One morning in December I had to get up really early because I had a contract to sign somewhere in Belgrade (I'll spare you the details). The venue was really far away from my friend's place, and honestly I don't even remember when I'd gotten up that early the last time... Anyway, it was a very foggy morning, and as I was done at about 8:15 and had nothing to do until 3 PM, I decided to take a walk instead of a bus and just hang around by myself. And my precious Belgrade. I've always had a feeling of home there, which annoyed my parents when I was at the beginning of my studies there, but after some years they got used to it. I like places easily - I fall in love with places easily. There are a ton of places where I would like to live just for a little while, if not more - if only I could be a nomad! But there is not one single place in the world that makes me feel like Belgrade does.

How to Survive Winter (Coming from Someone Who Survived Their Last One in Finland)

If you had asked me what I thought about winter two years ago, I would have been a girl version of the Grumpy Cat: I. Hate. It. I thought it was pointlessly cold, pointlessly unpleasant and just... well, pointless.

But then again, you could say I was a bit of an ignorant when it comes to winter. I neglected proper clothing for the sake of looks, and I pretty much didn't behave as if it's really cold. That's why I loathed winter: I didn't know it. So when I was forced to spend a winter in Finland, I got to know it. Really know it. And having spent winter there made me realize two things: winter in Belgrade, or pretty much anywhere else in continental Europe, is nothing compared to the one in Scandinavia; and it was good that I had to spend it there, because now I know all the do's and don'ts. Today I'm sharing them with you.

Talvi Joensuussa

I actually took these photos months ago, because I wanted to show you how beautiful winter (talvi) in Joensuu (Joensuussa) can be. Since I have already showed autumn on this blog, it might be interesting to compare and contrast. One of my biggest regrets about Finland is that I only got to live there in the bad part of the year - since autumn colors were that amazing, I bet spring is equally wonderful, if not even more!

Anyway, this really isn't Joensuu now, as it was really warm there 10 days ago, when I left. As I mentioned before, warm in this sense means around 2 degrees. :) Actually, this February was the second warmest in Finland since 1900 - earlier I would have said that I got lucky, but having survived Finnish January, I kinda feel bad - it's like seeing and experiencing global warming at its worst, and Finnish winter is really not impossible to endure, not even for me. It's also not nearly as beautiful now in Joensuu as it was some time ago, because the snow is melting and it's ugly and dirty. So here are the oldies, but goldies! :)

Where Magic Happens: Lapland, Part 1

The winter really has come since my last blog post. And can you imagine welcoming winter in a better place than Finnish Lapland?

I mentioned the trip of the year in some of my previous posts. This was it! It lasted less than a week, but I can certainly say it was the best trip of my life! I did some things I have never ever imagined I would do. And for the most of the time it really did feel like magic. Like living in a fairytale. Considering the fact that it is the very home of Santa and his little helpers – that's not strange at all!

A Quick Hello

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to apologize for not posting my Saint Petersburg adventures so far - I've been really busy, but I keep on struggling with numerous photos and I hope I will publish the post (or posts!) during the next week! 

Anyway, in the photo above you can see what happened since my last post. Yep. It's mid-October, and I'm not joking. Also: