Farewell from Helsinki – journey to Turku

In the cold foggy morning we explore the island Ruuhuolahti. We find an impressive symbiosis of industry, factory, office and residential buildings. Old industrial buildings are remodeled as cultural spaces, like the theater, photo museum, radio station, music rooms and cultural institutes such as the Institute Francais. The nearby harbor is in the process of being redesigned.

In front of the photo museum Inge performs the 4th part of her project “Erden” accompanied by the noise of the seagulls.

The traffic solutions are very impressive. Big roads for through traffic and the parallel residential roads make very good use of the resources. Here one could easily imagine living right next to a factory. We leave Helsinki with a heavy heart. We couldn’t get to know the city nearly as much as we would have liked to. The architecture, design and city planning in all areas are too elaborate to get to know everything in a few days.

Our trip to Turku takes us through the southern Finnish countryside. We pass by pink granite rocks, dark earth, visible signs of winter and gigantic wood stores. A stone cone near Salo reminds us of Trullio. Few people live here and the ferrite-red houses with white windows stand out between the many lakes. Suddenly the sun comes though the clouds, the sky gets blue and by the time we get to Turku it is a bit warmer.

We meet Reino at the Gallery Titanik for first talks about our project. Hanna joins us for a typical Finnish dinner of pickerel, chanterelle and mashed potatoes.

Photos: Farewell from Helsinki – journey to Turku