Have you heard of progressive parties. The kind where you work your way down a street, stopping at different restaurants to have varying courses? Well my first night in Finland I did progressive sitting. ? But first let me preface this story with a quick bit of information. I had no acces to wifi throughout my progressive sit and therefore I was forced to do some unplugging. And boy did it feel good.
Let me explain. It all started after a mind blowingly good bowl of salmon soup with bread and coffee for dinner in the old market square. After I couldn’t eat another bite I cleaned up and walked the length of the esplanade. Starting at the beginning I found a nice outdoor café tucked in on a side street to have a drink to wash down the soup. As the café is located on one of the main pedestrian shopping streets, needless to say there was a lot of good people watching.
After a while I got up and made my way to the beginning of the esplanade where tree trunks had been covered with red paper with white polka dots. There is something so whimsical and a little magical about the look of these trees, I just had to sit by them. I found a bench and sat to do some more people watching and to do a little reading.
My journey continued down a ways where I found a warm sunny spot (at 7 pm!) that made me feel like I was lounging on my deck at home at high noon. I took some time to plot out my next day’s activities and of course, do some people watching.
Next up on my sit list was Helsinki Cathedral. It was described on a bus tour I took, as the people’s living room in summer. Sure enough there were people littered all over the grand stairs that lead to the Cathedral. The people watching was not quite as great here but I did get a lot of reading done.
To end my evening of sitting I meandered over to the Lutheran Church, famous for its red brick and green domes. It is just a little ways from Helsinki Cathedral and on the way to my hostel so it was a natural spot to end the evening. It also has unbeatable views since it is perched at the top of a hill. This is a local favorite place to gather to watch the sun set (or just got down a little in my case).
What a wonderful way to soak up some of Helsinki’s wonderful summer culture and sun rays. I feel another progressive sit in my future.
What do you think? Should we do more progressive sitting, unplugged and tuned in to the world around us?
Katy
3 Comments
I think we all could benefit from progessive sitting. I love to people watch especially in places that are foreign to me. I am facinated by the trees covered in paper in the park. How interesting.
People watching is the best ? I will have to find out more about the paper covered trees.
My goodness Katy, you are wonder woman being able to blog and travel at the same time! ? I love progressive sitting although I can’t really do it on my travels as I speed walk from attraction to attraction, LOL!!!