Saturday, October 11, 2008
Finland, bit by bit
This is the first of what will be a series of blog entries about my trip to Finland. After this I plan to do a series of small entries as time permits to get the rest of the trip info and pictures out there.
The client wanted me here for 2 weeks. I rarely travel for that long, but since it is such a long flight and there is a lot to do, I agreed. The nice part of the 2 week trip is that I get the weekend to myself to see some sites. It is a rare treat to get this much free time on a business trip!
The sightseeing started yesterday since we stopped working early and I was at my hotel a little before 4:00pm. I took a nice walk around a nearby lake and took a few photos along the way. My hotel is in downtown Helsinki, so I am near a lot of interesting things.
A couple of points about my pictures. They are taken with my camera phone -- fine for the internet, but not something that will become printable pieces. Too bad, since there are some nice things to see. However, I didn't want to be responsible for carrying a camera along with all of the other stuff that I have.
Another point - I learned that I have a panorama feature on my camera/phone. I used that for the first time yesterday and some of the results are below. It basically has me take 3 pictures side-by-side and it stitches them together. It depends on me lining up each photo correctly though. I get part of the picture to line up, but it is still a bit iffy. The more I use that feature the better I seem to get at it.
Anyway, here are some photos. You'll see that the weather was nice and sunny. It was only about 9C / 48F out, but that kept me cool with the brisk pace of the walk.
Me in front of the Finnish Parliament building.
Me in front of the Finnish National Museum.
My first attempt at a panoramic shot. It didn't turn out well, but I included it for historical perspective. This is taken from a small hill overlooking a lake that I walked around. This is the end of the lake nearest to my hotel.
The parks are well thought out. For example, this picture shows the path with a clear differentiation for walkers and bicyclists. That coexisting walk/bicycle theme actually carries throughout the city.
I was pretty happy with this shot which is basically 180 degrees from the walk/bicycle path picture. The places across the lake are exclusive bed and breakfast type places and small venue performing locations. I found that out when I walked by them on the far side of the lake as I was returning to the hotel.
This picture is the panoramic shot that I am most happy with. This is at the end of the lake farthest from my hotel. The tall buildings at the back, right part of this picture are close to my hotel. HINT: Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it.
I guess I have to save SOMETHING for later posts. This last picture is nearing the end of the walk. The tower in the center of the shot is the same tower from my earlier picture in front of the Finnish National Museum.
That's it for this entry. More to come later!
The client wanted me here for 2 weeks. I rarely travel for that long, but since it is such a long flight and there is a lot to do, I agreed. The nice part of the 2 week trip is that I get the weekend to myself to see some sites. It is a rare treat to get this much free time on a business trip!
The sightseeing started yesterday since we stopped working early and I was at my hotel a little before 4:00pm. I took a nice walk around a nearby lake and took a few photos along the way. My hotel is in downtown Helsinki, so I am near a lot of interesting things.
A couple of points about my pictures. They are taken with my camera phone -- fine for the internet, but not something that will become printable pieces. Too bad, since there are some nice things to see. However, I didn't want to be responsible for carrying a camera along with all of the other stuff that I have.
Another point - I learned that I have a panorama feature on my camera/phone. I used that for the first time yesterday and some of the results are below. It basically has me take 3 pictures side-by-side and it stitches them together. It depends on me lining up each photo correctly though. I get part of the picture to line up, but it is still a bit iffy. The more I use that feature the better I seem to get at it.
Anyway, here are some photos. You'll see that the weather was nice and sunny. It was only about 9C / 48F out, but that kept me cool with the brisk pace of the walk.
Me in front of the Finnish Parliament building.
Me in front of the Finnish National Museum.
My first attempt at a panoramic shot. It didn't turn out well, but I included it for historical perspective. This is taken from a small hill overlooking a lake that I walked around. This is the end of the lake nearest to my hotel.
The parks are well thought out. For example, this picture shows the path with a clear differentiation for walkers and bicyclists. That coexisting walk/bicycle theme actually carries throughout the city.
I was pretty happy with this shot which is basically 180 degrees from the walk/bicycle path picture. The places across the lake are exclusive bed and breakfast type places and small venue performing locations. I found that out when I walked by them on the far side of the lake as I was returning to the hotel.
This picture is the panoramic shot that I am most happy with. This is at the end of the lake farthest from my hotel. The tall buildings at the back, right part of this picture are close to my hotel. HINT: Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it.
I guess I have to save SOMETHING for later posts. This last picture is nearing the end of the walk. The tower in the center of the shot is the same tower from my earlier picture in front of the Finnish National Museum.
That's it for this entry. More to come later!
Labels: Rob, Travel, Vacation, Work
# posted by - Rob @ 11:43 AM 
