Hvittrask

Our Finland tour didn't end at the Rock Church. We drove to Hvittrask to visit the homes and working studios of 3 significant architects at the turn of the last century - Herman Gasellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen*.

The 3 Helsinki-based architects first achieved fame designing the Finnish Pavillion for the 1900 Paris World Exhibition. This funded their purchase of land overlooking Lake Vitttask and the building of the.studio whose work moved the predominant Victorian/Romantic design aesthetic towards what would become the Arts & Craft movement.

The 3 swapped their wives along with design ideas, eventually moving away. The studio remained as a museum.

*Eliel's son, Eero Saarinen, achieved greater recognition as a leading Mid-Century Modern architect. Eero designed JFK Airport's TWA terminal, the St Louis Arch and Virginia's Dulles airport.

I can't close this post without mentioning our tour leader, Niccola. We expected an expert on Finnish design and culture, but didn't expect him to be from Appulia ( heel of the Italian boot) !

Tervetuloa Helsinkiin !

Of course I could also have said "Välkommen till Helsinki" since both Finnish and Swedish are official languages of Finland. In fact, all street signs display the Finnish and Swedish names.

But Geri puts it best -

Among the available excursions, we chose "Art & Architecture of Helsinki". I wouldn't necessarily have thought of Finland as architecturally interesting, but having been occupied first by Sweden, then Russia before gaining its independence in 1917, the city's buildings are a mix of classicism,  byzantine,  neo-renaissance, neo-classical and mid-century modernist styles.

Our first stop was Tuomiokirkko, the Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral, the neoclassical centerpiece of downtown Helsinki.

Its patron, St Nickolas and his entourage stand in the open square, inviting all to visit.

After a short driving tour of the downtown, we headed for our second significant stop, Temppeliaukio or Rock Church. Literally blasted from the native granite, it is topped with a copper roof and 180 windows. The acoustics are so good, it's used for concerts almost as often as religious services.

Swedish treats...

Naturally, Anthony & I are fascinated by and have been sampling the local offerings.

In Stockholm, we made sure to enjoy:

-Toast Skagen (twice, but still not enough)
-Jansen's Surprise

- Kanelbullar (also twice)

- Swedish Meatballs

And ligonberries with everything!

We've eaten at all kinds of places, including wine bars, on the street, hole-in-the-wall cafes and at the Operabaren - where our waiter was worth the price of admission. (Imagine Peter Sellers doing a caricature of a snooty French waiter) Anthony remarked that he had the perfect balance of arrogance and submissiveness. After a couple hours of sparring, all three of us would admit to having had quite an evening.

Looking forward to more feasts as we head East...

Geri