Getting ready for Christmas, we baked some gingerbread cookies. 🎄 We also tried out the new cookie stamp we received from the company.

Presents from the company • The company wished us a Merry Christmas with a collection of cozy gifts. 🎄 It felt good to spend the day walking around the city with this bag over my shoulder. And it will feel even better to wrap myself in the blanket once I get home.

Arugula and pea spread with vegan tofu ricotta and gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi.

Made from a recipe by Kristóf Steiner, together with @zita_panyi ❤️

Jasmine green tea, served in style. 🍵🥰

When you come home after a long day and find someone trying to look innocent while clearly having finished your book before you did. 🐩📚

Where else would R&D engineers go for tea but R&D Tea?

This one is called Witch's Poison and is made with passion fruit, kiwi, and butterfly pea flower.

A perfect soundtrack for the HÉV ride home.

The latest four additions to my reading list. 📚

ℹ️ Notes (added 2026-06-07):

The books on the picture:

• Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman
• Irodalomterápa (*Bibliotherapy) by Kitti Jakobovits
• Invisible by Paul Auster
• A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Saladin made it clear that he'd like a Nokia T-shirt of his own. 🐩😄

On Tom Lantos Promenade • When we set out for our walk, I had a feeling that in a place I've visited many times, I would come across something I'd somehow never noticed before. This was the statue depicting Tom Lantos with his favorite dogs Mackó and Gigi.

Unfortunately, I missed the moment when Saladin stood up on his hind legs to sniff Gigi, but I loved this too, how he immediately sit up beside the statue.

"[if you display symbols] Make sure that such symbols include your fellow citizens rather than exclude them." writes Timothy Snyder in his book, which draws on the lessons of the twentieth century to explain how we can stand up for our own freedom and that of our country. 🇭🇺🏳️‍🌈

Once again, a new law has been introduced without proper planning, preparation, or sufficient time for people to adapt. It threatens the livelihoods of many who are already financially vulnerable.

This is abuse on a societal scale. It is not the first time something like this has happened in Hungary, and it will not be the last if we simply accept it. Decent people do not treat others this way.

I stand in solidarity with everyone who is being treated unfairly. That is why I joined today's protest as well.

ℹ️ Notes (added 2026-06-07):

The sticker on my bag says: "Make everything better!" This is the slogan of the Hungarian satirical political party the Two-Tailed Dog Party.

The sign in the second picture says: "If I did my job the way our government does theirs, I'd be fired for it."

The signs in the third picture play on the similarity between the name of Hungary's simplified tax scheme for small entrepreneurs (KATA) and the given name Katalin. The President of Hungary at the time of the protest was Katalin Novák. The protesters were asking her not to sign the bill into law. (She later did so without hesitation.)

The first sign, featuring her portrait, says: "You're Kata too!" The other sign uses a rhyme and says: "I love my baby, give KATA back."

Sunset on the riverbank • On Friday, I went for an evening walk to leave the week's worries behind and clear my mind.

We started the day with rooibos tea from Finland. I received the Nokia mug in Espoo from the mobile networks team we were working with. The moomin mug is from Helsinki. I bought it next to the Esplanadi Park. Moomin is using a radio on it making this mug a perfect match for my business trip.

Business trip II • We arrived at Nokia HQ in Espoo early in the morning. The buildings are spread across a large campus, and you're never far from nature. We received a very warm welcome from the local team.

In the reception area, there is a small exhibition about the company's early years, along with several telecommunications relics, including an old switchboard.

We spent the entire day in the top-floor meeting room behind the Nokia logo. The view was breathtaking.

After lunch, I bought a korvapuusti from the self-service café. It was delicious, but I was pleased to find that it wasn't much different from the ones I've baked at home.

Business trip I • An evening snack.

Subway is pretty much the same here as it is back home. The wild strawberry drink featuring Sniff from Moominvalley, however, is a hint that this is Finland.

The light looks like three o'clock in the afternoon to me. It's actually nine in the evening. It's the time of the white nights, but I've been sleeping wonderfully.

As if work wasn't enough, we terraformed a planet afterwards. 😎

Welcoming May with a walk on Margaret Island.

When the Energizer Bunny is in charge of the Easter eggs...

After casting his vote, this proud citizen headed out for breakfast.

Working a Monday schedule on a Saturday today. We started the day with a touch of Finnish style: with coffee and pulla.

Cheers to the best team! 🥂🍾