july 3-4: helsinki/tampere

OK so the Helsinki Public Library is out of sight. Libraries, generally, rock and this one is superb. 

So after that, and noting that there is a sign saying a lot of ordinary people don't like to be photographed (my bad) I went to the Sen restaurant again - the Vegan Vietnamese restaurant in Jätkäsaari. It's just really good!!! Sorry! 

Like the last time (which I probs didn't tell you about) there were no other customers there, but the woman who runs it and her kids were there, the kids doing homework I guess. Food was excellent, and it overall just seemed super wholesome. 

Move on to this morning: here's a hare I saw out the window of the airbnb this morning at... god knows what time. Oh, the time was recorded on the photograph. 7:44 am. 

It's really nice to see a hare looking quite unafraid but always leaving you in no doubt that it's unafraid because if there was any threat it could outrun anything you can set after it. 

So many times in the past week I have passed a cafe called Morton which was always closed, but this morning as I was en route to the station to go to Tampere I was late enough in the day to find it open. So I tried it out. Not disappointed. Staff delightful, food excellent. There's just that little problem of why can't I ever get a decent coffee that's not in a thimble, but as someone said (I can't remember who but not a Melbournite),. 'well, you're from Melbourne', like that explained it. And actually it does. 

Wonderful place. 

Thence to my spiritual home (yuck, I hate myself for feeling this way, perhaps that's part of it) Tampere. What a divine city. Look at this...

I had to not buy this fucking amzing painting of these ridiculous women skiiers. I love it though. So Tampere. As is...

This...! 

So, this is where I'm staying today and tomorrow, and it looks good from the outside but wow...

It's heaven inside. More soon. 

helsinki 3 july

Not every day can be totally scintillating. I visited the Helsinki Public Library too but the pictures won't load so I will wait till later. 

helsinki 2 july 2026

This morning I noticed there was actually a cafe of some description across the park from this airbnb so I went there and asked for a double espresso - the only kind of coffee I can drink in a non-coffee country like this. The girl behind the counter (no doubt actually a woman behind the counter but no doubt closer to the age of 0 than I am to the age of 100, so 'girl' seems appropriate somehow) pointed to the coffee machine, which looked perfectly fine to me, and said that she couldn't make a double espresso, only an espresso. So I stupidly got an Americano, I really don't know why. 

After that I had to remedy with a real double espresso from a chain. Then even though I have vowed no more pastries, the devil made me get a pulla. So silly.

Other things from today: 

'Waiter. One red-green Helsinki and the cheapest triple sec in the house, thank you!' Yeah I don't get it either. 

So I went to the Workers museum with Steve and Franziska (however while I was there I left my phone in my bag hence no pictures - I got a brochure I'll show you later). Before I went there though I went to a nearby flea market and saw:

I looked at a lot of CDs, none of them seemed particularly exciting. 

How much would you pay for a racist licorice tin? This was priced at €100.

Old friend

1 july helsinki

Remarkable. As is the national library...

The conference had a 'mobile workshop' i.e. field trip visiting Puu-Käpylä - I couldn't resist that. Even though I've been there many times before, including earlier in the week! 

On the way back I dropped into this place, which provided me a very valuable service insofar as I selected a bunch of curious looking things and was queuing at the counter and the guy behind the counter was just talking, talking (obviously I have no idea what about) to a customer, with at least one other person waiting besides me, and his tone was so much that of Comic Book Guy, I was able to talk myself out of buying anything, put it all back and left. 

Current mood:

But this willl pass... 

helsinki 30 june-1 july

It is Wednesday 1 July and I am in Tintin the Cafe aka Tintin the Bakery with no Tintin memorabilia or merch anywhere around, that's nice. I'm getting sugary shizzle on my keyboard because I am eating a cinnamon bun - like, with my fingers, and then typing.

A lot of dogs are going past - true.

Last time I gave a conference paper in Finland I was met with bafflement, but yesterday I feel it went really well. The other papers were, you know, fascinating but of course became a mish-mash after a time, to the extent that ultimately I was left making the classic response 'those are all words'. Subsequently by the end of the day I was fucked up with no blood sugar and I was pleased to see that close to our digs in Jätkäsaari there is a vietnamese vegan restaurant. Initially I'm pretty sure google map directed me to a big hole in the ground but then I found it, and it was grouse. I mean the plate of food I had would have satisfied five people, I exaggerate, but satisfied two and maybe three. But it was excellent. I will go back. 

(That stain on the ground was there when I got there btw).

Earlier in the day yesterday I paid a quick trip to Tapiola to find rather disappointingly/worryingly that the old shopping centre, which I always enjoyed, is now boarded up and not looking at all happy. I suspect it might be at its end.