Viking Homelands: Helsinki II (9/6/2018)

Thursday, September 6, 2018 (continued)
From the Market Square we walked up the Esplanadi/Esplanade.

Kappeli Café (1867, by Hampus Dahlström) the hot spot
of Helsinki and long a meeting place for literati and artists

Plantings on the Esplanade

Hotel Kämp (1887, by Theodor Höijer, rebuilt 1965, reopened 1999)
is considered the most luxurious hotel in Finland, and had a song
dedicated to it by Jean Sibelius and was a subject of artist Victor Andren

Monument (1885, by Walther Runeberg - the son)
to Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a Swedish-speaking
poet, whose poem, Vårt land/Our Land,
became the Finnish National Anthem (KSS)

Memorial (1928-1932, by Gunnar Finne) to
Zacharias Topelius, a Swedish-speaking author
and historian, with Fact and Fable (KSS)

Akateeminen Kirjakauppa/Academic Bookstore building
(1969, by Alvar Aalto)

Took a right turn down Keskuskatu Street.

Chatroulette, an art installation for Design Week 9/6-16

Artek Design Shop for home furnishings

Marimekko for fabric fashion design

Stockmann, the "Harrod's of Helsinki," was founded in 1862,
and is the largest department store in Scandinavia, with its clock
(below the marquee) as a popular meeting place

Kolme seppää/Three Blacksmiths (1932,
by Felix Nylund) is said to represent the
solid character of the Finnish people

Three Blacksmiths (7/20/1982)

Vanha Ylioppilastalo/Old Student Hall
(1870, by Axel Hampus Dalström
in Neo-Renaissance style) (KSS) 

Kampin kappeli/Kamppi Chapel of Silence (2012,
by Kimmo Lintula, Niko Sirola and Mikko Summanen),
an ecumenical (all welcome) chapel in the center
of a busy shopping district

The chapel is made with strips of spruce,
with an interior of alderwood

Lasipalatsin aukio/Lasipalatsi Square which is actually
a roof over the new Amos Anderson Art Museum

Eduskuntatalo/Parliament House (1926-1931, by Johan Sigfrid Sirén
in Neo-Classical style with Modernist influences)

Statue (1960, by by Aimo Tukiainen) of Marshal
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish military
leader and statesman, who was commander-in-chief
of Finland's defense forces during World War II,
and president of Finland from 1944-1946

Nykytaiteen museo Kiasma/Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
(1996-1998, by Steven Holl)

School group on field trip, perhaps; notice the diversity!

We followed these Spiderman Juniors into the
Helsingin päärautatieasema/Helsinki Central Station
(1919, by Eliel Saarinen in National Romantic
and Functionalist style)

Central Station platforms under a glass roof

Central Station entry hall

Helsinki Central Station

Central Station tower

Ateneumin taidemuseo/Ateneum Art Museum
(1887, by by Theodor Höijer)

Suomen Kansallisteatteri/Finnish National Theater
(1902, by Onni Tarjanne in National Romantic style, with
additions) and in front is the Aleksis Kiven muistopatsas/
Memorial (1938, by Wäinö Aaltonen) for the Finnish author

Panorama from the top of the steps in Senate Square

We made it back in time to meet the tour group to take the motor coach back to the Viking Star. However, Kent and I continued on our own to see a few more sights, before catching the Viking shuttle bus back to the ship.

Brick warehouses along Kanavaranta

Uspenskin katedraali/Uspensky Cathedral
(1862-1868, by the Russian Aleksey Gornostayev)
is the seat of the Finnish/Eastern Orthodox Church

Uspensky Cathedral (7/20/1982)

Presidentinlinna/Presidential Palace (1843-1845, by Carl Ludvig Engel)

Presidential Guards at the Presidential Palace

Sofiankatu, a museum street created in 1998
to showcase different eras

A Finnish beer, Marsalkka Pils

By the time we reached the Viking shuttle stop, we still had not found a mailbox to send a postcard. Kent asked the local Viking representative, who thought it could be mailed at the nearby grocery store, but not so. The kind Viking rep then said he would mail it for us!

Luoto Restaurant and Fredsstatyn/Peace Statue (1968, by Essi Renvall)

Ravintola Saaristo/Archipelago Restaurant on the island of Luoto is located in a 1898 villa designed by Selim A Lindqvist. This restaurant was the favorite of the Finnish poet, Eino Leino, to celebrate the festival of Vappu, the First of May.
The woman sitting across from us thought she had a better view to photograph the restaurant on Luoto, and then snapped a photo of us.

Kent & Tamiko on the Viking shuttle bus

We were back in time for lunch on the Viking Star.

During lunch we watched the Tallink Shuttle ferry arrive,
disgorge cars and trucks from two levels simultaneously,
then load up and depart in an amazingly short turnaround time

Later, we had a brief afternoon tea in the Wintergarden

We chose not to have the "tower"

The hot water dispenser (at the perfect
temperature for brewing tea?)

Tonight was another dinner at The Chef's Table: Xiang, inspired by Cantonese and Huaiyang/Jiangsu cuisines of China.

1. Amuse Bouche: Hot and Sour Soup (they really toned down the spiciness).

2. First Course: Fried Prawns with crispy garlic and chili.

3. Granita: Coconut with lemongrass and ginger infusion.

4. Main Course: Wok-Fried Beef with black pepper sauce accompanied by rice cooked in a lotus leaf.

5. Dessert: Chilled Mango Cream with pomelo and sago, the latter two cutting the sweetness of the mango.

We did not spend much time at the 3,000-piece puzzle!

In the evening we went to visit Ardel,
a bar server in the Explorers' Lounge,
where he made a special hot chocolate...

...and showed how to bring your brandy or
cognac to room temperature without loss to
evaporation, by resting the glass over warm water

Next: Stockholm I.