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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