Ah it's May again!

For me the month changed in a particularly memorable way, because I had the supreme pleasure of enjoying the visit of blogger friend Val. She is a very very special person, so it was a joy all around.

FRIDAY. May Day's eve. It was supposed to be mostly cloudy with rains of shower but actually it was sunny and warm for most of the day! We met at the Senate Square at 10.30, and after rejuvenating ourselves with coffee at the university cafe headed out on a walk along the southern sea front and Merisatama (Sea Harbour) at the southern tip of Helsinki, in the districts of Kaivopuisto and Ullanlinna. On a sunny day it's a really enjoyable walk along the promenade, and you can pop into the Kaivopuisto park, from the highest point of which the view towards the sea is magnificent. There are also several small islands just off the shore, accessible by regular boat lines (run by the sailing associations I believe), my favourite being Harakka, which used to be owned and controlled by the army and has rich bird life.

From the Sea Harbour we headed back to the Senate Square and Kruununhaka for lunch in Pompei, a tiny, true Italian trattoria. You can't beat their pizzas and pastas, and our veggie pasta did not disappoint.

After lunch, Snellmaninkatu street took us directly to the market square by the harbour, and there we caught the ferry to the Suomenlinna sea fortress. On a beautiful spring day it's the place to be, to wander along the cliffs and battlements looking out at the sea and listening to the waves. Historically it is fascinating too, the naval dockyard being particularly interesting. It was built in the 18th century for the Swedish coastal fleet and is still used for repairing and renovating old sailing boats and vessels. I feel lucky to have a place like Suomenlinna so close to Helsinki and so easily accessible (the ferries go every 20 minutes in summer time and are part of the city public transportation). Although the ferry takes only 10-15 minutes, it feels like a sea journey, and the islands of Suomenlinna are a different, more peaceful place, with a village feel. About 800 people live there permanently, and I wouldn't mind being one of them. Well, in spring and summer at least: in winter the icy winds easily sweep the islands. For visiting Suomenlinna, I think the spring is the best time, because in the summer's tourist season the place can get a bit crowded.

Our visit to Suomenlinna was excellently timed, because coming back we had just enough time for a cup of coffee before watching Manta receive her cap again together with about 50 000 people. This is an annual tradition that has been going on for decades, although I think it has become such a huge media event only in recent history. To go all anthropological, basically it's a pagan rite to welcome the spring. The ceremony starts Vappu in Helsinki and after it everyone is allowed to wear their student caps for that evening and the next day. I put on mine symbolically but did not wear it for long because it's a fairly silly piece of headwear.

SATURDAY. May Day/Labour Day. Cold and windy. Despite the weather, I headed out to Hakaniemi market square to see some of the Labour Day celebration of the social democrats and the Leftfield Union. Lots of people, live music, stands with food and coffee (vendace fried in butter, the supreme Finnish market food; crepes), was quite enjoyable. Then the Labour Day march came by, all red flags in the wind and stern, serious socialist songs. It felt somehow surreal, the songs slightly out of place.

SUNDAY. Sunny and warm again, a day of supremely enjoyable slow, free wandering. I love such days, just starting out and walking without any particular destination, seeing what comes up. First I went to the sunday market in Hakaniemi and enjoyed a crepes, then headed out to Kallio. It's my favourite district in all of Helsinki I think. A former working class neighbourhood, now the locale of artists, students and the like, it seems to have more life than the "fine" centre on the other side of Pitkäsilta ("long bridge", see the Kallio link). I don't think I would want to live in Kallio though, because you get the alcoholics hanging around the metro stations all the time. Among the things encountered: an adorable "missing" notice for a beloved turtle soft toy posted by a child, probably at most a first-grader, judging by the notice which was in wobbly block letters and with spelling errors. TURT-LE-HAS-ES-CA-PD-DIS-TIC-TIV-MARKS-IS-BROWN-SHELL-AND-O-RIN-GE-SPOTS... I do hope someone finds the greatly missed and obviously loved turtle. At first I thought the notice was for a missing pet but then saw the addition "if you find this soft toy, call...". My steps next took me to Vallila to the big flea market, located in a large former factory hall. What an enjoyable day.

MONDAY. The weather was identical to that of sunday, yet I didn't have difficulty in motivating myself to go to the university library to do some work. In fact I was considering another photography trek, but didn't feel like it. The mood was more for work. In the evening I met up with Val again by the opera house, and we walked around the Gulf of Töölö, across the train tracks, along Tokoinranta (a quay in Hakaniemi) and on to Kruununhaka for dinner at a restaurant. Excellent food, a bottle of wine and three hours of conversation. What a good evening.

Val is flying back to Holland today and it seems a good day to go, because it's again cold, windy and pouring rain. Oh, now it's sleet actually. One thing I would like to know is, why do the workmen do the noisiest work (drilling and all) just when the weather is absolutely dismal and you would like to have a nice day at home?

Alright, enough with the complaining. Thank you so much, Val, and have a safe trip home!