After having a long and sleepless overnight in Riga and on our way to Vilnius, evaluated our day for resting, then for a night sightseeing - which I call “night-seeing” - and exploring the local breweries in the old town.
Just like in Finland and Latvia, Lithuania too celebrates the 100th anniversary of its independence. While walking in the streets of the city, we could come across several buildings illuminated with the colors of red, green and yellow, which represent the Lithuanian flag, and #LT100 hashtags, such as in front of the Presidential Palace.🇱🇹 Today we’ll continue to explore the old town of Vilnius in -19 degrees (which feels like -28)😄❄️ Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!☃️🔮
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After a day of exploring the old town, our second day in Riga has been dedicated more for a museum and observing the periphery of the city.
The House of the Blackheads has been the first place we stopped over, and enjoyed an overview of the history Riga. Walking along the cobblestone streets of the old town, we reached the Central Market - which used to be German zeppelin hangars - where traditional Latvian specialties, meat and milk products, and souvenirs can be found. Meanwhile, we headed toward the two bridges connecting the two sides of Riga, then walked over “Akmens Tilts”, for the purpose of viewing the picturesque landscape of Riga from a distance. As we had a night bus at 2:30 am to Vilnius, we stayed outside, wandering various cafes of Riga, waiting for our journey. Though being extremely cold and tired while walking along the streets, it was totally worth to explore the city of Riga! Now we’re Vilnius, ready to begin to experience our new destination! Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!🖖🏼🌍✨ With an early flight from Helsinki yesterday, we came to Riga which is our first stop during our short getaway toward the Baltics.
With narrowish cobblestone streets, wonderful harmonization of Art Nouveau and wooden style architectures, which involve intricate building facades, with carvings of flowers and mythological creatures; the old town of Riga has a lot to offer for its visitors. Enlisted as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the buildings neatly and chiefly designed by Latvian architects have been well preserved up until now, despite the city’s long history under occupation and wars. In addition to these well designed historical buildings, there are several churches and cathedrals, which became the landmarks of the city, we could visit. Yesterday, even -18 degrees couldn’t stop us from exploring the city of Riga! We were also astonished to see the frozen River Daugava, which bisects the city, creating an amazing picturesque view, of which we tried to capture despite our hands turning into red😅 Besides, the price of everything is way cheaper when comparing to Finland! After having lived in Tampere for over 6 months, we were surprised to see how eating out would no longer be a luxury, but an activity of enjoying good food😋 We’ll be continuing to explore Riga on our second day, then head to Vilnius, which will be our second and last destination during this journey. Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!😎🗺✈️ Further reading: facebook.com/bossoloji Early in the afternoon today, I took a walk on the frozen Näsijärvi, one of the lakes surrounding the city of Tampere. Yes, seriously, walking on a lake!
The first moments of stepping on the icy surface of this frozen giant was truly astonishing! As an expat who was brought up in the Mediterranean, walking on ice was something unprecedented. Even though the first few minutes of my walk have been full of concern, as if the ice would somehow be cracked, I felt relieved after seeing people skiing and biking. Then I went with the flow: enjoying the scenery, while listening to soothing music and watching people sliding... The photos you’ll see in this album may remind you the scenes from a movie taking place in the post-apocalypse. But they’re for real, and another reason to fall in love with mother nature and with Finland!🇫🇮💎 Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!☃️📓✨ Winter reflections from Tampere... If I define it in a few words, I would say that it’s super cold but joyous and peaceful at the same time. The cover of white snow indeed illuminates even the darkest nights here. Plus, in the last two days, the shy sun finally turned its face towards us, from behind the layers of fluffy clouds! Well, how would you define the winter in your current location?😊
Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!📓✈️😎✨ Have I ever told you that my passion in traveling has been bolstered even more after reading “the Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton, whose ideas and thoughts I internalized so much? Just like he does, what I try to do during my journeys is gaining as much experience as I can get, exploring as much landmarks and hidden spots as I can, and learning the stories of as much people as I can. Well, it’s been almost a week since I came from Turkey, and didn’t have a chance to write you so far. In this last week, it felt like I’ve never been out of Finland for 3 weeks, my break now seems like a dream to me: puff, came and went, all of a sudden. Now I’m home, keeping up with my routine, but at the same time planning new journeys to various places, not with the purpose of reaching a particular destination, but of having further experience through my expectations.✈️😎 “Maybe what makes a good traveler, what makes a fulfilled traveler has less to do with the particular destination that you’re going to, and much more to do with your attitude towards it; much more to do with the way that you’re looking at what you’ve come to see.” -Alain de Botton, the Art of Travel Well, there is a lot to learn from and to be influenced by Alain de Botton in terms of traveling. Either at home or on expedition, you can watch the short clip below and get some idea of what he tries to make a point.😌✨ Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji! Time to count down? As the end of 2017 approaches, now it’s time to recall the good memories of the year!
Been to 11 countries (10 of which are brand new destinations), and 23 cities within the year, for me 2017 has been a year in which I had a chance to continue to realize one of the greatest passions in my life: traveling! By that time, I also graduated from bachelor’s degree, and moved to Finland in August for my master’s studies, for the purpose of pursuing my dreams! 🔮👩🏻🎓✈️🇫🇮 Holding the badge of having been to 35 countries up to now, which I consider as a huge step in becoming closer to my lifetime wish of visiting at least 50 countries before the age of 30, I believe that the year 2018 will bring more journeys accompanied with fabulous memories!😌 So, fingers crossed for new destinations in the new year!🤞🏼 What is your greatest wish which you desire to realize in 2018?🤗 Well, let’s do the biggest #tbt of the year! Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!✈️🌍✨ Merhaba* Istanbul! After 4 months of longing, and taking the roots in Finland, with a connected flight through Kiev, I came to Turkey yesterday. To the place which used to be my “habitual residence”.
My previous home, home for 23 years, is now a place where I visit during holidays. But in fact, for me “home is where the heart is”, so I carry my home with me to the every single place I go. That is why I encounter almost no hardships in getting used to new places. This, I can define, is only a kind of ad-break as my visit will last for 3 weeks. Yet, a break in which I’ll share the very good moments with my family and friends, plus welcome the new year together! And a break in which I believe that I’ll save enough energy for my future travels in 2018!💫 This morning, I woke up to a pure sunny sky. The sunlight infiltrating in my room made my day, and gave me the motivation to be saved for the gloomy days in Tampere😌✨ Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!✈️🌍😎✨ *It means “hello” in Turkish. Pride, joy, and a flood of emotion... Yesterday, in December 6, Finland has celebrated its 100th year of independency with a great vigour and excitement, in an amazing atmosphere; and commemorated its history that paved the way to its independence.
Though the thermometers indicated -7 degree Celcius most of the time, nothing stopped the Finns (and us, as a bunch of foreigners😄) from attending the celebrations in the central square of Tampere. But why is this so important for the Finns? Exactly a century ago, in December 6, 1917, Finland declared its independence from Russia. In these 100 years, the country has seen an immense development and growth in many sectors, as well as reached high levels of life quality. I, as a non-Finn who is studying in Finland, admire how the country has done so much in these past 100 years. And am happy to live here in this happy country🤗✨ As in Finnish, hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää, Suomi!*🇫🇮🇫🇮💯 *Happy independence day, Finland! I always find the doors and archs quite interesting as they give me the vibes that they hinder a secret or that they contain the traces of a long history. When you go under or pass through them, you might find yourself in a totally different place. And especially when you are traveling!
So, how about exploring the doors and archs then? This time, I’ll be presenting the compilation of the photos of archs and doors from various places of the world. Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!✈️🌎😎✨ |
About MeHey there! I am a travel enthusiast, who was born in Istanbul, and now studying in Finland. I am a part-time traveler, but would like to become a full-timer soon! Categories
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