August - On the road with Huuhkajat

At the end of August Beni, Hannu, Tuoppi & myself were full of excitement ... the new Euro qualification campaign was starting, expectations were of course high and we were going to see the game live at the Zimbru stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Easy win and then perhaps a draw from Rotterdam the following Tuesday would be good start for the campaign ... well it didn't quite go that way. Maybe in 2014 then.

Fortunately the trip was much more than just the game. First we checked out the pearl of Black Sea, Odessa. First time for all of us to visit Ukraine and I'd say it's about the time. Anyways one of the biggest countries in Europe. We stayed in Grande Babushka hostel which turned out to be a great investment. The staff was very helpful and we got some useful tips from them, well above all they told us where to find the great bar 14. But as the photos below show it wasn't just the bars... but tourism and culture too.

Odessa opera house

3 handsome gentlemen and the famous steps

The famous beaches of Black Sea, slightly off season though.

Port of Odessa, the charm of transport industry

Central Odessa

Some cool locals we met at Bar 14. Everyone we met during the trip were really nice and welcoming except the dude at the security control in Chisinau on our way back who tried to steal our money.

After spending 3 days in Odessa we were fresh and motivated to do some traveling. Quick coffees next to the bus station and off we go. The minibus from Odessa to Chisinau was good 5 hours due to the border formalities and rough road conditions. Again we met some top people, our bus driver spoke French and was really nice guy. He helped us with the border formalities and even drove us directly to our hotel.

Hotel Cosmos, the headquarters of Finnish fans in Moldova. Some similarities to the legendary Viru Hotel in Tallinn.

View over Chisinau

Proud supporter Tuoppi

Finnish supporter section, Paavo "Casual" Arhinmäki hasn't arrived yet.

Only few seconds away from the complete disaster...

Frustration in the air.

Our public relations' specialist Beni has again a good control of the situation even after the humiliating loss.

Glad we didn't book this hotel.

What could be better for a lazy Sunday than visit Tiraspol the capital of Transnistria and the biggest tourist attraction in Moldova. If you can visit in a country which doesn't exist you should do it. Also it gives you a little bit of that old Soviet Union feeling I believe. If you want some more info have a look at the article by Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish).

Lads celebrating the 20th anniversary.

It can't get much closer to the cover of an electro album

Sheriff or should I say mr. Smirnov seems to own everything here also the football team.