Week 23: From Madrid to Finland

Busy week. It's actually hard to realize that one week ago we were still in Spain. On Friday we flew to Finland for a change. Over the weekend we met with some friends, then headed to visit both our parents.

The first nights we stayed over at a friend's place. The same place we stayed at in October. She still had the same Gilmore Girls disc in the DVD player that we were watching right before we left. Apparently we weren't away for very long.

Welcome to our weekly recap! This one's for June 5th-11th, which is week 23, 2014.


Workwise: We've had live business meetings, something that has been rare activity for us lately.

What did I learn: On a great tip-based walking tour in Madrid we heard lots of stories about the city, the country and their history. But like I learned in Dublin last year, those are always just one version of the story. When I get back to my computer and try to check up the facts I find out that things are not that simple. There are several stories on where the name Madrid comes from, or where tapas comes from or why it's called that way. The tour guide has to pick one of them.

Food love: Everything we missed about Finnish food. We're not exactly famous for our cousine, and it has been a bit awkward topic when talking about our country. But there has indeed been several thing we've been missing. Top on the list is... (...drumroll...) ...rye bread!

Surprise of the week: Even though we expected it, the price level in Finland was still a bit of a shock for us. We went to a grocery store, paid 20€ and had like five things in our bag.

Tip of the week: If you want to get to know Finnish people, joining them for a weekend at a cottage will take you a long way.

Random thought: I needed to get in touch with my parents the other day so I turned on Skype. They were not online. Should I wait for a while for them to get online? What if they are not getting online today at all? Luckily Mirje reminded of this historical device called the mobile phone that I could use to contact them right away, even if they didn't have access to the internet at the moment.

Most memorable moment: As we arrived in Finland, we managed to combine a whole lot of things we'd been missing into the first evening. Picnic in a park with a bunch of friends, sunny weather right after a rain, servings included as many favorite Finnish items we could find in the store. And getting home late, in the close-to-the-midsummer light.

Madrid, Spain
Winnie and friends in Madrid.

Madrid, Spain
Flamenco on the street in Madrid.

Helsinki, Suomi Finland
Sunday morning in Suomenlinna, Helsinki.

Espoo, Suomi Finland
Summer cottage life in Espoo.

Hämeenlinna, Suomi Finland
Summer in Hämeenlinna.

Kokemäki, Suomi Finland
Summer in Kokemäki.

Kokemäki, Suomi Finland
Countryside charm.

And that's it for our week. How was yours?

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This post is part of Instagram Travel Thursday and all the pics are from our Instagram account. Instagram Travel Thursday ia a gathering of Instagram related blog posts every week. You can find a list of other participating posts, or add your own post, at Destination UnknownSkimbaco Lifestyle or at many other hosts' sites. You can also participate by tagging your Instagram pics with #igtravelthursday.

Antti and Mirje

We are Mirje and Antti, a 30+ digital nomad couple, entrepreneurs with restless feet and passion for experiencing the world. more »