mandatory rest period

i am thinking i should go to finland in the spring, rather than in the summer. reason #1 because i feel like going soon-ish, and reason 2# the summer there is so-so anyway, i better spend my summer here altogether...   aaand #3 doctor has his summer holiday in 2 parts (by choice), 10 days in june, and another 10 in august. so rather than try to fit an expensive trip to finland somewhere in between, if i go now we can then focus on saving for the summer holidays together. the plan is to go to Greek islands in june, nearby and relatively cheap.

an older shopkeeper next to our flat asked doctor if he could admit him to the hospital for 10 days cos he's 'tired of his sons and everything'. the sons run the shop with him. umm. doctor said its not possible but he is not happy with the answer and keeps pushing it.

Finnish postal service is releasing Tom of Finland stamps - which makes me very happy - they look good. i want to buy a set and send a post card to Iran with the butt stamp... but in a paranoid scenario the receiver would be in trouble. speaking of Iran, Maryam and her husband were here a few weeks back for a holiday - she and her family hosted us in Tabriz - so we got together for a dinner. it was nice catching up with some people from our travels. they said alcohol in Iran is kind of like weed in most places, if u have a small amount 'for personal use', u probably get off with a warning or a fine, but larger quantities would bring bigger trouble.

random....

english protestant church  - Kadiköy themed paintings on the wall;

Taksim and the main street yesterday. the flow of people never ends...  i was out with Otto who came from finland for a short visit (like, 36h short). the weekend was therefor quite busy, we were out and about all day all night since friday. but it was fun, had sort of another reality feel to it. but now i need rest.

 

finnish rye bread and a dry slovakian soup mix (bought last summer on my trip). the photo does not have a lot to do with the end results, does it? but the taste was ok.