My hosts
are really enthusiastic about CouchSurfing – they host virtually all the time.
I feel welcome at once in this cheerful family and we spend the evening in
animated conversations about our countries, history, what to see in Helsinki,
art and much more.
The main
thing I do on my first full day in Helsinki is walking around the city center
around the Esplanade. It’s not always sunny, but it doesn’t rain, there are quite
many people in the street, calmly hurrying towards their destination, not so
many tourists, of course. I like the architecture, the broad streets. I can see
why Helsinki is called the smallest metropolis in the world, it surely has a
cosmopolitan air to it. At noon I meet Liza from the US who also stays with my
hosts in the Music Center. The building is futuristic and a bit puzzling on the
first sight, but after some orientation we find our free organ concert. I am
quite fond of organs and this high square room holds one organ in the center of
each wall, quite astonishing. I think I never saw such big instruments outside
a church. After a short introduction in Finnish a young woman plays Bach and
Buxtehude. The acoustics of the room are perfect.
Walking
made us hungry and we find a university cafeteria. As we aren’t students of
Helsingin Yliopisto (University of Helsinki, one of the few Finnish words I
manage to remember) we have to pay the full price, but 7 Euros seem OK
considering the general price level. As I heard from friends who spent their
exchange year here it’s just normal that you can find not only a vegetarian
option, but also vegan and lactose-free food. The full meal includes salad and
bread, a warm dish (I choose fish pasta, good choice), a glass of water and a
glass of juice or milk. Milk is a popular drink here and most people seem to
prefer fat-free milk instead of that containing 0.4% fat. I never imagined it’s
even possible to take all the fat out of milk… (And I personally don’t like the
watery look or taste of it.)
In the
afternoon I stroll around a mall to see what is different from German malls
(there are some different foods in the supermarket and there is a Moomin shop, almost
everything is expensive, and, not necessarily different, but remarkable, I get
to taste some truly luxurious cupcakes which are vegan!). After that I visit the
Amos Anderson Art Museum,
a smaller museum for modern art, Panu’s father was involved in a current
exhibition and so I got a free ticket! The exhibition Boutique is a collection
of collaborations between artists and designers. I don’t know all that much
about modern art, but I can say I like these installations and videos. I also
like the paintings by Fanny Churberg which I can see on another floor and the
founder’s interiors. Although it’s not a big museum I am quite exhausted and it’s
pitch dark already. I decide to take a look at the Cathedral, the most
frequently photographed building in Finland and return home. When I walked from
the port I got a glimpse on the cathedral at some point, but it doesn’t fail to
impress me now when it suddenly enters my view.
Brightly lit it resides above
Senate Square, I have to take a lot of pictures, too. I climb the steep stairs
and find the door open. Moreover, the boys’ choir is rehearsing and obviously
it’s OK to sit down and listen. About 60 Cantores Minores aged from around
eight to 15 in their ordinary clothes need a strong leader, but when they sing
they sing very well. I look around the huge wide room and find it to be an
attractive combination of magnificent gold decorations and wide areas painted
in plain white (or light blue, it’s hard to tell). When the rehearsal is over I
walk around a little and when I turn around the gigantic organ really strikes
me with surprise. I’ve never seen a curved organ. It looks as if it could fly.
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