Finland/Sweden 3/10/2023

Friday 3/10/2023 - Sibelius Monument, Rock Church, Old Market Hall, Oodi

We woke up at 6:30 a.m., showered, and went to breakfast. The hostess remembered our names from yesterday and asked if we wanted to be at the same table. We decided to sit inside today rather than on the enclosed terrace. It was easier for Craig to get to the buffet, and we wouldn't have to worry about being in the sun. We had scrambled eggs, a Finnish pancake bake with vanilla sauce, cheese, cottage cheese, bacon, bread, yogurt, cereal, fruit, orange juice, and coffee. My stomach was feeling much better than yesterday morning, so I really enjoyed and made the most out of the breakfast.

Our group (minus the two we hadn't met yet, as they were still without their luggage) met in the lobby at 8:55 a.m. We met Cristina, our local guide. She is German, but married to a Finn.

We got onto our bus driven by Heikki, and he drove us down by the harbor. Helsinki is actually an archipelago consisting of over 300 islands. We saw a church which is also used as a lighthouse on one of the islands. We saw "carpet piers", where people take their rugs outside in the summer to wash them in the sea water. This is a social activity that originated inland when people would refresh their rugs in lakes, but once the population started moving to the city, they adapted the process for the seaside. We also learned that simple Nordic design is also a function of cleanliness; almost all furnishings are brought out into the spring/summer air for a refresh.

Then we stopped at Sibelius Park and got out of the bus. Here there is a piece of public art in honor of Jean Sibelius, the Finnish composer of such classical works as the tone poem "Finlandia." The monument, titled Passio Musicae, was welded/created by a woman named Eila Hiltunen. It was unveiled in 1967, ten years after Sibelius' passing.

According to Wikipedia, the Sibelius Monument

consists of a series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern. The monument weighs 24 tonnes...and measures 8.5 by 10.5 by 6.5 metres (28 ft × 34 ft × 21 ft).

Cristina encouraged us to walk up to the monument and stand under it. The ground was hard-packed snow and a little bit slick, so we were cautious as we approached. The monument is striking, and it was cool to stand under it and look up through the hollow pipes to see the blue skies above. There is also a sculpture of Sibelius' face atop a rock ledge to the right of the steel pipe sculpture.

Next we went to the Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Church). Although it doesn't look like much from the front, when you enter it is very impressive. It is a Lutheran church which was built in 1969, blasted right into solid granite. It has a round copper ceiling and 180 windows which provide lots of natural light. Unlike many churches, it doesn't have a lot of fancy ornamentation. It lets the nature speak for itself. The acoustics were great, and Cristina says that they often have concerts here. It must be a great venue for live music!

While on the bus, Cristina gave us some insights into the Finnish mentality. She explained the Finnish concept of "sisu", which means determination, resilience, and an unwillingness to give up. Finns see this as their national character trait.

Cristina said that when she first started working in Finland, they apologized to her for Finnish skiers who had been caught doping. A Finnish citizen shares in the triumphs and shames of all Finns.

Next we went to the old market hall, Vanha kauppahalli (est. 1889). It was an old-style food hall, with many vendors selling various food items. Gosia and Cristina had planned a special Finnish food tasting for us here. Of course, we were only so hungry, having eaten a very large breakfast back at the hotel. I tried bear sausage as well as smoked reindeer with lingonberries on bread. Craig also had some salmon. He also tried the "sauna ham". It is called that because in the past it was brought into the sauna with people to be steamed. A couple of people in the group bought glasses of beer, but they wound up having to chug them because we weren't there for long.

After leaving the market hall, we stopped at Helsinki Cathedral, which we had visited on our own yesterday, to take some quick exterior photos. We learned that the architecture would not support a bell tower, so they created the building to the left to house the bells. Being that the church is in neoclassical style that requires symmetry, a second, identical building was built to the right of the church, for use as a chapel. This reminded us of the mosque and false mosque flanking the Taj Mahal.

Next we went to Oodi, a large public library the name of which means "ode." Depression and suicide are a problem in Finland. Loneliness is a big issue. Even before the pandemic, people were becoming increasingly isolated in their digital worlds. For the 100th anniversary of the Finnish independence, they wanted to bring people back to the human community. They solicited ideas in the form of a "dream tree" asking people what they wanted in a community center. 2600 ideas were submitted, and were incorporated into the plans for Oodi.

Oodi is technically a public library, but it is so much more than that. It was built under budget and ontime, being inaugurated on December 5, 2018. So many things are available for free (and others for a nominal fee to cover supplies)...all you need to do is sign up. It is truly a library of things and experiences.

Available for use at Oodi include:

3D printers
sewing machines
recording studios with all the latest state-of-the-art equipment
musical instruments
oversized printers for printing signs
computers
gaming consoles
virtual reality
board games
movies
sheet music
meeting rooms
fully equipped kitchen
heat transfer machines
die-cut crafting machines
laser cutters

You can reserve meeting rooms for business or pleasure; if you have a start-up business and can't afford to rent offices, you can use Oodi as your office space. As we wandered around, we saw people making use of sewing machines, conference rooms, and recording studios. They were not distracted by us or others.

The concept of Oodi is egalitarian. Bookshelves are low enough for wheelchair accessibility, texture on the floors helps the blind to navigate the space. There is a large children's area where parents can socialize with one another while their kids play. There are apparently robots which transport books to the proper shelving area, but we didn't see any of these in person. There are coffee shops and cafes, but you can also bring your own food since buying cafe food isn't accessible to everyone.

As we were observing the children's area of Oodi, Cristina told us that every baby born in Finland gets a welcome package from the government with a bassinet, books, toys, clothing for 4 seasons (which you can pick out online), etc. When they have outgrown these items, they are encouraged to donate them to others rather than throwing them away. Men get 5 months of paternity leave. In the case of divorce, children alternate one week at a time with each parent.

We got back onto the bus and drove back to the esplanade. There, we said goodbye and thanks to Cristina and Heikki and went to Salutorget for lunch. We sat with Gosia, Valerie, Molly, and Rick. There was a pre-fixe menu with two options for a main and dessert. Craig got pike wallenberg and I got a cheeseburger. The server asked if anyone wanted soft drinks, and most people said no, but I asked what they had to offer. He said that they had a canned apple elderflower lemonade soda, and that sounded delicious to me. Craig and I ordered it, and many others at the table couldn't resist either. We had pavlova for dessert. It was a delicious lunch, but it was already the third time we had eaten today!

At around 3:15 p.m., we headed back to the hotel and had the afternoon/evening at leisure. Some people in the group had made dinner reservations at some of the fine restaurants of Helsinki, but we couldn't even think about eating again!

We packed our bags for tomorrow's flight to northern Finland. Then we crossed the street to Pyynikin Taproom where the bartender remembered us from two days ago and threw a wave our way as we walked in. We felt like regulars, even though it was only our second visit. She remembered she had given Craig the wrong beer last time and had told her colleague about it. But Craig actually liked that beer better and ordered it tonight (Espoon Oma Länsi-Metro Jhatke IPA). I had Happy Joe Crispy Pear Cider again. We like the vibe of this place and we sat at a booth with a view of the esplanade and our hotel.

After our drinks, we went across the street to the hotel and went to bed.

Sibelius Monument

Rock Church

Oodi