Wrapping it Up...

Not much going on today.  I need to get packed up, so I didn't go out for long and the plan was to finish up any shopping I needed to do, so I could pack it all up.

Packed up what I could this morning.  Cleaned up most of the kitchen...cleaned up myself and headed out.  Back to Market square, which was a bit more hopping today.

I did a couple of tours round all the stalls before deciding what i wanted to buy.  I had been wanting to buy something by Marimekko, but it was all pretty pricey.  Of course, none of the clothes fit me and the bags I had looked at were WAY more than I wanted to pay.  They are primarily a textile design house, so they sell fabrics by the yard too.  Well, one enterprising lady made purses and bags out of it and I found a purse that I liked.  The fabric is a heavy upholstery fabric with pink flowers on a dark green (almost black) background in their "Puketti" pattern.  She made it in a tote style with an inner zipped pocket and a stiff panel on the bottom so that it holds its shape.  I may have to doctor it a bit with some velcro since it only has a single snap closure, but I really like it.

It was really sunny, (relatively) warm, and pretty this morning, but the forecast called for a wintry mix in the afternoon, so I enjoyed the views over the bay while I could.  You can see the church/lighthouse from yesterday across on the island, if you look really close (to the right of the building in the center).

This is Helsinki City Hall, which is across the street from Market Square and overlooking the harbor. That is one of the ubiquitous green and yellow trams in front. I think it's the #2.

I started popping in and out of shops and finished most of my shopping.  Finland doesn't have much by way of non-cheesy souvenirs except for woolen goods.  And those take up a ton of space...and I, personally, don't need many sweaters.  I bought the least amount of stuff I've ever gotten in any country I've visited.

But I did get my one big birthday present.  Although I'm not really big on Scandinavian design myself, there are some things that I did think were cool.  Some of the Marimekko fabric designs are fun and I decided that I loveeeeeeee Aalto vases.   Designed by architect Alvar Alto and his wife Aino in 1936, this vase has become an icon of Finnish design.  I decided I needed one.  They are still being produced by the Finnish glass company Iittala, and they have a store on the main upscale shopping drag....so in I went.

By dumb luck, they have a special Finnish Anniversary Edition of the vase that is available only this year (the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence) in my favorite color blue glass.  It was a gottabuy.  I am having it shipped to me in Texas so that it doesn't get busted on the flight home...but this is what it looks like. *

While I was filling out paperwork and paying, it started to sleet.  It came down quite briskly...luckily I brought an umbrella (because I had checked the forecast) as it hadn't let up at all when I left the store.

The tables along the street that were filed with people drinking coffee just hours earlier were deserted and covered in ice pellets...

Popped into one last shop until it let up and I headed back to the apartment...where I am now.  I was thinking of going out for one last Finnish meal, but I'm not sure anymore.   Let's see how late it is after I finish packing.  

I'm definitely glad I came here and got to experience some Nordic culture.  I am VERY glad to have discovered creamy salmon soup.  There are a few things I am sad to have missed...the Sibelius Monument and the ferry to Tallinn, but I don't think that's enough to bring me back here.  However, Norway or Sweden may call my name at some point. 

*Edited to add:  Each Aalto vase is hand blown in Finland.  I did search for photos of a factory tour, so I could see one being made and found a couple of good photos HERE.

Cathedrals and Fortresses

Today did not start out well.  I got up at a reasonable hour, put myself together and headed out to take pictures of churches.  I made it to Uspenski Cathedral with the bells pealing and discovered that a Mass was just ending.  Buses of school children were in the church and poured out in a little parade down the hill.  I snapped photo after photo.  I snapped more photos of the outside of the cathedral and photos of the chandeliers through the windows...

While the parade was away, I entered the church.  I snapped a few photos before they came back and finished the mass...then I happened to look at the screen of my camera...NO CARD!  Seriously?  I forgot to put it back in last night after downloading the photos from yesterday.

Luckily, I had my phone and was able to at least get some nice shots of the interior of the Cathedral. The first Orthodox church I have ever been in.

I was lucky enough to capture the chandelier in all of its glory shortly before they shut it off.

Nice sunbeams showing you the smoke from the incense just burned. 

The ceiling was pretty awesome.

Especially the inside of the dome...gold stars on a blue sky.

Couldn't resist this one.  I got tons of Icon photos too...

I then headed out to buy a memory card for the camera because I was NOT going all the way back to get mine out of my computer.  I asked at the tourist information center and they recommended Stockman's...so I ended up there again. 

Card in hand, I decided to treat myself to lunch as I had not had anything not cooked by myself since the salmon soup a couple of days earlier.  I ended up at Restaurant Savotta at Senate Square, directly across from Helsinki Cathedral.

This was the view from my table.  I decided that herring tastes good, but I can't handle the bones.  I tried...I really did...but the rest of the salad was yummy.  So was the creamy fish soup served in a traditional wooden cup.  But the best was the desert.

This is Restaurant Savotta's signature desert.  "Ice cream flavoured with Finnish Sisu liquorice,

served with berry compote and liquorice meringue."  Also apparently with lingonberries, blueberries, and edible flowers.  Holey deliciousness!

Refreshed and in a better mood, I went to my second cathedral of the day...

Helsinki Cathedral.  No wedding today, no crowds.  So, I went inside.

Of course, being a Lutheran church, much less ornate and showy, but still beautiful in its own way.

Better view of the altar.

And the amazing pipe organ. 

Originally, I was considering going to the Finnish Design Museum and Finnish Architecture Museum, but I didn't feel like going that far, so I had a spur of the moment impulse to take the ferry out to Suomenlinna/Sveaborg (Finnish/Swedish) to see the fortress. 

The fort is built on 6 islands directly off the coast of Helsinki.  Originally build by the Swedes while they were in control of Finland, it was occupied for over 100 years by the Russians. 

Some fort-y photos

What's a fort without some cannon?

View out over the Baltic Sea...wooohoooo!

The Kings Steps...built for the King of Sweden when he came to inspect the progress of the building of the fort...

Grave of the man who was responsible for building the fort, Augustin Ehrensvärd.

This is Suomenlinna Church.  Originally built as a Russian Orthodox church, complete with onion domes and all, it was renovated to become a Lutheran Church after the Russians left Finland for good.

One interesting thing I've noticed here is the number of churches that do not have bells in the steeple over the church...like this one.  It's in a separate little building.  It is also the biggest church bell in Finland.

Another crazy cool thing about this church is that it doubles as a lighthouse!  Really, that's a lighthouse there under the cross.

I spent about an hour doing the "blue sign" tour (following the recommended path) and I was tired.  Unfortunately, I just missed the ferry and had to wait 20 minutes for the next one...just as the temperature started dropping.  It had been pretty balmy all day.

Got back to the mainland, back to the flat...and I'm beat.  That was a lot of walking.  Gonna start packing.  One more day...

Happy Birthday - Two Museums and a Market

I actually woke up (kind of) early today.  Vacation early, which is different than working early...to be precise.  And the first thing I did was....Laundry.  I'd like to state that it took longer than it should have due to a wacky machine with crazy knobs and whistles....and no instruction manual.  Then again, the manual would probably have been in Finnish, so it would not have helped.  As soon as I got everything cleaned, I had to hand it up to dry.  Most of Europe is dryer free.  Because dryers are not eco-friendly.   Urgh.

Anyway, I figured out the trams a little more and headed to the Ateneum Art Museum (which is a part of the Finnish National Gallery).  Most of the art I saw today was created by Finns, with a few notable exceptions.  The Finns didn't really start coming into their own artistically until they discovered Art Nouveau and Expressionism.  While I'm a big fan of their Art Nouveau architecture, I didn't really get in to a lot of their Expressionism.  Some of what I did like:

 This is a landscape by Vilho Lampi called "Nocturne," painted in 1930.

This painting from 1923, "Winter Landscape, Kinahami" is by Pekka Halonen.

One of the few very Expressionist works I liked was this one by Yrjö Saarinen, called "Resting Hour" (1942). 

I especially liked this early Finnish work from the earlier Väinö Blomstedt: "Francesca," 1897.

A couple of non-Finnish works I enjoyed were

This is a cool little sculpture by Max Ernst, called "Genius of the Bastille."

And, of course...Van Gogh!  This was painted near the end of his life, while he was in the sanatorium. The really interesting (and cool) bit of trivia about this particular painting is that it is the first Van Gogh acquired by a museum.  So, the Finns were the first ones to get it right.   

I checked out the shop afterward and found....nothing.  It's disappointing when I can't find anything in a museum shop.  So I decided to hop back on the tram and see if I could find the Hakaniemi Market Hall, which was further down on the same tram line I'd ridden earlier. 

I found it..and it was much like the one earlier this week.  Too damn early in the year.  Although, the indoor part was less restaurant and more market.  Downstairs, you could find vegetables, meat, seafood, and bakeries.  Upstairs was more household goods...but nothing really appealing to me as a keepsake.  So, I went downstairs to a bakery and got a piece of an apple cake thing (apples and cheesy custard over a thin cake base) with a good, strong cup of coffee.  Happy Birthday to me!

I then hopped back on the tram and headed back the way I came.  I stopped in Stedman's to use the bathroom and found a big end of season sale.  SHOPPING!  Bought a couple of things, I'll admit...

Then, I went in search of the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM).  I'd seen the building many times, so I knew which direction to head off in.  Once I found it, I couldn't figure out how to get to the museum.  The HUGE building also includes a 14 theater cineplex and a couple of eateries.  I had to circle 3/4 of the building to find the entrance for HAM.  

I later found out that the building is the Tennis Palace that was build in 1938 for the 1940 Summer Olympics (which were cancelled due to WWII).  Which is why it's hugenormous.   

Anyway, got in.  A lot of the artwork was Finnish Expressionism with an exhibit of Tyko Sallinen.  I'd seen some of his work earlier in the day and it did not appeal to me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he was a great artist and he was a founding member of a group called the "November Group" that included talented Cubists and Expressionists...but his work did not appeal to me.  

He seemed to progress through different styles of Expressionism...and I especially remember thinking that some of his work seemed similar to Van Gogh, but not as vibrant and full of color and life.   

However, there was some nifty Finnish design stuff; in particular some 60's fashion.  

All of the above are from Marimekko, a company that still produces textiles and clothes to this day. These are all from the mid-60's and designed by Annika Rimala.  I thought they were completely groovy.  There were some displays of Finnish Fashion in the 50's that I wasn't attracted to at all, I think the Finns came into their own during the 60's.  That geometric black and white dress I'd wear today.  

I've found that copper seems to be some sort of theme on this trip.  This is an enormous sculpture called "Sun in the Fells" by Laila Pullinen from 1967.  It was created for, and exhibited at the 1967 Montreal Expo. 

Another artwork exhibited at the Expo was this wonderfully strange glass sculpture called "Pack Ice" by Timo Sarpaneva.  It was made by blowing glass into a wooden mold.  I think it looks incredibly cool.

Nothing appealed in this museum shop either...sheesh!

I tried to head over to the Natural History Museum, but they were getting ready to close...so I peeked a the menus of a few restaurants and decided to pass.  After hovering around a balmy 40 degrees today, it was becoming decidedly colder.  I headed back. 

I did do a bit of research on where to find a Finnish restaurant and there is a buffet-style one a couple of blocks from the apartment...with great ratings, that I think I'll check out tomorrow night. 

Right now, it's raining, so I am glad I decided to eat in.  I'm all cozy and toasty in my Finnish home.  

Cathedral Visitus Interruptus

So I thought I'd bust out the Helsinki card today and start taking advantage of my three days of trolley riding and free attraction entry.  I'd start with the two things I was most looking forward to Uspenski Cathedral and Temppeliaukio Church.

I decided to depend on Google Maps again because I can't make heads or tails of the public transportation system here.  I have no idea what was going on with my brain this morning because I accidentally chose walking directions rather than public transportation.  By the time I figured this out, I was almost there (it wasn't that far, apparently).

This is your first view of the cathedral as you approach it.  Perched on the top of a hill overlooking the harbor, it dominates the local landscape.  I took a deep breath and started to climb...

This is the side entrance that faces the parking lot.  There is a lovely icon looking out over the door that is hard to see 

The super shiny golden onion domes.  Seriously, someone has to go up there and polish them periodically.  

I made it to the door only to see a sign telling us the Cathedral was closed for tours through the 20th due to the Holidays.  Looks like I'm coming back.  Not gonna miss my first Orthodox Cathedral.  

Awesome view from up here though..

And the first sign of spring seen on the way down.  I decided to wander around the waterfront area to see if there was anything interesting going on.

I stumbled upon this, the local Bridge of Love, or Rakkauden Silta, that crossed a narrow part of the Vantaa River in front of the cathedral. 

Many European cities have similar traditions, but in Helsinki it is legal and celebrated (many cities worry about damage to the bridge and remove the lock).  I remember in Capri there was a section of the wire netting that prevents rock slides coming down into the town of Capri, where lovers did a similar thing.  Apparently, a lock is carefully chosen, often professionally engraved, locked into place and the key thrown into the water.  This insures the love will last as long as the lock is locked onto the bridge.  

I ended up walking to the other side of the harbor to capture this lovely view. 

And lookie what I found...they're everywhere!

The streets here are just gorgeous!

I headed back down the hill to the trolley stop. I already knew how to get to my next destination thanks to the trolley tour on Monday...so off I went and got off at the right stop.

I came up on it from behind.  This was my first view of Temppeliaukuio, or "Church of the Rock."

I had to walk about 1/3 of the way around it to the entrance, which, honestly, is not very impressive.  Although, you can see the copper dome a little bit better from this angle.  Trust me, the coolness is all in the inside here.

This was my first view as I walked in.  This church was literally created by blowing up a big hole in the middle of a granite hilltop.  It is actually about 1/4 the size of the original plans.  Can you imagine?

The altar is an ice age crevice. 

I thought that this baptismal font was an interesting piece of artwork. 

And the interior of the copper dome.  Man that thing is impressive...not to mention darned pretty.  I just stared at it for awhile. 

Another shot, just because. 

Copper was also on other surfaces of the interior.  This is on the front of the balcony.  I just loved how the sunlight from the skylight reflected off of it. 

I also climbed into the balcony and took a few photos from there.  I also just sat and soaked up the atmosphere.  They had soft acoustic music playing, which was nice...not to mention that it highlighted the great acoustics of the building itself.  It's famous for being a great concert venue.

I learned about this church in a novel I read a year or so ago.  Honestly, from the description in the book, I thought it would be bigger.  Still, I was not disappointed, because it was really cool.

I found the first actual souvenir shops across the street from this church.  Helsinki is curiously devoid of tacky stores containing snow globes and mugs.  I did buy a few things...got awfully close to buying a lovely wool sweater with a reindeer pattern...but that would be horribly inappropriate for Texas.

I hopped back on the tram and got off at the closest stop to my apartment.  This happened to be at the Forum Mall.  I will say no more.