396 LBIA #23 Blue Sky Again

The weather in October Helsinki was changeable. Dim light in the morning was followed by grayish cloud and temporary rain, and then a cloudless clear night sky appeared. Spend time in autumn or winter in Northern countries, and you would surely realize the importance of sunlight. But I might be lucky. I was blessed with sunshine when I especially needed it, like I went a long way by walk or shot something which definitely require natural light. 

This time I had an outing by walk along the seashore with little knowledge of locations or routes. It was a very sunny and comfortable morning. A couple of hours walk took me to some high-grade residential area. The sky was thoroughly blue and flawless. Strong light gave clear outline of the buildings and color was dazzling. The contrast of blue and white was unforgettable.   

395 LBIA #22 Aalto

I had written about the time I visited Aalto House before. I think I wrote how I was excited then as I happened to be an only visitor at the afternoon so I enthusiastically monopolized the house for 2 hours. That moment was a treasure in my life and I don't reproduce that excitement. More than 2 years from then, I've just noticed why I was so attracted by the house from another point of view. I feel somewhat daunted to talk about it, because it seems so cheeky. But the truth is truth. When I look at these pictures at Aalto House I instantly remember my own home when I was in childhood. Image of one's house is one of the most important and earliest memories of childhood. It sometimes pops up suddenly when it gets some memory vehicle. I feel strong familiarity with these images.

By any change, is my family related to Scandinavian or Slav ancestors? 

394 LBIA #21 Iittala

My longtime strong favor for Scandinavian style/design from daily products, furnitures to architectures may be explained by using them for years. In childhood my parents had certain taste in using cutlery, plates or electric devices from nordic countries. When I left my parents' house and moved to my own place I chose Iittala for my kitchen gadget without hesitation. I know this is not a place to PR for the company but the great thing is this Finnish brand never disappoints me.

So during the stay in Helsinki I enjoyed so much to visit Iittala shops often, mostly just see the product and showcase design, feeling just the same as if I were a fashionista in Milan, a surfer in North Shore, or an epicurean in Southern France.  
  

393 LBIA #20 Animals

At Helsinki international airport I couldn't help smiling when I went out of the building and saw three small statues of sitting bears on the pedestrian pass. They were so humorous and too sweet for such a wild animal. And when I entered the center of the city I found the most unique fountain ever; there were four sea lions surrounding the maiden statue in the middle. In walking down the street I found several signboard or nameplates with lovely drawings of some animal. The general souvenir shops were of course full of stuffed animals or carved wooden ones. 

Obviously the land care for animals, at least symbolization of them. It's not just fun to watch as a design but also it seems they regard animals as equal members of those who living in the land of nature, land of forests and lakes, which I think is wonderful. 

392 LBIA #19 Port

One of the charms of Helsinki I think is the combination of sophisticated 
street and access to the sea. I was first surprised to find the major port is just close to the main street. You enjoy the city view and convenience and next moment you face the wide and calm openness of the Baltic Sea. Though life at waterfront may be hard sometimes in such northern nation I envied people here could enjoy the convenience of stylish modern city as well as this immediate spaciousness of nature. 

391 LBIA #18 Cozy

Inside the Helsinki Cathedral there were a group of musicians who seemed to be members of an orchestra. They were practising some classical tunes that I didn't know. Some tourists like me and the local citizens were there sitting on the bench or walking around quietly. Nobody cared who walked in and left, nobody paid attention if I sat on and listened to the music or to take some photos. The place was full of warmth and light and comfort which would allow people to drop in casually escaping from outside cold. On the other hand the cathedral never lost its own dignity. I loved the place so much.

390 LBIA #17 Could it be more blue?

This was shot in front of the Helsinki Cathedral at around 5pm on 9th October 2011. I've never seen such a true blue sky like this and even the photograph doesn't fully describe it. Is it because of the high latitude of the city? The color almost shocked me but at the same time it was conformable to see, or more precisely, to be bathed. When traveling, the color of the sky in the city you visit rules the way how the light to be shed on everything you see, so the impact should not be overlooked.    

389 LBIA #16 Starts Again Here

In 2011 October I started traveling around after 5 years of trip-less, uneasy restless era, mostly because of the Financial Crisis and upheaval of my work life that followed. Year 2011 was also not at all peaceful of course due to the disastrous earthquake and economical unsteadiness, but I felt I should go anyway beyond the boundary to regenerate the once knocked down spirit.

So I choose Helsinki, Finland where I had been longing to visit. After 9 hours comfortable flight this beautiful northern sky, breathtaking gradation from ultramarine to horizon blue, welcomed me and started again my wanderlust.

388 LBIA #15 Still Life

At Orsay I found lots of Paul Cezanne's paintings including his famous still life works. Ever since I got to know his paintings I've been fascinated and curious about what makes people draw these things and makes them worthy to be appreciated. Seriously, what's the matter with apples, pears, vase, table and basket? If I would have studied art history more closely the answer might have be easily found. Or not. I'm still not sure why these normal, ordinary things could emit such deep mythic magnetism.

387 LBIA #14 Arc de Triomphe

Paris has such a many attraction for tourists from the world. Only a couple days of stay would never be enough for the legendary city. So I did go to Louvre, Orsay and Rive Gauche but never to Montmartre nor Eiffle Tower. But I was lucky to decide to stay at Argentine, very close to Champs-Elysees, so I could see the Arc, one of the most famous icons in Paris, every day and night without effort. 

When I first saw the Arc it attracted me and wowed me. There's something indescribable that fascinated me so much to make me do nothing but staring it for a while. The more I looked at it the stronger it held me captivate. It's beautiful? yes of course, magnificent? yes, historically important? yes. But there was more. Maybe this is what they call the "Golden Rule" stability.  

386 LBIA #13 Villa Savoye

The biggest objective of my visit to Paris was to see Villa Savoye created by Le Corbusier. As one of the students who adore the modern architectures of the early 20th century, surely he was my idol, and Villa Savoye was definite destination. 

That afternoon was a perfect happiness for me. What I saw was a ultra-idealistic yet with hands-on touch of human work of art.

"A machine to live": the famous words lead us the images of functionalism or only mechanical side of the maison (the true meaning, not the literal, of the words when Le Corbusier stated them is still on argument, though). But I saw in the machine was a group of many students of all ages and races who sketched, walked casually around the villa and talked with fellows sitting on the LC chair. It was somewhat a heartwarming scene to me. I felt like I was just one of them, and moreover, felt everyone in the room shared the same joy and satisfaction to be in the work. We didn't actually talk each other but we could have been able to be friends with anytime if we wanted. We didn't even have to ask "You studying architecture?" "You like Le Corbusier?", as we all knew it. We kept the bonds in silence. 

385 LBIA #12 Nike, the Winged Victory

At Louvre I wasn't particularly eager to see so many things, except this Nike. I had been fascinated by the image since I saw it in the art textbook when I was in elementary school. The real sculpture was exactly I imagined. It was located in the center of large landings just under the skylight. It was divine. It looked like as if the goddess had flown down from the sky on the ship. I cannot believe that mankind could create such a purely beautiful thing. If I ever had a spiritual moment in my life, I think this is it. When I feel like I am battling against something this goddess image bestows me strength.

I spent a whole hour to see, feel and photograph the masterpiece from every perspectives.   
  
But whatever I was inspired especially by the statue I'm sure I might look like just the same with other tourist who happily rushed for the Nike, the Venus and the Mona Lisa. Of course I was one of them too. I think every male and female, young or old, gets happy when they see beautiful women, and it is very nice to join the pleasure.

384 LBIA #11 Good Morning

Good morning, and Merry Christmas to you all! This is Paris in November so almost nothing here is related to Christmas day, but I'd just like to say hi to dear readers with one of my favorite moments in Paris. This was a really shiny good morning, and wish you all have wonderful Christmas morning!

383 LBIA #10 The City of Light

In 2006 I first went to Paris. Since then I think of the city as the most beautiful city of all. Of course I don't know other charming cities all around world and I love some cities more than Paris, still, the City of Light has overwhelming and  magnetic power to make people feel that they are at the center of something called beauty. It's like the citizens in Paris has a special 6th sense to feel what is beautiful, like we can sense what it is like to taste, see, hear, touch, and smell. It's probably a natural gift those who living with L'air de Paris can get.    

382 LBIA #9 Holy Christmas

I'm kind of not good at shooting religious architectures. The reasons are like I'm not sure where to pick up and focus on my photo as these churches and temples are usually so large and have so many architectural and/or religious features to look at. Plus, if I sense an aura of divinity I think I might not be able to catch it and record on photo. Also I feel awkward to take camera to the place where people pray. So I seldom shoot them.

But one day in Copenhagen I happend to enter into a beautiful church at the center of the city. It was awesome. There I saw white and neat space surrounded with cozy and warm atmosphere. They made some christmas decoration around the isle and altar as simple as possible. Ray of light came from the high window and skylight. There were just peace and quiet. 

The calm satisfaction made me take some photo without any pressure or uneasiness. Then I hoped I would be able to come back to visit there again in some future.

381 LBIA #8 Warehouse Christmas

On sunny Christmas day in Copenhagen I took a long walk across the city all day in chilly wind. Surely by the evening time I was so tired of walking and searched for warm place to rest. Then I was in front of Copenhagen Admiral hotel, which looked nice and was really marvelous. It was an uniquely and beautifully renovated historical warehouse with charm so unforgettable. Characterized by its large wooden pillars and beams, the lobby had mixed sense of dynamics, stability and coziness. On the comfortable arm chair I took a good rest in warm room as much as I wished and admired the classic christmas tree decoration in the quietness. 

380 LBIA #7 White Christmas

Copenhagen in December was chilly and snowy (sometimes with rain). It was not ideal for most people to spend their vacation. Actually several local people I met asked why I chose the city on that cold season. I might be a minority but to me the meanings of vacation is not just sunlight, warm sea and laid-back holidays (of course I know those are very wonderful). Vacations give me superb and new experience in my life and I enjoy them most in my travel. So when I happened to discover this lovely public ice skate link in the middle of the city of Copenhagen with lots of people having fun in the falling snow, I felt so happy to see it and thanked the opportunity.     

379 LBIA #6 Coffee Christmas

On Christmas 2005 I visited Copenhagen for the first time and it opened my eyes to whole new experience; since then I really got to love travels. I chose Denmark just because I had strong interest in Scandinavian design and architectures. I only booked flights and hotel and took off with a guidebook, and it was enough. To me travel means freedom. I know the importance of itinerary to use as much time as possible, but I think once you get to the destination you can count on tourist information or hotel concierge anytime. 

So I got to Copenhagen and walked around as I liked. Christmas was almost
there and every cafe, restaurant, streets and store showcase around the corner was decorated beautifully. I had lots of fun time spending walking down these streets whose name I didn't get at all (as they were not written in English but it was okay) and sitting in cozy cafes. The whole travel was like celebration of free time. That was one of the most amazing christmas ever.