helsinki, uusimaa.

i fell in love with helsinki. i knew i'd like helsinki the most out of other scandinavian cities i visited even before i went here. picking up the cities i wanted to go to, helsinki has always been the one i wouldn't take out. i like how it's underrated and how it has this cold and gloomy image even though you have no idea how it might look like.

i like how simple and low profile the city is. it doesn't try to scream like copenhagen. it's subtle and it's chill. i enjoyed being there not as a tourist but i felt like i wanted to live here and i could imagine my life as a resident. i enjoyed much walking down the street, visiting places, sitting by the water on sunset.. and also they have their own "helsinki design district" which is very cool and i haven't had the chance to visit the most of it.

though it's very enjoyable in summer (in my very own definition of "enjoyable in summer" which is cold and breezy), i'm curious how it might be on a colder season. i can imagine it looking very melancholic with all the chill, though i'm not sure how cold it would be. but helsinki, i will definitely go back one day.

grundtvig kirken, københavn.

if people often imagine heaven as a glamorous place full of richness with paths covered in gold, i always imagine heaven as a very simplistic peaceful place. it's not complicated and you don't really need much things. that was what came to my mind when i entered this church. all you'd feel here is just calmness and peacefulness, sanctuary from the noisy world outside. not much really needed to be said except that it's the most beautiful thing i've been to in copenhagen and it's surely the most beautiful church i've seen.

københavn, hovedstaden.

copenhagen is overrated. after all the great things we've heard about copenhagen being as if it's the most civilized city in the world, i found copenhagen as the least favorite scandinavian capital i visited (aside from oslo which i haven't been to).

first, i found the scale of the city was a little uncomfortable. in some parts there are lots of grand boulevards and wide streets which i didn't really enjoy walking on. second, there is no such thing as "the perfect northern europe transportation system". arriving there at the airport i encountered a train that was late for almost 30 minutes. then one time part of a metro line just stopped for hours, and when i arrived there when it supposed to be running again, it didn't. and there was again another train i supposed to ride that was cancelled. and also i lost quite a lot of money because of the confusing ticketing system. third, copenhagen is home to a lot of celebrated contemporary architecture, and i tried to visit some of them. in the end i can't say that i enjoyed it. i visited 3 or 4 of bjarke ingles works and frankly i say i hate them. i knew all the conceptual ideas behind the architecture but in the end they all felt just like unnecessary bullshit because the building themselves don't really say anything. and moreover, all these contemporary architecture (not just the ones of BIG) are laid in a land full of new big modern buildings, so it's just like a playground of architects trying to create cool things without any context at all. so i have to say that it's not something that i can appreciate. and fourth, the amusement park was far way less interesting than the one in stockholm.

however, i enjoyed the old architecture in copenhagen, specially those in christianhavn, with a more enjoyable scale. and the most important thing, copenhagen excels in providing and designing the public space. the waterfront is very much enjoyable and you can even swim (which a lot of people do. the first photo was taken very near to the second one). and the city offers a lot to see and to do, so although i didn't really enjoy copenhagen, i wouldn't mind returning back here.

stockholm, stockholms län.

it is not exaggerated to say that stockholm is the best waterfront city. every side of the city facing the water is a nice place to be at. specially because i arrived in this city after staying in paris for almost a month, the density of stockholm makes it very much an enjoyable city. compared to paris which is a little too dense, here you can easily find nice places to enjoy sunset by the water with such beautiful view of the city. and after midnight when i was there, it almost felt like the whole city is mine cause it's rather empty, yet i still feel that it was safe.

aside from the water, there were several things i fancy about stockholm. first is the attitude of the swedes. can't say that it's valid cause my stay here was rather short, but at least from my observation, the people enjoy much of the individuality, being with themselves. i could easily spot girls sitting alone on the grass in a park, just listening to music and enjoying the day. everyone's minding their own business. second, the old town, gamla stan. aside from being very touristic with all the souvenir shops and touristic restaurants, the streets are pretty with all the nicely done shopfronts which make you always want to enter the shops. third, gröna lund, the amusement park. i could imagine if i were the resident of stockholm, visiting the park every once in a while would be a nice refreshing activity. even if you're not playing, just sitting there by the water is also such a pleasant thing to spent an evening.

i stayed for days on a boat (fifth picture. yes, the big one with the sails!) where i got to know people from brazil, moldova, australia, and sweden. it was a very cool experience although until days later after i left i still feel like the ground was rocking every time i went to the bathroom.