Reflections from Helsinki: Week 2

self portrait

This week was pretty uneventful: mostly work, but I did go to see an exhibit of 300 paintings of Helene Schjerbeck (good luck pronouncing that) at The Ateneum, Finland's national art museum. Schjerbeck is a major 20th century artist; says the Ateneum web page, she is 'one of the most important and recognised artists in the entire Nordic region.' For me, a great art viewing experience leaves me in awe and inspired and this exhibit did that. There was the work, which was wonderful, stemming from realism when she was young to modernism in her later years, but also the long career: she worked hard from her teenage years through to her death at 83.

After the art exhibit, I went for dinner and then on the way back to my flat, crossing through a park near the train station, I stopped for a minute to watch Montley Crue, who were playing live. It was quite a crazy juxtoposition: high art vs. glam metal.

Me too! Here's a kid at the Helsinki show. I got this off of Motley Crue's facebook page.

Lastly, I finally made it to probably my favorite spot in Helsinki, a big wood-fired public sauna. You bring a beer or two and in between sweats hang out on the sidewalk, as in the picture below, cool off and enjoy a refreshment. It's a unique experience on many levels, from the obligatory old lady in the men's locker room, who cleans and will even give you a scrub down (seriously!), to beer on the street with only a towel on, to the giant searingly hot sauna filled with sweaty dudes. I got a good laugh telling  some fellows that in Montana there is usually a sauna at the gym, but they always have a warning sign about excessive heat, even though you typically can't get them near as hot as the typical Finnish sauna.

My favorite Helsinki spot.

I've been on a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, sometimes lonely, other times frustrated (research typically doesn't move in a continuous and smooth manner), and still others feeling peace and gratitude, often all in the same day. The good news is, I'm already half way through.