The Queen's Birthday

It was Queen Margrethe II 70th Birthday celebration. Because the royal family is so beloved in Denmark, the Queen's birthday is basically a national holiday. Stores are still open and most business goes on as usual but the roads in the city center shut down as the Queen makes her appearance on her balcony and then rides in her carriage to city hall.

For some reason one of the fountains in the city has real gold apples placed in it for the Queen's birthday. Two of the apples can be seen floating on the water spouts.

walking to go see the Queen when she comes out on her balcony at noon

the band coming to perform for the Queen

the kindergartners come out to the palace

the band in front of her palace

the crowd behind me

the Queen and her family came out on the balcony to greet their subjects

crown shaped bubbles floating above the palace

the little kids eating their lunch after the queen went back inside

christiania bike full of children

a patriotic stroller

the policemen in their fancy uniforms for the occasion

special cakes in the bakery window

andy warhol inspired painting of the Queen in a gallery

even the buses showed their patriotism

the Queen and her husband in the carriage on the way to city hall to have birthday cake

Sweden and Finland - Day 7

The last day of the trip consisted of visiting the Myyrmäki Church, then the home of Eliel Saarinen (the father of Eero Saarinen), and then another cemetery. We were supposed to go to Aalto's Sanatorium that made him famous but our ferry to Stockholm was canceled because there was too much ice in the ocean. Instead we drove back to Helsinki to fly back to Copenhagen.

the Myyrmäki Church built in 1984

the inside of the church

the home of Eliel Saarinen, the complex housed two other families that were apart of his architecture firm. the house is designed during the national romanticism era.

the front door

one of the many light fixtures

Eliel was a short man so the doors were all very short, about 5' 7" tall

the draftsman's table, there was always a draftsman that lived in the house

the children's room with specialized furniture

little Eero before they moved to the United States

crazy icicles

the entrance to a cemetery

the skylights inside the crematorium

the alter in the main chapel

students sketching

the outside of the main chapel

another chapel in the same cemetery

Sweden and Finland - Day 6

A day in Helsinki (the capital of Finland) . . .

Helsinki Cathedral

the main train station

the Kiasma Museum of Art

the plaque at the entrance

the entry hall

the better of the exhibition spaces

Finlandia . . . . need I say more

Finlandia Hall by Alvar Aalto

Temppeliaukio - the Rock Church from the outside

the pipe organ

the vents in the floor

the holder for the vigil candles

the concrete fins

an orchestra practicing

Cafe Aalto in a building he designed

the view over Helsinki