On location

Spent the morning hours walking around in Helsinki. Actually this is my first visit to the Finish capital, on earlier trips I have just been to Turku and the surrounding archipelago. So far, my impressions of Helsinki are positive, it reminds me a bit of Oslo and its affluence. Yet it has a certain eastern flavour with small food stands in the corners that makes one think of Białystok.

Bought Hufvudstadsbladet to learn more about yesterday’s victory of Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential election. I am surprised by my own feelings regarding this election. On one hand, as generally left-leaning, I am obviously critical of Sarkozy, yet in the case of France I feel so completely fed up with its political mentality (not to mention its stance on the Common Agricultural Policy) that I think that some kind of change is necessary. And, Ségolène Royal would probably had done nothing in that direction.

As for Hufvudstadsbladet, I have to share some von Wright-trivia. According to his memoirs, this was the only newspaper that George Henrik von Wright read. And always while standing up, so that he would not read things that he considered unimportant.

Finally, just to clarify my previous post here on Rawls & Me. I have absolutely no problem with youth hostels, I often stay in them. But this hotel comes at €105 a night and then I think you have the right to expect something more than a broken coffee machine.