Nomadic alphabets

A while ago there was a blogger challenge to write something about every letter. I was meant to do this ages ago but I forgot… then I saw another blogger writing about this again, so I decided to write my own alphabets as well. I started this weeks ago, now I just finally finished it! Here they are, my nomadic alphabets. From Finnish towns I put only places where I have lived.

1. Australia. I have made 2 trips down under, total of 3 months there, and I love that place. One of my favorite places is Manly Beach in Sydney. I haven't been there in 12 years, but hoping to get there again. A is also for Austria, Amadora (I lived there in Portugal), Azores, Adelaide, Amsterdam and Andalucia (where I also have lived, in Malaga). A is also for airports, I have spent many hours at airports!

2. Brasov. Lived there for a year, absolutely lovely place! I got many great friends there and had the time of my life. B is also for banks, I have a bank account in 4 countries now, and it is not always easy to get all the documents needed for opening a bank account! I also have a lot of pin codes to remember. Other B's are Bucharest, Bulgaria, Beijing, Berlin, Bremen, Brisbane, Brussels, Bilbao, Bosnia and BlaBlaCar (a website/app for shared rides)

 

3. Chisinau. Visited there when living in Brasov. The roads in Moldova are even worse than in Romania. Hours in Moldovan bus was not my idea of comfortable travelling :D. C is also Canada, Copenhagen, Cascais <3, Cliffs of Moher, Cabo da Roca, Cologne, China, Croatia, Cairns, Cyprus and Canberra.

4. Dachau. When I was visiting Munich, I did a day trip to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Very impressive and very emotional, I think everyone should visit some memorial site! D is also Denmark, Dublin, Dusseldorf and Dubrovnik.

5. Eastbourne. I turned 17 there when I was on a language course with a friend. 4 weeks away from home without parents, damn we had fun! But I also got more confidence in speaking English and taking care of myself in new situations. E is also for Estonia, and endless travel fever I have.

6. Finland. My home country. Even though I have no plans or desire to move back, it will always be the country where I'm from. F is also for Fuerteventura, France, and a lot of farewells for moving so much!

7. Galway. Lovely place, have to visit again! G is also for Germany, Gibraltar, Granada and Greece.

8. Hamburg. Visited 8 times, once when I was 17, and then 7 times when attending Wacken Open Air. I have spent most of my time in St. Pauli and Reeperbahn because the hotel has usually been there. Hamburg has a very special place in my heart for several reasons <3. H is also for Heinola, Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, Hong Kong and Hobart.

9. Ireland. My country of residence at the moment. Been here just over seven months now, and I made the right decision for moving here! I is also for Italy, Iasi, Imatra and Innsbruck.

10. J is for Jyväskylä, a nice town to live, I had a great time there (all 9 months). For some reason I can't think of any other place that starts with J!

11. K is for Kajaani. K is also for Kosovo which was very interesting place to visit, a new country but lots of history.

12. L is for Limerick, my current home town! L is also for Latvia, Lithuania, Lisbon, London and Lahti. I still enjoy Limerick but getting restless again...

13. M is for Malaga, where I lived in Spain. I have very mixed feelings for that place, but they are not about the city itself, but just my time there. I had the best time of my life, but I also had the worst time and experienced my all time low points there. M is also for Monaco, Munich, Melbourne and Macedonia. Or it is called North Macedonia officially now I think.

14. N is for Norway. I have only been in northern parts of the country, but the scenery there is totally breathtaking! N is also for Niagara Falls (another breathtaking place) and Nice. I wish to see more Nice one day. N is naturaloy also for nomadic lifestyle. On the other hand I regret for not doing thos sooner (started 3 years ago), but on the other hand it was exactly the right time. I've had the other life for 20 years, this is not a phase, this is me. Now I have the confidence and life experience, and I know what I want and I don't have to prove anything to anyone. If I want to settle down or go back to my previous life, I will.

15. O is for… Just blank inside my head. All I can think is Oulu, but I haven't lived there, nice place to visit though! O could be for official documents you need when moving to another country; social security number, tax number, references, leases, bank documents, work documents etc.

16. P is for Portugal, where I lived before Ireland. I loved the country, I experienced a lot, good and bad, but I feel like I never really settled in there. I think I just knew I would not stay long and therefore I just didn't get that “home” feeling there (same as Malaga). P is also for Porto, Ponta Delgada, Portimão, Peniscola (yes), Poland and Pristina.

17. Now this is a tough one… I don't think I have ever visited a place that starts with Q, so I will skip this one.

18. R is for Romania. Amazing country with amazing people, but unfortunately many people seem to have ridiculous prejudices toward this country and the people. Usually those people have not been in Romania or know any Romanian people, and haven't bothered to find any real information. Everybody, travel to Romania and educate yourselves! R is also for being restless, and I always start getting that feeling after 6 months in one place. As I said, it has already started. I will try to stay here for one year before moving on. I have everything good here; ok job with ok salary, friends and a nice place to live, I am able to save money for travelling. But still my blood is pulling me to the road, as the Finnish saying is. I haven't applied anywhere, and won't be applying until closer to summer. In my dreams the next place is somewhere in the Mediterranean, so most likely it will be Scotland. :D

19. S is for Savonlinna, a lovely town in East Finland in the Lake District. If you haven't had a morning coffee in July in the market square in Savonlinna, put that on your list of things to do before you die! S is also for Spain, Sydney, Stockholm (one of my favorite cities in the world), Switzerland and Skopje. Skopje is probably the place of all my travels that I have not liked that much :(.

20. T is for Tampere! If I had to choose a home town in Finland, I would choose Tampere. I didn't grow up there, but nearby, went to uni there and for me it is the best city in Finland. T is also for Toronto, Trieste, Tomar, Tiraspol, Tallinn and Thessaloniki. T is of course for travelling, the reason of my existence, that is the only way I can say what it is to me. It is what I am here for.

21. Another tough one… USA! Been only in Boston though, maybe one day visit a bit more. I really want to see Grand Canyon, and many other amazing natural wonders in that country. Unlike many others, I actually don't have that much interest for New York and definitely not for Las Vegas.

22. V is for Vancouver. What ever you are looking for in a destination, Vancouver has it. City, mountains, ocean and beach, everything. V is also for Vammala (grew up there) and  Varna

23. Waterford, very nice town in south! Famous for Waterford Crystal, definitely a place to visit!

24. Oh no… have to skip this letter too.

25. Sheesh my brains really stopped working totally!

26. Zermatt! My brains are still working! One of the world's most beautiful train rides takes you to Zermatt. There you can find Matterhorn, aka the Toblerone mountain :). Would be great to spend a week there hiking, but the place is ridiculously expensive, as all Switzerland I guess.

Å.  Åland. Can't think of anything else, even though I have never really been there. Been on         

          a ferry dozens of times at the harbour, but never actually went there. Ashamed to say it,    

          because I always thought I should visit, but still haven't!

     Ä. Ängelholm. A place in South Sweden, stayed there one night in a gorgeous hotel by the

          sea, and had amazing food at the hotel restaurant . Too bad I was there with the biggest

          mistake of my life.

     Ö. You have got to be joking… I don't think I have been in a place that starts with Ö? Sorry,      

           had to skip 4 letters, maybe one day I could fill them too!

Well, there you go, finally I finished this post! In 1,5 weeks travelling to Northern Ireland, first to Derry, then to Belfast, so that will be the topic of my next post. In mid April a friend from Finland is coming for a visit (woohoo!!), and then in the end of April I am flying to Astana, Kazakhstan, for two weeks trip in Central Asia (also Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan probably). I am really looking forward to that trip! I am still cycling to work almost every day, finally it is getting lighter and warmer, now it is even 15 degrees! A friend, former colleague from Portugal, is moving to Dublin this week, and will be meeting her when coming back from Belfast. That's it for now, otherwise life is just the same… :)