Back From Helsinki!

Yes, we're already back! Though it was a short trip, it quickly became one of my favorite places I've visited while abroad.

Let me begin with our journey on the ferry. To get to Helsinki from Stockholm, Sabrina, Mariko, and I took an overnight 17 hour ferry ride right into the city. Thinking of a ferry, I imagined some type of small cabin boat, but it was actually quite big, with tons of cabins, a cafe, restaurant, dance floor with a live band, small casino area, and even a small grocery store. Before booking the trip, we'd heard a lot about the infamous "Helsinki party boat" where people wildly party and drink throughout the voyage. Ours was (fortunately) not the party boat, though there were plenty of people drinking and dancing. We decided to take the chance to rest in our room, which was about the size of a small walk in closet with the beds folded into the walls. Very cozy!

Our ferry, the Gabriella

We got off the ferry early the next morning and headed to our hostel. The room was surprisingly spacious and close to the center of town, so I think we were pretty lucky. We went exploring right away, walking into the city and seeing the sights. Most of Helsinki looks very modern, with up-to-date high rise buildings, apartments, and shopping centers, though there are many charming, pastel colored, old pieces of architecture (and cute green trams driving around) that give a nice mix to the scenery.

We started off near the water at the outdoor market, where vendors in bright orange tents sold clothes, jewelry, tourist items, and food, particularly reindeer meat and muikku, a small, lightly fried fish meant to be eaten whole. Though we didn't try much of the local Finnish cuisine, we ate a lot of amazing things in our two days there. Starting at lunch that day, we ate at an authentic ramen place, which was amazing. I've never eaten ramen that didn't come straight from a bag with a spice packet in it, so this was pretty big for me.

After eating delicious ramen, we hopped on a 15-minute boat ride to Suomenlinna, an old military fortress spanning six islands. No longer in use, the fortress is now one of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions because of its beautiful scenery and interesting history, beginning with Finland being ruled by the Kingdom of Sweden from around 1150 to 1808. Construction on Suomenlinna began in 1748 to protect Swedish land from Russian invasion, but in 1808, when Russia won the the Russo-Swedish War, the fortress was taken over and used for Russian military purposes. It wasn't until 1918 that the Finns gained independence and reclaimed the fortress for themselves! Today, the islands still have many buildings and artifacts that allude to its militaristic past, as well as the only surviving Finnish submarine. To me, the most amazing part was the landscape. Bunkers disguised as rolling hills, big cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea, and rocky beaches. It was the best moment to be sitting on the rocks with my feet in the cold water, feeling the warm sun and listening to the waves. Nothing could be better!

Suomenlinna buildings

View from hilltop- you can see Helsinki's famous white church in the background on the right!

Mariko and I chilling on the rocks (Photo credit: master photographer Sabrina Waizmann)

Once we got off the island, we walked to the Helsinki Cathedral, an incredible white church that stands proudly above the city. With stairs leading up to it, adding to its height, the biggest dome of the church peers out over all other buildings in Helsinki, making it a defining part of the skyline. It was especially cool to see as our ferry arrived in the city. The church is also blindingly white when the sun is shining on it, which just reiterates the fact that it's sort of like a bright, glowing beacon as a religious place. Apparently, the church was built during the Russian era in Finland, and was based off of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. It was also constructed as a tribute to Czar Nicholas I. In front of the steps is the large Senate Square with a statue of Czar Alexander II, Grand Duke of Finland, who created laws that made the country more independent from Russia. He's nicknamed "the good czar" in Finland, though he is famously Russia's last czar, and was violently overthrown in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 after Russia's militaristic and economic downfall.

Czar Alexander II Statue

I really love how history ties so many interesting things together . . .

Anyway- that night, we decided to see Hail, Caesar, which I would absolutely recommend. Hilarious! But before we saw the movie, we had amazing pizza at one of the highest rated pizza places in Helsinki, Sky Pizza. It was a perfect night, great pizza, great movie, with great people.

The next morning, we started off with a visit to Uspenskin Cathedral, a smaller, more Russian looking cathedral that sits atop a hill close the harbor. It was built by a Russian architect and dedicated to Alexander II, which meant that the inside had to be beautiful- orthodox churches are always so decorated! But the building was closed for the week of Easter. Nooooo! At least there's always Google . . .

Thanks, Google!

We moved on to the the center of town with lots of busy shopping centers, offices, construction, and right in the middle of it all, this strange, orange, wooden structure called the Kamppi Chapel, or the Church of Silence. It's a place where you can go to take a breath away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Though not a functioning church, there is a pastor and social worker standing by at all times in case anyone needs assistance. The building itself is extremely contemporary and it's obvious that every design aspect is meant to be relaxing. With the curved, non-angular shape, and the soft lighting inside, it was an incredible experience to go from a fast-paced urban setting to slow, soothing, spiritual calmness.

Outside

Inside

After taking a moment to compose ourselves, we finally arrived at the Moomin Shop. I described Moomins in a previous blog, but in short, Moomins are a famous Swedish-Finnish cartoon who, with other silly friends and creatures, go on exciting adventures in and around Moomin Valley. They're adorable. Just watch.

After buying too many Moomin products,  I went on to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, to see some really interesting exhibits. The first was by Ernesto Neto, a Brazilian installation and performance artist who encourages the audience to interact with his work, both physically and spiritually. Neto wants to give the viewer a chance to relax and breathe, often with influences from an indigenous tribe, the Huni Kuin, in the Amazon rainforest. See a video of his work at Kiasma here. I loved his message of human unity and harmony through organic materials and forms. One piece surprised me when I saw that we were allowed to walk and climb all over it! It really gave you a moment to lie down and readjust your mind. An awesome quote from Neto about his work: 

“Thinking – that’s a good point. In reality I want to create places for people to stop thinking. We think too much. So many thoughts are crossing our brain all the time that we have become a kind of a prison, living in this society so busy and full of information. I believe we need time to breathe to empty ourselves.

Thinking takes us far away and sometimes we don’t see what is close to us: our family, our feelings. Thinking takes us far from our spirit, rationalizing our soul too much.

I believe I am working more in a Zen level of no mind. In a way you will find the same attitude with the Huni Kuin. For western people there is a disconnection between the one who is thinking and the object. From the indigenous perspective this is not possible: there is no separation between us and the nature, the subject and the object.

This is what I’ve been trying to say since the beginning of my artistic practice 30 years ago. That’s one reason why I’ve been using the gravity and natural tensions of structures: everything is connected.”

Ernesto Neto, Variation on Color Speed Space Time Love, plastic nets filled with beans

Ernesto Neto, (can't find the title for this one, sorry!) crochet with rocks

The second exhibition, Conversation in Pieces, by Jani Ruscia played on the connections between objects and intent. The artist placed six objects of (seemingly) no relation to each other on a platform, and other artists are invited to use them. Each artist's interpretation of the object may create connections to the objects, history, or the viewer. The objects were a ventriloquist doll head based on Ruscia himself, a tall musical totem pole, two wooden boy puppets in plaid shirts, an old Soviet music box, a prehistoric female mask placed on a pelt, and a microphone that turns voice into music. Though I couldn't find any video of the artists using them, I found photos of the installation on his website.

From there, we walked to the Rock Church, another of Helsinki's most unique and popular tourist attractions. The entire interior of the church was excavated and constructed out of solid rock, and the roof is a solid copper plate. Windows line the top of the walls so natural light and beautiful shadows fill up the huge space. I wasn't able to get a good photo of the entire church, but you can see how the light creates such a relaxing atmosphere. It's no surprise that so many people go to church here!

Source: Google

View from the outside (Google image)

Our last stop before departing again on the ferry was Vanha Kauppahalli, the Old Market Hall. Just across from the outdoor market, the hall had vendors of all kinds, selling meat, fish, smoothies, and my favorite, pastries. It was a fun coincidence finding the Blondie Bakes American desserts shop and getting to talk to a really nice American woman from Illinois. Small world! Like her on Facebook here!

And with that, we were on the ferry, heading back to Stockholm. Short trip, but a truly great one. Now only about 9 weeks left of the semester and two trips left- the first, in about a week, we're going to Skåne in southern Sweden, and second, at the end of April, we'll be traveling to Sarajevo. Lots of stuff happening in the next couple months! Can't wait to see what other adventures await.