Questing the oceans and questing the seas, searching for ultimate booze

♫ Alestorm – Rum

Now that I realize how long it has been since my last post, I can only say: this is getting ridiculous. :> I've been busy, I guess, but I suppose I'll just settle for posting this rarely, yet I doubt anyone cares. (I doubt anyone reads anyway!)

However, I have several reasons to post today:
1. It's my birthday, and I think I've usually made a birthday post. :>
2. I've recently acquired something about which I posted much earlier.
3. Alcohol related posts in private blogs is a real hot topic in Finland at the moment due to the regional state administrative agency forbidding private bloggers to use a certain logo in their posts. This was the original logo for a beer and whiskey expo, and the logo (naturally) comprised the word "whiskey". The agency threatened to deny the expo their licence to sell alcohol unless these completely private bloggers, completely unrelated to the event, remove the logos from their blogs. And well, the Finnish alcohol legislation will get remarkably stricter at the beginning of 2015, and we shouldn't tell how much we like booze in the social media, so I think it's about the time to say: I bloody love rum.

It's been almost two years since I wrote about how I would like to get my hands on a bottle of Kraken rum. I figured I would have to resort to ordering from abroad since I couldn't find any when traveling. Just recently I participated in a group order from the Netherlands, and it was quite successful. Not only did I get some Kraken, but it was also cheap! And just look at that bottle! Isn't it stylish? And the label? The Kraken drawing? Oh, and it tastes good too!

Birthday was good enough a reason to have a taste of Kraken, also to offer some to my mother for the trouble and pain she had to go through several years ago to the day. (Although I wasn't her first child, I made sure her delivery was a hellish experience!)

And here's a pic of me when I actually got the bottle – which was a few weeks ago. It seems that my smile is the most genuine whenever I'm holding a bottle of rum. :) So long!

Yet another new year

♫ Sabaton – We burn

Happy New Year, my dear readers! I know I'm a bit late with this one as well, but I think it's alright to wish a happy New Year at least during the first week of January. :)

I was a lousy, lazy blogger in 2013 and now I'm trying to write about the past year a bit, maybe about the new one as well. I was inspired by a few fellow bloggers' New Year's posts, and thus I'm going to borrow some elements and/or questions from them. ;)

The best memories of 2013
Going abroad feels nice every time – visiting Rome was something to remember for sure. A very dear friend got married in March, and I was one of her maids of honor.

"Just as sure as Rome is falling, I'll be rising again..."

The only photo of myself taken with my own camera at my friend's wedding :x

Did you do something you had never done before?

I visited Ostrobothnia for the first time AND for the second time too. >:x The second was not naturally the first anymore, but I visited different towns (and different sub-regions!) so I suppose it does count! And the trip to Rome was my first time in Italy as well.

I also went to a real big stadion concert for the first time ever – my favourite bands have usually been way too small to perform at such venues.

I started exercising at a gym, like weight-lifting and such! And no, this was not a New Year's resolution. It seems I quit too, since I suddenly no longer had that much time. >:x I didn't like it that much either, though I did feel good after the exercise and I know it did me good, but I have other physical hobbies which I prioritized once I no longer had the time for everything.

And when it comes to doing things for the first time, I could probably list a bunch of pole dance moves which I nailed in 2013.

You can go to Ostrobothnia, but you can't get away that easily...

Trying to catch a glimpse of Iron Maiden

This is not one of those epic success pole moves, unless the miracle of having enough grip at home counts. I have no evidence of the epic success moments. :(

The biggest achievement

Getting paid for doing graphic design again.

The biggest failure

My body is one big failure! Seriously, I'm suffering from something all the time; sports injuries here and there. At least I'm not very sickly otherwise, but it does piss me off that my body can't just take certain things when it comes to exercise (for example) and thus, I also failed my previous New Year's resolution (though I can blame my head too, not just the body!) Oh well, I'm trying again this year – hopefully I'll have some achievements to boast about later!

Are you happier than you were on this day a year ago?

Strangely enough, being able to drag myself out of bed too early each morning in order to go to work does make me happier than not being able to do that.

What did you want and get?
A job.

What did you want but didn't get?

A permanent job, but I am very happy and grateful for what I did get.

A rule of life you learnt

Don't evaluate yourself based on what others might expect of you (especially if you cannot meet those expectations).

And finally, what I am looking forward to or wish to experience in 2014:

I would like to get a permanent job.

A trip abroad – I'm just curious to see foreign countries and interesting cities, and I'll have to hope I can find the time and money.

Hopefully, there will be a lot of great concerts too!

And, I wish to learn a lot of new cool tricks on the pole.

Secular haze

♫ Ghost – Per Aspera Ad Inferi

Oops again. I think I've had a good reason not to update! This time I've been somewhat busy for real – you see, I got a job recently! I've been working hard since the end of October, and although the position isn't permanent, I'm quite happy. Back in the advertising business!

In order to provide you with something visual, here is a collage of a certain outfit I've found more than apt a few times in autumn. I'm wearing a black tube dress and well, a jacket-like top, and the result is an outfit in which I feel comfortable (=I wore it to a birthday dinner with my dearest, being able to devour a lot of food easily) yet stylish enough. These photos were taken on Wednesday after a certain Christmas party. I didn't have much time to change clothes or do anything else after work before heading for the party, which is why the outfit is rather plain too, and I don't have a fancy hairdo.

Sometimes my edited colours bring out the details of (black) clothes in a more flattering way than brightness settings!

I've also been to some interesting gigs, especially yesterday. We went to see the Swedish heavy/rock band Ghost and damn, the show and setlist were cool! We'd already seen Ghost warming up for Iron Maiden last summer, but a skeleton-faced cardinal singing about Satan in broad daylight is not so cool...

How have you all been, had a busy autumn and December so far?

Another year, more precious booty

It's my birthday today, and although I don't have much to write about let alone many photos to show, I wanted to share this one photo of a present I got from a dear friend!

I really appreciate this kind of thoughtfulness! She had made a treasure chest out of paper and cardboard and filled it with RUM COOKIES. I've never, never received a present in a more perfect wrapping, this was so adorable!

Hopefully everyone else had a good weekend as well! I was busy having fun yesterday, busy doing work-related stuff today... :x I have such insane piles of dishes waiting to be washed that I guess I'll just take care of them next and then try out a pirate themed game I got from my special someone! So long!

Instagram Sunday

♫ Blackstar Halo – Alice In Wonderland

I know it's Friday today, but last Sunday I went out for a walk and took some photos with Instagram, partly because the walk turned out to be extraordinary but also because the day was very beautiful and rather warm, in September!

There was a circus in town! I hadn't known in advance, but the brightly colored tent made me feel strangely nostalgic – considering I've never been to one. I've been to a circus only once, but it's not a touring one. A fellow designer and I had made things for the show, so we got to go see it too.

And there were camels! Dawww. I was supposed to take a short walk, but when I saw those fellows, I figured I had wandered far from home...

I went on near the shoreline and then stopped to sit on a bench to enjoy the view since it was sunny and warm too!

And finally a blurry selfie, worse quality since I used the front camera of my phone. Although my sunglasses are too loose, I like the pilot style!

Do you have Instagram? You can find mine at http://instagram.com/capt4inmarian though my photos are private – however, I'd be happy to accept followers and follow you back!

Back to school

♫ Medusa's Child – Holy Land

It only took me two years since I got my bachelor's degree to return to school. Okay, to be precise – as from today, I'm only taking an extra course in university, on photojournalism. So I'm not studying for a degree, but nevertheless, I love saying "I'm going to school", just because calling university "school" pisses some university students off. :>

I wore this top with a simple black denim miniskirt. I wouldn't have bought this shirt if it hadn't been bloody cheap, but it's fairly nice... It's not lacy, it's made of, hmm, smooth tricot or something with a pattern like that.

I also realized I really truly hate taking photos of myself. I've stated this a billion times in my blog, I suppose, but I cannot understand how it can be so difficult. I don't think I'm the worst photographer either! I might be the most critical though...

I considered purchasing this shirt in grey brownish color, but then I chickened out... Lately, I've been more and more interested in trying colors that might actually suit me well, rather than colors that please my eyes. (And I wasn't sure if that  grey brownish hue would have looked good on me, so I decided black always does... Yeah right.) I'm not sure I'll start purchasing colorful clothes any time soon though. However, I've considered letting my natural hair color grow out... We'll see how that goes! My hair is ugly brownish grey, and I'm doubtful as to whether it can possibly look good on me. Okay, I haven't really thought of staying like that for good – but I would rather dye my hair with a color close to my natural one in the future. I have a strong feeling a semi-natural-looking color would compliment my skin tone and eye color most – especially once I've let it fade, I'm not efficient at maintaining complicated hair colors!

What do you think, can a dull greyish hair color actually look good on someone? Do you generally think people look good/bad/better/worse with their natural color?

Just as sure as Rome is falling, I'll be rising again

♫ Civil War – Rome is Falling

Oh hi, it's been a while. I don't think I even need to apologize; I'm just here to tell I haven't really died away!

Since my last update, a lot of things have happened... Well, at one point in summer I escaped to Rome indeed. A beautiful and interesting city, yet an awful tourist spot as well.

Otherwise these things have kept me either busy or preoccupied; on one hand I've lacked the motivation to update my blog, on the other hand I've wanted to be where I think I've been needed more – with the near and dear ones who either needed my support or supported me.

Don't be worried – I am quite fine, and have been all the time too. The worst has befallen others close to me. And I can't help but wonder whoever it was that broke a mirror two years ago when bigger and smaller tragedies began surging over my family (and friends, some of whom have suffered a lot lately) – nor can I help but wonder when it will end.

But I will try to post something nice again – it's not like all these days had been miserable, not at all.

"I'm here to march 'gainst the force of evil 

Here to die in the pouring rain 

But just as sure as Rome is falling 

I'll be rising again 

I will return as a new believer 

Here to conquer the walls of pain 

And just as sure as Rome is falling 

I'll be rising again"

A new start on old habits

♫ Edguy – King Of Fools

I feel relatively lazy, but I figured I could write something on New Year and such... In order to prove my laziness, I snatched a stock image from stockfreeimages.com and added a funny quote to it, in order to illustrate the blog post...

I guess I'm still searching for my blogging motivation, but maybe I will find it one day. My life alone isn't interesting enough I guess, and I put most of the music stuff into our music blog anyway.

As for 2012, I could simply say I'm looking forward to a better year 2013. The latter half of 2012 was pretty much spoiled by my unemployment, even though there were many happy moments too, but... Well, I was never used to not doing anything. I've never spent this many months "doing nothing", especially if you consider how busy I was since I was seventeen~for at least until I was twenty-two or something. Always studying or working. Then mostly just working.

Though I have learnt many things during my employment too; I've become not only quite good at baking rolls but also at writing job applications. Yet not good enough to get a position, but I know the competition is very hard in the field of, well, graphic design or advertising.

I also lost my grandmother, and some other relatives as well. I hope the year 2013 goes without such as the year 2011 didn't go either.

Yet 2012 wasn't thoroughly bad. I realized my dream and went to Berlin, and loved it. And I finally found the time to start a new hobby at the beginning of the year: pole-dancing. Considering how I've always been anything but sporty, I have managed to surprise myself so many times with my progress and that hobby has been very rewarding. I've found such strength in my body that I had thought such things would be impossible for me.

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I don't want to make any. I don't think I'm in such need of a change in my habits. Sure, I could exercise more often and such, but I'm not totally hopeless at trying to live in a healthy way. I have no such habits which I should get totally rid of (or no, perhaps this is a wrong thing to say, maybe we all do if we think enough?), like smoking. Well, I can and I want to try to be a better person, but I should try that all the time.

Instead of resolutions, I would rather set some loose goals for myself – loose because I cannot be sure how fast I could really achieve them, no matter how much I tried. But I want to find a job in 2013, and hopefully also do splits. Both will probably be challenging, especially the latter since I'm anything but limber!

I wish you all a better New Year 2013! So long!

Winter is coming

♫ Sabaton – White Death

...hello there? It's been only a bit more than a month, but damn, I feel lazy. Either it is the lack of quality content or the lack of updates to begin with which is costing me some readers, but well, I'm happy of every single reader I still have, those who are still interested in the stuff I write (if I write!). Thank you!

Hey winter, you may come now.

Some of you can probably remember how I wrote about winter coats (for Sophistiqué Noir's theme posts) a year ago. Well, I never found a winter coat back then, and I got a bit desperate this autumn. Last week I ended up doing something radical: I ordered a coat from UK, hoping to get something decent. (No offence, dear Brits, but I just thought your view on a "warm winter coat" might be different from a Finn's.) Coldness and winter hit us on Friday, and my coat arrived promptly on the very same day. It was delivered very quickly!

I think I haven't posted many (if any) outfit photos ever since I had to rearrange furniture in my apartment. Even though the background is alright here now that I can no longer take the photos in front of my red curtain, it's more difficult (or simply annoying) to arrange the camera and tripod properly. Not to mention the extremely long and loose wire...

The coat turned out to be alright in practice. I was a bit afraid it would be cold since it is very thin to the touch (you see, there's fake fur trim only around the hood), but I have already tested it and been doing fine so far. It's not a perfect option when it comes to style, but I am too picky to find something perfect – I would have to make one by myself, and that's... way too much to ask. The coat also has twelve very annoying buttons which are a pain to button up (and unbutton). Also, the size XS feels huge on me. I almost ordered the size S instead, fortunately I did not, that really is a bit too spacious to my liking already.

The quality of the coat is surprisingly nice though, considering the brand is Hell Bunny, and their quality varies a lot. I'm still surprised I managed to find a relatively nice coat in their collection, but cannot complain.

I also purchased something very, very exceptional for me – PVC hotpants. I've usually tried to avoid PVC since it is not a very eco-friendly material, but I kinda found some use for a pair, so...

Besides, these were very cheap (and yes, they are new), cost me less than 10 euros with the delivery. The hotpants look good in their own right, my bottom when wearing them does not. :(

Shiny, shiny PVC...

Otherwise... I am not even sure what has kept me away from blogging. I am lazy to take photos of myself. In fact, I hate doing it, it always takes so many failures to get one successful shot. Blogging is also quite a lonely hobby for me (at least when it comes to my personal blog) since I don't really have anyone I could ask to take photos of me. Or well, I do have, I just don't expect them to have the patience, or be interested at all. Those friends who might enjoy it live too far away these days.

Besides, I haven't been shopping that much lately, and if I ever dress up fancy, those outfits are simply just repeating themselves. It's nothing worth showing to you again and again. Personally, I have realized that I like the relatively similar outfits I wear whenever I'm partying. The differences between those outfits are quite subtle, maybe a different skirt in the same colour, but still the same corset and such... But I'm only happy when I've found outfits which make me feel nice and comfortable but also good-looking, hopefully at least.

And then... Well, I am still unemployed. Or even more so than I was at the end of summer and in the autumn. At the end of November, my contract ended for good. I was permanently laid off because the company simply couldn't afford taking me back anymore. Even though I've successfully made my way to many many job interviews, I've so far mostly ended up being the second or third best option. Recently, I have been seriously thinking of freelancing. Especially since several quarters have been particularly interested in my work, but they couldn't permanently hire me. It's flattering and nice to be contacted first when it comes to work, it prevents me from falling into the depression of being a total loser, but it won't yet pay me anything. Still I wish I could find a nice, steady job soon enough.

P.S: And still, if you're into metal music, go see our blog 23.58! We went to see Sabaton recently, so there's a gig report up now!

You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes

Today was the Thrill the World day! You know, the worldwide event where people dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller, dressed up as zombies, trying to break world records. Since the event was held here, I actually considered joining the dance, but I was simply too lazy to practice the routine. I watched one video tutorial and was like "d'oh", but seriously, I can only blame my laziness. If I had tried, I would have learnt it quickly, I do know I'm quick to learn things like dance routines and such by heart.

However, I went to see the show! I had considered taking a good camera with me, but got second thoughts because of the early winter and extremely slippery roads! I mean, SERIOUSLY, I was afraid I'd come crashing down to the street if I had had an expensive camera hanging around my neck or even in my bag (taking a cushioned camera bag would have been too much). (And I don't have safe shoes! Even warboots (or ESPECIALLY those) fail me!) And as a side note I can say, I really hope the whole winter won't be like that. :| My home street is particularly awful with sloping sidewalks.

Took some lousy photos with my phone anyway. :D After the dance some man behind me in the audience asked why I wasn't dancing, and I really began to wonder if it was a random question to a random stranger or if he thought I looked like one of them. He even asked if I was going to their afterparty... well, no? I wasn't exactly dressed up for Halloween, though my makeup was like this:

I've showed a bunch of makeup photos like this (at least I think so) but what was at least semi-exceptional tonight was the way I applied pink eyeshadow around my eyes, so on bottom lids as well. Perhaps I looked like a zombie when I was freezing out there... :0 So long!

Of hope and hopelessness

♫ Iron Maiden – Ghost Of The Navigator

Oh hi... I'm still alive. Life's been busy and stressful. With some good moments and sad moments. I can start with the worst news and leave the best for last.

My grandmother passed away. She was my last grandparent alive and probably the closest too since she was always living so near. The funeral was on Friday, it was quite a beautiful and warm yet naturally sad event. She will be missed for sure, but she was 87.

I've been down with a flu too, probably fell ill again within such a short period of time because of all the stress. Being laid-off is tough, but I've been looking for work and I've been to many job interviews. :0 It's been motivating at least – making my way to the top three most potential applicants out of two hundred has helped me believe in myself a bit more. Or to be precise: the first two jobs I applied for right after my unemployment period began didn't result in job interview invitations, but after those... I've been invited to interviews for every position I've applied for. Sure, I've already been rejected after interviews for being "too competent", but I don't care. I'm still waiting, feeling nervous and hopeful and desperate at the same time, but at least I know all the interviews have gone well and I've done my best, if someone still is just a bit better, then... that's how it is.

Yesterday was also my birthday! I like being born on 13th since it's sometimes Friday, though Saturday is also good for practical reasons. We went out for dinner and a few (or a few more) drinks and had a great time. I shall post a photo, you can also see my new hair which I had redone last Tuesday at a hairdresser's.

...well it's not my fault you cannot see my delicious portion, but on the other hand the quality of the photo isn't so breathtaking to begin with, and I blame it on the phone and its flashlight. Anyways, so long, it's about the time I do something useful today!

Heavy beat Saturday

♫ Inmoria – Hear My Prayers

Oops, I'm not getting back to Berlin posts yet either. Instead, I'm trying to write a short post about last Saturday's heavy metal festival in the neighboring town. It was a two-day festival, but we only went there on Saturday. And here we have a quick summary of each artist and their show. The quality of the photos is "smartphone" because honestly, I forgot to take a compact camera with me.

Anthriel
The first band was Anthriel, metal from my hometown. I have been listening to their album The Pathway, and thus, really looked forward to seeing them live. Their show was good but it felt short, I don't think they even played all the songs from their only album. Their style is like melodic and progressive metal, hear for yourself:


Anthriel – Devil's Lullaby

Lunar Path
The second band was, although still Finnish, not from any of the neighboring towns. I hadn't listened to them at all in advance, so I didn't know what to expect. However, an unexpected quarter figured out I'm a fan too, so yeah... That's not quite true. Their show was alright, but it's difficult to set me on fire with a live show if I just don't know the band already. I'm not a big fan of female vocals in metal bands either.


Lunar Path – Paper Dove

Battle Beast
Did I just say something about not liking female vocals in metal bands? Well, I'm not taking that back exactly. Battle Beast was the band I was looking forward to the most, I have been listening to them quite a lot lately. And yeah, the frontwoman... Bloody hell, that voice. Let's put it this way: Most female metal vocalists make the music sound somehow too delicate and too dramatic to my taste. If they have soft voices (and even worse, if they're trying to imitate Tarja Turunen), they just rarely please me, at least not enough (to set me on fire). However, this lady, Nitte Valo, is so damn kick-ass. If I could sing like her, sure I would be a vocalist in a metal band! So yeah: at the moment I cannot name a female metal vocalist I would like more. Enough said. The music is awesome too, and the guys are quite young. The show was amazing. Perhaps that's the reason why these photos were the worst. I concentrated on rocking instead.


Battle Beast – Show me how to die


Battle Beast – The band of the hawk

Cowerpoint
This one was a heavy metal cover band. Nice stuff, although their version of Scorpions' Big City Night was a bit tame, it's not easy to convey the same, hum, expression as Klaus Meine. Got to hear some Skid Row, Judas Priest, Wasp and humm... Iron Maiden, even two of their songs. Fear of the dark made us jump-jump-jump. :> Apologies, I don't think I jumped on anyone's toes. It wasn't that crowded yet at that point.

Sonata Arctica
Does this band have to be introduced? Funnily, even though I like them a lot, I had never seen them live before. On the other hand I had a feeling their live show wouldn't be as good as their old songs are on an album. I had never even seen a very convincing live video, quite the contrary, but on the other hand I'm not into watching live videos to begin with. Thus, I was also looking forward to them, even though I was slightly afraid they would mostly play their new material. I have only heard their new single, not the whole new album, and I really like their very old material the most.

It was obvious that most people had only come there because of Sonata. :> Even though the event had an age limit of 18 years, the most avid Sonata fans were occupying the front row from the very beginning. (This resulted in these absurd moments when the other bands were playing and the front row seemed bored while the fun started from the second row to the back of the audience.) Thus, we didn't even try to get much closer to the stage anymore. The gig was okay in the end, even though they did play some songs I didn't know. I would have loved to hear more older songs, but at least there was FullMoon, and Don't say a word. Ah, had fun, great fun.


Sonata Arctica – FullMoon (cannot decide which songs to link here, so yeah, at least this is awesome)

It was difficult to get back to this city though! :D And I wouldn't have expected it to cost almost ten euros – the night time doubled the normal fee. Sadly, we and one couple heading in the same direction figured it out a bit too late – we should have shared a taxi, yet on the other hand it was impossible to find a free one. But it was fun still. Good times, good times. So long!

P.S: The festival outfit photo provided by a local newspaper this time. :0 So there, Sherlocks. Best regards, "the princess among the metal goblins".

No reason to stay is a good reason to go

♫ Hammerfall – Glory to the brave

I hope my post title doesn't sound suicidal as it's not supposed to, it was just a good quote I found when Google suggested I look for "quotes about moving on". I thought I would be all hyped about realizing my dreams when I would get back to updating my blog, but well, life's a roller coaster. I realized one dream – visited Germany and Berlin for the first time. On the day I returned my boss called me (although I am on vacation, yes) to tell he would have to lay me off "for the time being due to economic reasons". Well, we all knew what the situation was, but I certainly did not expect this – I had (my favourite recurring) a project coming up very soon after the end of my vacation, but then... Things didn't go quite as expected.

I refuse to think there was something else behind it but the fact I was probably an expensive employee (though still remarkably underpaid). I know my place and the level of my talent and know it's not overshadowed by my workmates'. And although I was not fired and I figured they want to get me back as soon as they get more clients and more money, I'm not going to sit still and wait for that day. I think they think I'm doing just that – but no, although I liked the atmosphere and had some nice projects as well, I had been thinking of looking for a job where I could get a reasonable salary and some new challenges. I have no reason to do much in July since most companies in this field are on vacation, but I will soon start to look for a new job... It's probably about the time I listen to all the people who have told me to do that even while I still was working without a threat of unemployment or a temporary lay-off.

I will soon flood you with Berlin posts, but not yet. I took over one thousand photos during the five-day trip. I spent over twelve hours a day mostly on my feet more than once, and still didn't see everything.

Yesterday I went out with a friend couple to celebrate the lady's birthday, looking like that. Didn't bother to take an outfit photo as my SLR camera was somewhere with a memory card full of Berlin. I opted for double-buns after a long time again. :> I think I heard something about "fucking Mickey Mouse" once, but I was also complimented by another person who told me I'm stunning (why, thank you!) and since I was asked, I told I'm a graphic designer, and this person thought it made sense I have such a sense of style. Though I'm glad the conversation died quickly, I feel a bit sensitive talking about work-related things at the moment. :| Almost felt I couldn't say I am a graphic designer.

So yeah. I suppose I'll get back to posting about Berlin soon enough. Somewhere between fighting bureaucracy and trying to rediscover my self-confidence and find a new beginning with a new job. With such hopes, so long.

Greetings from the Middle Ages

♫ Dreamtale – Firestorm

We popped to the Medieval Market in Turku on Sunday. It was a nice trip, the weather was quite nice (=okayish for me, hot for the others) and company was awesome.

Now I'm going to flood you with pictures. Sadly, some of them turned out, eh, not so good. I had the energy to edit some, and while I was resizing those edited ones to be posted here, the software I used seemed to compress the jpg-files quite a lot! Of course you lose some data each time you resave a jpg file, but oh dear, I've done the same procedure innumerable times when posting photos online and never before have I seen such a radical change. So yeah, the images which were supposed to be the best turned out the worst with the hardest contrast and such. :> But I don't have time to redo the whole thing or otherwise I'd end up posting these photos when they'd be anything but fresh.

Some of the photos are not exactly from the Medieval Market but just generally from summery Turku.

Sometimes I try to capture the names of the places I've visited with dates or years printed somewhere as if in order to remember when I've been there. After taking this photo, it took me a while to realize it says 2011 in the shade.

A proof that yours truly was there for real.

The Gear Yard

We were watching from the wrong side, didn't even figure out what exactly was going on...

Um, yum?

Home-brewed beer. I also tasted a bit, it wasn't as bad as I expected.

Poor little fellow was all alone in the corral.

I really liked the contrast between the fresh grass, the blooming flowers and the dirty river Aura.

Have you ever been to some Medieval events? Other types of historical events? This was my first time visiting a Medieval event although there's a similar annual happening near my original home town. So long!