Travel: Scandinavian Fashion Stalking

I spent a lot of my time in Scandinavia stalking the style of the locals.

I've used the term stalking because, like a deviant street photographer, I never actually approached any of my subjects and asked to photograph them. No, instead I would just casually look like I was taking a photo of the streetscape, and hurriedly snap a few shots of the outfit or accessory in question.

Of course, 90% of the photos I took in this manner were shit.

This post is the compilation of all the Fashion Stalking pictures I took that actually worked.

Daily Outfit: Glasshouse

Quite by accident and on my second last day here in Helsinki, my sister and I stumbled upon the glasshouse of the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden in Helsinki. 

We were lured in by the incredibly beautiful grounds, and soon discovered a small but well stocked glasshouse full of plants from all over the world. A veritable oasis of tropical, sub-tropical and desert plants all living healthily in the middle of Helsinki. 

It made for a lovely place to pass some time and explore, and of course a wonderful place to take today's Daily Outfit photos.

Daily Outfit: Cafe Regatta

I've had a really lovely and lazy day in Helsinki with my best friend Mags. She's off to Norway tomorrow morning and My sister and I are flying back to Australia on Sunday evening. 

This means that I won't see Mags for around 3 months :"(

We decided to check out Cafe Regatta, which we walked past on our first night here almost three weeks ago. Subsequent research suggested that it had the best Pulla (a type of cinnamon bun) in all of Helsinki, so we went to check this out for ourselves.

Travel: Graffiti Hunting part 2

Travel presents a great opportunity to emerge yourself in the culture of an area or areas. For me, this means seeing what is on offer in the local Graffiti scene.

Graffiti has always been an interest of mine, and I love having the opportunity to see what local artists are doing. I find the work of graffiti artists really engaging and inspiring, and I am positive that the images below will be memories that stay with me once I have returned from my travel.

Daily Outfit: Baltic Princess

Today we left Turku for Stockholm, by way to the Silja Line ferry 'Baltic Princess'.

We spent the night on the Baltic Princess, and I have to say, it wasn't exactly the best travel experience that I have had on this trip. The noise that the ferry produces while you are settling in to sleep for the night is... alarming, to say the very least. And continuous. And when the ship was suddenly quiet, you were then able to hear the pumping Euro beats coming from on-board disco... AWESOME.

Daily Outfit: Aanekoski to Helsinki to Turku

Today we travelled from Aanekoski to Helsinki and then on to Turku.

The end result of the epic multiple city trip was to wind up in the port city of Turku, where we will be for 24 hours before catching a ferry to Stockholm for three nights.

We took a little stroll once we got here and then grabbed some dinner; but honestly we've mostly spent the evening relaxing in our hotel room. I did, however, find time to climb into a fountain so my sister could take my daily outfit photos for me.

Daily Outfit: Midsommar Eve

Today in Finland it is Midsommar Eve, the night that precedes the Midsommar Holiday weekend, and also our last night at the Lake House in Aanekoski.

Midsommar is traditionally a time of myth and magic, with the evening hours all but stripped away by the presence of near constant sunlight. It has been said to be the best time to divine the future in matters such as love, and is to this day a celebration of surviving the dark winter that went before.

Daily Outfit: Lakeside

For today's post I thought that I would show off some of the beautiful location where we are currently staying in a house by the Lakeside.

The nearest town is Aanekoski, and the Villa that we're staying in backs onto a truly stunning lake. When we booked it, I had all these visions of swimming in the Finnish summer evenings, rowing out to the nearby islands and exploring, and living in shorts and singlets.

Which is probably the sole reason Finland is currently experiencing its coldest summer in 50 years...

Daily Outfit: Ranua Zoo

Today's daily outfit photos were taken at Ranua Zoo, a short drive south of Rovaniemi. 

I can honestly say that I had been looking forward to this since we started planning our trip to Finland and a random Google search turned it up as something to do in the area. Ranua is unlike any other zoo I have ever seen in my life, almost seamlessly integrated into the forest around it, with huge enclosures and some of the animals just roaming around free!

I got to see a Red Squirrel in the wild at the zoo, so that was pretty cool and special; plus there were Polar Bears, Brown Bears, Grey Wolves and loads more.

Daily Outfit: Arktikum

Today's daily outfit shots were taken at the Arktikum, by Mags.

The Arkticum is a huge, partially underground building with an immense glass roof, which houses a museum, and art gallery, and a science centre. Visiting the Arktikum was a very spur of the moment decision, but as we had no real plans today besides visiting the Arctic Circle line, it made sense. And I am so glad we did visit, because it is a truly beautiful building with some great exhibits inside.

It also proved to be a great location for my daily outfit snaps.

Daily Outfit: New Threads in Rovaniemi

Today we left Jyvaskyla and drove six and a half hours north to Rovaniemi, Lapland, where we will be staying for two nights.

I decided that this lengthy drive was the perfect opportunity to break in this gorgeous new 100% cotton sweater that I picked up at H&M yesterday for $19 Euros.I have been wanting something along the lines of this sweater since I touched down in Helsinki and started seeing example after example of hot Nordic guys in blue and white striped tops!

Daily Outfit: Road Trip stop one - Heinola

Today we left Helsinki for a road trip to Rovaniemi, Lapland. 

It is a nine-hour drive, which we are breaking up into stages. Today our destination was Jyvaskyla, but we stopped off at Heinola to grab some lunch. It was a place of interest to my sister and I, because it is a town which shares our Surname.

Heinola is a fairly small town built on the shores of a lake. It is pretty if a little dull, but it was interesting to see the area where my surname originates from.

Daily Outfit: Kiasma

Today we went to Kiasma, the Finnish Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as the Rock Church, the Market Hall, and the Natural History Museum. 

I really loved everything that we did today, but Kiasma was a stand out, and also the location of today's Daily Outfit photos (courtesy of Mags). The background that I am standing before is a work from a current show called 'Together', and which was jointly organised by Kiasma and Finnish textiles heavyweight Marimekko.

Daily Outfit: Sibelius Monument, Helsinki

Greetings from Helsinki, Finland!

It has been an action packed 24 hours since arriving in Helsinki, but aside from just being here, the standout for me was taking a walk with my best friend to a park on the opposite side of Helsinki to see the Sibelius Monument, and to take my daily outfit photos there.

Daily Outfit: Helsinki

By the time you're all reading this, I am on a plane on my way to Singapore, before reaching my final destination- Helsinki, Finland.

I'm headed to Finland with my younger sister Hollie, and we're meeting up with my best friend Mags. I'll be away for three weeks, in which time we're travelling all over Finland, and venturing to Estonia and Sweden as well.

If you're wondering "Why Finland?", the main reason is that my dad was born and raised in Finland, and as such I am incredibly curious about my heritage.

Daily Outfit: Preparing for Finland

Given the comparatively balmy weather we’re having this weekend (18 degrees in autumn is balmy for Canberra!) I decided to utilise the opportunity and to trial an outfit I was planning on packing for my trip to Finland in two weeks time.

I’ll be in Finland in early summer. The average temperature for the month of June in Finland is 18 degrees. So, it made sense to me trial wearing the shorter-length chino shorts from ASOS, just to see how I’d fair temperature-wise.