Stockholm

It was nice. 

My first days were a bit depressing because the clouds were low which managed to make the colourful buildings in Stockholm look gloomy. Luckily the weather picked up and the sun shined brightly until the end of my trip. 

One of my favourite things to do was to simply wander through the city. I mainly spent my time roaming Norrmalm, Gamla Stan, Östermalm, and Söldermalm. The last three mentioned were probably my favourite places to explore. 

Gamla Stan is Stockholm's Old Town, which is a really concentrated area of old buildings and winding, cobblestone paths (I'm really glad I wore comfortable shoes). Gamla Stan has the most character and is most beautiful at night. The shadowy alleyways and narrow streets were really atmospheric and always had me looking over my shoulder. I actually felt a bit scared on my way back to the hostel after learning that about ninety noblemen were beheaded one after another in Stortorget (the oldest square in Gamla Stan) after Stockholm fell to the Danes (some time ago... can't remember). It's said that you can still here the swishing of the axe followed by the thump of dismembered heads at night in the square. Gamla Stan is really worth exploring, especially if you do research beforehand or go on a guided tour. 

Östermalm was great for its lively atmosphere. I would say that it's quite similar to Gamla Stan but not as old. You still get the same winding cobblestone streets but the buildings don't look as dated. We had lunch at Östermalm's Saluhall, a hall reminiscent of St. Lawrence Market which houses a collection of open restaurants, bakeries, and vendors. I ordered herring fried in butter with a side of mashed potatoes and lingon berry sauce (given a choice of fish, I will always take the fish). And I definitely didn't regret it. The herring tasted slightly nutty from the butter it was fried in which was balanced by the tangy flavour of lingonberry sauce. 

But I would say that the best thing about Östermalm is the view you can get of the islands facing it. While walking, I could hardly take my eyes off those islands which looked so beautiful in a slightly cloudy but still sunny morning. We were actually 20 minutes late meeting our friend at the Vasa Museum because I couldn't help stopping to admire the view. 

And then there is Söldermalm which is a pretty laid-back part of town. Söldermalm is quite different from Gamla Stan and Ostermalm, it feels more laid-back and it has a lot of rocky cliffs! 

(Note to self, this was written.... maybe 4 years ago. Jeez, time flies)

To Stockholm and Back

Finally, I went on vacation! And about time too, I was beginning to feel demotivated so this trip away from Finland did me good. This vacation, however, wasn't very relaxing. First of all, I had never been to Stockholm so my time was spent exploring the city. I walked so much, I can feel the newly formed callouses under the ball of my feet... (probably too much information there). Secondly, I lived in a hostel so I didn't have the chance to sleep too well.

Anyway, the stay in Stockholm lasted for six days. Since we stayed for so long, there was no rush. We spent most of our time browsing through the different areas of Stockholm and eventually went on a guided tour to give us some more background knowledge of this city.

As mentioned earlier, we stayed in a hostel called Old Town Lodge which is situated in, surprise surprise, Old Town (Swedish: Gamla Stan). It's a quaint and well maintained hostel. The building is about 600 years old. You can find a part of what was once the city's fortified walls. I had mistook the holes in the wall for seats for people queuing for the toilet... but they're actually openings in the walls for cannons. So this hostel definitely wins in the culture and atmosphere categories. However, a hostel is still a hostel so it only provides what is necessary: Wi-fi, a small breakfast, several small washrooms and bathrooms, and ear plugs (just in case someone snores like a freight train...).

So one of my favourite features of Stockholm is the degree into which the city has been preserved. Sweden hadn't been at war since the early 1900s (where they lost Finland to Russia) and had remained neutral during the First and Second World Wars so most of the city's cultural landmarks still stand to this day. So there is nice integration of modern themes into the traditional infrastructure. Haha, I probably don't actually know what I'm talking about. I think it just looks nice to be able to see old and new juxtaposed together. So there.

I didn't interact much with the locals and sometimes I couldn't tell tourists from natives. But people in Stockholm really don't pay much attention to traffic lights. Actually, the same observation could be made in Finland where about 50% of the pedestrians actually follow the lights. On the other hand, it feels like only 10% of the people follow any signals and the other 90% just read the traffic and cross whenever. So waiting for the green light to walk can actually feel quite futile and stupid. Soon enough, I started crossing intersections whenever there was a gap in traffic too.

(again, 4 years ago!)

Enjoying the beach during winter

Since it's so cold, a pretty thick layer of ice forms over bodies of water. I've first seen some people walking on ice by the highway a few weeks back and I've been wanting to do the same ever since. 

So today my room-mates and I went trekking at the local beach and we made it pretty far out. At first, there wasn't much to see, the beach was mostly full of people skiing and having a good time. What did look really fun, though, were people used parachute-like things to pull them along the snow on skis. 

Anyway, so we headed towards the islands. By this time, the wind had really picked up but we saw a curious looking white building sitting on a rock in the distance so we forged on. Getting closer, I saw that it was something that looked like a Masonic temple. I didn't think anyone would be in it around this time, but the place actually seemed abandoned because a large iron bar was fixed across its doors.

I'd like to think that it's actually a Masonic temple that only looks abandoned. In reality, there is a secret passage-way to enter the building. It's being used by a secret society of Swedish knights (Swedish because Espoo used to be a part of Finland mostly inhabited by Swedish settlers that easily assimilated native Finns) that convene there every time the moon is full. (The moon was actually very nearly full last night, so I probably nearly crashed their gathering!)

 

But yeah, it got too cold so we walked back to the shore and we passed by a gaping hole in the ice on the way. Seems like someone was ice-fishing! 

What I actually do here...

So it isn't always fun and games here in Finland, I actually spend most of my time as a research assistant in the department of medicinal chemistry at a pharmaceutical company here. Honestly though, it's pretty fun working there... and laid-back too. Maybe it's a European thing or maybe it's an R&D company and they understand that things take time, especially when you're trying to make something that hasn't been made before (or has been made in some other company but, of course, that information is never shared).

But yeah, I help out by carrying out the synthesis of these targets so I spend almost everyday suited up in the laboratory. I guess the most exciting part of the job is wondering if the reaction will work and then looking at the results. The actual syntheses of targets are usually fairly similar, but of course problems will always arise and you need to rethink your reaction. In the words of one of the researchers, Shit happens and then you die! Words of wisdom, am I right?

But yes, day to day work involves reading up on reactions, finding glassware that fit together, doing reaction and following it up with LC-MS or TLC plates, then work-up and extraction when the reaction is done. If I'm lucky, the NMR is clean and product doesn't need to be purified but that is not usually the case. So that is the usual routine; it can get a but repetitive but it helps me get my technique right and fine-tune things. The part I hate the most is setting up and finding glassware that fit together, finding the right part can take a good ten minutes sometimes (or I just suck it!).

Other than the usual, my days at work are also punctuated by pretty interesting meetings. There are the synthetic meetings that I get to attend where everyone gets an update on what everyone else is doing. There are some people who like to keep it brief while there are others who tell you the entire story. The project meetings involve more people and the pharmacologists, modellers, and project leaders come to talk about the in vitro and in vivo results of our molecules and the next steps. I can't really say much about this, but it's all really, really cool stuff. And it's a great feeling to be able to apply the principles I've learned in school to the results put before me.

Project meetings are a sort of tug-o-war between the medicinal chemists and the pharmacologists because the latter have their ideas, demands, and targets they want to test out but it takes time and energy to synthesize something. At the last meeting, I could actually see the chemists' faces darken when the modeller talked about his plans for a new target molecule. It's not like we don't want to make a good drug, but they don't seem to understand the hurdles and challenges. Well, this seems to contradict the laid-back feeling I mentioned earlier... maybe it's cause I don't have to deal with the people asking for the molecules. Yeah, that's probably it.

Then there are meetings outside of your project group that are meant to be interesting and fun. The other day, the researchers gathered to listen to what others did and learned at symposiums. There is also this recurring meeting called Scientific Mornings where a researcher would present a paper and their opinions on it. I really like to go so I can listen in on the discussion and insight (and these meetings are almost always in English :D).

And that is what I do with most of my time in Finland. Working here is very light-hearted and I like how my supervisors are all so amiable and easy to talk to. There is no pressure or wall between us so I actually don't feel awkward asking them questions. I really feel like I am learning a lot and I hope they enjoy my company as much as I enjoy theirs.

The Pheasant

Several posts ago, I mentioned a pheasant sighting close to work. I happened upon it again a few weeks ago and got to snap a few photos of it.

It was a pretty adorable sight because I first saw the pheasant emerge from a bush and, seconds later, another smaller one emerged from the same spot. And then another, and another, and another, and another! Ughh, it was so cute.

Counting the steps of the sun

There are a many fields of sunflowers in Finland. The best thing is that you don't have to go far to find one, this field of flowers was only a few steps from work. You're technically supposed to pay to pick these flowers... but yeah. In Helsinki, you can pick sunflowers and beans for free though :)

Ah! Sunflower

By William Blake

Ah! Sunflower, weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the sun,

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the youth pined away with desire,

And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,

Arise from their graves and aspire;

Where my sunflower wishes to go. 

Tuohilampi

I spent the past two days in Tuohilampi (note, lampi means pond in Finnish) participating in some training sessions. Although I'm sure the regular Finn would only find it average, I found it quite beautiful. After sitting for hours in the auditorium, it was nice to go out for a walk and explore the grounds. The training centre was surrounded by forest and walking along the paths led me to a marsh that I traversed through walking on some planks. 

Planks heading out into the marsh. 

The lake. 

Planks heading back into the forest.

If you look closely, you'll see that the clouds form a skull with horns radiating out of it.