Images below of Temppeliaukio Kirkko (the underground Rock Church). This structure reminded me
of the underground houses at Coober Pedy in our home state.
The church was built in 1968-69 and the granite is impressive
Place to hang your jacket
Looking up at the domed ceiling which is made up of 32 kms of copper wire
Memorial to the famous Finnish composer Sibelius
Below - Helsinki cathedral
In the town square in front of the cathedral we found a special display
of the United Buddy Bears. You can read about them at this link; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Buddy_Bears
I took way too many photos of them but here are a few. It was a challenge
to guess some of the countries who were represented - some were obvious as you can
see and some countries I have never heard of - you would have been good at this Sophie!
From Australia - Ken Done's.......
And a view from above....
While walking we came across a market
These look like arctic fox furs...
So lunch time came - I do like looking at reindeers but just had to experience
the farmed meat - I am sorry to those of you who are vegetarians (reindeer sausage)
Autumn colours have arrived in the northern hemisphere but Helsinki is so cold!
Today it reached a maximum of about 12 degrees.
Apparently in winter it can get to minus 20 degrees - bbbrrrrrrr
No takers to the seats in the park - too cold to just sit
Closer look at the second hairpiece and it is made up of butterflies
And then spied in a gallery by the same artist
Below - for you Sophie
Larry and I have been so glad we are not driving. Left hand drive to start with and then to
contend with no lines at the intersections. Which way to go?And then right in front of us
a car and a bus tried to race each other around a corner and became 'glued' together
And below for you Brett and Emily - I finally found the parking meter put to good use!
Reminded me of Malibu and Kahlua (hope they remember us!)
About the temperatures here: in winter it can get down to -30 degrees and even more in Lapland :) The problem with Helsinki is that due to the sea the air is much more humid there which makes the cold feeling even worse. On the other hand in the autumn the sea stays warm for quite a log time so it warms up the area compared to inland.
ReplyDeleteAs aways great fun to see new things through your eyes. You picture a church and a catheral. What type of church / catheral? I thought Finland did not do religion.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I happened onto your blog. I love your photos. They are just gorgeous. I am sure you are having a wonderful time. I am enjoying seeing that part of the world through your blog.
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