Finland / Suomi
Updated 3 November 2000
Updated 10 January 2003
Click on these stamp-sized images to see larger versions.
From the air
Helsinki
Helsinki train station. Note how this typical case where
the words in Finnish are completely indecipherable, since the language is
unrelated to anything most people know. Knowing a Germanic language can
really help in figuring out the Swedish which usually accompanies the
Finnish.
1st-2nd:Helsinki harbor. The ubiquitous cruise/ferry ships (to
Stockholm and Tallinn) dwarf the buildings.
4th:Tuomiokirkko (Lutheran cathedral). There is a cafe in the crypt.
A gloomy northern city? No -- Helsinki was sunny and colorful!
Monument to Sibelius, Finland's greatest
composer. The pipes can somehow be played.
Jurva
Left:A field in Jurva (between Vaasa and Seinäjoki).
Right:The farmhouse in Tainuskyla (neighborhood of Jurva) built by my great-grandfather,
where my father was born.
Lahti
Porvoo
Rovaniemi/Napapiiri
Turku/Åbo
Turku is the oldest city in Finland (begun as a Swedish colony
in 1229).
Left:Turku castle -- what's the big deal?
Center:Suomen Joutsen, "The Swan of Finland"
Right: The boat to Stockholm.
Elsewhere
1st: Wheat fields in rural Finland.
2nd: Oat fields.
3rd: Cousins in Vaasa.
4th: Church in Seinajoki designed by Alvar Aalto,
Finland's legendary architect.
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