...and long live Frankfurt!

As the keyboard of this computer is new to me (not the usual "qwerty") I am not able to write good stories as quickly as I wish, but these pictures are a somewhat good summary of what is going on in here.

Around the town it seemed -- like we say in Finnland -- like pressure right before the thunderstorm. The Germans said (repeatedly) tomorrow is the FINAL GAME.

Auf wiederschreiben!
IStori

Vive l'Argentina!

I used to have friends in Germany.

But I am so afraid of stretching too much that wonderful kindness and friendliness, as tomorrow on Thursday the 29th I will fly to Frankfurt, as a big, old fan of ARGENTINA!!!!

But, to tell you the truth, I am very, very impressed of the succedings of the German team. Klose, Lahm, Frings... they are SO GOOD. So if Argentina is to lose, which is HIGHLY unlikely, but anyway, IF the German team proves to be better – in that case I wish German won the tournament as a whole.

And vive la France! Go and show Brazil!

More on Frankfurt soon.

IStori

Ps. (See you soon, O, F and P. I love you hospitality and appreciate it. Thank you so much!)

Life after Midnight Sun Film Festivals

Oh dear,

Midnight Sun Film Festivals, taking place in Lapland, is one of the best summer festivals I know: Films, good friends, brilliant discussions (especilly the ones by the river Kitinen in the morning, or at the Club anytime), lovely music, endless sunshine (almost endless, and no snow this year!), good parties, football (even a LIVE match: Sodankyla against the rest of the world - and a remark to you, organisers: I would have played if I had only heard about the match beforehand, i.e before joining the fans when the match was to start, in high heels)!

The ones who have never been there, check this out: www.msfilmfestival.fi.

When it comes to football World Cup, I am quite happy with the latest results. But the most difficult and exciting games are yet to be played, of course.

Paljon terveisiä Teille Sodankylän reissaajille:

H, V, A, Aslak-Poro, Mikko I, Satu, Hannu W, Mickael, Sedis, Mervi, Pekka K, Nicke, Kati, Ville, VP, Mailis, Petteri, Timo M, Timo F, Johanna, Satu, Eero, Tape, Ari, Vesa, Kaisa, Vappu... ja kaikki muut!

Ja paikoista ylivoimaisesti eniten terveisiä Seita-baarille, jossa ruoan saanti tosiaan kestää järjettömän kauan, mutta jonka tunnelma on ainutlaatuinen, ja jota kuitenkin huomaan kaipaavansa eniten + Rooperantelle, Revontulelle, Annabellalle, Hotelli Sodankylälle ja Karhulle sekä tietenkin Teltalle!

I. S.

Gene Hackman and today's figures

Luiz Felipe "Gene Hackman" Scolari showed he can sill coach winning team! In my ranking list Portugal will get quite far. (But not until the beautiful end...)

My best scorers in the cup as a whole (I filled in a coupon in Finnish betting system "Veikkaus") they have been Raul, though unfortunately he is a Real Madrid man and I'd prefer Barca, and Crespo. <- Group C is quite difficult, but, well, my ultimate winner is Argentina after all!

But what happened to Sweden!? That was so lame. Be ashamed you lazy neighbours. And, according to the accusing headlines of yours, you are. Perhaps it is true that if one is too sure about winning a match and too easily, then winning will be most difficult.

Today the matches will end like this: ITA-GHA 2-1 (not too personal a choice but couldn't help it...) and USA-CZE 0-4. ou'll see!

Best,
I. S.

Nyt se alkaa! This is how it will go:

A1: GERMANY
A2: EQUADOR
B1: ENGLAND
B2: SWEDEN
C1: ARGENTINA
C2: HOLLAND
D1: MEXICO
D2: PORTUGAL
E1: CZECH
E2: ITALY
F1: BRAZIL
F2: AUSTRALIA
G1: FRANCE
G2: SOUTH KOREA
H1: SPAIN
H2: TUNIS

1. A1 - B2, GERMANY
2. C1 - D2, ARGENTINA
3. B1 - A2, ENGLAND
4. D1 - C2, MEXICO
5. E1 - F2, CZECHIA
6. G1 - H2, FRANCE
7. F1 - E2, BRAZIL
8. H1 - G2, SPAIN

A. 1. - 2., ARGENTINA
B. 3. - 4., MEXICO
C. 5. - 6., CZECHIA
D. 7. - 8., BRAZIL

Finals:
1. ARGENTINA - BRAZIL

WINNER: ARGENTINA
SILVER: BRAZIL
BRONZE: MEXICO
4TH: CZECHIA

Place your bet, let the fun begin...

I. S.

Iceland: Blue Lagoon and Thingvellir

Quick remarks on Iceland, now that I'm back home.

* At least half of the Icelandic words end with "-ur". Why? (It's not plural, is it?) I have to dig deeply Nordic linguistics.

* Blue Lagoon was wonderful! We should have something of a kind in Finland, too. We do not have volcanic activity (not so close to the surface anyway), but geothermal energy could be used everywhere. (And we have clean water, lots of it.) I have never swam in such a beautiful pond, and in so HOT water. If I lived in Reykjavik I would go there all the time, every week at least.

* The place that advertises "the best fish and chips in the world" is lying. They were NOT the best, not even good.

* One should rent a car and drive to Thingvellir, as we did, where there is the border of the Americal and European continental shelves. And you notice that! The walls are huge. On the way there from Reykjavik there lots of horses and sheep everywhere and the home of Haldor Laxnes. Also the landscape is differnt from Reykjavik, much greener and the volcanoes are quite dramatic. It takes only one hour and a half to Thingvellir from Reykjavik. The roads are in good condition but you are not allowed to drive faster than 90 km/h. These roads must be very slippery in winter.

* Other most interesting animals we saw: dolphins, whales and puffins (suomeksi: lunni). (We went to the open sea by a whale watching ship.)

* More about Iceland here: www.visiticeland.com/

* The best bar in Reykjavik is Belly's, near the port and Kolaportid fleemarket (the most expensive flee market in the world.) It is not too expensive, quite crowded later at night, but the atmosphere and the owner were nice. They don't serve food but allow you to bring your own pizza from the takeaway next door.

Best wishes to our gang, and to my new friends:
Hannu, Aino, Pasi, Leena, Ossi, Sjon, Ian and Roberta!

Ps. Mennään pian uudestaan ja otetaan vauvelikin sitten mukaan!

Rankin revealing the origins of Rebus and Oxford Bar

Ian Rankin met his fans at an Icelandic bookstore. He was an impressive, clever and very friendly speaker when he addressed the large and enthusiastic audience, and he told about how he got started with Rebus novels - and at the end he was telling about the next one he is currently working on. He will finish it "next week". (Perhaps his publisher was around.) I can hardly wait untill October when that one is out!!!!!

I have to go now. And a bit later, perhaps we´ll get to see some whales.

I.S.

Reykjavik, Iceland and Ian Rankin

Around Reykjavik there are spectacular landscapes. But it is a bit cold... Coming from Finland I have always thought we Finns know how to dress when being in small northern town by the sea. But what I tought should be enough is not.

I am very curious about the history and culture behind these views. How did the Vikings get started in here, from where did they bring food and all the equipment needed when it comes to building infrastructure? How come is it possible that the Icelanders read so much, and so good literature? Because they have nothing else to do?

Today the one detective story author I find absolutely the best, Number One, the King, will be here: IAN RANKIN! (But I love Scottish crime novels, and the best new wirtes of the genre are from Edinburgh and Glasgow.) Rankin will do signing in a book store "Mal og Menning", in "down town" (well, it is down the hill, actually). What a lycky coincidence!

Best wishes,
Iida and the gang

Themes, from swimming to Belarus.

Have been thinking about the themes I should be writing about. And I have these, so far. But these are a lot.

Easy, more relaxed stuff:

1) Swimming (outdoors, natural waters preferably)
2) Films (not time to see new ones, so this will be about classics, probably)
3) Football. My beloved topic. Ang in this blog, at least this summer.

Hardboiled:

1) Human rights and international politics. (Especially Eastern European. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. And Northern African, Like Tunis.)
2) Global warming (eco stuff in general)
3) Languages.

Seem ambitious, don't they? But one has to have challenges. And otherwise writing this blog is just too easy, and sooner or later, it will be too boring.

I. S.