By River Vantaa, Helsinki

2 km run 1 km walk 1 river 1 beautiful sunset 1 McBurger 1 thoughtful head and 8 hours of sleep and rest (hopefully)

A Frankfurt hotel room on a Saturday morning

Its' 7 in the morning on the 17th floor of a hotel in Frankfurt. I leave for the airport in an hour.

Here I am

watching video's of Susan Boyle and Davy Graham

whimsically thinking about my crushes

mentally making a list of errands - like that pile of travel-laundry that needs to get done

visualising that run by the stream in this new spring weather

Sigh

The coming of Spring, Helsinki Apr '09

The Winter has all but gone away. Spring is starting to make Her way through. And I am just discovering the beauty of Vanhakaupunki ! After days of lethargy I found myself singing 'Life is a Highway, I wanna ride it all night long' hoarsely, loudly and completely out of tune. And I knew it was time to invite Spring and say bye to Winter.

I decided to get out and fetch my cycle Dhano Rani from Ruoholahti.

And on my way back - decided to take some pictures. :)

The River Vantaa has been frozen since the time I got here >> This picture was taken in Feb '09. >>

So, it was extremely cool to watch the transformation over the last few days - and now - its almost in spate! And if I now open the window or stand in my balcony - I can hear the roar of the river! And the woodland near the mouth of the river - (Vanhankaupunginlahti) constitutes a natural conservation zone. The area is largely marsh like and has large tracts of grassy marsh area - with patches of wooded land.

However, for purposes of walking amidst the reeds, the City of Helsinki has graciously constructed small wooden duckboards.

Apparently, there are at least 280 species of birds in the vicinity. (Though I spotted only about 5 or 6 including the obvious duck and swan.) Unlike other 'non-protected areas', visitors are not allowed to move or fish within the marshy foliage. Even the inimitable cycle or the dog is prohibited.

And did I mention that it literally is my backyard! :D All these photos are of locations not more than 5-8 mins by walk from my apartment.

(More pictures on my Picasaweb location) Here's to Spring!! life is a highway I wanna ride it all night long...