Blessed Christmas 2013

praise.night

you're really tired by the time you leave your client. it's been a long day and you'v been toggling between driving home or driving to church.

 you chose the later obviously and you're not regretting.  in fact the presence of the Lord turned your tiredness into a source of strength...

he is a young indonesian gosple singer, a famous one yet so humble.  you're blessed to be there to hear his testimony and his amazing voice when he sings for Jesus.
it's been a wonderful evening albeit the boring day you spent at your client today.

===
this was again taken sometime in october, two months late but it's better late than never.
===

stedelijk

this was taken in october when you visited the museum for malevich and the russian avant grande

christollen

this is your second attempt. the first attempt was last year where you put short of yeast.

this year has more a bread texture as you proof it for a very long time...

it's not as colorful as previous year since you use less cherry and other dried fruits but the taste is great

a polish brother came by this afternoon and couldn't stop eating this bread ^^.
Christmas is round the corner and a year is coming to the end...

design.district.helsinki

finland or helsinki is really quite a design country or city... you had the chance to stroll the design district casually one of the afternoon, even though it feels like night...

plenty of vintage/second hand arabia on offer.  plenty of kinky and yet clean cut fashion, plenty of funky accessories and many others...
that said, things don't come cheap though!

::cinnabon.inspired::

 in autumn and winter, you love to have the smell of cinnamon fills the house, this is especially true when you bake with cinnamon and so forth....

two loaves of cinnabon inspired rolls with three different flavors....

the asian pork floss and spring onion, the english booze minced meat with rum and the dutch old cheese with a hint of cumin. a loaf goes to a friend whom you visited during lunch hour, another loaf is ready for his men's meeting at home.

vintage.finds

you're thrilled when you chanced into a vintage shop with a wide selection of ceramic and tableware from russia and poland. plenty of vintage clothing and knitting too. you're amazed that things are really cheap comparing to the normal vintage market or shops in lowland or france.

your acquisition, a bag made with marimekko textile and a set of knitting, all these for less than a tenner. the vintage ceramic are really cheap too, it's just that you know you won't have room in your work luggage to carry them home, so these will do ^^ and you're happy with your findings. you still need to get use to the fact that you can't simply buy what you want anymore and anything over certain amount you have to think twice (a need or want) and thus you're grateful for this vintage. what is junk to one may be precious to another.

::arabia::

you did ended up at the arabia outlet after the brief visit to arts and crafts fair...

you head up to the museum

 which has quite a collection of the arabia ceramic and the evolution of the products...

and some showcase, despite a relatively small private collection, the museum is quite a nice place for a brief visit especially to those who love tableware...

kaisen.ju

the christmas market experiecne can be as european as it could be, but by dinner time, your stomach called for something japanese again.

 the sushi joints

 your green tea

and a kaisen-ju (seafood boat) for everyone.
a perfect end before you embark on a 2-hour drive home.

japanese.ramen

a trip to dusseldorf will never be complete without a japanese experience at one of the famous ramen joint.

and this is almost a ritual for you...

 one portion of gyoza

 one portion of kara-age

 a bowl of onsen egg miso ramen

 and his pork bamboo ramen

and you never got the advantage of half prize promotion of the gyoza since you only here in the weekends...
that said, its a hearty meal that keep you going for the rest of the day!

::gluhwein::

a tradition of german christmas market

 that is to drink at least a glass of gluhwein (mulled wine)

 and you got yours from this stall

 kirsh-gluhwein aka mulled wine with cherry

 was surprisingly good and the best you have ever tasted so far, not overly sweet, not overly booze but just nice

and a hint of cherry...
cheers!

baby.visit

the time of the year

a stroll at 3 to 4 different christmas markets in the city...

 an atmosphere not to miss....

 candle holders are essential when the nights are longer

 merchandise are cheery and colorful

 people are merrier and happier on those days...

 you love the light and the trees

it's the festive atmosphere where everyone rubbing one another shoulders, sipping the mulled wine, eating the traditional christmas or germanic snacks that matter most!

last.knit

your last knit of the year ...

architecture.helsinki

helsinki has quite a few outstanding architectures!

first the kamppi chapel

then the finlandia hall

a white beauty by itself, would be even more stunning if the sky is blue...

the helsinki music center

also quite an architecture but you just didn't have the time to visit, just a quick glimpse for now, hopefully more opportunities for up close and personal visit in the near future...

===
i have been working really hard to get my work in control again, just as i get to the very last piece of work for my current project, the new one is coming. i am going to be on jet set again for 2014, not sure if i will enjoy it but certainly the work locations will be something that you look forward to. so instead of a free monday, now your next monday is going to be a busy one...
happy weekend all!
===

::fazer::

a confectionery cum cafe in the city center

you wanted so much to eat but your eyes are bigger than your stomach, but you went in any how

the chocolates, pralines

the cakes

the savory sandwiches

and more cakes...
it's purely for your eyes but very enticing and hopefully you will be able to return to sample some of this special treats...

==
you're summon to your client again, this is probably the last field visit of the year as you really don't want another trip tomorrow or monday.
==

cafe.aalto

you didn't have much time to sample around the food, even though you have shortlisted a few restaurants and cafes that you want to try, time is just too short to combine work with sightseeing and foodie.
anyhow, you manage to get to this cafe

 it's considerable busy at that time of the day...

 you ordered a cappuccino and a slice of "sacher" like cake...

 the cake is however better than the vienna's sacher, it's very soft and moist and not overly sweet even with a layer of apricot jam. and the cream has a lot of coconut infused to it, nicely balance off the intensity from the cake. a good piece after all.

this seems to be a favorite cafe for many local people judging from the menu which only available in finnish...

located just next to stockmann and above starbucks, this place can be easily overlook if not paying close attention. it's in fact located in the second floor of a academic bookstore.
you don't mind visiting again if you got another chance to visit this city!