Helsinki was a bright revelation,
although relegated to the initial meeting point and the terminus of
our further destinations. It must be related to the clarity and energy of northern light! Hotel Scandic Grand Marina provided a night
of rest before the next day's long drive.
Enough time for a morning stroll,
revealing our hotel could not have been more central. It was on the
harbour and next door was a charming open air market. Shoppers have
more than food to choose from!
Then we stumbled into a street
demonstration, protesting or supporting lord knows what.
Much later, after thousands of
kilometres driving through Russia and the Baltics, we returned by sea
to Finland and Helsinki. We had a little more time then to sightsee.
The Church in the Rock (Temppeliaukio
Kirrko) is probably the number one tourist attraction in the
city. Finished in 1969, the circular Lutheran church is built into a
natural, gigantic chunk of granite. The entrance would really fool
you.
If you had a high external or aerial
view, all that shows from the outside is the huge copper dome, forty
feet above street level. Flying saucer deja vu, anyone?
The interior space was blasted out of
the rock, leaving the stone walls as the natural finish. Light comes
from windows between the dome and the walls. Concerts, as well as
church services, take place here.
And speaking of music, Jean Sibelius,
the native composer who died in 1957, is memorialized in a park named
after him. The magnificent stainless steel sculpture reflects the
beauty and colour of its outdoor surroundings, especially when the
wind blows through the hollow tubes. The similarity to organ pipes
(an instrument Sibelius never played) still causes controversy at
home.
Of course Helsinki has much more to see
than what we grabbed on the run, so to speak. Not necessarily top of
a bucket list, but well worth more than casual attention.
©
2017
Brenda Dougall Merriman
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