The Great Explorer A.E Nordenskjöld…

…was the first man to prove that it was possible to sail through the Northeast Passage from Europe to Asia on the icy waters north of mainland Russia. Global warming could mean that the route discovered in 1879 becomes more usable in the future.

Today the Finnish explorers name is still heard very often in Helsinki as the capital’s top ice hockey team HIFK plays its games on an arena that is commonly called “Nordenkjöld street ice hall.” (There is also another team in Helsinki for those who find Nordenskjöld too difficult to pronounce)

Read more from wikipedia

• Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld
• Northeast Passage

Earlier photos of Nordensköld street ice hall

• Exterior
• HIFK poster

The Grumpiest Man In Town…

…at Aleksanterinkatu street.

Our Land is Poor…

…and it will remain poor. You foreigners might not believe this but that sentence is actually from the Finnish national anthem.

In the photo is the bottom half of the memorial of J.L Runeberg who made the lyrics for the national anthem – in Swedish for a song that was “composed” by a German (see my entry). Estonians also use the same melody.

No wonder there are people who think that Finlandia Hymn by national composer Jean Sibelius should be our national anthem. But that has already been used by the short-lived Republic of Biafra that is today part of Nigeria.

Signmark Raps…

…using sign language. The deaf artist, in the middle, feels the music but doesn’t hear it.

Even the Railway Guys Are Wearing Hats…

…now that it has been colder than normally in October/November.

These Helsinki icons at the Central Railway Station were created by Emil Wickström and there are two others just outside of the photo on the left. The statues are called lyhdynkannattajat (carriers of the lanterns).

During the past years VR railway company has used them as animation figures in their advertising. The green hats are also part of their advertising campaign.

Rauman Lukko Has A Surprise Lead in The Finnish Ice Hockey League…

…and now we know what is their secret. Kampaamo = ladies’ hairdressing saloon.

During the past years the west coast team has been far behind the top teams.

143. Valokuvatorstai: Virta

Virta vei iceBREAK 2008 koskimelontatapahtumassa.

A moment of disappointment from iceBREAK 2008 white water kayaking competition.

Yeah, I’ve now changed the concept from one photo a day to atleast one a day I remembered the Finnish valokuvatorstai (Photography Thursday) only after I had already posted today’s image. This week’s theme was virta (=stream, current, flow, power, …).

CDP Theme Day 2009 / October: Contrast

Finnish band Leningrad Cowboys performing with a Russian air force choir. Photo from the Helsinki International Airshow 2009.

Back in 1993 Leningrad Cowboys and the (Russian) Red Army Choir attracted 70 000 people to Total Balalaika Show concert in one of the most memorable events in Helsinki’s history. Right after the collapse of Soviet Union it felt unbelievable that the Russian army would have any kind of co-operation with their total opposites.

During the cold war Finns had fears that one day we would be forced to see the Red Army at the Senate’s Square but in 1993 Finns rushed there to see them.

You can read more about the band and its relationship with Russian military choirs from my earlier entry.

It’s a city daily photo blog theme day so click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Carrying the Weight of the World

Kohottava voima (Lifting power) by Matti Haupt.

Helsinki City Art Musem has an excellent website about statues and monuments in Helsinki. Especially their map of statues has been very valuable for this blog as I can quickly find information about a statue that I’ve shot. So far I’ve found info about every single statue just by its location on the map.

Siiri Nordin in Autumn Colours

I see quite often people coming to this blog after they have searched for Siiri Nordin so here’s another photo of her from the same gig as the original photo.

The concert was part of last year’s car-free day and tomorrow on Tuesday Helsinkians have a chance to leave their cars home and use the good public transportation network that we have here.