Sundays are slow in Finland, so lets see if I can type up this weeks goings on...
Saturday 8/11
I went along to the Jubilee concert of the Åbo Akademi symphony orchestra. It was really nice to listen to a live orchestra again. I used to play in a brass band back home, and my aunt and uncle would often take me to orchestra concerts, so it was a nice nostalgic feeling. Except of course this orchestra were blooming fantastic (compared to our learners brass band at least). The first half featured a novel composistion by the orchestra's composer and had a Finnish zither as the solo instrument. I have never seen this instrument before and it was surprising the range of different sounds that it could produce. There were then some pieces with a clarinet solo. The second half was my favourite though. It featured a daramtic peice by Sibelius (a famous Finnish composer, who has a monument dedicated to him in Helsinki, which I have vistied). I prefered this purely because there was much more brass. They then finished off with Finlandia, Sibelius's most famous piece and a sort of unofficial national anthem for Finland.
Sunday 9/11
I went back to Ruissalo to the sea sauna with Carrie, my fellow native speaker of the English Language Circle (except she's american, but dont let that put you off). The weather was miserable, but it meant that the sea actually looked like the ocean rather than just a lake, as the winds were causing waves that splashed along the coast. Also it was so misty you couldnt see the islands. The sauna was in a beautiful littel wooden cottage, with a real og fire in the main room, and then the sauna round back. We had the sauna to ourselves for the most part. We did try and follow the Finns down to the sea where they were swimming without a care in the world, but it was absolutely freezing. I managed to go in once, but my hands were nearly blue by the time we came out, so after that we just stuck to putting our feet in to cool off. All in all, a relaxing way to spend sunday afternoons.
Monday 10/11
After talking to Finns in the language circle, Carrie had the idea of setting up a knitting club as a kind of spin-off from the language circle. So now every monday we plan to meet, knit, drink tea and chat. Last week I missed them in the Kauppatori, so didnt have any yarn, but carrie lent me some of her left-overs and I made a bookmark... This week I plan to stock up on wool and try out for a hat :) My aunt often tried to teach me to knit, but I never stuck at it long and so would always forget. I prefered cross-stitch to be honest. I quite enjoyed it last week actually, and can see how knitting a jumper or hat is more practical than cross-stitching a horse onto a tea-towel...
Thursday 13/11
The language circle met again, and this time we just went to a pub. We went to Poro, which is Finnish for reindeer. I've been there once before and really liked it. Its all decorated with fur and antlers, and funky lighting. And they do a mean hot chocolate.
After that, some of us carried on to Bounce Around the World, a night organised by one of ESN. It was to feature international music from all around the world, and I tried to help out by providing some songs, but it seems that it had all gone a bit pear-shaped for the guy organising it, and the international music was only being played in the lobby while the main dance-floor was filled with the usual generic stuff. So we sat in the lobby. Was cool to see a couple of Russian girls going a a bit mad when Gore Zima by Dima Bilan came on. I enjoyed the company and the music, but the actualy club and atmosphere was a bit of a disspointment. A nice idea, just poorly exicuted I think...
Saturday 15/11
Me and a friend decided to head for a museum. There are a number of museums in Turku, and despite visiting a few in Helsinki, I hadnt thought about going to any here really (apart from the castle, which I guess could count as a museum). So we chose to visit the Aboa Vetus | Ars Nova museum, which is a museum of archeology and contemporary art... Strange combination. I'm not really a fan of art museums, but I like history, and with Turku being the oldest town in Finland there is a lot of it here.
For the archeology section of the museum, you descend into an actual excavation of Turku, where you can wonder around the old unearthed streets of medieval Turku. There is a running story of a fictional character called Matti, based on fact, that guides you around the museum, and lots of activities for children to take part in (although we tried a few, never too old). the highlight is possibly the chapel, where you can light a candel and say a prayer. A very intesting museum, which is worth the entrance fee alone.
The art section of the museum I was not so interested in, but since its all in the one entrance fee, we went around anyway. There was an exhibition of the CoBrA group of artists, who apparently formed 60 years ago and were influential in the development of modern art. It was alright I guess, but I've never been a fan of art in general. I always feel like I'm missing something. Although there were two pieces that I liked a lot.
Overall, I would recommend a visit to this museum, if your in the area. Its right in the centre of town, and a generally enjoyable mixture of art and history.
Saturday 8/11
I went along to the Jubilee concert of the Åbo Akademi symphony orchestra. It was really nice to listen to a live orchestra again. I used to play in a brass band back home, and my aunt and uncle would often take me to orchestra concerts, so it was a nice nostalgic feeling. Except of course this orchestra were blooming fantastic (compared to our learners brass band at least). The first half featured a novel composistion by the orchestra's composer and had a Finnish zither as the solo instrument. I have never seen this instrument before and it was surprising the range of different sounds that it could produce. There were then some pieces with a clarinet solo. The second half was my favourite though. It featured a daramtic peice by Sibelius (a famous Finnish composer, who has a monument dedicated to him in Helsinki, which I have vistied). I prefered this purely because there was much more brass. They then finished off with Finlandia, Sibelius's most famous piece and a sort of unofficial national anthem for Finland.
Sunday 9/11
I went back to Ruissalo to the sea sauna with Carrie, my fellow native speaker of the English Language Circle (except she's american, but dont let that put you off). The weather was miserable, but it meant that the sea actually looked like the ocean rather than just a lake, as the winds were causing waves that splashed along the coast. Also it was so misty you couldnt see the islands. The sauna was in a beautiful littel wooden cottage, with a real og fire in the main room, and then the sauna round back. We had the sauna to ourselves for the most part. We did try and follow the Finns down to the sea where they were swimming without a care in the world, but it was absolutely freezing. I managed to go in once, but my hands were nearly blue by the time we came out, so after that we just stuck to putting our feet in to cool off. All in all, a relaxing way to spend sunday afternoons.
Monday 10/11
After talking to Finns in the language circle, Carrie had the idea of setting up a knitting club as a kind of spin-off from the language circle. So now every monday we plan to meet, knit, drink tea and chat. Last week I missed them in the Kauppatori, so didnt have any yarn, but carrie lent me some of her left-overs and I made a bookmark... This week I plan to stock up on wool and try out for a hat :) My aunt often tried to teach me to knit, but I never stuck at it long and so would always forget. I prefered cross-stitch to be honest. I quite enjoyed it last week actually, and can see how knitting a jumper or hat is more practical than cross-stitching a horse onto a tea-towel...
Thursday 13/11
The language circle met again, and this time we just went to a pub. We went to Poro, which is Finnish for reindeer. I've been there once before and really liked it. Its all decorated with fur and antlers, and funky lighting. And they do a mean hot chocolate.
After that, some of us carried on to Bounce Around the World, a night organised by one of ESN. It was to feature international music from all around the world, and I tried to help out by providing some songs, but it seems that it had all gone a bit pear-shaped for the guy organising it, and the international music was only being played in the lobby while the main dance-floor was filled with the usual generic stuff. So we sat in the lobby. Was cool to see a couple of Russian girls going a a bit mad when Gore Zima by Dima Bilan came on. I enjoyed the company and the music, but the actualy club and atmosphere was a bit of a disspointment. A nice idea, just poorly exicuted I think...
Saturday 15/11
Me and a friend decided to head for a museum. There are a number of museums in Turku, and despite visiting a few in Helsinki, I hadnt thought about going to any here really (apart from the castle, which I guess could count as a museum). So we chose to visit the Aboa Vetus | Ars Nova museum, which is a museum of archeology and contemporary art... Strange combination. I'm not really a fan of art museums, but I like history, and with Turku being the oldest town in Finland there is a lot of it here.
For the archeology section of the museum, you descend into an actual excavation of Turku, where you can wonder around the old unearthed streets of medieval Turku. There is a running story of a fictional character called Matti, based on fact, that guides you around the museum, and lots of activities for children to take part in (although we tried a few, never too old). the highlight is possibly the chapel, where you can light a candel and say a prayer. A very intesting museum, which is worth the entrance fee alone.
The art section of the museum I was not so interested in, but since its all in the one entrance fee, we went around anyway. There was an exhibition of the CoBrA group of artists, who apparently formed 60 years ago and were influential in the development of modern art. It was alright I guess, but I've never been a fan of art in general. I always feel like I'm missing something. Although there were two pieces that I liked a lot.
Overall, I would recommend a visit to this museum, if your in the area. Its right in the centre of town, and a generally enjoyable mixture of art and history.
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