Day-Tripping to Porvoo.

Okay, today we have another post in the ‘Porvoo’ saga. If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you probably know that I’m kinda pathetically obsessed with this small town near Helsinki. I should probably have a category of its own dedicated to Porvoo here in my blog…

Anyway, this post is meant for those who are interested in taking a day-trip to Porvoo from Helsinki. I definitely recommend doing that since it’s quick, easy and pretty cheap (even in the Finnish scale) way of exploring Finland a bit further from the capital city.

The first two pictures are from the Kamppi bus terminal for long-distance trips. You can get there by walking from Helsinki Railway Station or taking the metro and exiting in ‘Kamppi/Kampen’. It’s also worth mentioning that they have another terminal for the short-distance buses so make sure you’re going into the terminal that’s located one floor down the first floor (escalators on the opposite side of the metro ones). If you’re not sure, just follow the signs or ask people.

For this trip I took OnniBus for six euros all together (so three euros per trip) but the prices can really vary according to the date and the time of the day. You can check the timetables through here!

The ride takes about an hour and you will end up in the local bus terminal which is in the centre of the town and only a short walk away from the famous Porvoo Old Town.

If turn left, you will end up in the cute little harbour. The Old Town is located on the right side with the gorgeous old Cathedral that is definitely worth visiting!

Above is one of the street views that opens up when you enter the Old Town! More adventures coming up tomorrow when I’m diving deep into the specifics…

Yours,

Miah

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What I Love about England.

Verdant evergreen plant growing wild (or half wild) literally everywhere.

Old darkened gates and porches – more often than not leading to private yards of the lucky upper-class people.

Funny street signs. Do you think that me laughing at this could even be categorized as the ‘famous British humour’?

Amazing old churches everywhere. So romantic, almost Gothic vibes that make you want to read ghost stories under the blanket with a warm cup of tea…

Another, really similar-looking church to the one above.

British song-making tactics and vibrant lyrics. Referring to a quite well-known case of Eleanor Rigby with the actual place which the song got its name pictured above.

Especially in Liverpool these places just exist all around. Am I the only millennial fangirl gasping when realizing that I’m actually walking on that Penny Lane!

The plant above, Lamprocapnos spectabilis, is called ‘broken heart’ (särkynytsydän) in Finnish. It’s probably one of the first cultured ones that I learned to know when I first became interested in botany as a child. I can still quite vividly remember looking up the plant from a huge gardening edition while visiting the local library as a 6-year-old or something.

Old railroads and stations almost straight out of Harry Potter! (Yes, you get all the clichés here…)

Yours,

Miah

Defying the Tides in West Kirby.

Okay. So this is the story of my first time on a train in the UK. It is also an adventure play of two hippies walking to the nearby small islands, totally defying what Google told us about the tide waves. (Not saying that it is a smart move to do this, kids!)

This little day trip we took to West Kirby beach side was actually one of my favourite adventures in a long time!

The simplicity of feeling the cool sand and warm puddles of sea water under my bare feet. The sense of absolute freedom when making the journey in what in other times is known as the bottom of the sea bed.

The colour range of the day varied from warm tones of sandy to the cold grey of the rocky cliffs:

There’s some random significant other walking there…

Near the horizon above, you can see the small village where we would’ve needed to stay if the rising tide would’ve isolated us from the shore. Luckily we had enough time to walk back to the town (and you should, of course, always make sure your schedule is not too tight before going for a walk during the low tide).

I don’t agree with philosophies (not the people who spread them) which say that culture/human and nature are somehow essentially binary and opposite to each other – or that this is the case that it ought to be in order to save the planet.

In my opinion, anthropogenic changes in different kinds of environments are probably the biggest issue that human kind has ever conducted on this planet. We are the only species capable of transforming living habitats which such a forceful speed that it’s fully in our responsibility to make a healing turn to the better, slower lifestyles. We should definitely cut down the amount the capitalist market system makes people want to consume.

But we as mammals also are a part of the biosphere so we have the right to enjoy and use natural resources – although no more than is enough to fulfil our basic needs.

So what I am hence encouraging you to do is to go out there, jump to the other side of the fence and pick those wild berries. Go out camping with your loved ones and enjoy an outdoor meal with an actual conversation around the campfire. Or just sit there under the same blanket as your significant other (friend, spouse, kid, dog…) and listen to the sound of the wind and the birds flying around. Living in the moment.

So leave your (gentle) imprint on the sand. Be grateful for even the tiniest grains of sand. Breath in the evening wind, sip your tea and make a plan how to slow down your hectic lifestyle while still making a community effort to change the whole beach for a cleaner, safer place – for all of us and the generations to come.

Yours,

Miah

Wild Blackberry Hunt.

One of the first things that struck a scavenging nomadic soul like me was the rich prevalence of blackberries pretty much everywhere in Liverpool. Or at least the areas where I was flaneuring (obviously not in the city centre).

One of the best spots for getting a major catch was in one of the local parks with different sections representing gardening in different parts of the world.

We don’t really have that many blackberries in Finland so I kinda went crazy; jumping all over in the bushes after them…

Yep, that’s me – apparently looking like a ‘mountain goat’ in my wild blackberry chase!

Just look at how precious the are…

Another really good spot for getting a free, tasty snack while waiting for the next train was in one of the Merseyrail stops just outside the city centre.

More about the public transportation in Liverpool coming up soon!

Yours,

Miah

Ancient Agora of Kos.

This is mostly picture-oriented photo post of the Ancient Agora (meaning forum) located in the centre of the Kos town.

My best guess is that the pic above might represent one of the three main gates to the Agora.

General view of what the archaeological site looks like nowadays.

Above the general map of the Agora site and below a more in-depth official description of the historical background.

Just take a look at the detailing that can still be admired in the (post-)modern days!

As far as I’ve understood, the area has been frequently rebuild with different kind of materials after earthquakes that have struck the island repeatedly. Consequently the scholars can analyse from the differences in the building materials the time period of the layers.

What has been left is a rich and multi-layered excavation site for archaeologists and scholars of all kind.

Apparently the first ones to dig up the site was Italian Archaeological School after the massive 1933 earthquake. So basically the destruction made the excavations possible, and the Agora was kept as a monument during the reconstruction of the other parts of the town.

Ending this post with a classic type of photo framing for this blog! Hope you haven’t already gotten bored of it…

Yours,

Miah