Helsinki - Belly Full of Food, Brain Full of Art

We leave Helsinki tomorrow morning and I am pretty sure we are all really going to miss its offerings.  We are so happy we get to spend another weekend in Helsinki in May!  Yesterday, we walked to the Kiasmi Museum of Contemporary Art.  The building was designed by American architect Steven Holl, which had Robin geeking out. These photos show the building's exterior and interior entry.

click for museum info 

This photo shows an adorable Finnish kid dressed for the snowy, wet weather, who is also useful for scale.

One of the exhibits was called 'Eyeballing:  The new forms of comics'  One artist printed small graphic images onto 3 large sheets of plywood.  The storyline depicted the image of immigrants in the media.  It was both graphically beautiful from a distance

as well as within very close view.

We had dinner at a DELICIOUS italian restaurant called Vespa.  The food was tremendous and the service was warm and wonderful.  Carla and Robin proved that cheese does in fact make a perfect dessert.

We have been staying in hotel GLO.  click here for the hotel info   We did not really know the meaning of a continental breakfast until awaking to this feast.  There are eggs, breads, cheeses, meats, jams, oatmeal, fruits, nuts, berries, yogurts, soups and salads.  The coffee is strong but kept the group buzzing for hours.  After a GLO breakfast, lunch is optional.

Tonight we dined at a delicious Finnish restaurant called Salve.  It was a seafood lover's dream come true.  Brian taught the group how to delicately remove the bones from our very first sampling of herring, while Stephanie had the white fish and Robin had a Finnish take on Bubble and Squeak.

Herring!!!! Finally!!!

Bubble and Squeak!! MMMM!!

We are off to bed thinking of Mikkeli tomorrow. . . . but, dreaming of what food and art we have found here in Helsinki today.