National Library of Finland

This library is also located in Senate Square. It is the oldest library in Helsinki. Compared to Oodi, it felt intimate and scholarly, but also as beautiful in its own right. 

Playing catch with Helios

Helsinki Cathedral

Helsinki Cathedral dominates Senate Square even though there are colorful neoclassical buildings all around it. As we climbed the steps, John made the fitting joke about Sophie and the dog from Howl's Moving Castle. There was so much to take in from the top. The trams going by in addition to the architecture gives it a retro feel, but Helsinki is far from that! Inside the cathedral, everyone's attention was riveted by Helios an artistic rendering of the sun which has a diameter of  ~23 feet. https://my-helios.org/about/

Sauna! Helsinki October 2

A ride on the skywheel in the morning really helped to orient us. Helsinki is a big city! We saw areas we wanted to visit, but first, it was time for sauna!

We could get used to this! The Loyly is set right on the water and has (surprise!) stunning architecture. It is all curved wood and multi-leveled decks. This was a very different from the floating sauna in Bergen. There were multiple saunas to choose from with dry heat or steam. In the common space was a fire where people would order a refreshment. The sea water was a lot colder than Bergen and the dip from the waist down was quick! We did try the cold bucket rinse...a shock, but good.

Helsinki, Finland October 1

We caught the Tallink Silja MyStar ferry for a quick two hour crossing from Tallinn to Helsinki. We quickly set to getting our bearings and went off to explore. From the start, we noted the very interesting and varied architecture. The train station immediately caught our attention. It was designed by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and features a clock tower and a domed entry.  

We were especially blown away by the Oodi, the Helsinki Central Library. Not only is it a architectural modern masterpiece, but it is also a state of the art library! We could not get over the spaces it had to offer...design spaces, music studios, textiles, gaming (both classic and video) and rooms upon rooms of people having meetings, book club meetings, studying! Everywhere people were engaged: reading, socializing, collaborating. We watched the sun set on the upper deck. https://oodihelsinki.fi/en/what-is-oodi/

Across the street, a sculpture caught our eye and we wanted into  Musiikkitalo (Helsinki Music Center). The main hall featured staggered wood seating. It also had five other smaller venues. Apparently, it is also home to three different Finnish orchestras. https://reveel.now/c/zxbk?returnTo=%2Fc%2Fcvgj

Tallinn TV Tower

Wednesday, Sept.30

We hopped a bus to the Tallinn TV Tower, the tallest building in Estonia. It has quite a history. It was built originally for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics to be used for telecommunications. It was barely completed in time. But the bigger part of history happened during the 1991 Soviet coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev. Troops were sent into countries like Estonia in an attempt to reassert control over them and quash ideas of breaking away from the Soviet bloc. Protesters surrounded the base and four individuals kept the tower broadcasting on August 21, 1991. This event directly led to the proclamation of independence for Estonia. https://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/1433-teletorn

The rest of the day was walking around The Rottermann Quarter and a few less traveled areas in Old Town. We ended with decadent dessert from Pierre Chocolaterie and a drink from the Sigmund Freud Bar. 

Tallinn, Tuesday, September 29

History and Art Day! Our day began with the kindness of strangers. Since nothing seems to open before 10 am, we were strolling around Old Town. A woman who was setting up the display at a bakery saw us admiring the huge two-tone chocolate megachip cookies. As we turned to leave, she called out to us with a bag in her hand! A freebie to take with us on our day! We were so touched! We snacked on it later and it was as good as it looked!

We arrived for opening at the Estonian History Museum at the Great Guild Hall. The building itself, built in the early 1400s, was originally a club for merchants. We were particularly interested in the exhibit about the Hanseatic League, having learned a bit about this in Bergen. We were not disappointed! There was so much to learn about the German influence, particularly from Lübeck, as well as about the specific cargos (such as wax, timber, salt etc) and the trade routes. We also learned about the everyday life of merchant families. The Hanseatic League functioned as the major trading consortium for 500 years from the mid 1100s to the mid 1600s!  https://www.hanse.org/en/the-medieval-hanseatic-league

A treat of a beautiful handpainted marzipan butterfly from the Kalev Marzipan Museum Room gave us energy to continue deepening our knowledge at our next stop!

The Estonian Maritime Museum is cleverly located in the Fat Margaret Tower. Visitors make their way round each level and fittingly use the spiral staircase to ascend to the next level. We were very purposeful in our mission though. We wanted to see a Hanseatic cog—a single-mast, square-sailed cargo workhorse. This ship wrecked off the coast of Tallinn in the 1300s! It was unearthed in 2015 during a construction project. It was in remarkably good condition and included ~700 artifacts! We learned that since then, an even larger one has been found and is being conserved while another has been left buried for future exploration. https://meremuuseum.ee/paksmargareeta/en/for-history-and-maritime-buffs/the-cog/

We left Old Town in the afternoon to explore the Tallinn coast and walk through the neighborhood of Kalamaja. We stopped by another craft brewery, Põhjala Tap Room, where we had a nice selection to taste.

The last part of our day was spent at Fotografiska Museum. https://tallinn.fotografiska.com/en There were two exhibits. Level one featured work by Vivian Maier. During her life, she was a nanny who traveled the world. Her work was discovered after her death and she is now considered one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th century. https://tallinn.fotografiska.com/en/exhibitions/vivian-maier The second floor was devoted to Latvian photographer, Inta Ruka. This display captivated both of us. The series, My Country People, focused on a small Latvian village bordering Russia in the Balvi region. She returned to this canvas repeatedly for 20 years. It felt like a scavenger hunt once we realized that we were seeing the same people in later or earlier years. In Amalijas Street 5 a, her focus was on the residents of an apartment building in Riga..Her portraits showed hardship, determination, and small moments of joy. They were like an unfinished story for which you were yearning to know the end. Very powerful work. We watched this great documentary about her work: https://youtu.be/bG9IATOpptE?is=kXML4UiEtP44dJSS. Just as we were about to leave, John realized that Inta Ruka was speaking in one of the galleries! Even though we only heard the end of her talk, we felt like we had won a prize!