Distractions, reflections

The welcome dinner for my class was an easy walk across the centre of Helsinki.  Kluuvi is the commercial centre with major stores (and katu is Finnish for street).  Part of the city centre has pedestrian malls, and bicycles are most expedient.

Without automobiles in this area, pedestrians have to watch out for oncoming trams.

Sculpture provided a scenic touch to the walk.

Approaching the harbour, the Esplanadi is a wide pedestrian boulevard with traffic running down both sides.

The statue of Runeberg is a landmark where birds conveniently perch.  Read more... (364 words, 25 images, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

For the second week of my two week stay in Helsinki, the first apartment hotel was full, so I was booked at another location over by the ferry docks, and kauppatori — the market square. Minna drove over, to help me move from one apartment to the other.

On the Sunday, the market hall (main building) at the kauppatori was closed, but the stalls outside on the market square were still open for business. Since the apartment hotel had cooking facilities, I bought a few vegetables for dinner.

Minna and I shopped around for lunch. The best alternative (given my aversion to shrimp and dairy products) was a salmon paella. (As I do with Diana, I gave Minna my olives).

There’s lots of tourist-type opportunities for shopping in the outdoor stalls, but mainly, Minna was just fooling around.

Minna actually pointed out some watercolors by a local painter. She thought that they would be good when she gets a bonus cheque!