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Another adventure in moonlit Helsinki night behind, then.
And this time, fortunately, I wasn't left with that much to regret.
FME was rather lame this year for some reason. Not nearly enough familiar faces or stuff to do, so I quite understand why Ella was less than impressed and wanted to leave early before even seeing Turisas.
But well, at least we got to chat a bit with The Other Wild-haired Guy Named Tuomas In Finnish Metal Scene Who Plays A White Slanted KORG (AKA Tuomas Planman of the Norther fame, he seemed like a really nice guy :)), meet Rici albeit briefly (that girl is really spoiling me, I owe her at least three drinks by now) and witness Mr. Guitar Hero himself, Alexi Laiho, wander around looking somehow adorably baffled and drunk. I don't think very many even recognized him, as he wasn't wearing any makeup and his hair is dark now.
But anyway, we left after the Finnish Metal Awards (Nightwish won two of the cathegories they were "nominated" in, Mokoma swept the rest) to go to the downtown drinking with Petri, Santtu and Ville. Missing Turisas was a bit of a drag, but it was forgotten as soon as we got to our destination: Molly Malone's. According to my knowledge, the most genuine Irish pub outside of Ireland (alongside O'Connell's in Tampere, perhaps). And boy, it didn't disappoint. *big grin*
There are many reasons why I wouldn't like to live in Helsinki (too big, too crowded, people are generally rude etc.), but she has her advantages. Places like Molly's, for example.
It's cozy, warmly lit, comfortably crammed yet roomy and atmospheric. There was a great live band upstairs playing great cover songs from the likes of U2, RHCP and Coldplay and people dancing and singing along and generally having a blast. And as the place is not-too-surprisingly the favourite haunt of the British/Irish folks living in Helsinki, you would hear someone speaking Cockney or Irish-accented English as often as Finnish.
And dude, the Irish bartender, James. Hot damn. *another big grin*
I mean, I guess he wasn't anything remarkable for an Irishman, more like a walking stereotype (curly black hair, green eyes, those somehow leprechaun-ish features that reminded me of Doyle from Angel, cheeky grin...), but somehow he was just the kind of breath of fresh air I needed, demonstrating the famous Irish charm by bold, cheeky flirt that felt only completely natural and even contagious, never too serious. I overheard him telling some lady who wondered what the heck was he doing in Finland that he was here to do what Finnish men can't. Damn straight, darling. :D I think I'm going to love Dublin. *giggles*
So yeah, I could have happily stayed there for another week or so (and I'll surely return the next time I'm in Helsinki), but eventually people got sleepy (it was pretty warm upstairs), so we headed to Ville's place for the night. And today (well, on Saturday) we went to Forum to have a lunch and then to Wayne's for coffee after which the couple (Santtu and Ville, that is, Petri had gone home earlier) went their own way and me and Ella took a train back to Turku (side note: I hate Pendolino trains. I really do. And I'm not going to pay 30€ for the most uncomfortable two-hour ride imaginable ever again if I can only help it.).
I'm now even more psyched about that Dublin trip, but the problem seems to be: how to get there. We could have gotten flight tickets to Dublin and back for approx. 90€, but of course the only method of paying AerLingus seems to accept is a frelling credit card. They don't give bloody credit cards to unemployed students, dammit. Well, the bid has apparently expired by now anyway. *sigh*
And even the Ryanair prices are pretty much in clouds at the moment. Ah well, maybe they'll have another price cut after the winter holidays. *crosses fingers*
And this time, fortunately, I wasn't left with that much to regret.
FME was rather lame this year for some reason. Not nearly enough familiar faces or stuff to do, so I quite understand why Ella was less than impressed and wanted to leave early before even seeing Turisas.
But well, at least we got to chat a bit with The Other Wild-haired Guy Named Tuomas In Finnish Metal Scene Who Plays A White Slanted KORG (AKA Tuomas Planman of the Norther fame, he seemed like a really nice guy :)), meet Rici albeit briefly (that girl is really spoiling me, I owe her at least three drinks by now) and witness Mr. Guitar Hero himself, Alexi Laiho, wander around looking somehow adorably baffled and drunk. I don't think very many even recognized him, as he wasn't wearing any makeup and his hair is dark now.
But anyway, we left after the Finnish Metal Awards (Nightwish won two of the cathegories they were "nominated" in, Mokoma swept the rest) to go to the downtown drinking with Petri, Santtu and Ville. Missing Turisas was a bit of a drag, but it was forgotten as soon as we got to our destination: Molly Malone's. According to my knowledge, the most genuine Irish pub outside of Ireland (alongside O'Connell's in Tampere, perhaps). And boy, it didn't disappoint. *big grin*
There are many reasons why I wouldn't like to live in Helsinki (too big, too crowded, people are generally rude etc.), but she has her advantages. Places like Molly's, for example.
It's cozy, warmly lit, comfortably crammed yet roomy and atmospheric. There was a great live band upstairs playing great cover songs from the likes of U2, RHCP and Coldplay and people dancing and singing along and generally having a blast. And as the place is not-too-surprisingly the favourite haunt of the British/Irish folks living in Helsinki, you would hear someone speaking Cockney or Irish-accented English as often as Finnish.
And dude, the Irish bartender, James. Hot damn. *another big grin*
I mean, I guess he wasn't anything remarkable for an Irishman, more like a walking stereotype (curly black hair, green eyes, those somehow leprechaun-ish features that reminded me of Doyle from Angel, cheeky grin...), but somehow he was just the kind of breath of fresh air I needed, demonstrating the famous Irish charm by bold, cheeky flirt that felt only completely natural and even contagious, never too serious. I overheard him telling some lady who wondered what the heck was he doing in Finland that he was here to do what Finnish men can't. Damn straight, darling. :D I think I'm going to love Dublin. *giggles*
So yeah, I could have happily stayed there for another week or so (and I'll surely return the next time I'm in Helsinki), but eventually people got sleepy (it was pretty warm upstairs), so we headed to Ville's place for the night. And today (well, on Saturday) we went to Forum to have a lunch and then to Wayne's for coffee after which the couple (Santtu and Ville, that is, Petri had gone home earlier) went their own way and me and Ella took a train back to Turku (side note: I hate Pendolino trains. I really do. And I'm not going to pay 30€ for the most uncomfortable two-hour ride imaginable ever again if I can only help it.).
I'm now even more psyched about that Dublin trip, but the problem seems to be: how to get there. We could have gotten flight tickets to Dublin and back for approx. 90€, but of course the only method of paying AerLingus seems to accept is a frelling credit card. They don't give bloody credit cards to unemployed students, dammit. Well, the bid has apparently expired by now anyway. *sigh*
And even the Ryanair prices are pretty much in clouds at the moment. Ah well, maybe they'll have another price cut after the winter holidays. *crosses fingers*
