After posting my photos of knitting projects and models I started working with new yarn on a pair of wristers and then headed into school for lunch and a mid review. I do not remember the name of the woman who was our guest reviewer, but she did an excellent job of listening and offering input on our designs. More so than at school in St. Louis, it is critical here in Finland to listen carefully to criticism and take note of each comment. Reviews in St. Louis often contain repetition and sometimes raised voices in order to indicate the importance of the error in ones design, here the criticism is more calm so can be missed. The next step in my design process will be working through the non rectilinear design to see how well I can make it work and also focus on how individuals enter the America Center I am working to develop.
The review went until about 5:45pm so then I hopped on the 194 bus back to the main train station. At 6:30pm I arrived at the Hotel GLO and let them know that my father and his wife were checked in - the front desk called up to their room and a few minutes later they came down for dinner! We walked to Nolla as I rambled about nearly everything on the trek. The restaurant/bar was very very busy, but thankfully a table opened up just as we were about to leave. I ordered the steak I had been planning on since the last time I was at Nolla (about 2 weeks) and it was just as good as it looked. They were rightly exhausted so after our food (they both had salmon in honor of being in Finland!) we walked back to their hotel so sleep could start. I went up to their room for presents from Cosco: 20 packs of gum for Sally, 40 packs for me, and 112 oz of M&Ms!! I left with the plan to meet them at their hotel at 9am on Saturday morning.
We started out the day at the market. I found some more yarn in a set that I would really like, but decided that it was important to finish working with my current projects first. Next we toured the market square building for their first sights of reindeer meat and fish in bread. After running souvenirs back to the hotel, we got Helsinki cards for the next three days, booked our spots on the tour bus for Sunday and took the long way to the pier. The ferry to Suomenlinna left at 11am and we were on board, cruising through large chunks of ice.
This church was built when Finland (and then Svenborg) was under Russian rule as a Grand Duchy so was designed with "onion domes" and a lot of decoration. Once Finland gained their independence in 1917 they did not want the first view of their country to be a Russian Orthodox church so the building was modified to look more Lutheran. About 90% of Finns are registered as Lutheran while 1% are Russian Orthodox. I still think this building looks like it belongs in the southwest part of the United States.
Part of the interest of Suomalinna is the clear variance in architectural styles which tell the story of the history of this set of islands. The oldest buildings were built by the Sweds when they founded this military fort, next came Russian buildings often made of wood and painted in red or yellow, and the final set were constructed by the Finnish government. I find it interesting that something made beautiful by this diversity is now protected by UNESCO and cannot be modified but only continuously refurbished.
The day was lovely so inside the cave like rooms was nice, but I cannot imagine how men survived through the winter in the early 1900s.
The dry dock which opened one way under Swedish control and the other direction under the Russians - it's all about where your enemies live.
A sail boat from Florida?? Who owns this boat and why did they sail to Finland for the winter? I want "the rest of the story".
See that gate thing on top of the hill? Apparently that is where a jail is underground. Finnish individuals who are very well behaved in jail and nearly done with their sentence can request to be placed on Suomalinna. Our tour guide said the prisoners "walk among us all the time but we cannot tell them apart from other people" however they are not allowed to speak to other individuals on the island. It seems very trusting and curious to me that simply carrying a letter in their bag would keep them from vacating Suomalinna on the ferry, but these must be very very well behaved prisoners.
Interesting link between technology and architecture. The first level was built with this point, but as war tactics and weapons changed it was better to not have two distinct sides so the second level has a filleted point.
A few weeks ago there was an ice design competition and now there are plants living in these ice pots - so curious looking.
Looking towards the info center.
It was like boating through a slushie!
Once we arrived back to the mainland of Helsinki, we visited the Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Eight a cappella vocalists were practicing for their concert that evening. It is amazing how adding music to a space can make it almost look more beautiful. Next we hopped on the number 4 tram (their first tram ride in Helsinki) and took it to the main train station. Our first museum was the Ateneum which houses the national collection of art for Finland. The part of the museum I most enjoyed was a special exhibit with vividly realistic paintings of people and situations. The art was gathered from collections across the world and I think I might actually want to go back before it leaves the museum - a rarity for me and art exhibits!
After the museum, we walked to the Design Forum to look at an excellent collection of modern designs available for sale. Nearly everything closes at or before 5pm in Helsinki, so we went to the Fazer cafe/bakery/deli for coffee and dessert. I got hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate cake with some raspberry jam or jelly inside. It was lovely and tasted excellent, but I surprisingly think I preferred the little cheesecake my father picked...soooo tasty! Next we went back to their hotel room and played scrabble on the ipad until it was time to head to our 20:00 dinner reservation at Kakka. Once I found the correct street (I was off for about 2 minutes) we found the small restaurant and were placed at a table. Looking at the menu I was a little concerned that I had made a mistake, but as soon as we got the first round of food I was reassured. The flavors were excellent and not something I would have eaten on my own. Despite that fact that beets were the food that I would agree to eat in order to assure my mother I was genuinely hungry, the beet soup I sampled was fantastic! I ate reindeer, ox, and some other kind of meat whose flavors were great even though I couldn't tell which was which on my plate. The most unique part of the dinner was sampling the house made honey vodka that my father ordered - it truly tasted just like honey. At the end of dinner we walked back to hotel GLO, made a plan for me to meet them for breakfast on Sunday at 9:30am, and I headed back to my apartment. The first full, fun day of spring break came to a close.
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