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Weekly favorites

This week has been all about contrasts. Some days staying home and watching way too much Netflix and not doing anything too productive. Other days waking up at seven, heading to a gym and finishing some projects at the Uni before meeting friends for coffee.

On Tuesday I took a thermos flask full of hot chocolate with me and headed to Seurasaari for a long walk to enjoy the good weather. It was very relaxing to just walk around the island by myself and soak in the not-so-warm Nordic sun while enjoying a cup (or three) of hot chocolate. Besides that, my day consisted of a long yoga sesh and just relaxing. Days off in the middle of a week are the best! 🙂

One of my favorite things at the moment are long coffee breaks. Whether it’s just a take away by myself or or a chai latte enjoyed while catching up with a friend, coffee breaks make everyday life just a little bit better. Especially if you let yourself enjoy some yummy cake as well.

My next trip to Australia is getting closer and we have some very exciting plans for my four-week stay. So happy I get to spend almost a month there when it’s the darkest time of the year in Finland. Can’t stop dreaming about beaches, warm sun, good food and vineyards. To get inspired and even more excited, I’ve gone through so many pics from last summer and other travels this year. Such good memories!

This weekend I’m visiting family in Lappeenranta. Just realised that I have all the coming weekends booked with birthday and graduation parties as well as pre-Christmas celebrations before I leave on my vacation. I really enjoy the holiday season and all the exciting events it brings. Last weekend we had such a good time at a Halloween party on Saturday and at a dinner with the same group on Sunday. It was especially nice because it’s not too often that all of us have a free weekend in our calendars.

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

Hiking in Eastern Europe – Slovakia and Montenegro

Blog, Traveling

When you think about hiking in Europe, the Alps are probably the first thing crossing your mind. However, there are so many less well known mountain ranges in Europe that are very much worth visiting. Last summer we visited some of them, including the High Tatras in Slovakia and the Dinaric Alps in Montenegro. Small villages called Ždiar and Žabljak were my favorite stops last summer. Both have a great atmosphere, are great places to relax and the locals are super friendly. In addition, some great hostels, where you can meet likeminded people, are situated in these small towns.

The High Tatras, Slovakia

The High Tatras mountain range is situated in the border of Slovakia and Poland. It is easy to reach both from Bratislava and Krakow/Zakopane by a train or a train and a bus, depending where you will stay. We stayed in Ždiar because Ginger Monkey, one of the best hostels ever (with the happiest hostel dog in the world), is situated in that tiny little village. Ždiar is a lovely, quiet and very traditional village, and it is close to many hiking trek starting points. There are plenty of small and super cheap restaurants in the village as well as a couple of small markets. If you stay in Ždiar, I recommend the hostel, just because everyone should experience its atmosphere. In addition, when visiting the Tatra Mountains, it is a necessity to try some Tatra Tea, which is a traditional Slovakian liquor.

There are plenty of hikes you can do, no matter if you were a beginner or a more advanced hiker. Most of them take around 6-8 hours and the time just flies. The best thing about these hikes is, that the scenery changes constantly and keeps things interesting. We had some cloudy days during our whole stay but at least it wasn’t too hot to hike. We only stayed in Ždiar for four nights but could have stayed for fourteen!

A super cozy restaurant with a magnificent view

Durmitor National Park, Montenegro

I saw a picture of Durmitor on my Facebook wall a year ago and decided that I really need to visit that beautiful national park. Because there’s so much to do, we already knew that we wanted to stay at the mountains for a bit longer and booked six nights. We stayed in Hiker’s Den Hostel, in a small town called Žabljak. Žabljak is also very easy to reach both from Kotor and Podgorica as well as from Bosnia and Serbia. Hiker’s Den was another super nice hostel with a great atmosphere and awesome staff. Both of the hostels are very popular, so they might be fully booked days beforehand during the high season.

In Durmitor, we went canyoneering on one day and hiking on two days. The hikes were a bit extreme to me but also lots of fun. The challenging part was that there was a heat wave in Montenegro, and it was +30 degrees even in Žabljak, which is situated 1400 meters above the sea level. Also, the hiking treks were almost completely exposed to the sun, which made a 8-hour-hike quite draining. The first hike was to the highest peak in Montenegro whereas the other one was to a peak with an ice cave, which was still covered with ice in the beginning of August. I enjoyed the latter one a bit more, because it had more variety to it, and visiting the ice cave was a nice way to cool down.

From overachieving to being happily average

Blog, Personal development

I used to be quite an overachiever. Just a year or two ago it was very normal to me not to have a single day off for about three months. It was normal to be tired all the time even though I still tried to take care of myself by eating nutritious food, exercising and sleeping well. I lived in a bubble and kept telling myself that I have to finish what I had started, and there were no such options as quitting or doing something not that perfectly. That bubble is very hard to leave. And it is even harder to ponder if you’re working for something you truly want to achieve or if you’re just working because you have to achieve.

I think I’m on my way out of that bubble. I know that if I work for something, it will be a goal I actually want to achieve and a goal that brings value into my life and makes me happier with my life as well as with who I am. But still, I’m struggling with recognising which are the things I want myself and on the other hand, which are the things I do because everyone around me does them and because they seem like smart things to do. It’s super hard to admit to yourself, not to mention to the people around you, that the goals you started work for a few years ago, aren’t something you really want to accomplish anymore today. It is especially hard when the surrounding society seems to value an overachiever or a “successful” person over everyone and everything else.

Three years ago I read a book which said that by doing things you truly enjoy you will find success. I thought it was just bullshit and only very privileged people could actually live their life according to that rule. But back then I was stuck in the bubble with my own thoughts and didn’t have any time off to be creative. I forgot to live in the moment and was constantly thinking about my goals. Whenever I achieved something, I couldn’t take time to appreciate it, because I already had another thing in my mind to accomplish. However, I almost feel like I owe to that two-year-younger me who was so freaking efficient that it has given me a chance to have lots of free time today. Even though this might be just a passing period, I’m gradually learning how to recognise the things I truly want. And those things definitely aren’t being an overachiever or being successful in the eyes of others. What I want, is to be happily average. To be able to buy a delicious coffee on my morning walk. To be able to exercise when I want to and just because it makes me feel good. To be able to travel and move abroad if I want to. To be able to work for something that brings fulfillment into my life.

I’m not saying that everyone should quit working for their goals. I’m saying that if the goal is a ruling thing in your life, just try to take some distance to it every now and then and thoroughly ponder it’s value to you and your life. Also, remember that it’s not just a cliche when they tell you that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

On Sundays we brunch

Blog, Food & Recipes

Sundays are my favorite days – probably because they usually contain either a brunch or some pizza. Today it is an unusually good Sunday because it contains a brunch and a Mexican dinner! Yum! I’m a firm believer in the saying “Sunday well spent brings a week of content” and that’s why I usually try to make the last day of the week a little more special.

Today I had a homemade brunch with two friends and the menu consisted of some really yummy yet healthy dishes. Matcha pancakes were on the list for the first time but the vegan recipe definitely needs some improvement. My favorites today were passion fruit chia seed puddings and the mango green smoothies. Also, because the flu season has started, my roomie made everyone yummy turmeric lattes.

Here are some recipes from today if you want to try them yourself!

Matcha pancakes

2dl Oat yogurt
3dl Oat milk
3dl Flour
1Tbsp Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Sugar
1tsp Matcha Powder

Mix everything together and let the dough sit for 30 mins before frying the pancakes in a pan with oil. The problem with this vegan version was the consistency, and because I’m such a short-tempered person, I ended up adding an egg in the dough. Oh well, better luck next time!

Mango Green Smoothies

300 gr Frozen Mango
2 Bananas
2 Tbsp Oat flour
1 Tbsp Chia seeds
1 Tsp Ginger paste
1 Tsp Honey
1 Tsp Spirulina
2 dl Oat milk/milk/orange juice/water

Mix everything in a blender and enjoy!

And as I already mentioned Finns being super crazy when it comes to Christmas, we listened to some Christmas songs and had a cup of Glögi for dessert. Such a cozy Sunday!

Weekly favorites

Blog, Wellbeing

I decided to start a post series called weekly favorites and share with you the things that make my weeks a little bit better.

I’ve been doing yoga for about 14 days in a row now, and I feel super good. On Tuesday, I met a friend at a gym for a good leg workout and a yoga-session afterwards. So much nicer to practice handstands when you have lots of space around and someone to help you with your pose. We already organized another date for next week to practice more. Also, my roomies have got excited about doing yoga with me, and we’ve done two workouts together this week.

Still so happy about our trip to Lammassaari last Friday. When the days are getting colder and darker in Finland, it’s easier and easier to come up with excuses not to spend time outdoors. But when you wear warm clothes, maybe bring some hot chocolate with you and have a friend to go with, it’s a lot more fun!

In spite of the ever colder weather, I try to walk to the Uni as often as I can. A good way to motivate myself to walk despite the freezing weather is to go by a nice coffee place and get my favorite delicious mocha latte to go 😉

Whenever I can, I try to have a slow morning. Today I didn’t have my first class until 12 o’clock but I woke up already after 8am to have a long shower, delicious breakfast and time to read some of my novel. We also had a long chat on Skype with my boyfriend and talked about things we could do together despite the awful long distance, and we (okay mainly he) came up with some very good ideas.

The rest of the week will be about taking it easy and working out, finishing some assignments for uni as well as attending a friend’s Halloween party and another friend’s farewell dinner.

Yoga for a beginner: How to start?

Blog, Yoga & Training

I first started yoga with a two-week trial at a hot yoga studio in Helsinki and fell in love with it. I realised how it is such a great exercise to build a stronger body and a more balanced mind. I think the best thing about the classes are, that a good teacher can help you with the breathing techniques as well as correct your posture. However, there are so many other ways to start yoga if you’re not willing to pay over a hundred euros a month for the classes at a special studio. Here are some good tips on how to start yoga at home or at a gym.

Yoga apps

There are so many different apps that you can download. Many of them even give you an opportunity to try it out for a specific amount of time before actually purchasing the app. I use Asana Rebel, because I like the idea of mixing traditional yoga poses with a more fitness kind of workout. I’ve also heard very good things about Yogaia -app. Sjana Elise’s BAM-program on the Sweat-app must be good as well, considering how her insta looks like.

YouTube -channels

Many yogis share their best tips and flow-workouts on YouTube. You can find thousands of different kind of yoga-videos, no matter if you are a beginner or already on advanced level. My personal favorite channels are Boho Beautiful and Leigh Butler.

Yogis on Instagram

As I already mentioned, Sjana Elise’s instafeed is super inspirational. So are The Southern Yogi’s, Skenz’s and Yoga Girl’s feeds. They post lot’s of videos of their yoga flows and very advanced poses, and they are very inspiring.

Classes at a gym

Lot’s of gyms have yoga as part of their weekly schedule of group fitness classes. I think these classes are a great way for a newbie to start yoga. However, sometimes the instructors aren’t exactly certified yoga teachers but still know quite well what they are doing.

I think the biggest misconceptions people have about yoga is that they think it is very difficult and that you have to be very flexible in order to start it in the first place. However, starting yoga makes you more flexible and the best thing about it is to notice how you get better and better by every workout.

Hope you found these tips helpful!