21,000 steps isn't that much in a day.
But if that is my count, it has to be about double that for Smallsteps, plus playing in the parks that we came across along our walks. We are in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, and without a lot of plans, we are just kind of seeing where the path takes us. We have a few things on our list, but nothing vital, nor too strenuous. We arrived around lunch time, so after we had found a bite to eat, we headed to the National Gallery, which was on my list and I haven't been in almost fifteen years.
Galleries are inspirational.
And while there was a lot of mediocre Finnish art through the ages there, some were standouts. There was one artist I wish I could at least partially replicate for something to hang at home, as it was stylised brilliance, but my wife just didn't see what was special in it.
Eye of the beholder stuff, I guess.
We also did some quick sketches at an art station, where they had set up some tasks to create portraits, like mirrors for self-portraits, and a glass you could draw on with a barely working whiteboard marker to trace a person on the other side. My attempts of each are below somewhere.
After the gallery, we went for a long walk, had some ice cream and ended up at the Helsinki "Eye" (A Ferris wheel on the harbour). Smallsteps was excited as she had never been on one and while it was pretty expensive for three laps and a total of 12 minutes, it was a good experience. Though my wife and I had to feign that we weren't a little afraid. I had to fake it more than her.
I hate heights.
And then we went to the Helsinki Central Library, which is relatively new and has won some awards for its contemporary design. It is pretty cool inside and out and looked to be getting a lot of usage from locals, as well as from tourists. There are lots of architectural details throughout and if I had more time, I would have spent a bit more effort in getting decent photos. However, a few were okay that I like.
Our hotel is not the greatest, but it is neat and clean and the reason I chose it was because it is one of the few in Helsinki that has a pool. And since it was 30C here today and we walked a lot, it was welcome to take a dip in the cool water and paddle about before getting ready for dinner. Which was a forgettable affair not worth mentioning.
And then another walk.
Now finally back in the room, Smallsteps had a bath (I requested a room with one for her) and everyone is in bed, except me - as I have Hive things to do. So, I will move on now and as always when travelling, replies to comments might take a little longer than usual! I will get to them though and reply, or at least vote if I am on the move and from the phone.
And now some photos I have had a chance to edit on my phone. I only use my own photos for posts, and pretty much I edit them each time. Even when I use a photo I have used before, I often go back and make changes to it, to make it more fitting, or just to clean up something I missed. No one notices the changes, but I know. As I was saying in another article recently, if we don't live to our own values, are they really our values?
The question is too serious for this moment.
I think some of the photos kind of reflect the day - a little bit arty.
Goodnight.
Taraz
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