Olympic Park & Composer

A short bus ride away from downtown Helsinki took us by the park area where Helsinki hosted a Winter Olympics. Interesting to see the site but of course from the bus this photo is the only vista we saw. Closest I have ever been to an Olympic venue, though; perhaps that will change in 2016 if Chicago hosts the summer games.

We were on the way to another park area, a rambling beautiful park area teeming with tourists and citizens alike on a Sunday morning. The focal point of the park is a creative and interesting monument to the classical composer Jean Sibelius, certainly the most famous musical artist in Finland's history. Sibelius died in 1957 at the age of 91, an icon of a time of fierce nationalism in Finland despite Soviet political domination. I have an excerpt from his most famous work on my iPod; the title is FINLANDIA.

This sculpture, reminding me of a bright silver set of pipes for a massive outdoor pipe organ, is eye-catching and wonderful. And worthy of another visit in the next post where we can have a few closeups!