Leaving an Epic Summer

2011-08-10 – 17:17

The summer of 2011 will forever be a summer to remember. It’s the sommar that brought me back to my friends. The sommer that opened my eyes up to a whole new world. My favorite kesä by far, and the one that gave a thousand times more than any other before.

I couldn’t I wouldn’t ask for more.

The night before I left Finland I got to spend time with my four favorite Finns (well, three Finns and 1 Pol). The veggie crew who all love Korea. Yeah, my friends in this Nordic country aren’t representative of the population as a whole — they’re better!

After beers/ciders/juices/etc. at Nolla, we made our way to a free hip-hop show (WTF, Finnish hip-hop?! And yes, it was good.) and then to M Bar near Kamppi, where the rest of the evening was whiled away.

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To Tony, Satu, and Monika who I’ve known for nearly two years now and Jee Hei, who become an amazing friend within one short month… Kiitos paljon!

By Jungho | Posted in Scandi/Nordic Äventyr, Suomi, Suomi, Suomi | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Making Finland a Little Closer to… Home?

2011-08-01 – 08:53

Food can transport you from one place to another in less time than it takes to properly savor the flavors you miss most.

Jee Hei made kimchi for us in Vantaa. Before that, the table on the balcony became littered with beer/cider cans and cigarette ashes by the side of a pan of dokkbokki. Soondubu chigae, one of my favorites, even made its own special cameo.

Though far from America, and even farther from Korea, Finland never felt more like home.

By Jungho | Posted in Scandi/Nordic Äventyr, Suomi, Suomi, Suomi | Comments (2)

Singing is Therapy

2011-08-01 – 06:30

Sometimes you want to scream, sometimes you want to sing. Whether you karaoke one of your favorite songs to death in a language you don’t really know, or give an amazing performance of “Eye of the Tiger” at Mauer Park in Berlin, finding an outlet for the vocal release of whateverness is exhilarating.

This photo is from the latter description, the other was my unfortunate experience at AnnA K. Karaoke Bar in Helsinki. My heartfelt apologies to Håkan Hellström and all of Göteborg.

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Suomi, Suomi, Suomi | Tagged | Comments (0)

Return to Nordicland

2011-07-21 – 00:33

Beep. Beep.
Beep. Beep.

The little more than a week that I spent in Berlin felt like eternity filled with cheap food, cheap drinks, wonderful coffee, too many nice shops, lots of fun people and a somewhat familiar city, not unlike a much larger, more European version of San Francisco. (By contrast, Göteborg is to me a smaller, more Nordic version of San Francisco… maybe Berlin deserves to be taken off the SecondCities shit list after all!)

Beep. Beep.
Beep. Beep.

The alarm said, “Get your ass out of bed, it’s 06.30 and Helsinki is calling.” So I woke up.

Zip. Clunk. Bump, bump, bump.
Clickety clack clack.
Vroom, whoosh, vroom vroom,
Ka chunk.  

With Satu & Tony via the magic of flight, I made it back to a bit too warm Finnish afternoon—though not an unpleasant one!

I’m pretty sure that the best way to spend an evening after being gone from your “home base” for 8 days is to make a bee line to your favorite restaurant for dinner with a friend. So I met Jee Hei and we ate delicious food. Then took in the amazing summer sun down by the harbor where we drank our “special mix”, and then again at the top of the stairs at Senate Square. And then went to a karaoke bar and witnessed the most epic version of Bohemian Rhapsody, ever—hands down.

It was a very long day, but a happy one.

No photos from Helsinki because I was tired of carrying around the camera, but I end this entry with a collection of images from Berlin.

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A nice, quiet, cozy space in the inner space between some shops in Mitte.

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I geeked out on type a little bit, I confess…

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Good thoughts.

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Satu at No More Sleep cafe.

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Staring at my own shoes.

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Good coffee here, I recommend it.

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My dream car. And so many of them in Berlin.

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Vines growing on buildings are beautiful, this specimen is a great example.

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Tony & Satu, taking a break near YamYam, our favorite Korean restaurant in Berlin.

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I turned 27 in Berlin! So of course I had to eat 미역국.

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Tony & Satu on runway 27 at Tempelhof. We shot a bunch of photos, hopefully to be uploaded soon!

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The most random placement for a vending machine. Why?

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FW or EW?

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Wild kid climbs poll in U-Bahn.

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Life Isn’t Over Just Yet.

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Bonanza Coffee Heroes is amazing.

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I was served possibly the best Americano that I’ve ever had.

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More Minis!

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Windows overlooking a street in Mitte.   

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr, Suomi, Suomi, Suomi | Comments (0)

I’m Analog

2011-07-17 – 23:25

Imagine you’re on vacation in another country, you’ve brought your DSLR, lenses, computer and are ready to walk about the city and shoot whatever you want to your hearts content. Then you realize that you’ve forgotten you’re spare battery. Oh, and also the charger.

No worries, because with 8 days of relaxation ahead and the realization that you’re going to run out of battery before you go back to wherever it is that you came from, you proclaim, “Fuck *you* Mr. Digital, I’m going Analog.” That’s because you pull your Hasselblad out of your bag and find that shooting film only is incredibly invigorating.

Aided by a Polaroid 100 back (Thanks, Daham!), a visit to The Impossible Project  here in Berlin, and the acquisition of a Gossen Sixtar light meter at a flea market this morning (10€) this Sunday afternoon–and a couple other days earlier this week–were filled with analog bliss.

Photos to come after the film is scanned! I, for one, am excited to see the results!

 

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr | Comments (0)

Tempelhof

2011-07-17 – 11:29

Imagine the biggest open flat space in an urban setting that you can imagine. Now multiply that by a factor of 10. That would put you somewhere on the tarmac or in the middle of one of the airstrips at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin.

The airport itself has some pretty fascinating history, but what is much more cool these days is to be able to walk onto the grounds and do pretty much whatever. My choice? Take photos and drink cheap vodka mixed with Fanta.

Win.

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr | Comments (0)

The Scream Heard Around Kreuzberg

2011-07-14 – 20:55

We canvassed the streets while the sun vanished between the clouds and night fell upon Kreuzberg. Conversation wound it’s way from trivial small talk to the never ending reflection on the differences between people in Nordicland/Europe/North America/Asia. As our group of four meandered towards Landwehrkanal two girls came approached us from the front.

“AIIEEEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”, accompanied by a flash of jazzy-jazz hands. And a stutter step. Brought us to a screeching halt. 3 seconds later all I could muster was a good hearted laugh and an exclamation shouted over my shoulder, “Nice one, you got us!” with a huge smile on my face.

It goes to show that just when you think people are down and out, cold and lifeless, they prove you wrong. Thanks, Ms. Screamer.

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr | Comments (0)

Thank You, Dahahm

2011-07-13 – 11:26

We met Dahahm the day before yesterday, a friend of Satu‘s whose apartment we are staying in for the rest of our time in Berlin.

Thank you, Dahahm!

 

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr | Comments (3)

The Streets of Berlin

2011-07-13 – 11:22

I knew before arriving in Berlin that it was a city that encouraged a lot of foot shuffling about town, but these days my knees, feet, and toes are feeling abuse that is usually only dished out by the likes of New York.

It’s been nice to see things while walking about rather than whizzing around on a bike like I usually do—the slower speed of moving gives me many more opportunities to take photos! Thus far we have spent most of our time in Mitte, somewhat (I presume) central area with shopping, some cafes, and most importantly: Korean food at YamYam!

Here are a few snaps from the past few days.

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr | Comments (0)

5차 까지 (I Like Berlin)

2011-07-11 – 00:51

All around the world, we can meet our friends in different places. Though people may not change much, meeting in a different environment can certainly feel odd (and nice!) at first.

Yesterday, just after we arrived in Berlin, Chi came over to our apartment and we walked around our neighborhood while managing to eat at 5 different places in the span of an evening. Not bad for the first day here!

 

By Jungho | Posted in Berlin... That's Not Scandi/Nordic!, Scandi/Nordic Äventyr | Comments (2)