Journey to York

Traveling from one place to another can be part of a journey or a tedious chore. In this case it was the former.

Here is what the countryside of Finland looks like.

Then we took the train from Manchester Airport to York. Very engaging countryside.

More English rowhouses.

Pulling into a stop at Leeds, we were met with an advertisement for the Viaduct Showbar. Apparently its highly rated but we were destined for York.

Helsinki - Zetor

Zetor was chosen because it looked different. Boy it was, especially inside! They serve Finnish dishes made simply.

Reindeer soup with cheese and rye creadcrumbs. Delicious!

Cannot remember but it was great!

They had good ciders and more good rye bread.

My wife had the venison sausage.

As well as the décor inside, the men's washrooms had classic 50's, 60's, and 70's pinup and girlie pictures plastered everywhere.

Helsinki - Ateneum Art Museum and Other Works

The Ateneum Art Museum also has a host of other wonderful art works. Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Look and judge.

"A Rest on the Way to the Fair"; Gunnar Berndtson; 1886. Such wonderful hyper-realism.

"Riverside"; Pekka Halonen; 1897. I really like the way he painted the lapping water.

"The Wellington Racecourse in Drizzle (Ostende); Alfred William Finch; 1888

"Street in Auvers-sur-Oise"; Vincent Van Gogh; 1890

"Antibes"; Paul Signac; undated.

"Love, Death, and the Hereafter"; Max Klinger; 1879-1881

"Aino Looking Out to Sea"; Johannes Takanen; 1876

"La Danaide"; Auguste Rodin; 1885/1889

Copy of mosaic "Empress Theodora with her Retinue" completed in 547 at Church of San Vitale of Ravenna, Italy. Made by students from Ravenna while in Helsinki for an artists exposition in 1953. Three meters high, four meters wide, and weights over 800kg.

Helsinki - Ateneum Art Museum - Akseli Gallen-Kallela

As posted earlier, the renown artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela has works in the Ateneum art museum. He was quite adept in different art styles. Enjoy!

"Boy with a Crow"; 1884

"Kullervo Cursing"; 1899

"The Fratricide"; 1897

"Lemminkainen's Mother"; 1897

This huge triptych is called "Aino Myth"; 1891

"Demasquee"; 1888

Helsinki - Ateneum Art Museum and Alvar Aalto exibit

The Ateneum Art Museum was originally home to the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and University of Arts and Design since 1887, but has been solely an art museum since 1991. It has art since the 18th century.

The lobby area is very impressive.

They had a good exposition on renown architect/textile/furniture/pottery designer Alvar Aalto, born 1898 to 1976. He is credited with designing the modern Finnish style and influencing design for the world.

He designed the Paimio Tuberculosis Sanitarium, rooms, and furnishings utilizing light and space to make patients comfortable in 1929.

His 1936 entry for a contest for the Savory hotel in Helsinki, he designed this vase which not only won the contest but became known worldwide.

He designed lighting fixtures as well, ensuring that any light generated is dispersed rather than direct.

Much furniture was also designed by him. It was quite the exposition. 

Helsinki - Lightning Trees

On the way back from the convention hall, we stopped by to look at the trees in the park by the train station. There was a large lightning storm the evening before and several trees got the brunt of the grounding effects.

Helsinki - Costumes at Worldcon 75

Although there are few costume wearers at Worldcons, there were some standouts at Worldcon 75. See if you can guess what they are?

Helsinki - Fifth and Last Day at Worldcon 75

Final day of Worldcon 75 was a short one for panels and a final walkaround of the site.

Only panel I went to was The Right Stuff; Kjell Lindgren, Guy Consolmagno, Janey Catherine Johnston.
-You might think that an introvert would be perfect for isolated long duration missions but you are never lone and each person is an antenna to everyone else.
-Everyone must practice followership as well as leadership.
-Must be full cooperation. Wake up everyday and think, "How am I going to make someone's life better today".
-Must be able to laugh at yourself.
-When interviewing someone must be convinced that you would be on a mission with them, would you put your life in their hands, and are they committed to the team mission.

The winter garden area. Used for meetups and official parties in the convention center.

Cool illuminated balloons.

White tree of Gondor decorative thingies.

Hugo award styles throughout the years.

Meetup and display area.

Art show and fan meetup area.

Dealers room beyond the barrier.

Blacksmiths booth just outside the main entrance. They looked like they were having fun.

Overall a fun convention. Wish I had attended more panels but other things took priority.