Helsinki, Finland - Travel Journal (5)

Helsinki 赫爾新基 was first made known to me in high school geography class. I am not sure if I ever thought about it again until I travelled there this August. The place is surely not what I originally envisioned.  I thought Helsinki is full of fishing boats but as I discovered, Norwegians are the ones who operate major fishing industry, not Finns. Finland is famed as Land of a Thousand Lake. It has about 5.4 million population and 590,000 of them live in Helsinki. Among the natural and wild regions, there are 200,000 plus moose and elks individually. I saw elks home in northwest from time to time, but I have not seen a moose till it ran across the street right in front of our tour bus.

inside the city Helsinki

Finland was first ruled by Sweden in 12^th century and later Russia in 19^th century. Helsinki was chosen to be the capital when Swedish King Gustavus Vasa wanted a capital facing Baltic and was capable of competing with other important ports in Sweden and modern day Tallinn, Estonia.  And, Russia wanted the capital of Finland to be close to St. Petersburg. Helsinki was built from its wild and rugged stage to this day, the capital and the most important port in Finland.

Traveling in Scandinavia has educated me a great deal about the history of Nordic countries. How they were formed and reformed through the centuries of changes. Royal monarchies seem to play major roles ruling the countries till the parliaments were formed, but their fairy tale stories continue. Finland is the only republic established in 1955 and it is the only Nordic country joined EU and uses euro for the trade. It is more convenient to shop here since no effort is needed to identify three different Krones used in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. We had to put money in separate envelops and even so, we often messed up with exchange rate and handed out wrong money.

We did not visit other places beyond Helsinki, and right here alone, I did not see anything dramatic or distinguished from what I have seen since my trip started. My curiosity was about the influence of its earlier occupiers in aspect of architecture (and culture) and I seemed to experience more Russian than Swedish influence here. I wish I had chance to know more about their culture, but I could not.

Lutheran Church

The beautiful Lutheran Catholic Church was built in 18th century. Architecture is the neoclassical style  The body of the church is primarily white with pastel teal color dome tops. The contrast is striking and yet not overwhelming. The interior decoration is elegant, exquisite and not overly elaborate.

Typical Russian Lutheran church is like gold and this one is like jade. I have seen enough glitzy glamour along the way and towards the end of the trip, this church is like fresh spring which delivers soothing and refreshing soul water. I so enjoyed the peace in a sacred ground without the bondage of chocking wood carvings and paintings.

It was almost the end of our trip, and the sun finally broke out the cloud and poured it on us generously. People are sitting on church steps having their eyes closed and breathing in the warm air as I did.

Sunny day at Senator Square

Looking down from the church, there is Senator's Square. Crowd starts from church front all the way down to the street. I don't know the name of the street, but I would call it Street of Excursions. There is a long line of tour buses. It was not even a weekend day. I bet local people also swarmed out to embrace the sun. If you only get 4-5 months of decent weather, you know what sun means to them.

Mostly contemporary architecture is shown around town among a few classic buildings. I think it has something to do with the late development of Helsinki to be the capital city. Locals are complaining that their brand new opera house does not have character because it is all straight lined and geometrically structured.

In Tooloo quarter, Rock Church roof top is built of a spiral formed by threads of copper wire which delivers natural source of light for the structure. The interior is curved out of the rock and the granite walls provide good echo sound that makes this a ideal concert location.

Rock Church

Inside the church, there is this magnificent classic pipe organ erecting on rock wall. The royal blue and purple pews and their diagonal placement add soft touch to it and make a supreme and sacred sanctuary for the believers. I would love to come to a church like this one every Sunday to worship His Majesty and adore this architectural excellence. No columns, no carvings, no ceiling paintings, I feel so free and up-lifting. What a relaxing place to enjoy a concert, too ! Finns claim that they have good designers and this church is a sound proof.

Generally I like contemporary styles. However, visiting old towns of the cities which preserved the unique culture of their own is still fascinating.  Classic cathedrals and castles have their extreme glamour from architecture and interior decoration point of view, but pipe organ is my real favorite.  The craftsmanship stands its own. It is precisely designed and engineered, but not as elaborate as other decorations inside the church. I can usually do well without visiting palaces and cathedrals because the cliched and ornate decorations make them look all the same. I believe many decor pieces were mindfully designed and crafted. But without knowing the history behind, it is just another piece of
add-on's. 

Old town Porvoo is outside of Helsinki, almost one hour away. The town is fairly small. It takes one hour to walk through the whole place. There is an old church, un-distinguished from exterior.

The moment when I stepped into the entrance, I noticed this pipe organ and started to examine its beauty. Then I heard a singing and organ music gradually echoed and surrounded the church. I followed the singing and discovered the lady (on lower right) playing the organ and soloing the hymns. The music came just like a breeze, a fresh breath. It is beautiful, sacred and glorious.

Porvoo, old town

Countryside Helsinki is very similar to small towns in Oregon. Lakes, rolling hills, barns and simple farmhouses. It is the same ever-lasting natural and peaceful environment in the country that inspire me to pick up my camera and go for it tirelessly.

The picture on the right was taken in old town, features the ordinary residential houses by the lake. The houses are not as colorful and picturesque as what we saw in Norway, but the reflection of the houses and white clouds is quite amazing.

At mini town square, there was the city hall and the booths with local artist's art and craft displays. They have lots of fur, leather and porcelain. Porcelain designs are really one of the kind and all hand-made. I certainly appreciate the place like this selling real stuff, not tons of souvenirs made in China. It reminds me of the Saturday Market in Eugene.

I heard Finns say Hey as hello and later I found out Hey-Hey means good-bye. Simple and practical. I like it.

Sauna is popular here, Finns have a winter sport that they are really up to it. They would steam themselves in a sauna till they sweat up and jump into freezing cold lake to cool it off. Then, back to the heat and out for the chill. I guess they believe the extreme temperature changes on the body will strengthen the body somehow. Just like how silversmith wrought the iron, isn't it? For this reason, they have boats called ice-breakers (see below). This boat has built-in attachments to break the ice and open the frozen water for the 'extreme' swimmers....

No drama to speak of, but it resembles where I am and the extended countryside. Beauty is in the nature and the subtlety.   As I close up my writing, I am still thinking of fishing....

pipe organ inside Lutheran church

Quaint and Tidy

Retro and colorful

Rustic (cast iron, wood stove)

restaurant (left) and gift shop (right)

Ice-Breaker

It's Dance Time - afar and at home

If you talk to me about dance, you are ‘playing piano to a cow’ (對牛彈琴) . In my college years, I skipped all dance parties simply because I was not good at it and I was too chicken to even try it. Besides, there have not been too many guys taller than me then and most of the guys do not have guts to invite tall girls. I cannot dance, but it does not mean that I dislike it. I actually enjoy watching people on dance floor. I think dance is a physical form of art which is orchestrated by music and body rhymes.

It takes lots of skills and significant coordination.

Why I am suddenly inspired to speak dance? What have I discovered this time?

In my recent Nordic trip, we took Flam Railway for a mountain train ride into Norway‘s high glacier region which is not less glamorous than Canadian version. Absolutely beautiful green pastures are adorned with picturesque houses and waterfalls are shouting down the canyon. Kjosfossen waterfall is one of the Flam railway falls. It is only accessible by train. Its winding route and roaring water make it a distinctive tourist attraction.

Kjosfossen fall

Everyone got off the train and stood by the lowest section of the fall. Powerful gushing water was playing a nature music while splashy mist entertaining the spectators. Suddenly I heard a music gradually rising from the background. It was not the sound of the fall, it is a real music from a playing instrument. I saw people were moving around and more people gathered by the fence looking at the fall.

I followed their sight and discovered a blond hair girl dressed in orange red dancing in the midst of waterfall on a rock platform. Her choreography is graceful and somewhat seducing. Her appearance reminds me of a muse or a fairy. Later I learned from our tour guide that 'she' is legendary in Scandinavia folklore. The dancing girls are from local ballet school. I was impressed by the creativity of this tourist attraction. The image looks surreal. I wish I could come a bit closer and I had my tripod with me….

Prior to my trip, I thought we would have chance to see some Scandinavian folk dance in one of our tours, but that was not the case. I only saw Scandinavian dolls at the shops. I really did not get enough exposure to authentic Scandinavia culture which has always been very appealing to me.

Interesting enough, I'd planned to go back to Oktoberfest at Mount Angels this year for photography and I did it last week. For reason, I kept thinking about Scandinavia folk dance. I have seen it at Oktoberfest a few years ago, but I did not take any pictures. This year’s dance event seems to come in a larger scale. Dance couples include little girls and boys, teenage guys and dolls, even moms and daughters. Their costumes including dresses and hair wreathes are just colorful and beautiful. I can see the fine design mind and tremendous efforts behind the dramatic presentation.

These grade school kids are just so cute that I could not stop snapping. Unfortunately, there was big crowd surrounding the dance area and I had no way to shoot anything without getting a very messy background. It is time consuming trying to clean up the background and the work may not add much to artistic effect. So I did a brief cutout and add some texture to the background to make them a bit more presentable.

These photos are not that much about photography, it is about my discovery at home (Mt Angels, Oregon) for whatever I was longing to see during my recent trip to Scandinavia, afar.

I have always said that I want to work till the last moment when I find myself unfit. But God has His plan and He grants me peace to pursue my love for photography and provides me time to spend with my family. When would I ever pay such close attention to these children's facial expressions and their absolutely unpretentious performance if not for photography?

A few more photos with background:

A Foggy, Froggy weekend - lost and found

I was here two months ago. There were abundant water and lively vegetation along the beach. Sky had that screaming blue and white cloud had its dramatic display. The colorful water plants were tanning under the sun while crystal clear lake water was soaking our feet. The pleasing landscape has been always in my mind.  So I came back with my photography friends for a re-visit.

then (June)

We parked the car at exactly the same parking lot and I walked directly towards my dream spot. There was the same wide spread of  beach area, but instead of abundant water and vegetation, there were dry sand and cracked ground. Vegetation was mostly gone and the remaining looks brown and dry. No occasional yellow or red jet-skis or motor boats coming through to churn the peace and compete with the colors from water plants. I was stunned. Season has drained the livelihood of this place.

now (Sep)

Well, photographers shoot everything and we should be able to find something to shoot even though there was really not much of everything… Is it really nothing? I saw two friends were looking at something in small stream, a frog, they said. It is easy to hear a frog croak, but not easy to actually see it not mentioning to take a shot.  This creature reacted quickly. I love to listen to their croak on deep summer night.  Thanks to my friend, this little guy was found clinging to rock edge, hiding there quietly.  Its camouflage skin texture resonates the rock so well. If not for her sharp eyes, I would not spot it myself.  With slight effort, I was able to lure this little critter away from rock and take two shots before it sneaked out on me. I was thrilled to see a frog so close and even took the picture. If not for the dry ground, I would never have this luck.

frog - my new friend

When there is water everywhere, there were plenty of reflection opportunities, but what now when the water was way down? Sky and Butt are still there, but there was no moving cloud and no variation of colors in layers like it used to be earlier in the summer.

As an alternative, I focused more on the foreground and picked up a more condensed area for reflections. Butt turned into a secondary backdrop while the small islands and reflections take on key roles. It is interesting and inspiring to perceive the change and difference.

June trip was the first time that I got up early to capture some morning shots. Surely did not want to miss the golden moment, we got up early and had a cup of coffee to warm up. The moment when we looked out and spotted the heavy fog surrounding Odell Butt, we all dropped our coffee and ran out of the door with our camera gears. This was surely my OMG moment. I have never seen Odell Butt wrapped in such dramatic color spectrums, in layers and gold-filled.

Across the lake, these trees have been standing there year after year and season after season.  They are mostly pines and firs, about the same height and same color, as boring as it gets. Guess what I saw this time: shimmering fog is filling up the space among the layers, the gray sky, pastel orange sun ray and lines of gray water ripples. Is this the earth that I am standing? Yes, and on the solid ground.

A fishing boat suddenly showed up in the scene. Two fishermen were ready to cast out their lines. I was so excited, but I held my breath and patiently waited for them to come closer, to be right on the spot that I wanted and they did just that. I bombarded them with my shots. I certainly thank them for their appearance.

Morning drama was over in an hour window. I was back to my reality, water level is low and everything is dry. I have seen so many drift wood along the beach, and they are no inspirations to me any more. But, there was no snow on Diamond Peak, no twist for a shot of Diamond Peak. It is bare, blend and blah.  I am clumsy and I almost stumbled on this big stump while trying to cross over. The moment when I tried to stand up on my feet, I had a quick glance at the peak through the stump.  And, I jumped up and aimed from this angle. I think the stump echoes Diamond Peak and they rhyme.

I smiled with content and thought it is time to head back for some breakfast. My mind was on the food, driven by the yelling from my stomach.  I just wanted some fresh granola and more coffee to celebrate my find….

A small flock of birds flew into the bushes as I was walking by. I know what they are, the ordinaries that I have seen hundred times. For now I only want my breakfast. Suddenly I heard a chirp that I have not heard before and my curiosity arose. I spotted something yellow moving among the bushes. It moved so fast and away from me, I only had the chance to fire four shots and thanks God, two of them are clear. I cannot wait to share it with you, it is a warbler.  It is not a precious endanger spice or a dramatic looking thing like Bird in Paradise, but this is the first time when I capture a picture of warbler. To me, it is monumental and worth a yap.

It started as an ordinary weekend. Things I expected were not there, but I discovered something else that was completely unexpected.  The fog and the frog have transformed my dismay and disappointment to a state with honey and spice.

And, there was the music, the chit-chat and laughter from my partners in crime, my precious photography friends. Together we shoot everything from sky to rock to sand, from waterfall to wildflower to dragonfly, from bridge to stump to nuts and bolts, whatever you can name, we can shoot.

Sweden – travel journal (4)

After visiting two largest cities, the impression I have on Sweden is royal, majestic, and picturesque. Like Norway, Sweden is part of original Hanseatic League and they are historical big traders on Baltic Sea. Norway obtains its wealth from oil and Sweden has brought in enormous immigrants who has generated powerful working force for the benefit of their economy. A beautiful city with a river run through it, and is adored with breath-taking architecture throughout.

storybook-like houses along the shore

As you may know, I cannot get enough of the colorful houses in Norway and here in Sweden, my obsession only grows more.  Generally speaking, residential houses in Norway have more straight lines while Swedish houses seem to have more characters. It is not easy to find two houses exactly look the same standing next to each other.

Window placement of big buildings in the city seems all very geometrical and appears the same at first look, but the intricate sculptured trims are different from one floor to the other. Roof top is intentionally designed for snow load and long winter here which can go from Oct to April depending on the region.

I was wondering, as old as the styles look, how come the buildings all look so orderly and well maintained.  I was told that they have strict ordinance for the buildings and houses which have cultural marks. Special construction license is required for remodeling. Check out these houses by lakefront. How do you like to have your boat right outside of your house?

Sweden is the 4^th largest country in Europe, 9 million population. In capital Stockholm alone, there are 5 million people and 3 millions of them are immigrants. It is an international city. Stockholm is named ‘Venice of North’ with one difference, no smell, as the locals put it.  It has its natural waterway and is composed of 30 islands, between Baltic Sea and Lake Malaren. Water water everywhere, that was my first impression when we landed here. It is the city with sophisticated architecture and beautiful landscape.

a private residence with boat launch

When our cruise ship was approaching the shore, I was so attracted by the landscape that I ran to the upper deck and grabbed a spot without noticing that I was standing in front of a man who was there before me. I did not realize how rude I was till he switched his place and stood before me. I got the hint. I was going to say sorry but then I was so caught up with the scene so was the man. I don’t think he would hear me if I attempted to say something. We were ‘on the same boat’ loving what we saw and wanted to capture it all.

Goteborg is the second largest city in Sweden, the largest harbor in Scandinavia. The moment when we stopped here, I felt like I was in New York City. McDonald first came to sight and almost all American fast food chains are here. Plus, diversity of people and the busy traffic. Long blond hair girls are everywhere so are the Muslin ladies with hijibs. We were so happy to see Starbucks because the coffee in the cruise tastes like tar, but the locals highly recommended their own brand, Express House. It costs $5.70 a cup, but it tastes good and worth the experience. We munched a bit of Swedish chocolate and it is supreme.

Goteborg

Though car manufacturing is declining, Volvo was established here since 1927 and still the major automobile maker. The renowned IKEA was originally created by a 17-year old Swedish Ingvar Kamprad (the company was registered in Netherlands). IKEA takes the name after his first and last name, E=Elmtyard, the farm where he grew up and A=Agunaryd, his hometown in South Sweden. The great invention of IKEA concept has definitely benefited young families to enjoy style and value.

H&M is also from Sweden, Hennes & Mauritz Company. Hennes means hers in Swedish and that's H originally came from. After Mauritz merger, they started to sell Hers and Mens clothing line. In my opinion, the concept of H&M and IKEA basically are the same. They target younger customers and with updated styles and attractive value. 

We drove by Abba’s Museum. Surprised to hear that Abba is not as popular in Sweden.  We tend not to cherish what we have local and readily available, don’t we?

In addition to the city, we of course visited Royal Palace and the famous Vasa Museum. Among all the royal palaces, I happened to be in favor of this one, a late baroque-style building with Rococo (asymmetrical style) interior decoration and the exterior, Italian Renaissance style. However, photography is not permitted inside the palace and front facade is under construction. We did walk through the room inside the palace where Swedish King hosted Nobel banquet for Nobel Prize Laureates. Alfred Nobel is a Swedish philanthropist who founded Nobel foundation in 1895 and the prizes were awarded since 1901.

the praying boy

I think this praying little boy was just as popular as the glamorous presentation inside the palace.

Vasa Museum has the original warship Vasa displayed. Vasa is supposed to be the most extensive and richly ornamented naval vessel built in Sweden at the time (1628). When she sailed forth on her maiden voyage on Stockholm shore, Vasa capsized and sank inside Stockholm harbor, just 45 minutes after her launch mostly due to the weight of the overly-furnished ship. It was top-heavy and did not have enough ballasts for the stability of the bottom.

Vasa warship

When the ship was discovered more than 333 years later, it still remained intact under the sea.
Baltic sea has brackish water (mix of salt and clear water) which prevented the growth of wood loving worms and saved the ship. 15 skeletons were found inside the ship, and part of them are shown in the museum. After being salvaged, she was able to float unaided. It was a somewhat emotional journey to go around the ship, look in and around and feel the despair from the captain and the sailors when a victorious entry suddenly turned into a deadlock. 

The display area was very dark. I did not have an external flash with me. Even I bumped up my ISO to the max 6400, I still could not get any decent shots. When I was frantically looking for ways to shoot,  I somehow was able to switch my ISO to a Hi setting that I have never discovered before. Here it is, I finally had a clear shot.

Bike rental 

It is not just in Denmark, bicycle is also popular in Sweden. There are self-serve bicycle rentals in the city. You can make your deposit, grab a bike and tour around town as you please.

All the major stores have their hours marked next to their store signs in large letters. I really like this customer-friendly arrangement.  At home, we often have to drive close to a store front to see the hours and sometimes the prints are so fine that we have to get out of of the car.  

store hours

The classical glamour of Sweden is in the city and the rural landscape is not less beautiful than what I so loved in Norway. Taking history out of equation, Norway scenery is similar to Oregon and prettier.  Sweden has the addition of an unspeakable richness and lushness. When I looked out of the window and into the green fields, my eyes seemed to wander a long ways before I saw the end, and from there blue water immediately opens another depth of field....

Most of my pictures taken on this trip are tour bus shots. I was not only in movement with the bus, window glass was also in the way. Photo quality can be better, but....

Countryside

Royal Palace

Stockholm inside the city

old town, Main Square in Stockholm

apartment building at a glance

I started my blog to sound my inner voice. As the journey evolves, I have explored and discovered so many things that I either have never known or I have to refresh my memory to catch up. The joy I got out of the process is immensely meaningful and enlightening to me. For this, I have to thank Steve, my mentor, the leader of our photography group, who has inspired me to make this daring attempt: to write in English and to share in public.
(Steve's blog site http://www.creativemonkeystudios.com/)

Notes:

1. I have changed my title to Journey of Exploration and Discoveries. I also decided to only post one blog a week. This will give myself more time to prepare my content with more details and hopefully more depth as well in the coming future.

2. Finland and Russia trip journals will come later along with other posts if I may choose to post other articles first.