203

Olin huhtikuun alussa pitkästä aikaa käymässä kotona Torniossa. Oli tosi kiva päästä taas näkemään äitiä ja iskää, sekä tietysti Moskua! Se vauva on kasvanut niiiin paljon, ja aionkin postata myös Moskusta muutaman kuvan kunhan kerkeän. Suurin osa näistä kuvista on otettu iskän takapihalla, kun oli niin nätti auringonlasku. Oli tosi kiva ylipäätään pitkästä aikaa lähteä vain käppäilemään ulos kameran kanssa. Pitää ottaa kesällä taas tavaksi!

I was visiting home-home in the beginning of April. It was so nice to see mom and dad after a long time - I hadn't seen them since Christmas. Obviously the best part of the trip was seeing the little ball of fur, Mosku, again! I'll post a few photos of him later. I took most of these pictures on my dad's backyard - the sunset was simply amazing. It was so nice to just go out and wander around with my camera, I hadn't done that in ages. I should do that more often, especially now when summer comes and I actually have some spare time!

202 - NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Mielestäni yksi kivoimmista jutuista Lontoossa näin turistin näkökulmasta oli se, että suurin osa isoista museoista oli ilmaisia, taikka pääsymaksu oli vapaaehtoinen. Me jätettiin museoissa kiertely reissun loppupäähän. Käytiin perjantaina Natural History Museumissa ja lauantaina ennen kotiin lähtöä British Museumissa. En ollut koskaan ennen käynyt luonnontieteellisessä museossa, joten voitte varmaan kuvitella, miten laimealta Helsingin luonnontieteellinen tuntui Lontoon jälkeen :-D Meidän onneksemme päästiin NHM:ään todella nopeasti sisälle, taidettiin jonottaa maksimissaan joku 10 minuuttia. Museo oli tietenkin tupaten täynnä ja myös niin valtavan suuri, että ei mitenkään ehditty kiertää jokaista paikkaa. Aloitettiin (ilmeisesti kaikkien muidenkin tavoin) dinosauruksista, minkä jälkeen kierreltiin hieman eläinkunnan historiaa ennen kuin lähdettiin.

To me one of the best things about London (at least from a tourist's point of view) is that most of the big museums have free entry, or you could pay a pound or two if you wanted to. We didn't go to any museums before the very last days of our trip. On Friday we went to the Natural History Museum and on Saturday we explored the British Museum. I had never visited a natural history museum before London, so you can only imagine how lame Helsinki's natural history museum felt after this experience :-D Luckily we got in to the museum in like 10 minutes. The museum was obviously filled with  people, and it seemed like everyone else wanted to start their tour with the dinosaurs, like us. After exploring the dinosaur department we took a look on the history of animal kingdom.

Luulen, että minun ei ehkä vaikuta näistä kuvista sen enempää tarinoita, elikäs tässä teille oma osanne Lontoon luonnontieteellistä! Suosittelen ehdottomasti vierailua kyseisessä paikassa. Seuraavan kerran kun olen Lontoossa aion todellakin mennä uudelleen. Sitten vaan kiertämään eri osastoja.

I think that these photos speak for themselves, so no explanations of the photos this time! The museum was so huge that we simply didn't have enough time to go see everything we would have wanted to, but I'm sure this wasn't the last time we visited London, so, to be continued.. I absolutely recommend visiting the NHM, there are so many incredible things to see.



Menin aivan hulluksi tuolla valasosastolla, oisin voinut kuvata aivan kaiken siellä! Huomatkaa muuten vimpassa kuvassa tuo aivan valtava sinivalas, joka on 30 metriä pitkä!

I went absolutely nuts in the whale department. Just look at that last photo - can you see the 30 meter long blue whale?!

Tosiaan, siellä British Museumissa käytiin kotiinlähtöpäivänä, ihan paria tuntia ennen kuin meidän piti suunnata lentokentälle. Tästä johtuen en ottanut siellä mitään sen kummempia otoksia, sillä mulla tais olla kamerakin hotellilla laukkuun pakattuna. Sekin oli kyllä ihan valtava ja hieno, eikä sinnekään joutunut kauaa aikaa jonottamaan, vaikka oli lauantai. British Museumissa oli nähtävillä kaikenlaista merkittävää ihmiskunnan historiasta. Minun oma suosikkini oli varmaankin Rosettan kivi, muuta en juurikaan kyseiseltä museokäynniltä muista - meillä oli nimittäin aikamoinen kiire :-D Tietääpähän varata ensi kerralle enemmän aikaa.

Since we went to the British Museum on the day that we left home, I only took pictures with my phone. I think I didn't even have my camera with me at that point anymore. We had to explore British Museum in a hurry, because we only had a couple hours of time left before we had to head to the airport. Anyway, British Museum was great too and they had so many interesting things from the history of mankind, but my favorite was definitely Rosetta's stone. I really don't remember anything else particular about our tour - like I said, we were in a hurry. Next time we'll know that one hour is definitely not enough to complete a museum tour!

201 - LONDON PT. 4

Jälleen on aika palata heinäkuiseen Lontooseen, tai tarkemmin sanottuna Warner Bros -studiolle. Lontoosta on tulossa tämän jälkeen vielä noin kolme postausta, jotka yritän saada alta pois mahdollisimman pian (kuinkahan usein oon jo sanonut noin), sillä ensi kuussa koittaa uusi reissu - ei tosin Lontooseen, vaan Berliiniin! Haluaisin siis kovasti saada Lontoon jutut jo käsiteltyä, jotta pääsen matelemaan Berliini-postausten kanssa, hehe.

Once again it's time to jump back to London, or actually to the Warner Bros studio. After this post there will be about three more London posts and I really hope that I manage to write most of them before the end of May, because in May I'm going to Berlin! Imagine how long it would take me to write about both of those trips at the same time, when even writing about our London trip has taken me almost a year, hah!

Jatketaan siis tällä kertaa Harry Potter -kierroksen kuvilla. Haluan jälleen muistuttaa, että postauksessa tulee näkymään paljon kuvia kierrokselta, joten mikäli olet itse menossa käymään studiolla etkä halua "liikaa" spoilauksia, niin kannattaa jättää suosiolla. Reissu oli vaan kovin ikimuistoinen ja otin siellä paljon kuvia, jotka haluan jakaa tänne teillekin!

So back to our Harry Potter tour. Once again I want to remind you that this post will be quite image heavy, and if you're planning on visiting the studios yourself, I might spoil you with some delicious details from the tour. This tour was just so amazing and I took so many lovely photos there that I really can't not share them with you!

Ennen kuvia haluaisin paljastaa teille pienen salaisuuden: Silloin kun mentiin käymään tuolla studiolla, en ollut lukenut kaikkia Pottereita, enkä ollut nähnyt viimeistä leffaa. Käytännössä en siis tiennyt, miten sarja tulee päättymään, vaikka en luonnollisestikaan ollut voinut päättyä paljastuksilta. Jostain syystä Pottereiden lukemiseen meni minulla noin viisi vuotta, eli sain luettua viimeisen kirjan vasta tämän vuoden tammikuussa. Tykkäsin kyllä jokaisesta kirjasta, mutta jostain syystä päädyin aina lukemaan jotain muuta, tai vaihtoehtoisesti olemaan lukematta. Edelleenkin vimppa leffa on minulla katsomatta (en halunnut katsoa sitä ennen kuin olin lukenut kirjat), mutta voin kyllä onnekseni todeta, että kierros ei paljastanut minulle juuri mitään sarjan loppuratkaisusta, mikä oli tosi kiva.

Before showing you any pics, I want to share a little secret with you: When we visited the studios last summer, I actually hadn't read all of the Harry Potter books, neither had I seen the last movie. Basically I didn't know how the series would end, even though I had unfortunately read and heard some spoilers. For some reason it took me over five years to read the books, and I had decided that I wouldn't watch the last movie until I had read the books. I finished the last book this January, but I still haven't seen the last movie! Luckily there were no actual spoilers on the tour, which was very nice.



Tämä kuva on tyrmästä, jossa Kalkaros opetti taikajuomia. Lavaste oli täynnä erilaisia pulloja ja puteleita, jotka sisälsivät vaikka minkälaisia rohtoja ja aineksia.

This photo was taken in the potions classroom. The set was filled with all kinds of bottles that had the most bizarre ingredients inside.



Loihditut puikot, jotka todella neuloivatkin itsestään, Voldemortin jengiä ja pin board varustettuna eläintähtien kuvilla. Oon ymmärtänyt, että elokuvien eläimetkin ovat aina silloin tällöin käymässä studiolla, mutta eivät sattuneet meidän kanssa samalle ajankohdalle.

The bewitched knitting needles, which actually did knit by themselves, Voldemort's gang and an pin board with the animal stars of the movie. I have this image that the animal actors sometimes even visit the tours, but they we'rent there at the same time as us.



Pimennon huone oli yksi lempparikohdistani koko kierroksella.

Umbridge's office was one of my favorite things of the tour.



Kierroksen varrella oli tietysti myös matkamuistomyymälä, jossa myytiin kaikenlaista Potter-krääsää, tosin pienemmässä määrin kuin varsinaisessa myymälässä, jonne päädyttiin vasta kierroksen lopuksi. Kaupan vieressä oli studion oma 9 3/4 laituri, eli jos ei mieli lähteä jonottamaan King's Crossille, on itsensä mahdollista kuvauttaa myös tuolla. Me jonotettiin King's Crossilla varmaan melkein tunti ennen kuin päästiin kuvaan. Tuolla Riinaa ennen jonossa oli ehkä yksi tyyppi. Kuvaajakin oli paljon kivempi kuin King's Crossilla, johtuen varmaan juuri siitä, että ei ollut niin kova kiire ja hälinä. Molemmissa paikoissa oli siis ammattikuvaaja ottamassa kuvaa, jonka olisi sitten voinut ostaa itselleen, mutta koska meillä molemmilla on sen verran kuvaaminen hallussa, otettiin omat kuvamme ihan itse. Olisin halunnut ostaa joka maun rakeita, mutta hinta taisi olla jotain £10, eli jäi tällä kertaa kyllä maistamatta :-D

During the tour you could also do a little shopping. There was this little shop in the middle part of the tour where they sold things like postcards, shirts, wands, books and candy, although the actual shop was in the end of the tour. Next to the shop was the studio's very own platform 9 3/4 where you could also get your picture taken, as well as on King's Cross. I think that we queued almost an hour on King's Cross, but when Riina went to take her picture in the studio, there was like one person before her. In both places there was a professional photographer who took a photo that you could buy for yourself, but as we had my camera with us, we took our photos by ourselves. If you don't feel like going to the traffic of King's Cross' platform, you can also take your picture in the studios. I really would've wanted to buy Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, but they cost like £10, so I had to leave them there, haha :-D



Päästiin tekemään myös pieni kierros Tylypahkan pikajunassa. Junan käytävä oli aivan älyttömän kapea, ja käytävän vasemmalla puolella oli hyttejä, joissa jokaisessa oli vähän rekvisiittaa kustakin elokuvasta. Myös Saivartelija-lehti oli näytteillä! Luna on ehdottomasti minun lempihahmoja, joten oli kiva nähdä vähän jotain häneenkin liittyvää rekvisiittaa.

We made a little tour in the Hogwarts Express. The corridor of the train was incredibly narrow and on the left of it were a few cabins, and each of them had some props of each movie inside. I also saw a Quibbler! I was very excited about that since Luna is one of my favorite characters.



Ennen kuin siirryttiin ensimmäisestä hallista toiseen, hörpittiin vähän kermakaljaa ja tutkailtiin vitriiniä, jossa oli kaikenlaista rekvisiittaa elokuvista, kuten esimerkiksi lehtiä.

Before moving from one studio hall to another, we sipped some butterbeer and took a look on a vitrine where there was some more props from the movies, like magazines and stuff.

That's all for now - stay tuned. There's some more London stuff coming up soon!

200 - WHY DO I WRITE?

I often get asked about my pen palling hobby: How many pen pals do I have? When did I start? Is(n't) it expensive? And the most frequent: why?

I don't really understand why people are so curious about why I write letters. I know that it's kind of an old-fashioned hobby, but it's not like I would ask anyone why do they play soccer instead of writing letters. I think it's almost a bit rude to ask a question like that - obviously I do it because I enjoy it. Honestly, there are not many things that make me happier than receiving a letter from a far-away friend. Usually the following question after why is why don't I use Facebook, Whatsapp, email, LINE etc? Well, I do. I use all of them. I'm not going to deny it, they are very handy and I'm so happy that I have the chance to communicate with my friends and family so easily. But when you think about it, how often do you go back to your old conversations in Facebook or scroll your old Whatsapp messages? At least I don't do that unless I'm searching for something specific I know I've talked about with the other person. I'm not saying that I read the letters I've received every day - not even close. I read them maybe every five years, but I still do. I think it's so cool that I can go back to the sender's day and see what was on their mind on that particular day. It's so nice to go back to those memories. 

I began writing letters when I was about seven years ago, basically as soon as I learned how to write. We lived in a semi-detached house next to our cousins, so my cousin was my first pen pal. We would drop the letters to each other's mailboxes and sometimes put little gifts, like stickers for example, in the envelope. It was always so nice to get a letter from my cousin. After we grew a little older, we didn't really write to each others anymore. When I was about 9 or 10 years old, I got really into horses and I was a member of this club called Pollux. The idea of the club was that they sent a little package every month with some horse books and other horse stuff in it. The package also included a little tabloid in which you could send your "looking for pen pals" announcement. That's how I got my first "real" pen pal, who I didn't actually know before. Her name was Emilia and she lived in Southern Finland. I think we wrote quite actively for a year or two, but as we both got closer to teenage, it just stopped.

I found my next pen pal via some internet site, since I wanted a pen pal from Asia so so bad. In 2007 I began writing with my most long-term pen pal, Eun Yeong. I talked about her in the very previous post, but in case you didn't read it, here's a little summary: we've been writing to each other ever since, although the tempo has been pretty slow during the past few years, but we still do keep in touch. After that I got into pen palling very hard after starting Postcrossing and finding some mail themed blog. And here we are! About four years later and I'm still writing as actively as I can. I have pen pals from Belgium, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, U.S.A., Taiwan, South Korea (& Japan, not sure about that anymore though). I'm pretty sure that some of these people are friends for life and I'm even more sure that our friendship would be very different if we had started communicating via email or Facebook at first. I haven't met any of them yet, but I surely will one day. I think I've mentioned each and every one of them that they always have a place to sleep if they ever find themselves in Finland!

To me writing letters feels very relaxing, as long as I don't have to write in a hurry. Many people think that writing letters takes too much time and energy, and of course I understand that point of view too. It's not for everyone, and that's just fine. When it comes to me, I find so many positive sides of this hobby: you constantly use your language skills, you get to craft and use your imagination, you get to write by hands, you get to send nice gifts and for the most important part, you get friends. I feel that some of my pen pals are the kind of people that if they lived any closer, I would probably hang out with them all the time. Even though sending letters is quite expensive (at least if you live in Finland), it's worth every penny. Or euro. To me, there's nothing better than receiving a letter from a dear friend in the middle of the week.

What do you like best about pen palling?

199 - FINALLY, MAIL!

Forgive me my readers, for I have sinned. Yes, I promised that there would be a mail post "in the end of this week".. Well, it's been about three weeks since I wrote that, oops (or at least I wrote that in Finnish, hehe). I really don't want to become one of those bloggers who begins all of their blog posts by apologizing for inactivity, but let me just say, life is keeping me super busy at the moment! Last week I had a little more spare time than usual because it was Easter and obviously I didn't have school. I finally had time to answer to all of the letters: one of them had been waiting for my reply since October. Now I have zero letters waiting to be written, so I think it's the best time to make another mail update - now that we actually are back on track with them, haha!


So, let's begin from the oldest. I got this lovely package from my dear pen pal from South Korea. I've written about Eun Yeong before, but to make a long story short: we started writing in 2007, so basically we've known each other for almost ten years. During the past few years our correspondence has been quite random since we both are busy with studying and other stuff. The package and letter she sent me in October was the first I got from her in 1,5 years. There was a looooong, lovely letter and some cute gifts. I think my favorite thing was that weird Korean treat - a shirmp flavored something that was dipped in chocolate! Seriously, do you get that from anywhere else in the world? Surprisingly to me, it tasted kinda good! I also love the Asian face masks, even though I look like a show wrestler while using one. That raspberry mask just smelled so good.

And this is what I sent back to her! Like I said above, it's been a long time since we've been writing, so I actually wrote her a reply in a Krtek notebook and managed to fill all of the pages! Crazy, haha. I attached some photos I had ordered from Printic. I think the letter turned out really nice! I also sent her some candy, notebook, postcards, tea and a Snorkmaiden towel.

A letter and a super cute Valentine's day card from Melanie, The Netherlands.

A letter and a birthday gift to Melanie. I knitted her those heart socks for her birthday and I really liked them. I think I must knit ones for myself too! By the way, just ignore my Barbie pajama pants.. I bought them last summer when we were in London.. Just for the nostalgia, ofc. I had Barbie pajamas as a kid too.

A letter from Melanie. Look how cute the stationery is!!

A letter to Melanie

A letter and a super belated Christmas gift to Essi, Finland

A letter and a small package to Pin Ju, Taiwan

A letter to Laura, Belgium

A letter and some gifts to Mai, Japan. Mai is going to move on her own soon, so I wanted to send her a little survival kit for her first own home!

A letter and a small package to Katrina, Norway. For the first time in ages I decided to write her in Swedish. We sometimes do this thing that she writes to me in Norwegian and I write to her in Swedish. It's funny how similar those languages are - even though I've never studied Norwegian and she's never studied Swedish we still understand each other pretty well (although sometimes I must use a dictionary). I've been really into making stuff out of Hama beads lately and in addition to earrings I'm soon going to make brooches too! I'd really want to open an Etsy shop or something where I could sell these things I make, but I think I'm a bit too wuss to do that!!

Postcards to Norway and Taiwan.
Phew, done and done. I hope you liked this post! Next post will be number 200! Now if you want to see something special in honor of that, leave your suggestions down below in the comment section. If I don't get any suggestions from you guys, I might just come up with something myself - or not - we'll see! Have a great weekend!