APRIL 28 - The phone says it will rain today, but wake up to nearly clear skies and temperature slightly below freezing. Head down to the metro station to meet up with Petri, a friend of mine from elementary school. We know each other from when I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Head to a forested island west of the city called Seurasaari. This is a forested area, with plenty of glacially-sculpted granite outcrop, and an open-air museum of traditional wooden buildings. These structures have been dismantled from their original locations throughout the country and re-assembled here.
Back to the city proper for lunch, then over to the Amos Rex art museum in Lasipalatsi. The current exhibit is ‘Subterranean’ (the English translation, anyway). All about the myths associated with caves.
SOME CURRENT EVENTS:
Read today about Finland’s musings over whether it is a good idea to finally join NATO. Up until the Russian invasion of Ukraine, polls showed that more Finns were decidedly against membership than for it. This opinion basically inverted a month later. In Finland there is still memory of when Russia invaded the last time (the Winter War of 1939 and the Continuation War of 1941-44). As a result of having such a long border with Russia, Finland has always had a large army (wartime strength of 280,000 with up to 900,000 in reserve). As such, the feeling here is that if Russia attempted something, they have options to resist. But watching the extremes to which Russia is conducting the current war (or ‘Special Military Operation’ if your news comes only from Russian state TV) is sobering. The gamble of joining NATO is, of course, is how it might antagonize Russia. After all, this was the main bone of contention that Russia had with Ukraine.
In late afternoon we stop by the Temppeliaukion kirkko (Rock Church). Sadly, not the church of heavy metal, but a circular church excavated into a granite outcrop, with crude walls. Quite an unusual and geologically interesting place of worship.
