My 4 day Helsinki trip in 2009 - Going across to Suomenlinna -The 31st of October 2009

We left the hotel rather early  and headed towards the Uspenski Cathedral via the National Theatre Square with the statue of Aleksis Kivi, the Finnish National romantic writer standing right in front of it.
 

The streets were very quiet with barely nobody walking in them. It was only when we crossed the street so as to photograph the Ateneum facade with the outstanding busts of Rapahel, Phidias and Bramante, that we sighted the first tram with some people on it ... (going to work ... almost certainly). We continued walking towards the Senate square, where we photographed the oldest house.

I couldn't resist walking into one of the amazingly exquisite public phone boxes, whose lower part was open, as if the protected upper part was there to just hinder the possibility of your voice and whichever you might be saying to be heard by passers-by.

The market square area looked rather grim though the sky soon cleared up as we made our way to the ferry that would take us to the UNESCO island of Suomenlinna.

 

 

 

The obelisk stone of empress Alexandra in the market square looked stunning with the Uspenski Cathedral in the background. Because we had some time before the ferry left we still made our way up to it without too much success, once it was closed. We therefore decided to walk back onto the shopping area.

We couldn't do much more than admire the arquitecture of some of the buildings and the stone carved figures, which seemed to be present almost everywhere before we boarded the ferry.

 

Helsinki seemed to be waking to the new day, despite the fact that many on board the ferry looked like strangers. It was soon clear that the harbour activitiy must be huge, taking into account the lines sailing back and forth to Sweden, Russia and Estonia, not to mention the ferries and watercrafts sailing around the numerous islands. As we sailed off outstanding buildings such as the Cathedrals looked smaller and smaller particularly when compared to the size of some of the anchored boats.

 

 

 

 

 

We approached one of the Suomenlinna islands in no time ... as I was still getting adapting my eyesight to the blue colour of the sea ... 

(To be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My 4 day Helsinki trip in 2009 - Strolling around the city centre -The 29th and 30th of October 2009

I came across some  2009 photos of Helsinki as I was getting some of my staff organised and somehow realised I hadn't written about it nor downloaded any of those in my blog, which was set some time after. Despite feeling that some  travel memories might betray us if we don't write them down almost immediately I'll nevertheless try to go back in time and  write about it in retrospective mode.

 

I do remember getting into Helsinki fairly late in the evening and having had some difficulty locating the hotel as we got off the bus according to plan. We fortunately came across a lady who was running around in her jogging suit (which we felt was really brave as it was freezing) who helped us out even if it turned out the hotel was just around the corner.

It was a cosy familiar type of hotel located fairly close to the city centre (about a fifteen minute walk) which Mia and I were pleased about. The main idea behind the trip was to see if we could locate a lake, Faye had photographed and written about prior to her untimely death three years before, which we had been both impressed by on the annual ceremony held where she used to work. For all it sounded a rather strange reason for many, for both of us it was like wanting (needing) to get "closer" to her.

 

 

 

We set off fairly early in the morning and made our way into the city centre along what looked like a lake or a river bed, which we didn't know of at the time as we had no map nor any book on Helsinki. Whatever it may have been it was mesmerising to look at, and I do clearly remember we took our time to admire and photograph it, as well as a beautiful wooden villa which stood by its bank. A little further along we had to cross a grassy area which had an exquisite wooden sculpted moth-like butterfly, which I found very interesting. From there we could clearly see the city, which we soon reached.

 

 

We walked into the main train station, which is said  to date back to 1914, so as to get a map of the city, but once we walked out the main façade caught my attention because of the  four huge granite guardians wearing green woollen hoods to help them bear the coldness. They were clearly better prepared than we were, as I felt my hands go numb with the cold despite using woollen mittens for the second time in my life, the first having been in the French Alps some years before.

I do recall I had been lent a camera by C., as the one he had given me had  a minor focusing problem and was being repaired, so I was still trying hard to adequately use it as we made it to the Esplanadi park which we walked down onto in the direction of the harbour area. I was once more impressed by the "green areas", which  I am not so commonly used to in Lisbon and which I feel provide a very agreable type of atmosphere. Several statues were spread in the long stretch of paved and grassy area with one calling my attention particularly - A statue depicting a female figure holding Finland's National anthem, topped by the image of Johan Ludvig Runeberg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at the Tourist office and soon found ourselves on a sightseeing bus, whose trip would later give us a thorough type of perspective and an idea which places we would like to further "explore".

Once we were dropped off some hours later we headed towards the southern harbour area which we strolled along having soon headed back in the opposite direction going towards the Uspenski Cathedral and a small guichet where we found the necessary information regarding a potential ferry boat trip to Tallinn.

We tried to walk into the Cathedral but because a service was being held we had to temporarily forget about visiting it. It looked majestic from the outside and this type of red brick and gold cupola, reflecting the Byzantine-Slavic architecture of the 19th century did really appeal to me.

 

 

 

We then headed back into the Senate square with its Lutheran Cathedral being restored. In spite of the ongoing works it was still impressive to look at. A statue  with the image of Czar Alexander II stood right in front of it  delimiting the centre of the square.

We soon walked back, this time in the direction of Havis Amanda fountain said to have been erected in 1908. The nymph and daughter of the sea is to many the symbol of the city. We bought our first postcards in a shop which stood in the corner overlooking the harbour, where we came across the first typical Finnish souvenirs as well.


 

 

 

 

 

 

It started getting slightly cold so we decided to go back to the hotel, not before having walked by the Finnish National Theatre, the oldest Finnish speaking professional Theatre in Finland.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back we stopped at the castle-like building that houses the National Museum, whose façade is guarded by a gigantic bear statue and then a rather slow stroll (despite the cold air) along the Kaisaniemi park  with its  pictoresque wooden villas and its spell bounding bay ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 (To be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

On the latest book I have read ...

I have just finished reading the Children of the jacaranda tree by the young Iranian writer Sahar Delijani in its french version.

 

 

The novel based on the author's personal experience (she happens to have been one of the many children born in Iranian prisons), as well as that  of various other families who had to face similar situations, is no more than an evocative portrait of different generations of men and women, who inspired by love, poetry and idealistic perspectives in regards to the Iranian revolution aftermath saw themselves trapped in their attempt to chase the dreams of freedom and justice they felt they were entitled to.  

Beyond the rather dense atmosphere of memories, secrecy, insecurity and incompleteness  surrounding those who directly participated in the revolution and those who were born into it and therefore (in)directly affected by their parents' decisions the main focus is on their "invisible" scars and the cost of freedom.

 

 

 

It is a huge reminder to the many of us who just take freedom for granted and forget the many who still live under regimes where one's freedom of expression does not exist. 

 

 

 

 

"Le temps ne guérit pas les blessures (...) le temps en matière de chagrin n'est qu'une tentative pour oublier qui échoue."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Não_Corpo (Non_Body) performance at the International Theatre Festival in Setúbal - The 2nd of September 2015

I couldn't help but hop onto a train heading in the direction of Setúbal after a long day's work just to watch my daughter performing at the 17th International Theatre Festival.


I didn't exactly know what to expect but the fact that she finally managed to perform after a "non-productive" theatrical period, which must have affected her I was feeling overjoyed knowing well in advance that this is what she really wants to do and gives her entire soul to.


Based on René Crevel's  the adapted text wasn't exactly easy to understand once it delt with feelings ... duality ... pain  ... uncertainty and even authenticity. The three actors who took on the stage, particularly the two performing the leading roles led us, as viewers, into the world of their profound emotions, reflections and doubts as if we ourselves were amidst the turmoil of such a conflicting duality.


The inclusion of a pre recorded video at the begining of the performance set the scene and the interspersed dancing throughout the performing act gave it a whole "refreshing" type of approach, in my opinion, particularly because some of those were second to none ...
Whilst running the risk of being considered bias I'd say Mia's almost raw and carnal moves as she danced in the dim light were one of the highest moments if not the highest in the overall theatrical performance.

 

The auditorium Luisa Todi's audience was expectant through to the end as if the final scene could unexpectedly veer  and whether some of us might have guessed what it would come to I reckon the real importance lies on what you may have brought out with you once the performance was over ...

 

 

 

 

What is  to be considered authentic and what isn't but a mere reflection of what one is supposed to be or have been? ... Is there any logic in a given sequence of events? Where does the communion of the "body" lead to? Where and how can phantasy be accounted for and where does reality set its boundaries? How can one erase the words already embedded in the memory of a given body? Will they be able to outlive the painful truth? What  does one do in regards to lies as versus doubts?

Definately worth being watched and pondered on, despite the fact that it was a one performing act  ... and if anyone still has any doubts about the potential of Theatre in Portugal, performing acts such as Mia's speak for themselves.

 

 

May festivals like this one, which has reached its seventeenth edition continue to set performing art and culture into motion, as well as further encourage actors and audience alike.

 

René Crevel's text adapted by Tiago Bôto and Wagner Borges
Performing actors: Mia Farr, Tiago Bôto and Wagner Borges
Performing actor in the video: São José Correia
Light design and light setting: Alexandre Costa








 

The remains of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Seiça, Figueira da Foz - The 29th of August 2015

Having been founded in 1162 by the Portuguese King D. Afonso Henriques the Monastery of Santa Maria de Seiça (a small burough pertaining to Figueira da Foz) is believed to have florished under the Benedictine Order.

 

 

In 1555 the Monastery's artefacts were handed to the Order of Christ as its premises were closed down by King D. João III until 1560, when under the rule of King D. Sebastião they were handed over to the Cister order, who in no time turned the former Monastery into a Centre of Philosophical Studies.

 

With the extinction of the religious orders in 1834 the Monastery is saidd to have gone through a rather slow yet visible process of degradation and ruin until it was sold to a prominent and rich man who transformed it into a rice shelling mill that went through to 1975.


Officially considered a monument of interest (I wonder what it would be like if it werent't ...) its remains stand in the middle of nowhere in a complete state of abandonment, as if to remind Portuguese people of the little importance we pay to the historic past of our country ...

 

Another Murakami's book ...

After having finished reading Murakami's A wild sheep chase I felt like engaging in a similar type of reading, which ultimately led me to reading his thirty five page short story Sleep taken from the first published collection of short stories with fabulous illustrations by Kat Menschik, which in my opinin perfectly complemented the text.

 

The story skirts around the theme of wakefulness ... sleeplessness ... "living" and dying (beyond the literal sense) as from the perspective of a young house-wife, whose ambiguous chain of thoughts  have her "trapped" during the night time when she does claim space and time from a monotonous daily routine to redefine herself as a woman, by being "awake" to herself whils her family, the ones she is directly related to ... "sleep".

 

"By abandoning sleep I had expanded myself. The power to concentrate was the most important thing. Living without power would be like opening one's eyes without seeing anything."

 

 

I closed my eyes and tried to recall the sensation of sleep, but all that existed for me inside was a wakeful darkness. A wakeful darkness: what it called to mind was death. Was I about to die? And if I died now, what would my life have amounted to?"

 

The latest book I have read ...

I have just finished reading another book by Murakami and the truth is that despite the fact that I really enjoy his writing style when it comes to commenting on what he has written I always find a tremendous difficulty (to say the least) to really convey what I feel can (should) be said, the reason being that  there's always a myriad of thoughts, assumptions and potential interpretations therewith associated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wild sheep chase, which I have actually read in French (la course au mouton sauvage) takes the main character of the book (and the readers along with him almost inevitably) into a remote location in the snowy mountains of Northern Japan in what could be considered a rather surreal quest of a "mythological" sheep ...  What the sheep represents is questionable but I'd like to look at it from the perspective of whatever we may be searching for in life ..., whether it is the meaning for one's existence or one's emotions ...


I've copied down some sentences which amongst several caught my attention, though similarly to some reader's opinion - "this is very much a book that bears rereading", I feel there's a lot more to ponder on ..., which would necessarily imply a second or a third reading.




"Tout le monde a au moins une chose qu'il ne souhaite perdre à aucun pris (...) un être humain possède nécessairement un moyen terme entre ses désirs et son amour propre. De la même manière que tout corps a un centre de gravité. Un jour tu comprenderas ce que je veux dire. C'est toujours quand il est trop tard qu'on s'aperçoit que cette chose existait."


"Avec notre habitude de y tailler chacun selon ses mensurations, on finit par être la proie d'illusions, mais le temps est d'une continuité à toute épreuve."


"(...) que la vraie vie c'était d'être perpétuellement à la recherche de quelque chose."