Day 7: Helsinki

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Ellen and I woke up a full hour before we were supposed to, but didn't know it until we had gotten ready, walked downstairs, and eaten breakfast. So what did we do? Nap, of course! And it was beautiful.

Then, right on time, we headed back down and picked up our itinerary for the day. We were to be on our own, no guides, no buses, no tours. Our itinerary laid out our plans for the DISorientation tour, an architectural scavenger hunt where the aim is to visit as many of the listed sites as possible and complete assignments for each one. The final requirement was meeting up at a designated spot at 5pm to go over our sketchbooks with Bjorli and Flemming, who would then decide the best individual and best team sketches. Ellen and I paired up with Spencer and Sarah and we were on our way!

First was the Senate Square and Cathedral. We spent way too much time there, but there were so many details, it was hard to stop sketching. the assignment was to "sketch the square" (which I did in elevation) and "create a section of the cathedral including the external stair."

This spot was close to our hostel, so most everyone hit it first. And as Ellen and I were busy drawing our elevations and sections, we saw everyone else running around, freaking out, saying "What's a section? I don't understand! What do you mean you're drawing an elevation–what's an elevation? You know what we should do? We should draw the front of these buildings without perspective. I suck at perspective." Nothing is more hilarious than watching a creative-type do something design-related but not major-related. Over-competitive and under-informed. And I'm no stranger. Just watch me when a teacher assigns graphic design work.

(And I apologize for the state of these photos. Lighting is not the best.)







Since we were so close to our next destination, the National Library of Finland, we decided to pop in quickly and complete the task. "Draw a diagram or write a short description of how the 'grandeur' of the classical style relates to the human scale." Blah, blah, blah. By this time, we could tell that the furniture professors had decided to just give us the day tour that had been made for the Architecture students at DIS.



By this time, it was nearing lunch. We all decided to head to our next location and eat while sketching. We found an odd little fast food place at Helsinki Central Station, and all ended up ordering the only thing we could recognize: a chicken pita. And it was so scrumptious, I sketched it too.









I enjoyed our long stay there, but when we were done, we realized that we only had enough time for one more place: Temppeliaukio (The Rock Church), which was quarried out of natural bedrock, which actually gives the church excellent acoustics. I wasn't quite sure what to expect before our visit, but the glorious irony could not escape me as I walked into the church. Every single wall was natural stone. Rockwork! I spent a good two weeks during my internship at PGAV drawing rockwork. Rockwork planters, rockwork waterfalls, rockwork lockers (yes, lockers), rockwork entryways, rockwork facades. And now, the true test. An entire interior made of rock. Thank you, internship! Just goes to show that even the most obscure assignments can be helpful.



These are some extra sketches that aren't from this day, but I figured it'd keep with the theme of no pictures.

This is an auditorium seat I thought was interesting enough to sketch. The space was nice, but the seat was cooler.



This is a very quick and unfinished sketch of Eliel Saarinen's home, starting with a detail I liked.



After the Rock Church, we had just enough time to get to the bar where we were meeting. When we got there, we realized that the place was TINY and that there was no way everyone was going to fit. They claimed to have reserved a room for us, but somehow one hadn't, so the professors bought each of us a drink and let us go on our way. You'd be surprised how many times the Bjorli and Flemming were like, "Surprise! Here's some booze! Have fun getting back to the hostel!"

I had a Fanta, though. A nice, cold Fanta with a ton of ice. After chatting a bit, a few of us left to do some shopping and get some dinner. I found some regionally appropriate gifts for some people back home. I hate buying tacky tourist stuff with the name of the country sprawled across the front, but I think I did well. Pictures of all the stuff I bought for people after they receive them.

Then we wandered around until we found a place that was open. It's amazing how early places close down in Europe. It was another Italian place (It was either that or Outback Steakhouse, and I am not kidding.), but it was very good. Pizza is like an art in Scandinavia. Except for Domino's, which exists in Denmark. I almost want to try it sometime just to see if it tastes the same.

We weren't quite ready to end the night after dinner, so we walked into a bar called "On the Rocks" where I sipped on a pear cider (Awesome!) and played on an Elvis pinball machine. And only then was the night complete.