After taking H. to the airport, we meet Arja and Hannu at Café Viola in Helsinki's Botanical Garden. The pretty wooden house from the early 19th century was moved there from the old town only a few years ago:
Afterwards the two give us a tour of the city and show us many architecturally exciting places that we would never have discovered without a local guide. The “father of modernism” Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) and his influence are omnipresent, but Art Nouveau also characterizes many buildings, e.g. the Finnish National Theatre (1902):
...or the main railway station (1910-1919):
...or the “Stocka”, the largest department store in Scandinavia (1930):
It also used to house the “academic bookshop” which moved to Alvar Aalto's “Kirjatalo” (“Book House”) in 1969:
