gusty travels.

on my way to nyc last november, i realized a long awaited dream of mine. visiting iceland had been on the list of to-dos for years, and the opportunity presented itself almost accidentally.

friends were heading over to airwaves festival in reykjavik and offered their couch for me to crash on on my way. the layover on icelandair costs no extra, so well, why the hell not.

the festival packs the city with music fans from all over the world, and therefore my experience probably wasn't the most typical in reykjavik. for example, i've heard you only need a couple of days and end up knowing the locals and becoming a regular customer at your favorite spots. the city is small, granted, and the local people are friendly, but the selection of inviting bars and restaurants is quite extensive, really, and i could not pick my favorite.

i was expecting mind-blowing nature and was delivered an amazing scenery unlike anything i've ever seen before. one day we took a ride around the golden circle, a popular tourist route with geysers, volcanic lakes and icy waterfalls. the strange, barren landscape inescapably reminded nothing familiar and turning corners revealed sights that seemed indefinitely novel.

gullfoss waterfall.

a chair next to the geysers.

we were also greeted by the tropical (!!) storm rosa with winds that quite literally blew me off the street. at times on all fours, mostly hanging on to street signs and chains lining pedestrian walkways, we managed to get around in the city during the storm. the locals were startled but in a country where the rental cars all sport a sticker that instructs to open the doors carefully because of gusty winds, i guess it wasn't that radical.

seriously hanging on. i actually used those chains to get forward.

my favorites were still the unexpected human interventions, such as a small chapel in the middle of nowhere next to a private farmhouse and a summer house trailer park. the round and cuddly sheep stared back at us and run away ruining every single photo opportunity. the ponies with their wild hair. the smell of rotten eggs everywhere as a source of endless fart jokes – yes, we are that lame.

trailer park hugged by the mountain ridge. 

graffiti in the middle of nowhere.

sheep running away. again.

finnish store.

chapel at a farm.

reykjavik idea of subtle.

amazing paint jobs.

the first performers at next year's airwaves festival are out. cannot wait to go.

san francisco tenner.

san francisco was not a city i could engulf in a few days. it felt strangely anti-consumeristic compared to nyc where temptations solidify your flaneuring. not the san fran i encountered.

here are my ten tips.

#1 walk everywhere.

the idea of san francisco as city where you hop on and off cable cars couldn’t be further from the truth. public transportation is, from a finnish (or a new yorker) point of view, poor although there are cable cars, buses and even the bart (a sort of a metro line that’s only slightly more elaborate than our local joke of a subway here in helsinki).

although the city is vertically challenging and fairly large, it is highly walkable. even if you are relying on public transport, walking is necessary – especially if you’re off the more touristy areas. it is also the best way to enjoy and contemplate the incredible architecture.

sloping it wearing a flannel shirt by levi's, jeans by nudie, boat shoes by sperry top-sider. drinking my ultimate favorite soft drink guarana antarctica from brazil.

a noteworthy point to bear in mind: there is always yet another house that’s prettier, worthier of a photograph, more incredibly painted or located on a steeper slope around the corner. your camera will be filled with pictures of houses whether you intend to do it or not...

#2 visit the location of a human rights revolution.

it is hard to understand the appeal of san francisco without visiting the castro. nowhere else in the world will you see a giant rainbow flag hover over a neighborhood reminding of the respected presence of the lgbt community.



part an enclosed area of exclusivity and part a sanctuary for those who are still prejudiced against, castro is more a residential neighborhood than a tourist destination for those interested in peeking into the perverted lives of sodomites – an unfortunate idea of the gay community some people still cherish.

the best day to visit is saturday when the streets come to life with couples walking together to get groceries and flowers, the cafes are filled with people and the bars are full early in the afternoon. the first gay bar ever in the world to sport large windows facing the street (instead of hiding in darkness) called twin peaks is houses elderly gentlemen enjoying a pint. nowhere else have i witnessed the amount of older couples hand in hand – a heartfelt sight if anything.

harvey milk’s camera store is there and the famous book store called a different light, but the short part of castro street dedicated to gays seems less than the fuss would imply. castro is spread out and there are gems located on the side streets, like a little victorian cafe with an african-american man sitting with dangly pearl earrings drinking darjeeling and enjoying a scone with his hubby.




#3 start your day with brunch.

there are plenty of brunch places around, but i recommend going down to the mission and finding a bar at the corner of mission and 18th street. the dark, almost divey look of the place conceals the expected cuisine and once you sit down and see a surprisingly ambitious menu with the names of chefs and sous chefs, you start to fathom the treat you’re in for.

the three course menu you could choose from several options was excellent, comprised of local ingredients and the relaxed atmosphere a hipster favorite judging from the fixed gear bikes and mopeds parked outside. (my favorite bike of all time pictured here: a fixed-gear with a louis vuitton decoration, vintage saddle and a copper water bottle holder. stylish.)

oh yes, the name of the place. the corner, of course.



#4 work your way into a speakeasy.

obviously we were after great cocktails. without a doubt there are many mixology bars in a city the size of san fran, but the destination of choice was picked according to the relative difficulty of getting in and reputation for quality drinks.

thus, we chose bourbon and branch, the name of which comes from the old meaning of water source, i.e. the way you’d order a glass of bourbon and water. entrance to the bar is an inconspicuous door, unlabeled with a doorbell. the host opens and greets you and asks for a password. unless you get it right, the answer is a blunt “sorry, but the library is closed.”

with the right password you enter a small, dark old-school bar with a few booths and a host of smiling staff. your waitress presents you with a long menu (50 pages if i remember correctly) where the first 20 or so are cocktails divided by their main ingredient. the bartenders look focused and take care in preparing your cocktail. the service is fast and we ended up downing three each during our hour and a half booking.

yes, you need to book the time you require in advance through their website.

no pics allowed so i just recommend you go an experience it yerself.

#5 squash down a burrito. or two.

noone does the burrito like californians do. it is a hulk of a wrap with delicious filling made of beans, rice, sour cream, cheese, avocado and tomato (and a choice of meat if you so desire), and having one was high on my list of have-to-dos. finishing one could be considered an achievement, but it’s hard to stop eating... gluttony is such bliss.



also going down to mission, expecially on 23rd street between shotwell and hampshire, you’ll find a galore of mexican restaurants worthy of stopping by. a favored area by local hipsters i felt disappointed with it after great expectations, but the food was pretty awesome.

once you’re bored with burritos, you can always take the line at ike’s place for famous heroes.

#6 lighten up with sushi.

by the pacific ocean skipping a sushi meal would be ecologically sound, but foolish from the culinary point of view.

a small door and a staircase down leads you to a rowdy bar with sushi greatness. ryoko's was an experience i recommend wholeheartedly as a very down to earth, no-fuss original sushi and great ambiance.



#7 immerse yourself into art at sfmoma.

the museum of modern art in sf is a cornucopia of art and a must see for both the building itself and the contents. while we were there the collection of donald fisher, the founder of the gap was on display and, boy oh boy, has he as one of the most intense collectors of america got his hands on some exciting stuff.

yours truly at the rooftop garden underneath a louise bourgeois spider wearing rick owens.


#8 feel the desperation and confidence of mission.

the mission is supposedly gentrified but if you’re expecting something in the line of brooklyn’s williamsburg, you’re in for a surprise. the city’s history of providing homeless people better shelters and benefits than anywhere else in the us and the system collapsing with the economy has fortified the presence of hobos and beggars everywhere as well as stopped many development and rebuilding projects.

the neighborhood is as filled with warehouses as it was when i lived there 13 years ago, and while most neighborhoods in nyc or london have spread from one particular spot like gentrification mold, san francisco seems to follow a rain of development pins on a map. thus, after walking around deserted looking blocks, you bump into a nice cafe, like the atlas, and next to a line of homeless and obviously mentally ill people you find a random gathering of cute stores, like 17th street around valencia, dolores and church.

because of this, being in the know is more important in san francisco than nyc if you want to find great places. the chance of spotting them by accident is close to nil unless you have unlimited time to wander around.

while walking around, keep an eye on the murals that decorate the walls of many buildings. they tell stories of immigration, sanctity and politics in general, and are well worth stopping and examining more closely.

#9 go for a dive.

and just to prove the point of the previous entry, we met a friend of mine at a bar i never would have spotted nor dared to enter unless he suggested it to me.

just below market street, amongst pawn shops and junkies was a barely marked door that lead into a bar filled with indie dance hits and cool looking people. showdown was one of the bars my friend dj’s at and just like many others, there was nothing to suggest it could be tolerable let alone a great little dive. the patrons brought their bikes in for an obvious reason.



#10 taste local delicacies.

a trip would be nothing without sweets, i think. in america, you’ve got to have a piece of cherry pie at a diner, any diner. make it a la mode, just for the heck of it.

enjoy artisan chocolates at saratoga chocolates.

out of many enticing ice-cream vendors i suggest you scoop a beautiful portion of organic and locally produced sweetness at xanath ice-cream store with soothing, warm flavors like saffron-ginger. their place is a little hole-in-the-wall style, but the taste makes up for the rather bare setting.

that's it. hope you find something of use or interest if you ever decide to pop by northern cali.

chic & basic.

when it comes to choosing hotels, i take my time. although i also believe in spending the least possible amount of time in my hotel room, i still consider lodging an important detail of the trip.

my travel budget is never huge and, therefore, i cannot just pick the swankiest hotspot in town. nonetheless, i do not go for the cheapest alternative, nor do i select based on stars – grading or lodging – but try to find a combo that includes a reasonable price, an interesting location and a special orientation to design. sometimes design just means the place has crazy personality, not your average idea of a design hotel, but i'm sure you get the point...

it's not easy to find a compromise, but as i wrote before about hotels i recommend in nyc, amsterdam and paris, there are always a few that work.

my nyc recommendations could benefit from the addition of ace hotel to the list, based on hearsay.

this time i did my research unaware of the dynamics of the city, and at first chose casa camper, located in the middle of el raval. unfortunately they were booked full for a part of our trip and i had to turn elsewhere.

i stumbled repeatedly into a hotel that was named rather cheesily, chic & basic, but after browsing their site, decided to give them a go. the area, el born, a part of the old city next to parc de la ciutadella, said nothing to me and was not mentioned too favorably by anyone i asked. people knew it was dubbed as a fashion neighborhood, but the idea i got was somewhat vague.

as our choice, the hotel was spot on. el born turned out to be touristy – as all barcelona is – but classy and trendy. the street grid was the same style as everywhere in the ciutat vella (old city) – that is, intimate and cosy compared to the city above plaza catalunya – but the neighborhood seemed significantly cleaner than el raval. there were numerous excellent restaurants and the most interesting boutiques were pretty much around the corner. we were still a decent distance from the rambla ('decent' meaning 'far enough'), but close to everything including the beautiful park where we spent two afternoons relaxing. as a location you cannot do much better than el born, really.

as far as the design goes, the entire hotel was constructed of sleek white surfaces inside an old private residence. the spacious room (size large, they also have medium and xl) consisted of a huge white bed, a glass shower in the middle of the room and details from the old palazzo. needless to say, the glass facilities do restrict the occupants to the less bashful kind...

there was a continuous stylistic choice throughout the hotel: plastic "bead" curtains that hid the entrances to the rooms and also acted as light curtains inside the actual rooms where a led lighting system could be altered to suit your mood. in the hallways the led lights created an almost eerie mood. the cleverest little detail were the shaped cushions that could be used as nightstands, backrests, chairs, etc. – made of white leather, naturally.

the hotel had definitely lived past its days of glory as the hottest spot in town, but had not suffered terribly from the wear and tear despite the fact that the material choices spoke more of ingenuity than big cash. thus, although slightly pricey for the overall quality, i do recommend it based on the atmosphere, cleanliness and service. major plus for the firm beds – and can someone explain me why hotel sheets seem so incredibly soft compared to even good quality linens at home...



others hotels in the neighborhood we stumbled across that seemed interesting – and were a tad more affordable – we'll try next time: ciutat and banys orientals.

northie.

my silence last week was due to a well earned break. here's a short pictorial recap of my time off (warning: insane expressions galore) and some activity recommendations.

it all began with my newly found fondness for lapland. my sweetie, myself and a dozen of our friends traveled to a week in levi. our cottage turned out to be fabulous. the villa laavu created by sanaksenaho architects – who are known in finland mostly for their art chapel in turku – had amazing views down the slopes and enough space to make me feel crammed once back at home.

yours truly doing the hoppity dance in front of the "cottage".

out of 14, only a few took to the slopes. the rest of us kept busy enjoying the many activities lapland had to offer.

the ultimate high for me was tobogganing. some went down the main road, but also took advantage of the most pleasurable run with a little lift by the southern slopes. what else could please a crowd of middle-aged, slightly intoxicated kids who show significant indisposition towards sports than a rope that pulls you up the hill?

going up, coming down and, whoopee, crashing the security net...

we also went tour skating on lake munajärvi (translates to "lake *choose your preferred reference to male genitals*"), the name of which provided senseless giggles all day. yours truly got caught in some cracks in the ice and fell... ahem... a couple of times.

but it was great fun that i totally recommend anyone to try. the place even has it's own sports team called "munajärven pullistus" for which they naturally sell t-shirts. we didn't get any.

cross-country skiing included enjoying a cup of steaming minty hot chocolate at a dark cabin next to an ice covered lake. it seems the only time i can approve the inclusion of mint in my chocolate is when i am out of my element doing sports. inconsistency feeds itself or smthng. strange...

our regression continued and we headed to a lappish village to feed reindeer and ogle farm animals. the wildlife around our cottage did not fail either: especially one wacky and aggressive willow grouse with serious drag potential (hello, pink eyebrows!) kept entertaining us daily.

in the second pic my dog jorma is trying to go hunting... in her camouflage padded winter suit, fleece booties and wool beanie. credible? not.

mainly we just relaxed, enjoyed some glorious food and started the cocktail hour way too early in the mornings wearing fancy wigs...

1. resting in front of the fireplace; 2. me a.k.a. kari peitsamo; 3. playing homage to stella with a carefully rearranged wig.

totally relaxing, totally fun. looking forward to next year already. here's my theme song from the trip:

shore lego.

i have always lived near a vast body of water and cannot imagine feeling comfortable as an inlander. the proximity of sea creates a horizon of freedom for me even at times of permanence. even a flowing river gives an impression of movement and direction in the solidity of everyday life. my relationship with water might explain the lack of affection i feel for other natural elements (on the assumption that we only have a certain amount of affective feelings to give, which is prolly faulty...); i desire very little green around me, but the reflecting gleam of h2o is essential.

despite my adoration of the ocean and although i used to sail as a kid, i don't find sailboats or other sea vessels all that interesting. i actually fear being afloat these days. (overall, i've turned into quite a wuss as i age...) nevertheless, i adore walking along the water and the visual stimuli offered by the sea. many of my home cities have been ports. strolling in the docklands and driving past harbors are very much part of my urban experience. the aesthetic of cranes and crates is as much a part of the texture of a city as are graffiti and concrete walls. all essential for me.

my fascination with shipping containers started at an early age when i pointed out that giant lego was stocked near the ruissalo island, a nature conservation area in turku. obviously, i was referring to the high piles of containers in the port of turku. i regarded them a heap of magnificent utilitarian building blocks just waiting to be arranged and rearranged according to the whims of a great lego builder. needless to say, i really really loved lego as a kid.

i still greet shores with shipping containers with aesthetic pleasure. the limited variety in stacking and colors create a soothing pattern of repetition. therefore, a dodgy shipping yard is an environment of marvel and fascinates me endlessly. to realize there are others who share my passion and actually create something with the giant lego has been exciting beyond belief.

seeing a book of lot-ek ("low tech") works for the first time actually produced a yelp on my part. embarrassing, sure, but oh, so amazing. the creative, italian originating architectural duo work from nyc and use unexpected materials to create living and working spaces. although a small firm, they've created a credible reputation for art projects – one of which took place in finland during snow show in 2004 (in collaboration with a thai artist friend, phathaiwat "top" changtrakul).

moreover, architect adam kalkin creates impressive, affordable and luxurious beyond sensibility living solutions from shipping containers. some of his works are presented here as a slide show. although his suggestions of combining traditional wooden housing with the rough'n'rumble of steel might be too underlining a contrast for some – and it certainly is for me – it definitely displays the possibilities there are with reusing these magnificent boxes.

one of my favorite projects is commissioned by the bag company freitag. they built a flagship store in zürich from 17 shipping containers. known for their tarpaulin bags and reused materials, the building is logical continuation on their part and a beautiful example of eco-architecture that uses familiar elements in an awe-inspiring way. additionally it offers the possibility of relocation and restoration of the site after the removal of the building.
the idea that even buildings can be based on ideals of recycling impresses me tremendously. the ultimate diy-project of creating a semi-permanent living-space and a home from steel containers feels relevant at this time of nomadic lifestyles. it could even offer a solution for those in desperate need of shelter – although i doubt creating material shelters for refugees or the poor comes down to lack of feasible residential solutions because slum issues (i.e. poverty) are still being "solved" by tearing down shantytowns and burning the material used for building shacks (i.e. securing poverty). but if there was a will, could this be the way?

what do you think? are shipping containers ugly bulk or fascinating material? would you consider living in such a house?