The Carnival of Lights at Linnanmäki and the Amazing Amos Rex

It's that time of the year again when the trees shed their glorious autumn leaves and everything turns grey, dark, and dismal. Fortunately Linnanmäki amusement park had its annual Carnival of Light again this year. We didn't go on any rides this year (because of The Babe), but the cotton candy popcorn and hot chocolate and the gloriously creepy haunted carnival ambiance were enough for me.  Here are a few pics if you missed the festivities.

This was The Babe's favourite. She kept pointing and going "Ka" which is her word for "duck" (ankka in Finnish).

I love this old carousel!

The ferris wheel in the distance

Teacups!

We also visited Amos Rex, the new museum in Helsinki city center. The exhibition by TeamLab, a Tokyo-based interdisciplinary art collective, is just mind-blowing. My favourite was an installation that had a sort of tropical fantasy world that was constantly on the move, and it was interactive, so when you touched the wall, flowers blossomed, and you could create your own fantasy animal that then became part of the installation. The Babe had the best time chasing after them.  It's running until January 6 if anyone wants to check it out. 

Worldcon in Helsinki!

It's almost Worldcon time! The con is held at the Messukeskus convention center in Pasila from tomorrow through Sunday. The registration opens at nine a.m. and the program begins at noon, but there's plenty to see in the evening too. Guests of Honor include Johanna Sinisalo, Nalo Hopkinson, and Walter Jon Williams, but many more authors will be participating in panel discussions, signings, and workshops.

Check out the program here: http://www.worldcon.fi/guide/

Don't have a pass yet? No problem! You can still buy a full membership or opt for a day pass sold at the door.

The Flying Dutchman and In Infinity

I've made quite a few trips to Helsinki in the last few weeks, and I finally had the opportunity to check out the Yayoi Kusama exhibit "In Infinity" at the Helsinki Art Museum. Kusama is famous for her installations, and there were quite a few to be seen here. She has also collaborated with major fashion houses with some truly memorable results. There's the lady herself surrounded by candy-cane tentacles above. (I think it was a wax doll?)

Kusama has suffered from mental heath problems, and her art draws from hallucinations, fears, and obsessions. Infinity, like the title of the exhibition, is a major theme, as well as repetition and the desire to become one with the world. 

Here you can see some of the pumpkin sculptures Kusama is famous for. She also had a thing for phalluses made from different material. The boat in the background is covered with them. 

This was my favourite installation. You walk into a dark room with mirrors on the walls and water on the floor and the coloured orbs seem to go on forever. They also shifted colour once in a while.

The exhibition is running until January 22nd, if you want to see it.  

We also saw the National Opera's new production of Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander. The singing was fine, but the  production was just weird. The idea was that the storm is only in the head of the artist, and there wasn't even a glimpse of the ship in the show. The translation of the libretto had had a lot of the nautical terms and things referring to the sea removed, and the end result didn't make any sense. I felt sorry for anyone who saw the opera for the first time, they were probably totally lost. And I'm sorry, but most of the bits that need to be on a ship just didn't work as metaphors. And the ending, oh, boy. I won't spoil it, but they changed the ending so that the whole of the opera was undermined by the decision. There were some beautiful visuals, though. It was like seeing two different stories that just didn't have anything to do with each other. Square peg, round hole, people! I wish they'd stop doing these modern versions of operas. Mostly, they ruin the experience and come across as trying too hard. 

Time for Tea!

I saw this teashop mentioned in Lukuhoukka's blog, and immediately googled it. They have a tearoom and two shops in Helsinki (and one is Saint Petersburg, apparently), but lucky for me, there's also a webshop. They sell tea by the ounce (28g), so it's easy to experiment; if you don't like the blend, you're not stuck with a huge bag of the stuff. 

The order arrived in a few days in these wonderfully crinkly brown paper bags. I loved their custom envelope, too. The teas also have the water temperature and steep time written on the bags, which is nice. And they serve afternoon tea at the tearooms. Yay, scones! I'll have to check out the shop when I'm next in Helsinki. 

Here are the addresses and opening times for the shops, if you're in the neighbourhood:

Freddrikinkatu 55 ma - pe 11:00 - 20:00 la 11:00 - 18:00 su suljettu puh: 044-0866 665

Iso Robertinkatu 17-19 ma - pe 11:00 - 19:00 la 11:00 - 18:00 su suljettu puh: 050-3798 877

Art, Alice, and Assorted Weirdness

I was in Helsinki this weekend for the Alice in Wonderland ballet and had some time to kill, so I ended up at Kiasma, the Helsinki museum of contemporary art. Kiasma is a great place to seek writing inspiration, because there's alway something weird going on. 

Untitled by Juul Kraijer

On to the weirdness. Look closer at the curls on the lady's head. Yup, that's right. They're ears. 

Emerging Thoughts by Anna Estarriola

Yes, and this thing was beyond creepy. It's a giant knitted cap with a hole in it. Inside, you see all these wigs, like the backs of people's heads, and when you lean in, they start to whisper. *shudder*

They also had an exhibit by Mona Hatoum that had hanging barbed wire and empty cages they use at fur farms, and a person-sized cheese grater. Really unnerving. Didn't really like that one, but I got a feeling I wasn't supposed to. Not that kind of exhibition. 

The Finnish National Museum's on the way to the Opera house, so I stopped in to check out the exhibition of Renaissance art they have running until January 15th 2017. Quite small, but beautiful pieces. I like portraits, because it's fun to imagine what the person they're depicting was like. (And you can use them for character building, if you're a writerly type.) 

The Gentleman in Pink by Giovan Battista Moroni

Isotta Brembati by Giovan Battista Moroni

Count Martinengo by Moretto.

Then it was time for the ballet. The sets and costumes were beautifully done as always, but the show felt a bit meh. The beginning was quite slow, and there were long intervals without music. That miming thing the dancers do looks ridiculous without sound. You could hear the thumps of their footsteps on the set. Awkward.  I did like the tea party scene and the Red Queen and the playing cards, and the bit where Alice went to wonderland was well done. You can watch it through Opera Live on Saturday the 29th of October, if so inclined. 

I did enjoy these themed macaroons, though. 

After the show I headed for the Linnanmäki amusement park, which is just a fifteen minute walk away. They're doing a carnival of lights before closing for winter. I rode the ferris wheel and ate cotton candy that had a glow stick inside. It was like eating a storm cloud. The park is still open until Saturday the 22nd, when the festival ends with a firework display. 

Those red lights reminded me of Spirited Away. Magical. 

Pretty lights.

I love these old, creepy statue things. Very Tim Burton.

More pretty lights.

Light-up hula-hoops!

Looking for that creepy carnival feel? Look no further.

Hattifatteners!

The view from the ferris wheel was beautiful. You can see for miles. Definitely go if you're not afraid of heights. 

CircOpera and Grotesk

The Finnish National Opera has done some interesting things recently, the latest of which is CircOpera, a combination of circus arts and opera. Of course I had to check it out.

The opera entrance had a circus sign on it and bright lights hung from the balconies. 

The performance was amazing. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who's going to see the show, but the singers totally embraced the circus side of things with stunts of their own and members of the orchestra got a chance to shine on stage. Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" and the runaway piano were most memorable. Best of all, everyone seemed to be having a blast, especially the singers. 

The circus performances were awesome, Cirque du Soleil quality, but more fun. The Wheel of Death act had me holding my breath the whole time, and the acrobats and ballet performances were eerily beautiful.  Even the Phantom of the Opera made an appearance! This was hands down the most fun I've had at the opera. 

They're only doing eight performances, so you'll have to hurry if you want tickets.  Click  here to go to the National Opera website to check availability.

We also had dinner at restaurant Grotesk. It's carnivore's paradise, but there was something for the vegetarians, too. Best mushroom pasta and sweet potato fries I've ever eaten. (Yup, I stole half of Hubby's fries. Not sorry.)

The decor was nice, but the bar looked even cooler. Just look at the cocktail menu!

And yes, there was time to do a bit of book shopping. Here's the catch of the day, minus a birthday present for my nephew, because spoilers. I've never read Murakami before, so I picked Norwegian Wood because a friend recommended it to me. To my surprise I also noticed I've missed a Night Watch book, The New Watch. They didn't have that one, except in Finnish, and I've read all the others in English and don't want to swap languages at this point, so I'll have to order it from Amazon or just download it on my Kindle before reading The Sixth Watch. Oh, and if you haven't heard about the Goth Girl Nemi comics, you need to, they're fantastic. You can read some of them in English on the Metro site. 

Mermaids and Vampires in Helsinki

Image from http://oopperabaletti.fi//

Whew, what a busy weekend! Hubby and I took the train to Helsinki to see The Little Mermaid at Kansallisooppera on Friday. Another beautiful performance from the Finnish National Ballet.  I was quite exited about it, because this was the first ballet I've seen that utilises 3D-glasses! And it did work, quite well, actually. The 3D added a certain depth to the stage, and I'm sure the little ones loved seeing the turtles and sharks swim into the audience. I'm glad they didn't use it too much, though, as it could easily distract from the the dancing.  Overall, I loved the sets and costuming, but I did have a minor quibble: what was up with the sea witch's costume? A tutu? What were they thinking? She looked like Nosferatu in drag. While I enjoyed The Little Mermaid a lot, this wasn't quite up to The Snow Queen, which will be back this December, yay!

Most of the performances are sold out, but they're showing the ballet live on Friday, April 22nd at 19:00 on their web service. Best of all, it's free! I'm not sure if it'll work for anyone outside Finland, though.  

                        

Before the show, we had dinner at Ravintola Kuu (The name means "moon" in Finnish). The restaurant's been up and running since the sixties. It has a retro, Mad Men vibe; a perfect place to kick back after work and sip a Manhattan cocktail. And the food was amazing. I had their goat cheese salad and the risotto, with a kind of deconstructed carrot cake thing for dessert. Everything was perfectly prepared, and although the menu is quite classic, the dishes had a fresh, modern twist. As a bonus, it's only a block away from the opera house, so it's very convenient for pre-opera/ballet dining.

                            

We also checked out the Japanomania exhibition at the Ateneum. Japanese culture was very much in vogue in the late 1800s, and traditional Japanese art inspired many artists of the age. The exhibition features original Japanese art and works from Nordic artists that incorporate the Japanese aesthetic. Well worth a look, and the gift shop had a bunch of interesting books on Japanese art and culture, as well as bento boxes and other assorted knick-knacks. 

On Saturday, I headed over to Linnanmäki for another performance of Vampyyrien Tanssi (Dance of the Vampires.) I saw it on Valentine's day, and I loved it so much that I immediately booked another ticket. (Hubby went home. He doesn't find singing and dancing vampires in leather pants all that fascinating, apparently.)

                            

The amusement park wasn't open yet, but here's a picture of a creepy woodcarving from the entrance. 

                             

                 The show's at the Peacock Theater, right next to the Sea Life aquarium. 

                            

                                                Don't you love the costumes? 

                            

               It worked out pretty well, as I got to see the alternate cast perform this time. Both casts were     

               amazing. I can't even decide which count I preferred. Jonas Saari was a bit more campy 

               with his gestures and expressions, but in a good way.

                                             (Images from the program booklet.)

                           

 Even though I didn't have time to check out any bookstores on this visit, I did manage to pick up a          

                                           few books from the museum gift shop.

                         

Melkein Geisha ("Almost a Geisha: Charming and Crazy Japan") by Minna Eväsoja, a docent  of Japanese Aesthetics at Helsinki University, is a collection of stories based on her experiences of living and studying in Japan, and the other one is In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki. I also got a new writing notebook in a kimono print and some more blueberry tea. 

And I finished reading Wuthering Heights on the train back to Turku. I really, really hated the book, but more on that later. 

Hope you had a good weekend, too.