Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Alvar Aalto in Jyväskylä.......and his wife!

text and images britt-arnhild

I  had some time in Jyväskylä, before flying to Tallinn.
"I can show you the best places for shopping" I was told. But I was not interessted in shopping. Ok, I am a woman, but may be not a typical one. Anyway, not when it comes to killing time with shopping. I was not at all interested.
May be if it had been a huge bookstore, like Foyles. But I was sure there would be no huge bookstores in Jyväskylä, and if I would happen to find one, most of the books would be in Finish anyway, and I know only seven words in Finish, the numbers from one to seven!

When I was a little girl grandma Olga taught me a nursery rhyme which was supposed to be in Finish. I still know the rhyme by heart, but when I said it aloud to me Finish friends they all laughed. "No, these words are not Finish. We have no idea, it sounds Samien to us". So now I must try it on my Samien friends.

..............

But I am talking myself away from the point.
What to do with a few hours in Finland when neither me, not my colleague who was there with me, were interested in shopping.?

 

 

The woman who at first suggested shopping took the point, and next day she came with a brochure from Jyväskylä.
And then it didn´t take me long to know what I wanted to do!

I wanted to visit the Alvar Aalto museum.

Alvar Aalto, born in 1898, grew up in Jyväskylä (why is it so difficult to write the name of this city correct?). An internatinal famous architect, known in my heart because of the most beautiful tulip vase ever. The Alvar Aalto Tulip Vase.

My mother bought me one many, many, many years ago. And when it broke many, many years ago, she bought me another one. Which I still have.

Architect, glass artist, furniture carpenter.
Aalto was a man of many talents.

And, as I have discovered so many times before
(take a look here,
and here)
he also was a man who knew whom to chose for his wife.

Aino Aalto, also an artist.
In the museum some of her fabric prints were shown,
and also some of her glass art.

This is the last drawing Alvar made of Aino before she died, too young, in January 1949.

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A morning in Jyväskylä without shopping (though I must confess I did shop, a few of Aino´s tumblers, in the museum shop), went almost too fast.

And I could leave for Tallinn, Estonia, with another travel tale in my suitcase.

 

 

Cooperation

text and images britt-arnhild

Seven pairs of oars,
14 people rowing,
the two in the back deciding the speed.
A master to lead the direction.

At first it was  impossible to concentrate on anything else than the rowing. 
Keeping pace.

A few mistakes.
But soon I learned how to do it.

 

To photograph while rowing was difficult,
but then I even mastered that.

And I could start enjoying the landscape.

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I have been in Jyväskylä for a few days, work,
meeting up with the bishop there, and a few of his workers.

No time for blogging, except for the few photos of
Karelian Patries 

Liz, you were the first one to guess.
Email me your address and I´ll send you a postcard.

Yesterday I flew from Finland to Estonia.
At the hotel here in Tallinn Terje was waiting for me.

Now we are ready for a long, exploring Saturday.

Just a clue or two......

text and images britt-arnhild

 

Here is how I at this "dish" for breakfast today.......

....in "The Land of the Thousand Lakes"......

A guessing game....just for fun

text and image britt-arnhild

I am travelling, and without internet access. (managed to borrow a computer in a five minutes break for this......)

So my game, just for fun, in a hurry.

Where I am when I get this food to eat.
What is the food called, and what is it?

:-)