We were told that Finland is famous for their saunas and we weren't going to waste any time. It was a bit confusing figuring out the sauna vs. steam room situation, not to mention the large amount of speedos we saw, but it was a great sauna...those Fins know how to sweat! Dinner was a "Viking buffet" consisting of 4 courses. The first was fish, followed by meat, then cheese and last dessert, but salad is allowed at all times. Lets just say nobody left hungry. It was fantastic, and I sat at a table that had conversations about embarrassing childhood stories. I laughed so hard! The night continued at a dance bar of sorts that had a live band playing really obscure and random English music. A bunch of us just went to the middle of the dance floor and hopped around. It was loads of fun. Then we made our way to the bar/pub next door where a woman was singing and had audience participation for harmonies. That was amazing. One more thing about the atmosphere of the boat, they don't call it a booze cruise for nothing. People drink like fish on this boat, its crazy! Finally, Natalie and I decided it was time to turn in since we both felt kinda sick. I fell asleep that night by the boat rocking me back and forth and not in a good way. 
The next morning I felt miserable. My head felt like it was 3 times it's size, and my nose was winning the marathon. We finally arrived in Helsinki and checked into the Scandic Grand Marina Hotel where I was living with Natalie in our quarantine room for the sick and miserable. We instantly were on our way to the Helsinki Design Museum where they had an exhibition on modern textiles and rugs. I kept thinking about how much Nancy would have loved this exhibit. Maybe it will come to NYC? We then headed to Finlandia Hall which is more or less like the Lincoln Center of Helsinki and was designed by Alvar Aalto. Finland loves Alvar Aalto but I think he is overrated. All his buildings were pretty cold and dreary (not including the rainy Helsinki weather) and the only thing I liked about him was his random practical furniture he made that all of Finland uses. Once we left, we headed to the Sokos Hotel Torni where they have a rooftop bar and all I ordered was a hot tea because I was so sick. I bought Strepsils, otherwise known as the cough drop that saved me in Israel on Year Course and the FDA didn't pass it, and carried one of the boxes of tissues that Natalie and I bought out at the Duty Free on the ferry. Finally, we were allowed to head back to the hotel and Natalie and I sickly decided we were going to be lazy and go to the sauna and then eat at the hotel for dinner. And so we did and called it an early night.
The next day we headed to the Ateneum Art Museum that had an exhibition called Kalevala. Basically, since Finland was under Swedish rule for 700 years then 100 years under Russia, it felt the need to create it's own identity once it became independent. This exhibition was geared towards Finish folklore and traditions to create a Finish identity. We saw many amazing statues and paintings. I was quite impressed.
The rest of the day was mainly an "Americas Next Top Model" day in Helsinki. Natalie, Sarah and I headed to the open market, bought strawberries, blueberries and crepes and had our amazing lunch. The berries in Finland are amazing because their spring lasts for so long that the berries keep on growing and ripen in no time. Then we headed to Ivana Helsinki, marimekko, iittala, Artek and other amazing design stores. My favorite was of course marimekko. I am in love with her designs! After that we went to the Kiasma Museum of Art, otherwise known as the MOMA of Finland. I have never hated a museum so much in my entire life. The exhibit was called "Horror" and it felt like I was in a haunted fun house! It was so terrifying that I had to leave in the middle and focus on my sketches from previous museums. Finally we left and headed for the Temppeliaukio Rock Church. This church is made out of rocks glass and wire and we were able to sit there for 30 minutes while an orchestra was practicing. That night was our last night in Helsinki so we went as a group to this fancy restaurant and ate fancy shmansy food. The entertainment of the night was a little girl with her sister and parents but this girl was a platinum blond that had hair like a troll doll from the early 90's. None of us could control ourselves and were laughing the entire night!
The next morning we checked out of the hotel at 8am and headed on the bus to Vantaa, Finland where the most amazing church exists.
The church is called Myyrmaki Kyrka and it is in a birch tree forest. The architects built a very modern building that compliments the vertical birch trees and inside it has lots of glass so the light shines in and lamps that look like orbs hang down and create and amazing spiritual environment. It was beautiful. Then we headed to Luoma, a 20 minute bus ride from Vantaa to a house and lake called Hvittrask. There lived Eliel Saarinen the famous architect and we got a tour of his home which was really amazing.
Then came the most amazing part of the trip, the marimekko factory. Because of copyright issues I am not allowed to post any of the images from the factory but I can show prints that are for this season. We got a whole tour and I was in heaven. I would learn Finnish and move to Helsinki if I could work there. Helsinki was nice except that I got sick, but I probably wouldn't come back as fast as I would to Stockholm. We headed to the airport and landed in Copenhagen at 7pm. I fell straight asleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment