Sibelius Violin Concerto

I had the great pleasure today to listen to  the Violin concerto of Jean Sibelius in the same premises where it was performed the first time! The city hall of Helsinki, then still Seurahuone Hotel, features an impressive celebration hall and has hosted many balls, concerts and events since the 19th century till today. The…

Elections / Wahlen

On Sunday we will elect the new “Eduskunta”, parliament. Yle News, which is the English branch of Finnish broadcasting YLE, has interviewed all party leaders on the most pressing questions. Am Sonntag wird in Finnland das neue Parlament gewählt. 200 Abgeordnete in direkter Wahl. Yle News, die englische Ausgabe des Finnischen Senders YLE, hat alle…

Suomenlinna Fortress

In addition to taking my exams as a Helsinki Guide, I have enrolled into a training to become an authorized Suomenlinna Guide. The large historic sea fortress on several (5,6,7,8? The number keeps changing) islands in front of Helsinki has made it into the Unesco World Heritage list. It has been a very important influence…

Hvitträsk

With  my family in Germany over Easter, I decided to use my free time for visiting Hvitträsk, former home and studio to the trio of architects who belonged to the most influencial forces during the Art Nouveau period in Helsinki: Hermann Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and  Eliel Saarinen. Unfortunately, the weather was very “Finnish” and the…