Saunas and Sibelius

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The Finnish people, customs and culture left and indelible mark on me, during our short 3 day visit of Helsinki. I was left with the impression of a fiercely independant and forward thinking people who walk their own path and are unafraid to try new ways of doing things. Their ever-changing approaches to education, socialized economics, and design are unique and trail blazing. In some ways Finns appear serious and stoic, perhaps a result of their Soviet past, however their keen interest in supporting programs to achieve a high degree of social equality has led to an artistic, creative, design savvy populous, who have a deep appreciation for the finer things in life (i.e.- The Finnish Sauna).

After a rocky sleep on what turned out to be a bit of a Finnish party boat, we awoke slightly worse for wear but excited for Finland! We began our morning with a guided tour of Helsinki, learning about the music of Sibelius, about new approaches to city planning, of modern Finnish design and of the distinct Jugend or Romantic Nationalistic style of building that can be seen in many of the government building constructed in the early 20th century.

After the tour we checked into our hotel, then visited the food market where most of us ate delicious local homemade soup.

The walk that would follow would allow us to see contrasts between historical and modern church design. We walked through the town’s historic centre towards the Temppeliaukio Lutheren Church built under ground into rock. Our walk continued into the cities shopping district where a chapel of silence was constructed for people to experience peace and serenity in the centre of the cities busiest square.

Finally we walked to gleaming white Tuomiokkirko Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral built in an Empire Style in the mid 1800′s and inspired by such buildings further to the East in St. Petersburg, Russia. For dinner, students had the opportunity to taste a variety of local delicacies (including roasted reindeer, and lamb and fish paste with sour cream, and pickled cucumbers and beets!) in a very authentic Finnish buffet. We returned to our hotel where half of our group enjoyed the finnish sauna in our hotel and the other half went to a local park to play soccer. Tomorrow, we board yet another giant ship enroute to Tallinn Estonia!

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