tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109084782024-03-19T03:49:16.218+01:00[Sm]all things considered by Riina VuorikariPosting about everyday life of a professional in the field of "e-learning" and "technology enhanced learning" in Europe. Topics range from practice and policy issues to research - and to other small things to be considered.vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.comBlogger325125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-83408190818124254142023-08-18T17:39:00.003+02:002023-08-18T17:48:42.130+02:00My sabbatical: Order of importance<p>At the beginning of my sabbatical I was freaking out about the fact that maybe I'm not able to take advantage of my time, that after a year I will look back and realise I've wasted my prestigious time!! <br /></p><p>To preempt that, I invented 4 categories of stuff. 3 of them are "all you can eat"-style activities, so you can do them as often as you want, whereas there's one to be moderated and only performed during scheduled "office hours". </p><p>These "awful stuff-category" activities can also be performed when everything else sucks and things are going badly anyway. In that case, as you already feel miserable, you might as well do such activities (this strategy was invented by a friend, it sounds strange, but it actually works). </p><p></p><p>So the time management has been a bit of a worry all along, to be honest, some days I found
myself working away, or being immersed in some boring admin stuff,
although I was supposed to have a time of my life and enjoy all my
liberties. </p><p>One idea was to organise my week so that I have scheduled time slots for all things in all 4 categories. I actually didn't do that, but it's been at the back of my mind at all times, so in a way it maybe did its job in any case.</p><p>So today I reviewed my categories and I think they are still pretty right-on. Check them below, what do you think?</p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> <br /></span></p><p><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">AWFULL STUFF, </span></b><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Avoid doing these chores outside the "office hours" otherwise you risk spoiling your sabbatical!!</span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Unemployment stuff, </span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Admin work to sign-up in the community, social security, </span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Any insurance stuff (car, health)<br /></span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Taxes in 3 different countries, value-added-tax and all such<br /></span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Deadling with Internet and phone companies</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Utility bills such as water, electricity, gas</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Rental contracts and deposits</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Planning works and maintenance</span></li></ul><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> <b>BORDERLINE TOPICS</b></span><b><br style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /></b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Organing trips, booking flights, planning sightseing</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Dealing w airbnb guests and organise their stay</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Contracts for work</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> <br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">TIME SINKS BUT OK</span></b><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Reading news</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Checking mails</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Social media</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Possible work assignments ( if they ever come!) </span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Working on projects such as mom's memoires<br /></span></li></ul><p><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">FUN STUFF</span></b><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Reviewing papres</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Writing papers</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Writing to friends (remember to start doing it)</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Writing diary, blog entries</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Doing/ curating photos, doing art<br /></span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Talking and spending time w friends and family</span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Horses and yoga, sports </span></li><li><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Taking care of plants and garden<br /></span></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br /></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-3902086803692648352023-08-18T13:45:00.010+02:002023-08-18T16:56:09.044+02:00350 days of sabbatical<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I realised the other day that it's almost a year ago that I stopped working so I decided to take toll of my days. I just counted that it's been 350 days ago that I last was </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">employed! This also means 350 days of sabbatical - yeahoo!!</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">So, what have I done in those 350 days? </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">The biggest change was to move back to Brussels. I counted that until today, I've spent almost</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">5 months</span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>in Brussels </b>(and it's counting, I'm writing this in Brussels)! One of the goals</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">for my sabbatical was to</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">travel</span></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">, I'm glad to say I logged in</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">3 months of travelling</span></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">as a tourist and visiting friends outside of Brussels and Finland. On top of that, I wanted to spend</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">more</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">time with my family</span></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">, that's being in Finland, and all in all, it added up to</span><b><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>3.5 months</b>.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">It's kind of cool to see the split of days like this, I guess I'm pretty happy how things</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">sorted out :)</span></p><p>
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<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 3200; mso-width-source: userset; width: 75pt;" width="100"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3498; mso-width-source: userset; width: 82pt;" width="109"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2944; mso-width-source: userset; width: 69pt;" width="92"></col>
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<td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Missä</span></td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: medium none; width: 82pt;" width="109">days</td>
<td class="xl66" style="border-left: medium none; width: 69pt;" width="92">months</td>
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<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl67" height="20" style="border-top: medium none; height: 15pt; width: 75pt;" width="100"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sevilla muutto</span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">13</span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">0,4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl70" height="20" style="border-top: medium none; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Brysselissä</span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">140</span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">4,7</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl70" height="20" style="border-top: medium none; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">suomessa</span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">106</span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3,5</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl70" height="20" style="border-top: medium none; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">matkalla</span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">91</span></td>
<td class="xl69" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3,0</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl70" height="20" style="border-top: medium none; height: 15pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl68" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>350</b></span></i></td>
<td class="xl69" style="border-left: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>11,7</b></span></i></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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border:.5pt solid windowtext;</style><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">So a bit more fine-grained information, I'll start<b> with my travels</b>, that's probably the coolest stuff. The big picture is: 4 continents and 9 trips. The big ones are Japan, for the first time</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">ever I visited Tokyo and Kyoto (2 weeks with Matt). Then there was one month in the Azores and Portugal, that was just in the beginning of my sabbatical to make sure I cut the ties with Seville ;) In the Azores, I spent 3 weeks with Matt and another week with gals who flew over. Then there is Claudia's 80th birthday in </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Pullman, WA, USA for </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> (10 days with Matt). We even dipped-into Marcon side of the</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Mediterranean sea visiting Melilla with Rocio and her family! Smaller trips were twice to Seville (it was</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">sooo</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">lovely to be back!!), twice to Paris (it was</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">soooooo</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">lovely to be back!!),</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">and two short trips to the NL (Doorn) and to Bucharest. So<b> that's 4 continents and 91 days of travels</b>.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">My stay in Brussels has not been a continuous one, there's actually been <b>10 different stays</b>, many of them some 2 to 3 weeks' spells. Hmm, maybe I was not</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">soo</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">keen</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">on spending time here in Brussels....? </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Well, one explanation could be that I had to spend lot of time for <b>moving</b> and arranging my flat, but also for all kinds of administrative crap. First of all, packing up the flat in Seville</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">took some 2 weeks, after which some more 3 weeks in Brussels in October. As Matt was not in Brussels then, one needs to add some more days that we spent arranging the office</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">space (and his stuff) once he got back in January 2023. I'd say that's almost <b>1,5 months with dusty boxes</b> discovering stuff left behind 9 years earlier when I moved out to</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Seville (minkä taakseen jättää sen edestä löytää... huh-huh...).</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Add to that all the <b>admin work</b>!! It took me forever to re-register in the commune (I first sent them an email mid-August 2022 and on March 20 2023 I was finally notified it's</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">done!!). Registering the car to Belgian plates was a total hassle, too, we got very mixed information about the procedure, besides, it didn't help that I didn't have the e-ID card to do</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">some of the paper work. In addition, I had to take a car insurance (pain in the butt), unregister the car in Spain (a trip to DGT in Seville and in Spanish consulate here), We got a new</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">internet provider, and yes, then there was a mega hassle with Sibelga who cut the gas for no good reason (I was with no hot water for a week!). I also got to know the unemployment</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">office here in Brussels that I have a privilege to visit for my allowances (no comments). Anyway, all that is happily in the past now and I'm sure sun will shine in Brussels any day</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">soon!</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I've also spent <b>106 days in Finland</b>! That's like 3,5 months! There was <b>a long spell in winte</b>r, more than a month mostly in Kuopio, and then again in spring, I spent a few weeks in</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Kuopio. Lots of time was spent on the<b> book project </b>and digging into archives (read dusty boxes of letters, photos, etc). Matt and I spent 3 weeks this summer in Kuopio and at mökki,</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> and then again almost a month in Kuopio-Helsinki until now.</span></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-2710343535505930842023-03-10T11:38:00.005+01:002023-03-10T11:45:39.860+01:00Bringing Leon home<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Valle_del_Jerte_(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Valle_del_Jerte_(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Last February we had a great week to drive up from Seville, Spain, all the way to Brussels, Belgium. </p><p>We took our time and stopped in 4 different places along the way, the trip added up to some 2000 plus km.</p><p></p><p>The first one was la Vallee del Jerte. Never hear of it? It's actually a known place, at least for the locals, the extremaduros, for its beautiful cherry tree blossom in spring. We were too early and saw about 2 trees in blossom, but we saw a lots of cherry trees, everywhere!! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Valle_del_Jerte%2C_Garganta_de_los_Infiernos_02.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="800" height="212" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Valle_del_Jerte%2C_Garganta_de_los_Infiernos_02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>It takes some 2-3 hours to drive through the valley, formed by the Jerte river. There are also cool hikes around, like the route called "<a href="https://www.spain.info/en/hiking-trails/garganta-de-los-infiernos-hiking-spain/" target="_blank">Garganta de los Infiernos</a>". It's special for its natural pools (like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant%27s_kettle" target="_blank">hiidenkirnu</a>) carved out of the rock by water erosion over the thousands of years. </p><p>Our following stop was at Hondarriba which is a border town between France and Spain. We stayed two nights there in this beautiful <a href="https://paradores.es/es/parador-de-hondarribia?gclid=Cj0KCQiAx6ugBhCcARIsAGNmMbjHZ-6MIawRU1qi2CpIcu5IvjCZKuhpqJej9UN4dzhrQr7WD7zbPfsaAlkMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">Parador</a>, I'm a big fan of Paradors :) So being a border town, the hotel was placed in an old defence castel, building of which started already in the 10th centry. The town itself is super cute too, but I can imagine it gets super busy over summer. When we were there, many restaurants were closed and they were fixing places to be ready for summer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Getting to France changed much for driving, the toll roads are super expensive and full of trucks (see map Part 2 below). But you get to drive fast. We did some parts like that, and others where we took more time. Like to go through the west part of Bordeaux, the<a href="https://www.pnr-medoc.fr/" target="_blank"> nature park of Medoc</a> region. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes, Medoc like the famous French wines, they do come from there!! But there is also a beautiful Atlantic coast with white sand, there's sandy pine forest and - yes, lots of vineyards and castles to visit. But they are more on the east side of the park where the river creates an estuary area before it comes down to the sea. There are some lagoons and wetland areas, too, good for the birds. To get back to the mainland, we took a <a href="https://www.bernezac.com/passages_eau_royan_verdon_uk.html" target="_blank">ferry boat</a> which was great fun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That night we stayed in Rochefort, I thought it was the famous place for blue cheese (spelled differently!) but this place was famous for nothing :/ Well, they had this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochefort-Martrou_Transporter_Bridge" target="_blank">strange bridge</a> there that Matt wanted to see and then we were off headed for Rouan, Normandy (see the map for Part 3).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Baie_121_-_d%C3%A9tail_6_-_rose_des_Libraires%2C_cath%C3%A9drale_de_Rouen.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Baie_121_-_d%C3%A9tail_6_-_rose_des_Libraires%2C_cath%C3%A9drale_de_Rouen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Did I tell you that I <i>love</i> Normandy? My formative years in France were spent first in Caen and then in Paris which left an eternal love for those two places. I had not been to Rouen before, so I wanted to see the famous rose windown, but it was unfortunately under restoration and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen_Cathedral" target="_blank">cathedral</a> itself was closed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nevertheless, I had a divine meal in Rouen, oysters as starters, then Cocquille Saint Jacques (Great scallop) and a nice bottle of white wine. <a href="https://www.fishrouen.com/en/" target="_blank">The place</a>, called Le Fish, was very nice, super service and not even that expensive - take me back!! <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From Rouen we drove to Brussels in one go. Curiously, we were stopped by the French customs' officers close to the border! They flagged us down on the busy highway and signaled us to turn off the highway. Well, they were interested if I had more than 10 000 euros in cash on me - no luck! <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Part 1: Seville to Hondaariba<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpI9PbPPC-EetJvSidGBKj7Ohv7PpC9fAV77PGjOUr0KG7P__9ZBYYPTj8shHwv0KmWiGAvC1aa6N0HTzprA0NffXrpMf0DC5ZbJOrUUYIXHZgVQN-lvbUjvUZmTly4FB-bAcFihsgkWi1hLj3q4kNAZC4nJijaJrTMl9Yoz_FDejnpCQraw/s505/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.47.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtjhE_x44vNCeUXOq8nQm8c9bkkb8CWg_F0k2zEwSqv6SDOCItymNDNKRf249h5S-bxaTZmTwHxnGrTcjQ5HSqYHHvwCkJDrymBVJJgDd2kYdkhv571bHFMsRPboOPvR1EmMgwSUX_tFQPOwqXWCRdYp7pPjY142a8mXhz3M6sGaYuEo14A/s520/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.49.08.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="424" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtjhE_x44vNCeUXOq8nQm8c9bkkb8CWg_F0k2zEwSqv6SDOCItymNDNKRf249h5S-bxaTZmTwHxnGrTcjQ5HSqYHHvwCkJDrymBVJJgDd2kYdkhv571bHFMsRPboOPvR1EmMgwSUX_tFQPOwqXWCRdYp7pPjY142a8mXhz3M6sGaYuEo14A/w261-h320/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.49.08.png" title="Part 1: Sevilla to Hondaariba" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Part 2: Hondaariba to Rochefort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdRpSehGEx4tzHzuoaaqK6lYJ-Iv8Od-XCCp-3-RRFYz9Y_jHhnzg9Ar9sH0iyXLaCpEWM-LbeWuAgoSwOQ6L_jjAP4j1P2sEiIEqH_XX2PdrQk7jN-nUXjkQXgJtwxn7pas5_jY5R9u5RwY_sXpELOqFm21U3AntsKskHALZpQQdGMSnKw/s505/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.47.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="355" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdRpSehGEx4tzHzuoaaqK6lYJ-Iv8Od-XCCp-3-RRFYz9Y_jHhnzg9Ar9sH0iyXLaCpEWM-LbeWuAgoSwOQ6L_jjAP4j1P2sEiIEqH_XX2PdrQk7jN-nUXjkQXgJtwxn7pas5_jY5R9u5RwY_sXpELOqFm21U3AntsKskHALZpQQdGMSnKw/w225-h320/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.47.16.png" title="Part 2" width="225" /></div><br />Part 3: to Brussels<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM58TD2rg8T2UnOm0eWktSZRl3lnstyTwP-2HFFdXlAEBg4EgVyrdi1wGFJqblz-E7LZEg5ya2xJZYlSwhumY8TWefilUDsis56xnZiHer2AXS2n23ubBg1djVECrlBic_VzTzyqu0lcnXPtmCti1VcE4k_mqu--j4pGtNrIIYjsK329jlHA/s463/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.48.11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM58TD2rg8T2UnOm0eWktSZRl3lnstyTwP-2HFFdXlAEBg4EgVyrdi1wGFJqblz-E7LZEg5ya2xJZYlSwhumY8TWefilUDsis56xnZiHer2AXS2n23ubBg1djVECrlBic_VzTzyqu0lcnXPtmCti1VcE4k_mqu--j4pGtNrIIYjsK329jlHA/w290-h320/Screenshot%202023-02-19%20at%2022.48.11.png" title="Part 3" width="290" /></a></div><br /> </div></div><br /><br /><p></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-37875409777453899212023-03-09T11:41:00.000+01:002023-03-09T11:41:02.833+01:00Return to my deloved Bois de Halle<p><b>I love cities that have forests nearby</b>. </p><p>So one of the big exitements about getting back to Brussels was to get back to my favourites forests! Last weekend, despite near freezing temperatures and ice cold wind, we went back to the <a href="https://www.hallerbos.be/en/" target="_blank">Bois de Halle/ Hallerbo</a>s.</p><p>It's a special forest to me because of all the trail rides that I've done there. The stable I went riding for many years between 2002-2010 (or something like that) was just a stone throw away. </p><p>I was just reading <a href="https://www.hallerbos.be/en/forest-management/history/" target="_blank">about it</a>, the total area of the forest now amounts to 542 ha, so that's a lot of land to get lost in! My advantage on the horse back was always that horsies wanted to go home, so if ever I felt uncertain about turning left or right, I would be sure that the horse would take the shortest and smartest decision (they are like living GPS!). </p><p>This time we had to use the map on a mobile at one point, we felt a bit turned around with all trails looking alike and pointing to 5 different directions. As all the roads are also called <a href="https://www.hallerbos.be/downloads/kaart_hallerbos_wandelfolder_maart_2016.pdf" target="_blank">dreef of something</a> (e.g. a tree Eikendreef), unless you have really memorised the name of the return trail well, you might have a doubt or two. </p><p>Anyway, the forest is most special for its<a href="https://www.hallerbos.be/en/pictures/spring-flowers/" target="_blank"> flowers</a>. We already saw some daffondils (narciscus) and in a month or so, the <a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilde_hyacint" target="_blank">blue wild hyacints </a>should be up there. It's an amazing blue carpet that covers huge parts of the forest! </p><p>Reading about the plants in the forest also explained something about a curious smell that we sometimes would smell. There were spots in the forest that, around late sping, smelled like garlic! It must be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_ursinum" target="_blank">this one</a>!<br /></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-84849857904122674972023-01-26T23:23:00.007+01:002023-01-27T16:07:52.669+01:00Doorn, NL: Ever wondered where do exiled royals live for the rest of their lives? <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.huisdoorn.nl/files/thumbnails/web-huis-doorn-pinetum2.900x400x1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="800" height="89" src="https://www.huisdoorn.nl/files/thumbnails/web-huis-doorn-pinetum2.900x400x1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I was visiting a dear frined in a small Dutch willage of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doorn" target="_blank">Doorn</a> the other day, now that I have all the time in the world :) <p></p><p>We strolled through a castle park to admire some old conifers and pine trees, an area which was called<span> a <i><a href="https://www.huisdoorn.nl/en/estate/pinetum/" target="_blank">pinetum</a>,</i></span> a <span> pinetree-garden.</span></p><p><span>From the original 160 species planted there between 1932 und 1938, some 60 were recorded still standing. We saw some pretty big and awesome looking trees there, but didn't see any name tags. Later I found out there were some <a href="https://www.huisdoorn.nl/en/tours/" target="_blank">audio tours</a>, <a href="https://huisdoorn-parktour.2discover.nl/#es/content/6" target="_blank">this one</a> tells about pinetum.<br /></span></p><p><i><span>So, who planted those trees then? </span></i></p><p><span>It turns out that the last German Emperor </span><span>(<i>Kaiser</i>) a</span><span>nd King of Prussia from 1888 to 1918</span><span>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_II,_German_Emperor" target="_blank">Wilhelm II<b>,</b></a> planted the trees. During the </span><span>first World War, which he himself started, at one point h</span><span>e had been advised to flee to the Netherlands, a neutral country during the war. He abdicated the crown(s) and lived the rest of his life </span><span>in Doorn where he died in 1941. On the grounds, there is a mausoleum where he is burried. And get this, there are also graves of his 5 favourites dogs! <br /></span></p><p><span>The somewhat </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/18/dutch-royal-family-step-in-to-save-former-home-huis-doorn-kaiser-wilhelm-ii" target="_blank">controversial legacy of the last German emperor</a><span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/18/dutch-royal-family-step-in-to-save-former-home-huis-doorn-kaiser-wilhelm-ii" target="_blank">,</a> and not knowing <i>why the hec</i> there is a house museum to commomorate a person who started the first World War, didn't make me want to visit the museum. It did intrigue my interest, though, and I had to read a ton about the history of this place. </span></p><p><span>So next time in Doorn, I think a visit to the <a href="https://www.huisdoorn.nl/en/museum/museum-huis-doorn/" target="_blank">Museum Huis Doorn</a> is due! <br /></span></p><p><span> </span></p><p><span> <i><br /></i></span></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-89329562578478762152022-11-14T14:56:00.003+01:002022-11-14T15:00:00.942+01:00A bird encounter in Tokyo<p>I had a stroll by the bank of the Sumida River (the biggest river in Tokyo) just around the nightfall. I was walking over the bridge by the old fish market (now turned to a building site) when I stopped to look at the skyline. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHz2qtY9MTEeXeljiin0XPsmepts9pQ0zxewG2D5fFfTZfrcRVHDBaDmIGIjiU_VOkLSKIPSw1020Drbu5B43dVqRJ-Nj_fWo-NINP-4HFF9NaffOoQsh7OYSzJO2Ngkr6pJQoOj7WioHDVj17WHGzv8_HwYWO2xBFmzduEQmIgyvzSt_vg/s1632/IMG_5369.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1632" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHz2qtY9MTEeXeljiin0XPsmepts9pQ0zxewG2D5fFfTZfrcRVHDBaDmIGIjiU_VOkLSKIPSw1020Drbu5B43dVqRJ-Nj_fWo-NINP-4HFF9NaffOoQsh7OYSzJO2Ngkr6pJQoOj7WioHDVj17WHGzv8_HwYWO2xBFmzduEQmIgyvzSt_vg/w400-h300/IMG_5369.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Then I spotted this big gray bird quietly standing still on a concrete slab. If you look carefully at the red markers in the picture, just in the middle of the middle row, you'll see the bird. I think it's a blue heron but could also be a crane, I always mix them up. <p></p><p>In any case, the bird reminded me something like Japanese wood garvings or ink paintings where they <span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">stand motionless before catching their prey. I later saw two of them flying by over the skyline of Tokyo skyscrapers, </span></span><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">it was pretty and impressive</span></span><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">!</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">A "goofy" thing is that the water in the picture looks totally smooth. When walking, at one point I realised that there was some commotion and waves. Later I heard that there had been an earthquick around that time. I did't feel anything, but maybe that was it!<br /></span></span></p><p><br /><br /></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-25029357181481959432022-11-13T14:46:00.018+01:002022-11-13T15:30:47.191+01:00The flower that looks like a spout of a watering can <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My travels this year have been characterised by the late blossom, there
is been something of a "oh, I wish I had come ealier"-feeling. In the
Azores, we were getting only a hew of <a href="https://c.pxhere.com/photos/86/c0/landscape_lake_flower_flowers_plant_nature_sky_azores-606142.jpg!d" target="_blank">their blue blossom</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/lotus-flower-tokyo-japan-ueno-88422461.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="800" height="231" src="https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/lotus-flower-tokyo-japan-ueno-88422461.jpg" width="320" /></a>So today in Tokyo, I was wondering about the plants that
were crowding the pond (Shinobazu pond in Ueno park). The remains of the flower look
like <b>a strainer, </b>or a spout, <b>of a watering can,</b> you know the type? </div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p>It turns out that they are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_nucifera" target="_blank"><b>Lotus Flowers </b></a>- or what's left of them. All what we saw was a thick mattres of green <span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">round leaves, with a diameter of some half a meter (so really big), floating above the surface of the water. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">Impressively, the "strainers of a watering can" were sticking out, sometimes some 50cm above the water. It appears that </span></span><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">what looks like </span></span><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">a "strainer" is actually a seed head of a lotus, thier pods. That's pretty cool to learn!!</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://data.ukiyo-e.org/mfa/scaled/sc203998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://data.ukiyo-e.org/mfa/scaled/sc203998.jpg" title="1866, Lotuses at Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo" width="215" /></a></div><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">The picture below is how it looks when flowers are in blossom. The pond has apparently been an inspiration for many pieces of art, like the wood garving from 1866 (that's why no highrisers appear in the pic!).<br /></span></span><p></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/lotus-flowers-blooming-shinobazu-pond-ueno-park-tokyo-japan-218117391.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="800" height="258" src="https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/lotus-flowers-blooming-shinobazu-pond-ueno-park-tokyo-japan-218117391.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-80432810301370666192022-10-21T13:15:00.010+02:002022-10-25T18:05:10.838+02:00Sabbatical - remarks on hostels (traveling in the Azores)<p>After having toured a month in the Azores, my observation is that there seems to be quite a boom to create tourist accomodations. When walking around, you see little signes of "AL" on the houses which stands for Accomodation Local. </p><p>Many are <i>hostels</i> or bed&breakfasts, but interestingly, they seem to gater to people with a bit more money and with many more demands than your average young backpackers. We stayed in quite a few, the best ones listed below (ordered by our dates, nothing else!):</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://joesplaceazores.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Joe's place</a> in Pico (Madalena) </li><li><a href="https://www.mantaraylodge.com/about/" target="_blank">Mantaray Lodge</a> in Faial (Horta)</li><li><a href="mailto:info@facingbay.pt" target="_blank">Facing Bay Hostel</a> in Terceira (Porto da Vitoria)<br /></li></ul><p>In our rooms, we had a private bathroom, towels, etc. just like in a hotel. The bed linens were also of a very nice quality (much appreciated by me!!). And additionally, we were able to use a shared kitchen (a pic of Matt cooking at Mantaray Lodge while I'm chilling with a glas of wine :). There often were also laundry facilities which made travelling for a longer period of time very convenient. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3ioQH9JWEQQDHAiQKllVdOYgPAW-yg1ksDGxb1jO0idhlzzFKH3wUpEoQaCzNa35DFGuBscOxthBjcAs4xI3592XU0MHoAhcwDw-Q2uibewOjRaL-nXn74MQeuyAEMfDzadpekI3Vgv_7rYcV1oUXAC1vFn5gHY7uxzBf4PVHn26WzGX5A/s4032/78AA4B19-EF4D-41B1-9634-DC2C69DE0447.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3ioQH9JWEQQDHAiQKllVdOYgPAW-yg1ksDGxb1jO0idhlzzFKH3wUpEoQaCzNa35DFGuBscOxthBjcAs4xI3592XU0MHoAhcwDw-Q2uibewOjRaL-nXn74MQeuyAEMfDzadpekI3Vgv_7rYcV1oUXAC1vFn5gHY7uxzBf4PVHn26WzGX5A/s320/78AA4B19-EF4D-41B1-9634-DC2C69DE0447.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>We really liked these places! Maybe one factor was that we travelled
outside of the main season, so fewer folks, but we also liked bumping
into other travellers in a very low-key way and share hints. </p><p>Interetingly, many of these places were paying attention to their environmental engagement, for example, not promoting bottled water, making guests to recycle, and some even said to use environmentally friendly cleaning products. </p><p>Hmm, a little remark about cleaning products. A smell that you cannot avoid in the Azores is bleach, there seems to be a serious overuse culture among the cleaning personel. You cannot avoid it when entering any type of accomodation from hotels to rural houses (sure it might account for enviromental damage of micro-cultures....).<br /></p><p>And on top of bleach, there are often various notes of cockroach repellent, yack, with hues of humidity&mold. With such warm and humid year around temperature, there surely are many issues around. This is a hidden secret of Azores that one cannot read in travel guides ;)<br /></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-4954137401728518032022-10-18T14:07:00.005+02:002023-02-01T19:33:38.951+01:00Sabbatical - wine remarks from traveling in the Azores <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLTA71OqTAAFCHaUPSi1E_3wMbsVaAKkx3MR_VSzW9Kl_4Ii0CU8jn37si-e3VbaPbwEXmg6xYUGi-bScRST57mTHubJyzwNzUWxwGpys5GeOc-6rmriXNY-_r2M_24GUFY5HR9wWWRZuvQ59jtCOKpJ9jHgsW33_XxuUyXU3RPTJiIBFkA/s4032/20220919_132832.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLTA71OqTAAFCHaUPSi1E_3wMbsVaAKkx3MR_VSzW9Kl_4Ii0CU8jn37si-e3VbaPbwEXmg6xYUGi-bScRST57mTHubJyzwNzUWxwGpys5GeOc-6rmriXNY-_r2M_24GUFY5HR9wWWRZuvQ59jtCOKpJ9jHgsW33_XxuUyXU3RPTJiIBFkA/s320/20220919_132832.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Our travel started at the island of Pico which is the main wine producing island in Azores. Because of its unique volcanic land and hardly any humus to grow on, very early on after the island was settled the wine growing started (origins date back to the 15th century).<p></p><p>The vineyards look like nothing I've seen before. The plants grow in little corrals of maybe 5-10 m wide (locally called <i>currais</i>). They grow low, their brances are not supported and the grapes are small. There are <a href="https://www.cvracores.pt/castas" target="_blank">3 main</a> varieties, all of them whites.<br /></p><p>The volcanic rock (basalt) walls separate them from one another, there is some 80 000 km of stone walls on the island. Once you see it you believe it, they are really everywhere!!<br /></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote>The walls were built to protect the thousands of small, contiguous,
rectangular plots (currais) from wind and seawater.</blockquote><p>The quote is from <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1117/" target="_blank">Unesco's website</a> as the vineyards are protected world heritage sites as <i>an outstanding example of the adaptation of farming practices to a remote and challenging environment</i>. I love how the humans can be innovative :) The picture shows a path going through one of the most famous vineyards around the village of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cria%C3%A7%C3%A3o_Velha" target="_blank">Criação Velha</a>. </p><p><a href=" https://www.portugalvineyards.com/en/blog/azores-an-undiscovered-worl-of-wine-n1377">On Pico</a>, there seems to be many small winemakers (this is of course a new phenomena), a few of which we got to taste, and two big ones: <a href="https://www.picowines.com/en/the-cooperative/" target="_blank">Azores Co-op</a> and <a href="https://www.antoniomacanita.com/en/wines/azores-wine-company/azores-wine-company/winery" target="_blank">Azores Wine company</a>. The co-op includes more than 250 small producers, whereas the latter is a bit more fancy.<br /></p><p>As it happens, I got to taste some of the local goodies :) I don't have any tasting notes and I list below the bottles I was able to get my hands on. <i>Only so few?</i> you might say! The rarer ones were not readily available and many of them were quite expensive, even 20-30e at the store.<br /></p><p>Azores Wine company, Pico:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> <a href="https://www.antoniomacanita.com/pt/vinhos-online/azores-wine-company/arinto-dos-acores-sao-mateus-2019" target="_blank">Verdelho O Original </a><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.antoniomacanita.com/pt/vinhos-online/azores-wine-company/arinto-dos-acores-sao-mateus-2019" target="_blank">Arinto dos Açores São Mateus</a></li><li><a href="https://www.decantalo.com/es/es/azores-wine-company-proibida.html" target="_blank">Proibida</a> (red) <br /></li></ul><p>Azores Co-op, Pico:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="http://www.picowines.com/en/vinho/white/frei-gigante-2018/" target="_blank">Frei Gigante</a> <br /></li><li><a href="http://www.picowines.com/vinho/brancos/terras-de-lava-branco/ " target="_blank">Terras de Lava</a> (white)<br /></li><li>Terras de Lava (rose) <br /></li></ul><p></p>Whites from other producers:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROECcu5g6CAFpEmq-go8GkbxIw8UeCMN7m2zJLctUqWwyw7qG-dZ3IJnTdM_fCbRYGChC8ez5xKh3_4GvNLmGhmOTJCblSV2kjGuSVW_hxRiJSjMUuJov_RZcG5-Bnus-bIDH0og-n-4K9SmJ1M3VcyYxpn-ty-B9zS4Z8eNQh4hdmMjsjg/s2048/301601483_505316188260748_5454932822901181180_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROECcu5g6CAFpEmq-go8GkbxIw8UeCMN7m2zJLctUqWwyw7qG-dZ3IJnTdM_fCbRYGChC8ez5xKh3_4GvNLmGhmOTJCblSV2kjGuSVW_hxRiJSjMUuJov_RZcG5-Bnus-bIDH0og-n-4K9SmJ1M3VcyYxpn-ty-B9zS4Z8eNQh4hdmMjsjg/s320/301601483_505316188260748_5454932822901181180_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://adegadovulcao.com/wines/rola-pipa/" target="_blank">Rola Pipa</a>, Pico, <a href="https://adegadovulcao.com/" target="_blank">company</a> (my favourite, I had it for my birthday!)<br /></li><li><a href="https://www.pocinhobay.com/wines/" target="_blank">A Mar</a> from Pochino Bay, Pico, small producer, see <a href="https://scontent.flis6-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/309262518_510179397782389_1833955444049123666_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=sZaGm7GeIQoAX8pwIMO&tn=cR6r8ModLCj3LbTZ&_nc_ht=scontent.flis6-1.fna&oh=00_AT-aFXPGhXIjFfuaFQaBG8FAhe5sfwEyYab7NlKttAmklg&oe=6347E433" target="_blank">press</a> (my second favourite, we had it in <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.es/Restaurant_Review-g735544-d19068654-Reviews-Garrafeira_da_Vila-Madalena_Pico_Azores.html" target="_blank">this super cute place</a><br /></li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/adegacooperativagricola" target="_blank">Pedras brancas</a>, Graciosa, <a href="https://www.rtp.pt/acores/economia/vinho-da-graciosa-esta-a-vender-bem-video_77391" target="_blank">news report</a> from the winery </li><li><a href="https://www.quintadajardinete.com/Wines" target="_blank">Quinta da Jardinete</a> Chardonnay, San Miguel <br /></li><li><a href="https://www.eruptio.pt/en" target="_blank">ERUPTIO Blend</a> <br /></li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRM6xe3B3J_8NJywwIjSYaq3WqFfOImhOt59U-wXYmi1K-cVQ95D7D18FoDjwdLTpNDyKL_7c7xlkMKmrWHkhjRuznj3bFa-vqhqxC_3C1uVHCLw96UFN8MIz-mxxZb4eroWnXnh46Z516qOu513jjbTfk3QUoX5a19Z77zx3HxfaiiLpuxg/s1682/297665253_10159678280485590_2625498444975740543_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1682" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRM6xe3B3J_8NJywwIjSYaq3WqFfOImhOt59U-wXYmi1K-cVQ95D7D18FoDjwdLTpNDyKL_7c7xlkMKmrWHkhjRuznj3bFa-vqhqxC_3C1uVHCLw96UFN8MIz-mxxZb4eroWnXnh46Z516qOu513jjbTfk3QUoX5a19Z77zx3HxfaiiLpuxg/w205-h320/297665253_10159678280485590_2625498444975740543_n.jpg" title="ccc" width="205" /></a></div><p>Reds were nothing to write home about, sorry Azores!! Actually in many restaurants they had reds from the mainland, many from Alentejo, Dao, Douro.<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Terras de Lava, <a href="http://www.picowines.com/en/vinho/red/terras-de-lava-merlot/" target="_blank">Merlot</a></li><li>Terras de Lava, <a href="http://www.picowines.com/en/vinho/red/terras-de-lava-syrah/">Syrah</a> <br /></li><li><a href="https://www.antoniomacanita.com/en/wines/azores-wine-company/wines/tinto-vulcanico" target="_blank">Volcanico </a></li><li><a href="https://mercadodasilhas.com/loja/vinho-tinto-basalto/" target="_blank">Basalto</a><br /></li></ul><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-3762078953862087982022-10-16T19:05:00.005+02:002022-10-16T19:23:37.033+02:00Sabbatical - boots made for walking (traveling in the Azores)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_d-rFrG4aOIt0rdX9frE9MIYNAV5J1o1QgPvWXATZtoVHWzTSbE_T0NnyJtQOrlEWJFm7NrLUx6oTAgTwpD6_yeEgC4MphT70V_I62O_e__j825UTQUyPCKzd5xPXHy4CabTSHKs7q5V6RIEieQfkQWs6N_BtFTegHNrWlx6Stsox54F2g/s4032/pics%20-%201.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_d-rFrG4aOIt0rdX9frE9MIYNAV5J1o1QgPvWXATZtoVHWzTSbE_T0NnyJtQOrlEWJFm7NrLUx6oTAgTwpD6_yeEgC4MphT70V_I62O_e__j825UTQUyPCKzd5xPXHy4CabTSHKs7q5V6RIEieQfkQWs6N_BtFTegHNrWlx6Stsox54F2g/s320/pics%20-%201.png" width="320" /></a></div>A<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">fter the Pico hike, and a few other small ones, I felt less motivated to do another hike at San Miguel, the last island I visited. There was no big urge, besides, my hiking boots got totally worn out after Pico. A good thing they took me up and back with no problem!! </span><p></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">After summiting the the “Piquinho” (<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=piquinho+do+pico&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj2y7GHoeX6AhXGrycCHf0EBB8Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=Piquinho+pico&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgBMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjoECCMQJ1C3CVjNIGCaRGgAcAB4AIAB2QKIAdMLkgEFMi01LjGYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=ND1MY_bhJsbfnsEP_YmQ-AE&bih=790&biw=1365&client=firefox-b-d#imgrc=U8lNPF7_WgAbCM" target="_blank">a small 70m volcanic cone</a>), we took a break and I noticed that the sole was breaking up </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">a bit</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">. By the time we got down, the bottom layer of the sole was completely loose, but luckily, still hanging on from the front and the heel (see the one on my right hand). </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I was still able to wear them to the airport, but eventually, in one of the shoes, the sole broke off and was dragging badly. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWy-09f18EsdcK2fy0f3KPA8YFvCT2N7537Ct6o-oi73B6QJrGHDx1rqTPsIMIANvWQSH6MU7NkSK_Gh3TKS3Soz_B5MpVhGErSZVH_wNVHPPmySmIuYskwRnf5_IsL1Yh56B223WsV-dCFFPs4gZoCHyyqyuQtGMOcrmu9i6zsZ3PhXai2Q/s4032/pics%20-%201%20(1).png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWy-09f18EsdcK2fy0f3KPA8YFvCT2N7537Ct6o-oi73B6QJrGHDx1rqTPsIMIANvWQSH6MU7NkSK_Gh3TKS3Soz_B5MpVhGErSZVH_wNVHPPmySmIuYskwRnf5_IsL1Yh56B223WsV-dCFFPs4gZoCHyyqyuQtGMOcrmu9i6zsZ3PhXai2Q/w150-h200/pics%20-%201%20(1).png" width="150" /></a><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> On
Terceira we did one more hike and I applied this ingenious hack to fix my shoe using shoe laces. Well, it didn't last very long, but long enough to enjoy a
wet hike in awesomely strange green boggy marsh lands just outside <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruta_do_Natal" target="_blank">Gruta do Natal</a>. </span></div><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">When a gobbler told me that he cannot
fix them (because he does not have the right materials), my heart broke a
bit. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">So the picture below is from the </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">officially last hike with these well loved hiking shoes. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I was sure I could try to clue them myself (with my expert
knowledge of shoe making, por supuesto ;)) </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">However, a</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
dear friend had a word of wisdom and she convinced me that a
new pair would be safer for my future hikes. After all, I don’t want to
miss a summit because of a broken boot!! </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtMPi7GxNRIPrXOkh5fAfxFb8SrNHdNbV0d-kT4xr5CMY6R2jPur50t36TUfpexE3xjAHQFzma68bFdBhEQk2osDsbvMDWixZpuAiXtSRiRnS0SHtjtYUptIyqeBF9QFzQaLz-Bk8vvP0D1FSr-d4YzVJX3rnBsgddfU7lAz7HTvG75xFew/s3264/pics%20-%201%20(2).png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtMPi7GxNRIPrXOkh5fAfxFb8SrNHdNbV0d-kT4xr5CMY6R2jPur50t36TUfpexE3xjAHQFzma68bFdBhEQk2osDsbvMDWixZpuAiXtSRiRnS0SHtjtYUptIyqeBF9QFzQaLz-Bk8vvP0D1FSr-d4YzVJX3rnBsgddfU7lAz7HTvG75xFew/s320/pics%20-%201%20(2).png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">So, with a bit of a heavy heart, I said good bye to my fidel companions of 13 years. They’ve taken me up Kilimanjaro (2009), Mulhacen (2016), Teide (2019) and countless other hikes. I bought them at Landers, Wyoming on a recommendation from Skipp's wife Diana. She had the same ones and she said, you'd love them. And I did, thank you for that!!<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I already decided that I’m going to buy new ones from the same brand, I loved hiking in those boots. They were just right: the sole had good fraction so you didn’t have to worry about slipping or sliding. The soles are also thick and ridge enough so that you don’t feel any rocks or roots, and get a conformable gate on whatever surface. They were also the right size for hiking, I had enough toe room and in downhill, I never got black toenails. I hope my new </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Vasques boots</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"> will last me at least 13 years, if not even longer!!</span> <br /></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-2700935446023952862022-09-26T12:56:00.005+02:002022-09-26T12:58:51.349+02:00Sabbatical - remarks from traveling in the Azores<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFOWOWV15jaPUOr5eju7S9rkVl1OAn3zuvGQ_8AdFIJQyl8UUzn6arGoeQPoU8qonYKHm5m4zKI9F9lmZk5ECgRmVnDsSE9XM_K5OSILXAcdM4YnQ0e9gCAF84OZzghlQixEI8HziyZWtXRT2vZ0MChVEoMVX1darxL_DzQy6vLW6SCQ1-w/s2048/AAB0049C-08EA-4436-8D4C-FC8D91AE5B1F.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUFOWOWV15jaPUOr5eju7S9rkVl1OAn3zuvGQ_8AdFIJQyl8UUzn6arGoeQPoU8qonYKHm5m4zKI9F9lmZk5ECgRmVnDsSE9XM_K5OSILXAcdM4YnQ0e9gCAF84OZzghlQixEI8HziyZWtXRT2vZ0MChVEoMVX1darxL_DzQy6vLW6SCQ1-w/s320/AAB0049C-08EA-4436-8D4C-FC8D91AE5B1F.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Starting Day 10 in the Azores with a beautiful view on the Pico mountain, its silhouette is as bold as ever with the little lava cone sticking up on the top - like a cherry decorating a cake. <p></p><p>It looks really harmless but the climb was excruciating, some 1150 m vertical climb in 3.8 km. It was a non-stop ascent and which is worst, non-stop decsent. My quads are still aching after tree days - pretty unheard of. I spent 3h10min going up and 3h20min coming down. </p><p>At the end of the trail, we could already feel the weather changing and so it did, the tropical storm Guston made its way to the Pico island and the following day we got trenched. Which was not that bad for a day of rest and celebrating my birthday!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> <br /></p><div data-extension-version="1.0.4" id="ConnectiveDocSignExtentionInstalled"></div>vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-51202690825311987802020-06-21T15:41:00.003+02:002020-06-21T15:56:12.385+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 99Tänään kotona ollaan jumissa korkean lämpötilan takia: ennusteen mukaan 39 astetta klo kuudelta illalla. UV varoitus: 10. Omassa mittarissa ulkolämpötila on 36.6 astetta (sisä 28 :/).<br />
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Muuten päivää juhlistetaan tietysti juhannuksen takia, tänään on vuoden pisin päivä - täälläkin (päivän pituus: 14:44:32). Niin, ja ensimmäiset lennot saapuivat Sevillan lentokentälle aamulla sitten kolmeen kuukauteen.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaOZ_nUa17iKQ7YKXBbahHg4uaHoebgh_tl8RfvmNlV0Zg9M4vn5qHx_JLpLGQj7zhykcgBrOpZIJjBxKnN-_AqdBWcOeiIQxPrt5wRatXDhCjbetQ4XaFFl3ZJnXsQ81fqIF/s1600/103502991_3040730645981899_8132601694884633048_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaOZ_nUa17iKQ7YKXBbahHg4uaHoebgh_tl8RfvmNlV0Zg9M4vn5qHx_JLpLGQj7zhykcgBrOpZIJjBxKnN-_AqdBWcOeiIQxPrt5wRatXDhCjbetQ4XaFFl3ZJnXsQ81fqIF/s200/103502991_3040730645981899_8132601694884633048_n.jpg" width="160" /></a><br />
Todellinen juhlahan on se, että poikkeustila on tänään loppunut. Se kesti 98 päivää, kaikkiaan 2351 tuntia. What a ride.<br />
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En ole koskaan varmaan syönyt niin paljon kotiruokaa päivittäin ja istunut Masan kanssa pöytään lounaalle sekä illalliselle. Siitä on myös todella pitkä aika, että en olisi matkustanut yli neljään kuukauteen esim. lentokoneella jonnekin (viimeinen lento 5.2.).<br />
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Poikkeustilan purku on ollut myös omansa. Eilen olimme terassilla tapaksella, pöytiä oli kaksi katukivetyksellä. Naureskelimme tarjoilijalle, joka toi lautasta pöytään maski leuanalla roikkuen ja pidellen juuri kiinni veitsen ja haarukan kahvoista, ennenkun tumppasi ne suoraan pihvin päälle kastikkeeseen (tapas: lomo al whiskey, jos mietititytti).<br />
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Aika näyttää, mitkä hygieniatoimet purevat. Yksi on tietysti, että varotoimia on pistetty voimaan, mutta toinen on, että miten hyvin ihmiset niitä osaavat ja voivat noudattaa!<br />
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........<br />
ps. In Spain as a whole, there were 46,089 excess deaths over the period, a 38.8% increase from the expected number, based on historical trends (<a href="https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-06-17/six-spanish-provinces-saw-twice-as-many-deaths-during-covid-19-crisis-as-in-a-normal-year.html" target="_blank">el Pais</a>). <br />
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-18892283427429644472020-05-19T12:26:00.001+02:002020-05-19T12:41:00.303+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 67<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoXeZzcinxCJ6HRFsuyTcCdPIiAnvJ9HfJFbKj8ZZ8rB6HfHy2pWdhuBLeSPnFU5hp-4Fe8ZJ58MDzfZhyphenhypheni7lfQmDZ1jcKZcnDzYtKVZkHcS3nKtaVH5vMzeb-s_41UGQBAbg/s1600/Photo0277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoXeZzcinxCJ6HRFsuyTcCdPIiAnvJ9HfJFbKj8ZZ8rB6HfHy2pWdhuBLeSPnFU5hp-4Fe8ZJ58MDzfZhyphenhypheni7lfQmDZ1jcKZcnDzYtKVZkHcS3nKtaVH5vMzeb-s_41UGQBAbg/s320/Photo0277.jpg" width="240" /></a>Pelkkää juhlaa! Aamiainen terassilla sillä aikaa kun siivooja on kotona - näin sitä huomaa, mistä pienistä asioista ilot tulevat elämään :)<br />
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Neljännen avoinna olevan katukahvilan kohdalla vasta tärppäsi ja löytyi vapaa päytä. Todella monet paikat olivat vielä kiinni, ja niissä jotka olivat auki, on vain puolet pöydistä ulkona. Käytännössä tämä tarkoittaa 3-4 pöytää.<br />
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Sunnuntaina oli viimeinen päivä, kun meidän korttelissa taputettiin illalla hoitohenkilökunnan kiitokseksi ja tueksi.<br />
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Tai ainakin näin naapurit sanoivat, itse emme olleet paikalla, koska vihdoin olimme oikein luvan kanssa tapaamassa ystäviä - ja niin, loikoilemassa uima-altaalla.<br />
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Parin viikon ajan olemme myös saaneet tilata perustapaksia meidän lähibaarista kotiinkantona. Rupesikin jo hieman kotiruoka kyllästyttämään, tai siis ainakin sen tekeminen ja ainainen kaupassakäynti. En ole varma onko koskaan tullut syötyä kotiruokaa näin monena päivänä peräkkäin?<br />
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Meidän lähibaari ei muuten välttämättä edes aukea ihan heti, se kun on niin pieni. Näiden säännöksien mukaan sillä saisi olla vain yksi pöytä ulkona ja siihenkin pitää tarjoilla, eikä baaritiskillä saisi notkua. Siinä saa tarjota bissen poikineen (siis tyyliin 1.5e/tuoppi), että saa kulut katettua ja palkat maksettua!<br />
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Työt tehdään vielä etänä, todennäköisesti aivan syksyyn saakka. Eli count-down, tai onko tämä nyt sitten count-up, vaan jatkuu!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDG6_HsqVCm_pFeMQkpHX3tYeOmFkC1wR2_vRP6qn6-L2_nRMNi420klrQLaa_I0qnGHEZGgcjatLWCql9VyKDhSVZC2yd0WfWHl0yQKQaR-RdriH93sscKVC3lwcEmp6ciu55/s1600/Photo0276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDG6_HsqVCm_pFeMQkpHX3tYeOmFkC1wR2_vRP6qn6-L2_nRMNi420klrQLaa_I0qnGHEZGgcjatLWCql9VyKDhSVZC2yd0WfWHl0yQKQaR-RdriH93sscKVC3lwcEmp6ciu55/s200/Photo0276.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Anan baarissa. Kyltissä lukee, että saatavilla etanoita (ainakin kahta eri kokoa) tapaksena ja mukaan</td></tr>
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-6331319460221042522020-05-05T20:46:00.002+02:002020-05-06T14:48:56.359+02:00School lockdown and the (possible) lost of productivity in teleworking <div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
A Finnish newspaper quoted last month <a href="https://www.hs.fi/talous/art-2000006477101.html" target="_blank">a study</a><a href="x-msg://167/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" title=""></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>by <a href="https://www.ssb.no/nasjonalregnskap-og-konjunkturer/artikler-og-publikasjoner/hva-koster-det-a-stenge-utdanningssektoren" target="_blank">the Statistics Norway</a> who had made estimates regarding the impact of the closure of schools and kindergartens during the Covid-19 lockdown on country’s monthly GDP. Here is a direct link to <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=no&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ssb.no%2Fnasjonalregnskap-og-konjunkturer%2Fartikler-og-publikasjoner%2Fhva-koster-det-a-stenge-utdanningssektoren%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0C8LDlYpPKe4VvR2A9CCqTlwcSZzJPrRS6iFMgrNDluDOZdBdq-nQ3ebU" target="_blank">the google translation</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Accoring to the news article, there were different scenarios that resulted in various levels of GDP reduction ranging from 2.3% to 3.2% a month. I'm not able to comment on the figure, but what was interesting to me was the way these assumptions were made: they were based on the lost productivity of parents who, during thier teleworking, had to take care of a child. Additionally, they counted for the reduced income for those who are in education today over the lifecycle due to lost learning. <br />
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Having quite a few friends and colleagues who are working parents, I can assure you that this is a fine time to be childless :) It just makes me dizzy to hear how they juggle between tele-conferences, kids' remote schooling activities, groceries, report writing, another tele-conference and you name it what else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Anyway, back to the study and their estimates. For example, during a teleworking day with a child under the age of 8 at home, the child could take the entire work input of one of the parents. If a child is between 8 to 12 years old, they’d take 30% of one adult’s work input. Luckily, if they were over 13 years, there is no overhead for the parents. I guess this was the worst-case scenario, as in the other calculation, they had less severed estimates. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I have not been able to read the details of the original report yet, but I'll be interested in looking at the details. Usually in scenarios such as those, the estimates are based on somewhat realistic estimations. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">At the same time, Eurostat had posted new figures about a share of
working adults with young children in the household. In the EU, around
34 million adults live in households with one or two children. </span> </span></div>
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In households with one or two children, about 1/3 of all adults are working full time. Hypothetically, let's think that they both should be teleworking during the Covid-19 lockdown, what might be the impact of the childcare duties, etc. on their productivity? Anyone wants to guess?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span> </div>
vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-36234827964063772372020-05-01T18:40:00.002+02:002020-05-01T18:43:24.018+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 49<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicInxuUBrpyzYRNG1RHonzXxQDSX0R04bCb4caomT5TlS1WHiLoInWCZJuAr8ByWnRivualMPtNOR0hyphenhyphenm_ND0UB4QctI_hdkmcLBPuOaWBFRb5G3l32BAQdf9ZMAAj9Av4G9ie/s1600/image_2020_05_01T13_24_17_131Z.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicInxuUBrpyzYRNG1RHonzXxQDSX0R04bCb4caomT5TlS1WHiLoInWCZJuAr8ByWnRivualMPtNOR0hyphenhyphenm_ND0UB4QctI_hdkmcLBPuOaWBFRb5G3l32BAQdf9ZMAAj9Av4G9ie/s320/image_2020_05_01T13_24_17_131Z.png" width="192" /></a>Uskomatonta, tänään täyttyy seitsemäs viikko siitä kun aloitimme karanteenin! Tuntuu myös melkein liian hyvältä ollakseen totta, että huomisesta eteenpäin pääsemme tunnin lenkille klo 6:00-10:00 välillä tai illalla klo 20:00-23:00 välillä.<br />
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Kävelylenkit ovat kilsan säteellä kotoa ja jos menee lenkille tai pyöräilemään, niin ei ole mitään rajoituksia. Jes! Olemme jo Masan kanssa suunnitelleet lenkin kanaalin rantaan huomen illaksi.<br />
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Ja jos kaikki menee hyvin, 11.5. on pool party kaverin altaalla :) Jos siis kaikki menee ilman hässäkkää, sillon alkaa ensimmäinen oikea askel kohti rajoitteiden purkua. Se tarkoittaa, että ihmisiä saa tavata, pääasiassa ulkoilmassa kylläkin (tällä hetkellä tulkinnassa epävärmuutta), ja esim. voimme liikkua vapaasti kunnan rajojen sisäpuolella, myös autoillen.<br />
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Tuossa viereisessä kuvassa on paikallinen "himmeli", jossa ulkoilun aikarajoitukset on jaettu kolmen ikäryhmän kesken: pikkulapset, yli 14 vuotiaat ja vanhukset. <br />
<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-7637289076441707872020-04-27T23:29:00.000+02:002020-04-27T23:51:39.802+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 44<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QDV9JYH0dMIVNXvCc06ihpmL7y5MGW-9pgvBy49XNXeGQG48jdSnEQsV43MRnMqDVNpFVpwJBR6nsoWLUPFo0Exeh6cXLXU3DMw7c6xaoIo7iMoV0CDSkwvfNYNacbW9xfCg/s1600/IMG_5181.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QDV9JYH0dMIVNXvCc06ihpmL7y5MGW-9pgvBy49XNXeGQG48jdSnEQsV43MRnMqDVNpFVpwJBR6nsoWLUPFo0Exeh6cXLXU3DMw7c6xaoIo7iMoV0CDSkwvfNYNacbW9xfCg/s320/IMG_5181.jpg" width="240" /></a>Sevillan kaksi kevään huipentumaa ovat pääsiäisviikko (la Semana Santa) ja <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville_Fair" target="_blank">la Feria de Abril</a>. Hmm, mitenkähän tuon jälkimmäisen edes kääntäisi sopivasti suomeksi? "Kevään juhla"on aika varovainen ilmaus ja kuulostaa melko understatement'iltä!<br />
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La Ferian speksit: bilealueelle on rakennettu viikon ajaksi noin tuhat
yksittäistä "telttaa", joissa kaikissa on baari. Alueelle tullaan suuren portin kautta, se rakennetaan joka vuonna uudestaan erikuvioilla (kuva vuodelta 2018).<br />
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Het aamupäivästä alkaen
aluetta kierretään ympäriinsä hevosilla ja vaunuilla viimeisen päälle
pyntättyinä. Auringonlaskun aikaan kun hevoset poistuvat, vielä enemmään
pyntättyjä ihmisiä (vielä enemmään pyntättyinä jos mahdollista) saapuu paikalle. Toisella puolella on julmetun kokoinen huvipuisto
laitteineen.<br />
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Nyt kun Feriakin on peruttu, niin jotkut sevillalaisista
päätti kuitenkin juhlia! Meidän kadun toisessa päässä on pätkä, joka on tyylin mukaan koristeltu. Kävelin tänään ohi jo ihastelin koristelua, johon kuuluu värikkäät paperivalot (pallomaiset), silkkihuivit (manton de manilla) ja tietty <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KGACJnKEPs" target="_blank">sevillana musiikkia</a>, jota kuuluu tanssia pareittain (kyllä, tanssikurssi on käyty!).<br />
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Musiikki raikasi yhdeltä kattoterassilta ja naapurit ovat parvekkeilla feria-mekkoihin
pukeutuneina. Ja tietysti joko <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzanilla_(wine)" target="_blank">manzanilla</a> tai <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebujito" target="_blank">rebujito</a> lasi kädessä (tyypilliset Feria drinkit). <span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">OLÉ LA </span><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">FERIA</span>! VIVA LA FERIA!<br />
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-14485619896271666102020-04-22T21:10:00.001+02:002020-04-25T19:57:15.987+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 39Siinä toisessa ajanlaskussa, Aikaa Ennen Koronaa, olisin nyt New Delhissä, Intiassa. Ajattelin vaan mainita, että oli sitä elämää joskus.<br />
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Odotin itseasiassa tätä matkaa innolla. En ole vielä koskaan käynyt Intiassa, tämä olisi ollut mainio mahdollisuus saada ensikosketus. Olisin mahdollisesti saanut laitettua muutaman omakustannepäivän matkaan lisäksi ja viettänyt muutaman päivän Marikan vieraana New Delhissä.<br />
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Vaikea miettiä, mitä olisin tehnyt tai nähnyt New Delhissä. Jos sinulla on vain yksi päivä aikaa, niin mitä teet? Pyöriä muutamissa kortteleissa hotellin lähellä ja ehkä käydä jossain Tripadvisorin suosittelemalla kiertoajelulla?<br />
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Viime lokakuussa minulla oli 20 tuntia aikaa Manillassa. Varasin 2 tunnin pyöräily-kierroksen vanhassa kaupungissa (<a href="https://www.tripadvisor.es/ShowUserReviews-g298573-d6589663-r648479711-Bambike_Ecotours_Intramuros-Manila_Metro_Manila_Luzon.html" target="_blank">Bambike Ecotours Intramuros</a>). Intramuroshan on espanjaa ja tarkoittaa vallitettua osaa kaupungissa.<br />
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Ennen tuota matkaa <a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippiinit" target="_blank">Filippiineille</a> en oikein tajunnutkaan, että sen maan historia kytkeytyy suoraan Espanjaan ja sen kultakauteen. Nimi tulee Espanjan kuninkaan Filip II mukaan, jonka aikana maa "löydettiin" (siis tuo samainen <i>Magallane</i>s vuonna 1521 ja laiva oli se sama, <a href="https://riinav.blogspot.com/2020/03/jumissa-kotona-sevilla-paiva-16.html" target="_blank">josta jo puhuttiinkin</a>). <br />
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Koko kierroksen ajan katselimme espanjalaisten rakennuttamia katolilaisia kirkkoja ja munkkiluostareita, aika ironista! Tässä yksi mielenkiintoinen yksityiskohta: nämä leijonat (tai koirat)
vartioivat <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_de_San_Agust%C3%ADn_(Manila)" target="_blank">yhden kirkon</a> edustalla. Ne kuitenkin ovat selkeästi kiinalaista tyylisuuntaa.<br />
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Meidän guide sanoi, että kirkon olivat rakentaneet kiinalaiset
kristityt, itseasiassa pakkotyöllä, siksi kiinalainen tyyli. Ja sitten, kiinalaiset Philippiineillä? Siellä on kuulema yksi maailman suurimmista kiinan ulkopuolella olevista chinatowneista - jo siis silloin herran vuonna 1600 ja jotain!vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-68576631744296922622020-04-17T21:54:00.002+02:002020-04-17T21:54:21.755+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 33<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqsBtEbD-Y2P7KfOdjJnJnnqfzVzZATFDLSw6iS9PLF9kkffMqNjN94oh-nJPP55LgCaeosOgzPg7ifNH9lH-FY9zjXdbDag75OZclajdsm_Uk5w7uee5Dw4SeqJbvcp8M8k2/s1600/Photo0260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCqsBtEbD-Y2P7KfOdjJnJnnqfzVzZATFDLSw6iS9PLF9kkffMqNjN94oh-nJPP55LgCaeosOgzPg7ifNH9lH-FY9zjXdbDag75OZclajdsm_Uk5w7uee5Dw4SeqJbvcp8M8k2/s200/Photo0260.jpg" width="150" /></a>Pääsin tuuraamaan koiranulkoiluttajaa! Joka tarkoittaa, että mulla on hyvä syy päästä kävelylle - vaikka edes vaan ihan kodin läheisyyteen :) Koiran nimi on Lucky, ja itsestäni tuntuu hieman juuri samalta, että kävipä hyvä onni.<br />
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-46800559725069415712020-04-15T21:21:00.002+02:002020-04-15T21:43:10.889+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 31Sen kunniaksi, että nyt kun on kokonainen kuukasi tullut kökötettyä mökissä, niin jatkossa kirjoitan vain joka toinen päivä tätä päiväkirjaa. Hieman kokemuskenttä supistuu ja pienessä maailmassani ei tunnut tapahtuvan paljonkaan kirjaamisen arvoista. Ympäristönkin observointi tuntuu hieman puisevalta.<br />
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Ei sillä, että mitään pessimismiä olisi ilmassa, mutta olen miettinyt esimerkiksi niitä hengityssuojaimia. Pahimmalta tässä tuntuu koko ajatus, että pahaisiin paperiläpysköihin, tai siis niiden puutteeseenko, tämä koko maailma, ja meidän hienot <i>informaatio</i> ja <i>knowledge</i> yhteiskunnat (nuo pitää lukea siis hieman irooniseen tyyliin) sitten sortuu?<br />
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Tyyliin skenaario pikakelauksella 50 vuotta eteenpäin: Juu, kyllä vuonna 2020 ihmiskunta oli saanut vietyä ihmisen kuuhun, autotkin osasi jo ajaa itsenäisesti ja pitsat kuljetettiin kotiin tronella, mutta niin, se sivilisaatio sortui siihen, että he eivät pystyneet tuottamaan tarpeeksi paperihärpäkkeitä terveysalan ammattilaisille saatika sitten kansalaisille, jotta he olisivat suojanneet itsensä virukselta, jota heidän kehot olivat täysin kykenemättömiä vastustamaan.<br />
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Tässä kun olen itse suuri Pello Peloton (katso edellinen <a href="https://riinav.blogspot.com/2020/04/jumissa-kotona-sevilla-paiva-30.html" target="_blank">poustaus kuntopyörästän</a>i), niin mietin vaan, että pitääkö minun myös ryhtyä miettimään, miten esim. joku pahainen paperialan tehdas Suomessa (jotka lamauttavat työntekijöitä jatkuvasti kuten luin uutisista), voisi hieman "viritellen" (katso myös <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=There%2C%20I%20fixed%20it." target="_blank">thereIfixedit</a>) rueta valmistamaan niitä suojia?<br />
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Onhan se jo toinen heikko lenkki näissä meidän pitkälle viritetyissä yhteiskunnissa, jos tehtaiden tuotantolinjojen muuttaminen on niin suuri prosessi, että sitä odotellessa koko yhteiskunta romahtaa kivikautiseen tilaan...<br />
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Noh, tätä miettiessäni odottelen, että Masan tekemä - huom! omasta juuresta leipoma leipä - paistuu uunissa ja pikkuhiljaa levittää ihanan herkullista tuoksua koko huusholliin. vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-58697577969251746182020-04-12T20:45:00.002+02:002020-04-12T23:00:11.369+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 30Vihdoinkin pääsee pyöräilemään! Maisemat eivät ehkä ole kaikkein jännittävimmät, mutta ainakin saan hieman kaivattua liikuntaa. <br />
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Mietin jo aiemmin, että miten saisin tehtyä pyörästäni
sisällä käytettävän kuntopyörän. Mattkin kyseli muutamilta kavereilta,
jos olisi jotain "heppejä" tiedossa, mutta tähän hätään ei oikein
löytynyt mitään. En etenkään viitsinyt rueta tilaamaan sellaista
treenausjalustaa Amazonista.<br />
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Tänään aihe tuli taas mieleeni ja tsekkailin muutamia Youtube videoita aiheesta. Olisihan minulla toki ylimääräistä lautaa, saha ja vasara, mutta mietin, että jokin muukin tapa voisi olla.<br />
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Ja voila: sain pyörän takarenkaan kiinnitettyä parvekkeen kaiteeseen, joten se on tarpeeksi korkealla eikä kosketa maata. Tähän tarvittiin joga vyö ja pari kiipeilyvarustetta (2xkarbiineriä ja slingit). Takajarru on kuminauhalla sidottu kiinni, jotta saan vastusta. Ja sitten menoksi!<br />
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PS. rasvasin myös ketjut, nyt niistä ei enää lähde noin kauhea ääni!<br />
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-48906625795881501302020-04-12T20:07:00.003+02:002020-04-12T20:21:23.933+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 28<div style="text-align: justify;">
Viime viikon aikana meidän asuinrakennus on käynyt läpi muutoksen. Yleensä naapurit eivät ole kauheasti jutelleet keskenään, mutta nyt iltanäytös on kuin Almodovarin 80-luvun leffan lähiöstä.</div>
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Kaikilla kolmella kattoterassilla on ihmisiä, jotka juttelevat keskenään ja huutelevat toiselleen pihan yli. Selkeästikin myös naapurit, jotka eivät yleensä juttele toisilleen, tekevät niin nyt - jopa meille.</div>
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Tämä on toisaalta varmaan pääsiäisloman vaikutusta, nyt on ollut to-su vapaata ja ilmat ovat todella hyvät. Toisaalta taas ihmiset vaan ehkä huomaavat toisensa enemmän, etenkin, kun joka ilta klo 8 ollaan ikkunoissa taputtamassa ja moikkailemassa muille. Ehkä tämä on "back to the future"...</div>
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No niin, tässä nyt tuli juuri neljäs viikko täyteen!</div>
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-33027436571149388662020-04-11T18:35:00.002+02:002020-04-11T19:10:26.829+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 26Vessapaperin hamstraaminen on ihan passé, nyt nimittäin on pula hiivasta! Huomasimme jo viime viikolla, että sitä ei löytynyt lähikaupoista. Nyt viikon aikana olemme kysyneet sitä kaikista kaupoista, joissa olemme käyneet, ja saaneet pelkästään "ei oota".<br />
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<a href="https://s1.eestatic.com/2019/06/05/cocinillas/recetas/Videorreceta-Bizcocho-Yogur-Limon-Huevo-Recetas_403970709_124732751_1024x576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="112" src="https://s1.eestatic.com/2019/06/05/cocinillas/recetas/Videorreceta-Bizcocho-Yogur-Limon-Huevo-Recetas_403970709_124732751_1024x576.jpg" width="200" /></a> Täälläkin siis on ihmisillä päällä peipomis-buumi.
Perehtyäkseni aiheeseen, Googlasin "porque no hay levadura" ja opin,
että lapsiperheiden huvitus on nyt ollut leipoa kaikenlaisia biskotteja
(kuva: <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=bizcocho+casero&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ALeKk02HEnIjGps5Y4NkYfqyi7hEQzPs_w:1586622800529&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjztKvD5uDoAhXskosKHXDvDL4Q_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=960&bih=535" target="_blank">bizcocho casero</a>) ja muita jälkkäreitä.<br />
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Toisen artikkelin mukaan internet haut termeille "kotitekoinen leipä",
"mistä ostaa hiivaa" ja "mikä korvaa hiivan" ovat moninkertaistuneet
viime viikkojen aikana. <br />
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Aiheensta illallispöydässä keskustellessamme mieleeni tuli, että jossain suomalaisessa verkkolehdessä oli jo ajat sitten otsikko (siis tyyliin karanteenin alkuaikoina), että hiivatehdas on vuoroissa 24/7 kovan kysynnän vuoksi.<br />
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Ihmettelin otsikkoa, ekanakin jo sen takia, että minulla ei ole hajuakaan mitenkä hiivaa tehdään (esim. pystytäänkö vaikka kolmessa vuorossa tekemään kolme kertaa enemmän hiivaa kuin aiemmin yhdessä vuorossa?).Toisaalta, mietin kaikkia FB:ssä näkemiäni korvapuusteja, niin en ihmetellyt asiaa sen enempää.<br />
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No onneksi Matt sai vanhoista hiivoista oman juuren käyntiin ja ehkäpä jo huomenna meillekin tulee omatekoista ruisleipää! Nam!vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-57069979812817554002020-04-10T13:00:00.001+02:002020-04-15T12:48:10.409+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 27<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kiirastorstain vastainen yö on yleensä meidän kadulla <i>tosi busy</i>, sinä yönä on pääsiäiskulkue, jossa on mukana tuhansia ihmisiä itse kulkueessa ja kaduilla vielä enemmän.<br />
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Kulkue eli procession alkaa kello 1 yöllä meidän kadun kirkosta ja matkaa keskustan Katedraaliin ja takaisin. Se kestää 11 tuntia, jonka aikana voi katua kokovuoden syntejään, ja varmaan saada ne anteeksikin.<br />
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Pääosissa ovat huppupäiset "nasareenot" jotka kävelevät kynttilät kädessä. "<a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costalero" target="_blank">Costalerot</a>" puolestaan kantavat pyhäinkuvia, yksi Jeesuksesta ja toinen Neitsyt Mariasta. Nuo "pasot"on tuhansia kiloja painavia ja miehistöä vaihdetaan tiuhaan, veikkaan n 10 minutin välein. Mukaan kuuluu tietysti ainakin muutama puhallinorkesteri, jotka soittavat surumielistä marssimusiikkia, <a href="https://www.diariodesevilla.es/temas/mejores-marchas-semana-santa-sevilla/#Cristo-del-Amor-(1944)" target="_blank">tästä löytyy muutama esimerkki</a>.<br />
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Tänä vuonna näitä kulkueita ei järjestetty, kuulema ensimmäisen kerran sitten Espanjan sisällisodan jälkeen. Joten kuvat Playmobile ukoista! Kirkkoa vastapäisen kaupan ikkunassa on aivan mahtava jäljitelmä koko kulkueesta yleisöineen! Yläuvassa näkyy nasareenoja huppuineen ja alakuvassa näkyy "paso", kun se tulee ulos kirkosta. Tässä jää kyllä pääsiäispuput toiselle sijalle!<br />
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-31146694281192502822020-04-09T17:54:00.001+02:002020-04-13T09:47:28.173+02:00In the time of Covid-crisis: remote schooling vs. distance educationSince almost four weeks now, I've been working from home. Because of the lockdown, I'm deprived from a physical infrastructure of the office and social aspects that it brings along. I can still continue <b>working</b>, but somewhat <b>on an ad-hoc basis</b>.<br />
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I can access my email through a web-based system, and in some cases, I can still access my reference material and files, especially if they are on some shared servers hosted by the office. It's cumbersome, though, and I have to do lots of little manoeuvres to get there. Importantly, I can still maintain contacts with colleagues using email but as it's not in a synchronous manner, I lack the social aspects that those contacts normally bring along. To ease that, we rely a lot on instant messaging and conference calls, tools not provided by the workplace. We hop-along and try to do best with what we have.<br />
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Since my workplace was not prepared for this, there was not a perfect infrastructure and no habits for distance working. In the first weeks, it was out of question to contact support staff for technical problems, they were overloaded just with putting the basics in place. For the simplicity of this write-up, I call this <b>remote working</b>.<br />
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As opposed to me remote working from home now, I have many friends who <b>work at a distance</b> on regular bases. For example, a friend used to work at Cisco and her team was in 3 different countries - and on two continents! All was in place to support distance working. For them, the whole covid-19 crises is nothing - they can continue business as usual. <br />
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I make this parallel because I want to make it clear that when we talk about education and learning in the time of the current Covid-19 crisis, there are two very different cases. Take the example of my friend, it would be like <b>a distance university whose job from the beginning on </b>was planned to be conducted at a distance <i>without</i> the physical place being there.<br />
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Then there is my case of remote working which is more like schools now who are trying to come up with ad-hoc plans to deliver education. They are doing <b>remote schooling.</b> They use, like us in my work, <b>some digital tools for communication and collaboration, </b>but even if such infrastructure is in place, <b>it was never intended to substitute the physical place of a school or a university building. </b>Similarly, the purpose of the digital tools in my job was something like; to gain efficiency in communication, transform work, replace paper, to learn new ways of working, to be ready for knowledge society - you name it. <br />
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Which brings to my point that I really wanted to discuss: <i>digital education</i>. Or, <i>e-learning</i> like it was called 15-20 years ago, or <i>web-based education</i>, <i>technology enhanced learning</i> - dear child has many names. I personally have been working in the field for 20 years now. There have been different initiatives to deploy new technologies in education and learning, but it has not been with the goal in mind to<b> replace schools and universities with distance education</b>.<br />
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The intention was to transform educational practices, to come up with new ways for teachers to deliver instruction, to support students' learning and its assessment. The intention was to transform educational institutions so that they would support the changing nature of society and work, so that they would be better able to teach learners the skills that they need to function in society, life and in their work.<br />
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So - what I want to underline is that <b><i>distance education</i>, which is often nowadays delivered through online, and <i>digital education</i> have two fundamentally different goals. </b>The first one is to deliver education without the physical space, it can happen online or using other ways (e.g. reading books, writing assignments).<br />
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In the time of Covid-19 crises, schools would need to do <b>distance education</b>, but we do not have the needed processes, infrastructure, capacity, training, habits, etc. in place. So, all what learners are getting is <b>remote schooling</b>, a bit unfit like my remote working, not perfect, but best we can do under the given circumstances.<br />
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However, <b>digital education</b> sure should be able to help us at this moment of crisis, but since it was not actually intended to be used as a tool for distance education, we should be reasonable to what extend we can expect it to do miracles! Also, I wish that in the future, say after the crisis, we do not blame digital education for everything and ditch it as a failure...!<br />
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Here is an article about difference between remote schooling and <a href="https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning" target="_blank">online-learning/distance educaiton</a>.<br />
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<br />vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10908478.post-28580950974630223182020-04-09T11:00:00.001+02:002020-04-09T11:04:32.841+02:00Jumissa kotona: Sevilla päivä 25 <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Apus_apus_01.jpg/800px-Apus_apus_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Apus_apus_01.jpg/800px-Apus_apus_01.jpg" width="239" /></a>Sevillassa on hirveä määrä lintuja ja etenkin nyt keväällä kuuluu vaikka minkälaista sirkutusta joka kulmalta. Pääskyset olivat saapuneet tänne jo tovi ennen karanteenin alkua, ja siinä aivan karanteenin alkuaikoina, eli noin kuukausi sitten, olin huomannut jo muutamia <a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiit%C3%A4j%C3%A4t_(lintuheimo)" target="_blank">kiitäjiä</a>. Ne ovat englanniksi nimeltään swift.<br />
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Kun aamulla joogaan katolla, niin taivas on täynnä kiitäjiä ja pääskyjä. Ne ovat taitavia lentäjiä molemmat. Etenkin kiitäjät kaartelevat isossa porukassa ja syövät ötököitä, eräs lintubongari puhui "aerial planktoneista", ilmankehän planktoneista.<br />
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Aluksi en osannut erottaa pääskyjä ja kiitäjiä toisistaan, mutta voisi sanoa, että kiitäjät ovat vielä parempia lentäjiä kuin pääskyset! Nyt kuin katsoin wikipediaa, niin siellä sanottiinkin, että kiitäjä on aikaisemmalta nimeltään tervapääsky, joka ei kuitenkaan ole pääskyen läheistä sukua.<br />
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Työmatkallani on yksi talo, jonka katonrajassa on joka kesä pitkä rivi kiitäjien pesiä. Kutsun sitä taloa "swift hoteliksi". Ne tulevat aina takaisin keväällä, ja nyt eräs työkaverini joka asuu siinä talossa, jo ilmottikin pari viikkoa sitten, että täällä ne taas ovat! Bienvenidos!vuorikarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15297106122281752348noreply@blogger.com0