Last weekend, I had four unbelievable and unforgettable days in Helsinki. I followed an invitation of my friend Antti to celebrate his PhD with a huge formal dinner followed by a wild after party. I met Antti and his colleagues Marjut and Tea during a science conference in Japan. We spent a few days together and I showed them some real Japanese things. Finally, Antti invited me to his party in Helsinki. I couldn’t believe it, since we met only for a few days. However it was serious and I just booked flights right away. Never miss a chance. You will probably have it only once in your life time… and this was again the absolute right decision!
I arrived on Thursday and met Marjut and Tea first. We went to the contemporary art museum Kiasma which is located in the center of Helsinki. The girls found out that I like art. Thus, they decided to take me there. It is a very nice modern building with very good exhibitions. As usual, some of the pieces were very contemporary or better too contemporary. I like that and I always tell everyone that there is no need to understand. There are only two choices: You like it or not! After the museum, we had a drink in an old tower with a wonderful view of the city. Interestingly, there are no higher buildings in Helsinki…maybe to keep the traditional view of the city. Helsinki has a clear influence of Russia. You can see that not only in the architecture, but also in the food: Coincidentally, there were Bliniweeks! Blini is that typical Russian pancake served with Caviar and sour cream for example. I ordered my one with prawns in mayonnaise with dill and lemon….yummy!
Friday was the day of the PhD defense at noon and the reception/party in the evening. As a guest and scientist, I am not proud that I skipped Antti’s defense, but I had only a few days in Helsinki to discover the city and learn more about the finish culture. When I got up in the morning, it was sunny. Since the sun was not very high in the sky, I was remembered that I must be closer to the North Pole than usual. It seemed to me that there was dusk the entire day or better for a few hours. So I took the chance to walk around the city, to see the ships in the harbor and to have a look in the Helsinki design museum. Interestingly, the whole city is full of design and art. Galleries and design shops everywhere. In Berlin, we have that Iittala design shop and I always thought that it must be from Italy or something close, since the name remembers to Italian words. How stupid! Shame on me! Now I know that it is a finish company. I must have seen it before, because the design is not really Italian. It is very straight, clear and functional…so very Scandinavian actually! Marjut was giving me also a cup from Marimekko as a memory for the time in Helsinki. Marimekko is another famous finish design brand with that typical flower pattern like that printed on the mug. Thank you for the present! It’ll be a nice memory.
Stay tuned to read more about the party and other events in the next couple of days…
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