Jolla part 2

The latest update on Sailfish OS to 1.0.2.5 was really good. I tried to update the device on the 27th December as it was released and had only problems. The store was overloaded and I was close to throw the Jolla out of the window!

Yesterday I managed to get the device updated and did my first visit to Yandex store as well. Now I have a phone, that is connected to both Jolla's and Yandex's stores and Twitter and Waze running on the device. Fousquare App does not work on Sailfish, but other than that, I have now a cool phone for surfing and quit times. I have not connected my email to sync with the phone.

To use Jolla on a daily basis and I would need the native Google Apps. My daily life runs on those. Of course I could take a Nexus tablet with me and use Jolla just as a phone. You know, for calling and text messaging. Just like in the good old days! ;)

Sailing with Jolla

I received my Jolla yesterday. It looks sleek, unique and cool. I did pre-order it on May 20th, so there has been a long waiting period and high hopes. Social Media has been full with teasers of the new phone throughout the whole summer and autumn.

 It takes a while to get used to Sailfish OS, but all settings can be found easily and you can have tons of individual settings for your phone. Some of the features needs to be googled in order to find out what to do. The user guide is not the best one.

Jolla store has the “main” applications available and I did not (yet) create a Yandex account. That needs to be explored later on. All Android apps should work on the device, but I have not tried to figure out how to get them all up and running.

 My problem with Jolla is that, I have gone Google. Both at work and in the private life. I need the native Gmail, Google Calendar, Plus, Hangouts and Google Authenticator application. Without those I cannot work. I have been using Android for three years now and also had an iPhone for the past 1,5 years. On those OS these applications work fine.

 I got my Google account run on Jolla. Contacts were synchronized easily and connection to Gmail was enabled via IMAP. So 90's. ;) here was a Outlook App available for Sailfish, but not yet for Gmail. The push functionality is needed in today's hectic life.

I will definitely give Jolla a new try later on. I like the phone, just need to get all needed apps running on the OS. As of now, it is not the one for me.

Bose QC 15

I bought today the really great Bose´s noise cancelling headphones. I have received recommendations to do so several times, but now I finally managed to finally get them. They are just exellent! I wish to have bought them previously.  That was money well spend. :)

Trust me on this one: Go get yours today!

Mahdox Surf

My Carpe Diem moment was, while visiting Philippines, a surf training at Mahdox. 

I have never surfed before. Once for many many years ago I have tried wind surfing. That lasted for max 20 mins and i gave up. I have also tried Snowboarding in my youth and as every youngster in the 80’s I had a skateboard. All of these are now in past tense. Surfing might be for the future as well.

I took the JoyBus from Manila to Baler. It is a long ride, but I guess the best way to make the trip. I just takes 5+ hours through winding roads. You might be able to sleep or not. In the darkness you will not see the scenery anyway.

I stayed over at Mahdox Backdoor and had one hour lessons for each day. I was fun! It was also very physical. I found out new muches in my body. Mikaele, my instructor, took good care of me and on the first waves I managed to ride to the shore. That felt great! Of course many times I did fell to the water. Nevertheless I have surfed on the waves of the great Pacific Ocean.

Baler is a small coastal town with locals. Not too many tourist find their way there. I was probably the only foreigner there. The small restaurants on the beach had great food for really cheap prices. They just opened a high class hotel, so the prices are likely to go up. If you are planning to surf, check out Mahdox and Baler. You get your moneys worth.

The Wing

My travel experience was just lifted to another level. I flew from London to Hong Kong on my way to Manila. The upper deck on 747 was truly nice and the BA staff took good care of me. The sleeper bed/chair was a little too short for me, but I managed to snooze away a few hours of the flight. Couple of movies and a few glasses of Champagne was not bad at all.

At the Cathay Pacific lounge the experience was lifted to another level. I have been to several louges in my life, byt this one is perfectly cleen and the staff maitaines the place without any remarks. Having a cold beer and a hot shower is a really cool thing to do on a layover. Not enough time to visit the city, but great way to spend some time on a busy airport.

Vassa Eggen

I had a pleasure to have a dinner at Vassa Eggen the other day. Nicely located in downtown Stockholm on the Birger Jarlsgatan and next door to Elite Hotel Stockholm Plaza, where I have stayed several nights. The hotel is by the way worth visiting. Despite my stays at the hotel, I have acutally not eaten in Vassa Eggen before. Pity, since the food was excellent!

We shared the Chef's sampler menu with a various taste of wounderfull startes and steaks. Rabbit sallad with truffle was really tastefull as was the tuna tataki for a starter. Main course with Nebraska beef, Flat Iron Streak and Secreto de Iberico was just mind blowing.

When in town, go check it out!

Layover in Helsinki, Finland

I watched the episode of Anthony Bourdain visting Helsinki last weekend. It has some good things, but loads of bullshit.

Yes, Helsinki can be a depressing city during winter, but how Sami Yaffa and the crew gives you a quite bad picture of the city. And yeah, you should spend 42 minutes for watching the episode and visit Helsinki. During winter and summer to get some perspective.

Here is my places to be visited for short break in the city.

Day 1:

For lunch go to Konstan Möljä. They serve traditional Finnish cuisine with great price/quality ratio.
You need to check out the Hakaniemen kauppahalli's marketplace. Funny, that Tony did not visit the place. It has a great variety of meat, fish, vegetables, pastries, etc. That is a must for any food enthusiastic.

Sauna is a Finnish tradition. Go to Uunisaari, you also get a view towards the city and during wintertime there is possibility to take a dip through a hole in the ice. Freezing thing to be done, but you have try it out once.

Ateljé Bar at Torni Hotel has the best view of the capital area. Drinks at American Bar downstairs are better, but go all the way to the top for the drinks. The view from ladies room is not bad either.

Dinner at Muru is a must! Just make sure, you book in advance. Should you not manage to get a table from there, visit Ravintola Aito.

After dinner drinks at A21 Coctail Longe and then of to Bar Loose next door for some rock. They serve good hamburgers as well. Excellent to avoid the hangover.

Day 2:

Breakfast at TinTin Tango. They serve breakfast all day long and should you also need to use laundry services, it is available on site.  

In summer the next stop is Linnamäki amusement park. The 60+ years old wooden roller coaster is a must! It is Classic! Yes, with capital C. Linnanmäki has some restaurants, but you are way much better of going to close by places like Soul Kitchen, Bullman or Cella.

Feeling too hang overish? Go to Hietaranta for tanning and chliing and babewatching.

Should you visit Helsinki in winter time, make sure that HIFK is playing at Jäähalli. Viisi Penniä bar/restaurant is also located close by.

Want to have dinner with a view? Then travel to Espoo and eat at Haikaranpesä. It is on top of a water reservoir. Don't wan't to travel to Espoo? There are always Lehtovaara, Savoy, Gaigin, Manala, Sasso, Töölönranta...

From and to the airpoort take a taxi. From Tallinn and Stockholm you can always take a ferry to downtown Helsinki.