So it seems.

There you have it. I do have vague ideas to visit Granada and Ronda in the region in the foreseeable or unforeseeable future.

 

St. Patrick’s Day in Helsinki 2019: A Trail of Guinnesses-es (and a Murphy’s)

In what is becoming a “coincidental” yearly ritual, Mrs. Horizons left me alone to ponder my Oirish existence on St. Patrick’s Day. In Helsinki this time. At least in Singapore I could sweat out the extra calories as I drank through my yearly ration of the black custard.

Anyway I decided instead of celebrating our lord saviour on a Sunday I would trudge through the brown-gray sludge of downtown Helsinki and darken the doorsteps of the handful of Irish bars that exist. Tasting a pint of black in each one. Two if they were any good. Three if they were as good as a pub in a field in the hhwhessttt of Oireland. I brought my bank card as I don’t carry enough money that would be able to pay for pints of Guinness in Finland.

Molly Malone’sYeah…

Molly Malone’s has a yearly family fun day from 2pm on St. Patrick’s Day. I went at 12:05pm. To give me time to get out of there before the younglings arrived with weary and thirsty parents. Drinking in peace is a comfort I don’t take lightly. Malone’s is a narrow bar; yearning for more width. I can only imagine its physical demands when heaving with punters. It has an upstairs area but early on in the day it is cordoned off lest you see something you shouldn’t. A pint costs €8.10 . That’s right. I like to call prices of Guinness in Finland (and around the world) Irish tax. Or bullshit prices.As I struggled sideways through the narrowest door in Helsinki into the establishment I was greeted by nobody and that continued until a member of staff appeared out of the gloom to help me out my thirst pit. That level of service kept up as people lined up and the barkeep made the art of serving drinks a monotonous chore, finding more solace in their phone.

The Guinness itself was served with the opposite of relish. The head a disappointed concave work of non art. With air bubbles at no extra charge. Taste wise it was sub par; a tad watery but with hints of home emerging from time to time. No food served here either to distract you from sub par service.

At one point the bar girl ran out the front door leaving some bemused customers waiting mid order.

Flogging Molly was the order of the day background music wise with similar faux Oirish American bands following suit. Made me want to leave quickly. An English bloke sidled up beside me and ordered a pint of coke and a pint of water. Another English lady asked for a half a Guinness with blackcurrant. Barkeep didn’t know what she was talking about. “We don’t have”. “Oh I think you have”. No they bloody don’t. Piss off. Next.

Actually I would have had another pint here if I was asked if I wanted another one as I pondered over the dying remnants of my Guinness. I wasn’t asked. I wasn’t surprised.

Kitty’s Public House

Kitty certainly owns a lot of bars around the world. So she does, to be sure. Don’t be fooled by the name as this is a Scottish bar. Their website mentions the word “British” a lot. Anyways I went to see if I could score a pint of Guinness. If not I would denounce it as any sort of Celtic bar and spend my life making sure everyone knows.It’s got tartan undertones in its decor so I’m definitely going for Scottish. Although I think it really doesn’t want to admit any nationality. It has Murphy’s on draught (and a wide range of other beers) so fine, okay, I will let it slide.Service was prompt and to the point. I asked if they had stout, he gave me the options, and we made the transaction. That’s fine. And €8.60 vanishes from my bank account ne’er to be seen again.

Murphy’s has an additional taste that Guinness doesn’t have. I don’t know how to describe it. Okay I will try. It’s a little malty…kick. There. I don’t mind it at all.Strangely enough with it not being an Irish bar the most Oirish dressed up person came in shortly after. Kiss me I’m Irish? Never thought that statement would work ever.

Kitty’s is a nice refuge from the city centre hustle and chill factor. It’s dark, subdued, and quiet with little cubby hole seating areas around. All things a bar should be to escape reality.

O’Malley’s Torni

Torni means “tower” in Finnish. It’s the only word when translated into English that has the same first letter and doesn’t expand and mutate into 57 letters. Fact. O’Malley’s actually looks like a normal Irish pub that you would find in Ireland. It’s also part of the Tourni Hotel which has a tower look to it. No piles of Oirish crap hanging off of every perceivable nook and cranny. Which is always welcome.

Back to the Guinness. €5. Very reasonable for this city at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country. Service was fast but the pint was poured in a hurry which left the head a little depressed. I was asked if I wanted anything else like a Jameson… steady on there sunshine, it’s still a Sunday the last I checked. Work happens tomorrow. I think.Taste wise the Guinness was ok but slightly watery. The head was thin but stayed alive throughout sups. I guess at €5 there has to be some quality drop. Drinkable though.I used this establishment as my nose bag stop. Fish and chips. €10. Perfect.It must be said it feels like O’Malley’s actually went out of their way to celebrate the day that was in it. From the floppy Guinness hats strewn around the bar for people to adorn to the live traditional session they had on from 3pm. Fair play to them.If you find yourself in Helsinki on Saint Patrick’s Day and want to get a decent vibe then I believe O’Malleys is your best bet.

Kaivopihan Dubliner

A late opener this one. 3pm. Actually scratch that….4 pm! Google is wrong! I know this because I rattled their doors at 3:52 pm and felt like a worthless hobo drunk. Oh well I wandered around a nearby household goods store to bide my time and get some feeling back into my hands. Freezing. Did I mutter “Worth waiting for” ala Ice Cold In Alex by the time I got there? Not really.At €7 a pint of black it’s not the most expensive. Or least. Pint was poured with haste which left the head quite thin. Taste was fine with the head being a little too bubbly for my liking.This place is huge and links up with the next door bar Praha. Lots of seating in little corners and snugs around the floor. They even have a small closed off booth for smokers so that they can kill each other. There was no evidence of the day that was in it unlike O’Malley’s.Bon Jovi warbled out of the speakers at a reasonable level. If Bon Jovi can ever be at a reasonable level.

 

It started pouring down as I tackled the Guinness here and my appetite for the gargle waned somewhat. However a shining knight from my workplace decided to join up. So I had another. Then another. And then one more for the ditch.

So all in all, if you find yourself in Helsinki on St. Patrick’s Day you won’t be found wanting with O’Malley’s probably being the pick of the litter due to their actual celebrating of the day.

Taking the Train to Lapland (and back)

So I’ve detailed what we got up to in Lapland, let me tell you how we got there and back without taking to the skies.

It may not be known to people outside of Finland (it wasn’t to me) but there is an excellent rail network in place. One of the most popular trains is the night train to Rovaniemi (and beyond) otherwise known as the Santa Express. This train (IC 265) leaves Helsinki train station at 1849 daily and takes roughly 12.5 hours to reach Rovaniemi at 0713. Or 0714 on a bad day. You can decide on the level of comfort and privacy you require by choosing the following:

A regular seat – are you insane, it’s 12.5 hours!?

Facing seats  – are you and your partner insane, it’s 12.5 hours!?

Sleeping compartment with shared bathroom – if you’re ok with this.

Sleeping compartment with en-suite bathroom – if you absolutely, positively don’t want any human contact. We went for this. It worked out at 145 Euros per person. Which is cheaper than the 2 hour flight we could have taken.

The compartments with the en-suite bathrooms are upstairs. They are tiny so don’t bring a cat to swing. You won’t be able to. The bathroom has a shower behind a hidden door which is very cool, Kanye. I would like a little more space to have two seats at the window table but what ya gonna do? The beds were comfortable and cosy with electric sockets for the important charging of devices. Free wifi for the journey was excellent.

The restaurant/bar carriage is very popular at the beginning of the journey and tapers out as the witching hour draws near. The queues were nearly enough to put me off getting a few beers. But not quite. We didn’t bother with food as we had brought our own snacks with us. A lot of people just camp out in the bar for the journey or for the majority of the journey. Makes sense if you only have the seat. Alcohol makes all problems go away.

As the journey is all through the night there aren’t any spectacular views and after a few beers the only thing to do is get a good night’s rest. And that we did. Waking up about half an hour before arrival in Rovaniemi.

Be aware that you would think taxis would be lined up waiting for the night train to pull in. They aren’t. You might need to pre-book travel to your accommodation. We were lucky a taxi pulled up about 10 minutes after we arrived and we had cemented ourselves at the top of the taxi line. Also be aware you arrive very early and your hotel will probably not have a room ready for you until later afternoon so you might want to book some tours and keep yourself busy.

All in all, a pretty cool way to travel to Rovaniemi, especially for families I’m assuming. We took the 8.5 hour train back to Helsinki in a what they call a first class seating carriage (free tea and coffee and that’s about for the perks!) and leaving at 0603 (exactly) and arriving at 1435 (ish). It was very doable, cheaper, and during the day so we could see some lovely snowscapes. See video below of what that looked like.

As always, bon voyage ‘laineys.

An Easy Intro To Lapland

Introduction

Lapland evokes a child-like curiosity in all of us. Snowscapes, reindeer, huskies, and Santa lives there, you know? When we moved to Finland in June I knew we had to check it out in the most obvious month; December. Christmas vibes and the like. So I scoped travel and accommodation options back in October and came to a quick conclusion: Santa’s hometown = bloody expensive. If you don’t know anyone up there (we don’t) then tours are the order of the day. They’re expensive. If you don’t know anyone up there (we don’t) then accommodation ranks from “ouch, that’s expensive” to “we’re gonna need a bigger mortgage”.

So I set out a to-do list that noob tourists should do when exploring Lapland for the first time.

Arctic Snow Hotel

Without getting into finances too much the Arctic Snow Hotel would put a dent into anyone’s holiday budget. So we spent a night there and ate pot noodle for the rest of the holiday. The reason for going there is to either spend a night in one of the glass igloos or spend a night in the ice hotel they create every Winter. We chose the igloo due to it not being below freezing inside.

Apart from the appeal of staying inside a cool igloo there’s not much else to do and what there is to do they make you pay even more for doing so. We went to a local’s house (which was nice) and made some local bread (which was interesting) and it cost us 80 Euros each (which was a rip off!). The nearby lake Lehtojärvi is frozen over in the Winter months and can be walked on and snow-mobiled on (for more money). There’s nothing much else to do there other than marvel at your igloo. And pray for some northern lights to show. Which they didn’t. Malheureusement.

Ranua Wildlife Park

“Did you see any reindeer?” That was the question that prompted us to check out Ranua. We actually did see reindeer along the roadside before going here. So there. Ranua is quite a spacious wildlife park with ample room for its animals. Like the husky ride below I’m always weary to contribute to tourism and animals in captivity but Ranua take part in animal conservation and animal care as part of its duties. Highlights there include the polar bears, wide variety of birds, and, sure okay, the reindeer. Again, you have to arrange transport out there (50 Euros return per person!).

Bearhill Husky Sled Ride

Again I’ll reiterate that animals and tourism sit uncomfortably with me. They exist because of us and yet…they exist because of us. I did my research and looked for the company which seemed to put their huskies’ well-being first and foremost. Bearhill Husky seem to do that. But I sit here a month after doing it and I’m still in two minds about it all. It definitely was fun, the dogs were eager to get going and seemed to enjoy getting out and about. The staff were super attentive to the dogs and really seemed to care. We did the shorter morning run for about 40 minutes; there are longer 2-3 hour rides available. I think the shorter one is just right, finishing off with some hot berry juice back at base after a thank you petting session for the huskies that pulled us along.

Beyond Arctic Northern Lights Tour

Northern lights tours are dependant on luck and nature. Keep that in mind. Nature and luck were not on our side when we were in Lapland so the northern lights tour we took with Beyond Arctic was nothing more than “let’s drive to random isolated places, wait around and mess with our cameras” tour. But I would recommend Beyond Arctic because they deal with small groups (a maximum of 8). We had two other guests with us on this tour.

Beyond Arctic Snow Shoes Trek

Again with Beyond Arctic‘s small group policy we were on our own for this trek with two guides. Excellent value. They drove us to a forest trail about 20 minutes drive from Rovaniemi city centre and we snowshoed our way through the forest before burning some sausages over a fire at the end of our walk. It actually was really good with the white snowy forest landscape being a sort of visual white noise over the senses. Recommended.

Rovaniemi Town

Rovaniemi is an understated town with tourism being its main reason for existing. It lacks any sort of real charm for anything more than using it as a base camp for your multitude of day visits. We stayed in the Scandic Rovaniemi City which was one of the more reasonably priced hotels in the centre.

The focus of activity branches off the main arterial Koskikatu where most of the hotels and restaurants are situated. One tourist attraction a short 15 minute walk away from the centre is the Arktikum museum which is a great introduction to life, past and present, in Finnish Lapland. Other than that, you can wander down to the river for a quick gander and that’s about it.

Santa Village

We didn’t visit it. We drove past it and that was enough. It’s a glorified shopping mall strip and you either have to navigate the not very regular bus out there or spend too much on a taxi for the pleasure. Word is it costs about 60 Euros to get a photo with one of the Santas and they kick you out of Lapland on the back of a reindeer sleigh if you use your own camera.

Conclusion

It’s very pretty. It’s white. And it’s very expensive if you don’t have your own car or local knowledge of where to go. I would imagine going further north with someone who knows where to go would be more immersive and more gratifying. And less touristy. If you have the budget and snow floats your boat then go for it,  you won’t regret it. Bring your credit cards.

If you’ve made it this far, well done. From a writer’s point of view it is pretty challenging to write anything down these days. Hence the 6 months of non-writing on my behalf. Shit. Life happens, energy fades, nothing happens, commitment wanes. I can’t predict when I’ll write again in all honesty.

Singapore Food Staples: Popiah (and some more Carrot Cake)

Balestier Road is an odd one. You can go there with a very wild and varied shopping list (freshly ground coffee, light fittings, a fancy new toilet, and you could stay in a cheap but dingy hotel if all the shopping wore you out). I will miss walking down Balestier.

It is also known for it’s wide variety of food offerings. Balestier Food Centre is a small but well stocked hawker centre. When I arrived in Singapore back in 2011 it was being refurbished (it does have some decent toilets there it has to be said).

I went there one evening during the World Cup to grab some eats and found the Miao Sin Popiah stall run by two very friendly ladies. Popiah wasn’t on my mind but it certainly was one of the foods I hadn’t tried yet so when I saw it I had to get it. I saw it and I got it. Along with a reacquaintance with carrot cake (white) and an introduction of black carrot cake. Popiah was $2 and the medium sized carrot cake was $4.50.

First up popiah. It has it’s origins in the Fujian province in China and it takes the form of a crepe type of spring roll with a filling of thinly sliced tofu, chopped peanuts or peanut powder, fried shallots, and shredded omelette. The fillings change per establishment. It’s nice, light, and has nice combination of soft and crunchy. The crepe wrapping is thin but has some substance to it which adds a little sandwichy feel to the eating process. Mechanism.

I’ve talked about carrot cake before; the white variety. So when I saw the black variety I had to get to sample the dark side too. The blackness adds a sweet dark sauce to proceedings so along with the white carrot cake flavours of eggy and white radish goodness (with a little spicy kick). I actually would get the black one over the white one. Once you go black…

I was very happy to get the small little dish of popiah scraped of my list before I left Singapore and I would definitely pick it up again as a nice little light snack or starter to a main meal.

Singapore Food Staples: Rojak

“You must try rojak before you leave Singapore” some crazy person said to me at some point. So with my days dwindling down on the red dot I wandered many a hawker centre and decreed that if I saw it I would eat it. I saw it. I tried to eat it.

The venue was the Golden Mile Food Centre on Beach Road which is quite a large eatery you can browse through to find your poison. I found rojak.

Rojak is a fruit and vegetable dish. Rojak means “mixture” in Malay. It’s a mixture of fruits and vegetables but it’s totally ensconced in a gritty paste mixture of water, shrimp paste, sugar, chili, and lime juice. Singapore rojak tends to have cucumber, pineapple, puffy, deep-fried tofu and youtiao (cut-up Chinese-style fritters) and raw mangos and green apples. All topped atop with crushed peanuts. They were all apparent in my dish in abundance.

At first, I was surprised by the taste and I thought I actually liked it. That passed. I just didn’t like the combination of contrasts between sweet and sour and fruity and savoury. I chose the $4 dish which was the equivalent of a Starbucks Grande. I guess. I valiantly tried to battle my way through it and attempted to find a combination of tastes that I liked. I kind of liked the apple bits and the tofu bits but that’s if you forced me.

Anyway, sadly, this was one of the last dishes I tried and it was my least favourite. But I’m glad I tried it. Like I tried to ride a skateboard once. I won’t be trying it again. It’s just not nice. But try it if you like the culinary clash of sweet and savoury from time to time.

Flight Review: Finnair | Economy Class | Dublin – Helsinki | A319

I can see the future.

I can see myself flying this route quite a few times in the next few years.

The Departure

Dublin Airport is a secret shame of mine being Irish. It’s just not the best airport in the world. Or Ireland. Far from it. Terminal 2 has tried to up DUB’s game but it all still comes back to the infrastructure of Terminal 1 and the whole airport. It’s just not the best. An express train connection to Dublin or even Belfast straight from the airport? Hell no, line up for the buses or taxis. A stress free check in experience where open space is in abundance? No chance; it exudes franticness. This is DUB 2018 yo.

The Flight

AY 1382 departs from Dublin daily (apart from Tuesday and Thursday which doesn’t make it daily I guess) at 10:25 and arriving in Helsinki at 15:25. It is served by a mix of Airbus 319s and Embraer 190s. We had the A319 on our particular day. And this particular A319 was an A319-112 (OH-LVA) which was born in 1999; making it 19 years old.

Today we would be delayed by roughly 40 minutes by some late refueling of the aircraft. Shell happens.

The A319 is a squat little Airbus but seating room in Economy isn’t too bad on the knees and you end up thinking you’re on an A320 until you look back and see the fuselage ending quite abruptly and quite near.

Boarding was fuss free and flights attendants welcoming. Finnair’s A319s have little overhead monitors that drop from the ceiling to keep any eye on our flight progress and gate information at your arrival destination. The screens, sadly, are really hard to read and quite dim in the daylight of the cabin.

Food is available for purchase in Finnair Economy but for a 2hr 40min flight on average I tend to stock up on food before the flight (and in particular some Tayto from Ireland!) as I don’t want to take out a second mortgage on board.

The flight went by very quickly and if you’re given a clear sunny day on your way over from DUB to HEL you will get to see some beautiful white snowscapes and coastlines of Norway and Sweden as you come into the descent down to Finland.

The Arrival

HEL is not hell. It’s a very manageable and quiet airport to either arrive or transfer in. They have some major upgrades happening over the next few years which is increasing the number of gates available. Here’s hoping this will decrease the amount of times you have to hop onto a bus when you land (which was our experience) as that’s always a little bit annoying after a flight not to just walk directly into the terminal.

I’m looking forward to having HEL as my home airport for the foreseeable future as I believe it is a relaxing point of departure and arrival which doesn’t get the stress levels up too much. That’s always a help. Next time I experience HEL I will be arriving in my new home. A few days after I arrive I will be taking a short hop over to the Aland Islands on a Finnair ATR72 to scope out the main town Mariehamm. Watch this space.

Singapore Food Staples: Ban Mian

After purchasing a rather long strip light bulb in Home DIY, I was hungry. LCD light bulb I’ll have you know. And I would need to replace the ancient starter that my old strip bulb had. The salesperson had faith in me to do so. Alone. I didn’t.  Anyway, I needed some sustenance before proceeding with the massive light bulb operation that was awaiting me in the shadows of the kitchen back home.

I took the swift moving people dodging trail underground from ION Orchard to under Tangs to the small and relatively quiet quasi-hawker centre there. Tang’s Food Market. As I perused the pictures telling the individual dish stories I rested upon Chili Ban Mian. I like the word chili. I had to Google Ban Mian.

Ban Mian originates from the Han Chinese and manifests itself as a bowl of flat egg noodles, vegetables, mushrooms, dried anchovy, fish/meat (in this case minced pork), soup/dried (in this case soup), and a very softly softly boiled egg. And it’s delicious. And the chili approach makes it extra delicious.

At $5 this is a good deal for prime real estate food eating in the underbelly of Orchard Road. You get a small bowl of broth which was quite underwhelming and tasted mainly of the chives/onion that was floating around lifelessly inside.

To the main dish. Now I don’t know if mixing everything together is something that should not be done ever but I did. I didn’t regret it one bit. It was amazing. The crunch of an occasional anchovy was magnificent. The chili burned merrily away with each mouthful. The minced pork were of a decent portion and mixing them up into the entire bowl allowed for the soft and delicious morsels to be in nearly every mouthful. The egg disappeared into the noodle and soup concoction to become one be-a-utiful soft component to counterbalance the dried anchovy. The sporadic greens were fine and the mushrooms which are not really friends with my digestive system were just OK but were relatively flat in the taste symphony.

I will be eating this again. I left with a pleasant burning mouth and happy taste buds. I then proceeded home to change my starter and light bulb successfully. Thanks Ban Mian.