Back To Barcelona

In the beginning of May I had an opportunity to go back to my old home city Barcelona for few days. It was nostalgic to return after 5 years even though I did not have time to have a walk in my old neighborhood due my busy schedule. At least I had chance to see two old friends from Spain and catch up in Spanish. I hope to be able to make a trip to Turkey in the future and meet with some old friends over there.

Unmotivating progressive income taxation

In Finland you pay taxes progressively based on your income level. The more you earn the bigger tax percentage. Progressive taxes are considered fair but unmotivating for high earners to work extra hours. For example in health care sector high earning doctors do not need to work full time to make decent living and many doctors prefer to decrease working hours when their income gets high enough. But in the same time nurses are complaining about their low salary. For example Helsingin Sanomat published an article about a couple who both are nurses and how they are unhappy about their  income level in Helsinki. A nurse might get paid 2 500 EUR/month in gross. which means 2 000 EUR/month net salary. In Finland you can reach the top 20 % earning level with 5 000 EUR/month gross salary which means net salary 3 300 EUR/month (Iltasanomat 2021). Basically if you are a household where both are earning below average salary you're doing financially better than a household with a single top 20 % earner. Though if the top 20 % earner lives with a job seeking unemployed person the job seeking person gets social benefits which are about 500 EUR/month. In conclusion the progressive taxation keeps the income gap between the working people small.

Four seasons

Beach of Casteldefells nearby Barcelona

By living and traveling in different countries in Europe I have realized that there is not a place in Europe with perfect weather around the year. For me summer is too hot in Spain. Sometimes in Finland the winter doesn't seem to end during the spring. The winter is cold in Poland but winter activities are not available in close proximity everywhere and the fall is very dark in Finland. I like that the seasons change and you can do different activities in different seasons.

If could live in a different place each season. During the winter I would like to live somewhere with snow in order to practice winter activities like skiing, skating and playing ice hockey outside. For example high mountains in Europe and Finland would be good places to stay. During the summer I would also prefer high mountains and Northern Europe in order to avoid extreme heat. Staying by the water would be also nice during the summer months to be able to swim and play beach volley. the wind by the water also keeps the mosquitos away. Southern Europe would be nice during the spring and fall as then there is not too hot and you can enjoy the outdoor activities like playing football, hiking in nature or cycling.

City center of Helsinki is dying

Last year there has been discussion in the Finnish media that people are not anymore spending time in the center of Helsinki. For example you can find empty comenrcial space in the previously busy shopping streets of Helsinki. Businesses have also reported about the shrinking amount of customers. After the pandemia many office workers can work at home and don't have a need to go their office in the center of Helsinki.

I have lived 4 years in the capital area and I had all the time easy access to the center as I have lived just 200 meters from a train stop that takes you to the center of Helsinki in about 25 minutes. I am not going to Helsinki center every month. I can easily do necessary shopping in the big shopping mals which are closer. Especially during the rainy days and cold winter months shopping mals are much more comfortable than streets of the center. The reason for me to go to the center of Helsinki is to eat in a special restaurant or attend culture activities. Many are saying that making parking and driving in the downtown of Helsinki difficult has made people not so keen on going to the center. As I don't own a car that has not been the reason for my seldom visits to the center.

How to improve sleep

As I have gotten older I have started to value more and more quality sleep. I have also watched few self development personalities giving their tips for a good sleep. Many people seem to be proud addicts of coffee but I don't drink coffee at all and I believe that avoiding caffeine helps me to also sleep better. Here my list that I try to follow most of the days to assure a good sleep.

1. Go to sleep and wake up around same time every day

2. Wear socks at night to keep feet warm

3. Have a pillow between legs to make sleeping on the side comfortable

4. No alcoholic drinks in the evening

5. Drink only minimal amount in the evening to avoid the urge to visit toilet at night

6. Have a completely dark room. A room without windows would be ideal.

7. Do enough physical activity during the day

8. No napping during the day because it makes sleeping at night more difficult

Top posts 2021 - 2022

Palace on the isle in Warsaw

It has been two years since the previous top posts were listed so it is time to make a new list.

1. I adapted the traditional Spanish omlet to Nordic ingredients

2. I wrote Spanish lyrics to a Finnish rap song. I posted the lyrics also to the comments and got more than 100 likes

3. I Wrote about the income of professional floorball players

4. I Wrote about not so well known neighborhood worth visiting in Barcelona

5. I Achieved my one long time dream

Top posts from previous years 2019 - 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

My weekly sports schedule

Here little update regarding how my time dedicated to sports has looked during the autumn. Everyday I go to work by bike and before starting the work day I have a short gym session. Below my weekly schedule.

Monday: 20 - 30 min in gym and 20 min mobility

Tuesday: 20 - 30 min in gym

Wednesday: 20 - 30 min in gym

Thursday: 20 - 30 min in gym and 1 h 30 min trampoline training

Friday: 20 - 30 min in gym and 20 min mobility

Saturday: 30 min mobility

Sunday: 1 h floorball

Here how my weekly sports looked three years ago.

Trampoline

On August I started a new hobby: trampoline, which is an Olympic sport. My dream has been to learn a front flip and back flip. The last time I tried to learn front and back flip was in Georgia 2015 but my training was interrupted by the floods that destroyed the gym where I was training. Now 7 years later on last Thursday I landed my first front flip on a mattress on the 9th training session. Doing the front flip on the butt felt comfortable but I had some fear to land on my feet. After having the instructor to hold me to land on my feet, I got over the fear and managed to land on my feet on my own. Once I got the first landing soon I managed to land the front flip on my feet three times in row. Next it is time to start working on the back flip.

Holiday 2022

Here one photo from each city I visited during my last summer holiday

Lodz Fabrycna

Wroclaw old market square

Poznan

Wilanow in Warsaw

Review of Accor hotels in Poland

Room of ibis in Poznan

I spent 2 weeks in Poland and during that time I stayed in Ibis Budget in the center of Warsaw, Ibis old town in Poznan and Novotel in Lodz which all are different category hotels of Accor. In this post I'm going to compare the experience in their different price category hotels. In each hotel I stayed in a room which was for three people. Ibis budget is 1-star hotel, Ibis is 2-star hotel and Novotel is a 4-start hotel.

Surprisingly the room of Ibis budget was the biggest and it was the only place where you could find place to sit for three people. Three stools were available but in other higher class hotels a sofa was converted to a bed so then only one chair was available for having a seat. The loud ventilation in Ibis Budget stood out negatively and many might find sleeping difficult with the loud humming. Also the overall look of the room was cheap compared to Novotel and Ibis. All the hotel rooms were clean and in good shape. In Ibis budget you didn't get a hand towel beside the towel for having a shower.

In every hotel you could also buy a breakfast for about 10 euros. There was a remarkable difference between the breakfast served in Novotel and Ibis Budget. The breakfast served in Novotel had at least 3 times more options available than in Ibis Budget. The biggest difference between Ibis and Novotel was the breakfast and more spacious shower and toilet of Novotel. Novotel had a small gym so I managed to get a workout done.