Day 15: An Eventful Day in Turku!

Yesterday afternoon, my host mother drove me, Camilla, Ann-Christine, and Charlotta to Turku.  Once the medieval capital of Finland, I couldn't wait to delve into all the history and culture this city had to offer. Because Ann-Christine and Camilla both attend the University of Turku, they have individual apartments which me, Camilla, and Marja stayed in. Camilla and I slept in Ann-Christine's apartment while Marja slept in Charlotta's. 

Ann-Christine, an alumna of the Finland Young Ambassadors Program, had received an invitation from the US Embassy in Helsinki a while ago to celebrate the 238th anniversary of America's independence and decided to bring Charlotta along to the embassy celebrations, so they left early in the morning to catch the bus to Helsinki.

After dropping two of my host sisters off at the bus station, Marja took Camilla and I around the University of Turku. We explored many of the university's buildings, including the French, Russian, and English language departments, business academy, law academy, and humanities (philosophy, literature, etcetc) department. The University of Turku is split into the Swedish speaking part of the university and the Finnish speaking part. 

In front of the humanities buildings at the University of Turku

Botanical Gardens of the Royal Academy

Because Marja knew of my passion for classical music, she took me and Camilla to the Sibelius museum, which is owned and funded by the Åbo Akademi (the Swedish speaking school of the University of Turku).

Front of the museum.

All the exhibits were so fascinating- the first exhibit showed us the evolution of modern symphonic instruments. Primitive violins and flutes progressed century to century from single stringed blocks of wood and sticks with holes in them to the elegant instruments we are fondly familiar with today. Unfortunately, the museum implemented a policy against photographing the exhibits, so I was not able to take pictures of the early instruments.

The second exhibit featured a wide array of pianos, from the early clavichords and harpsichords to the modern brilliant grand piano. Below you can see a picture of me playing harpsichord! While quite similar to the modern piano in terms of keys and method of playing, there were quite a few differences that clearly distinguished this instrument from a modern piano. Harpsichord keys were a bit sticky and the sound tended to be fragile and less stable. Moreover, the harpsichord produced a tinny, string-y kind of sound that is very unique to instruments of the Baroque period.

Playing harpsichord at the Sibelius museum :) 

In the middle of the museum, there was also a great concert hall with a grand piano at the front. 

In the concert hall of the Sibelius museum

The highlight of the museum was the Sibelius exhibit. 

Me and Sibelius!!!!!!

Sibelius Exhibit

This exhibit was so eye-opening. Besides reading about Sibelius' early life and background (he started violin at a very late age- 15 years old!!!), I also got to see some of Sibelius' original scores, such as the score to Finlandia and some of his major symphonies and concertos!

One mind-blowing fact I learned from the Sibelius Exhibit: There were actually two versions of Sibelius' famed Violin Concerto (the concerto that ECYS performed in Central Europe last summer), but Sibelius, being the perfectionist he was, made some major revisions to the first version. The revised version of the Violin Concerto is the version we all know and love today. 

Outside the Sibelius museum

Our next destination was the Turku cathedral, where we not only explored every facet of the cathedral, but also had an opportunity to listen to a live organ concert! The voice of the male opera singer who accompanied the organ gave me chills- it resonated throughout the high-ceilinged cathedral, filling the entire building with a richness and sweetness that seemed ethereal. 

In front of the Turku cathedral.

Inside the Turku cathedral. Behind me (golden structure) is the large organ where the singer+organ player stood.

After finishing lunch at Teini, we hiked up around 150 steps to get to our next destination- the vantage point! There were also some foreign consulates near the vantage point, such as the Estonian and Netherlands consulates. 

You can see the Turku cathedral from this vantage point!

Estonian consulate in Turku.

Dutch consulate in Turku.

Next we headed towards the Handicrafts Museum, which is technically a reconstructed village with houses that are over 200 years old. It seemed as though this village was plucked from the 1800s and placed into the modernized city of Turku. All around me, I could perceive a palpable sense of history, as people dressed as shoemakers, clockmakers, glovemakers, goldsmiths, and tailors all from the 19th century were milling around, busily attending to their "jobs." 

At the Handicrafts Museum (technically a reconstructed historical village) 

A silverware maker's house

The main river, River Aura, that winds through Turku.

In front of the Contemporary Art Museum. Elephant!!