Finnish Angry Birds and Swedish Forts

Today, visiting the Finnish Design Museum, I learned Angry Birds originated in Finland.

Hello again, Blogonauts!

The internet onboard may be iffy, but at least I can fill you in on my last two days in Helsinki.

Working backwards, today` I visited the very well designed Finnish Design Museum. The streamlined products that Finland is known for took center stage, plus a few surprises.

One of several displays of Finnish-designed products

There was an additional component I hadn't expected. Have you heard before of Moomins? These hippopotamus-like trolls are EVERYWHERE in Helsinki! 

 

A Moomintroll from a department store window display in the 1950s

The Moomin philosophy seems to be about building relationships.

These whimsical critters and their friends emerged as children's books in the midst of the Russian bombing of Helsinki. They were drawn by Tove Jansson. The characters face some challenges, but they also seem to succeed with help from one another.

Yesterday I took a ferry to visit the Suomenlinna, the Swedish fortress built to prevent Russians from using the Gulf of Finland to make incursions on Swedish territory... except in 1809, Sweden gave up Suomenlinna after the island fortress came under a Russian siege.


King's Gate, accessible only over a drawbridge.
 




The church, built by the Russians, also serves as a lighthouse.

Finally, let me share some additional photos that may give you a better view of my time in Helsinki. We'll start with some of the wondrous architecture.



A memorial to the winter war with Russia.

Next, let's take a brief look at the Uspenski Cathedral, part of the Finnish Orthodox Church.

Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral

Interior of the Uspenski Cathedral


 That will wind up my time in Helsinki. Tomorrow I'll wake up as we pass the islands showing we're near Stockholm.

I have to go quickly, before the battery dies on my laptop!

Blog to you later!

Larry 

Location: Baltic Sea

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 16, 2025 at 2:33 PM

    Beautiful architecture! And that cathedral! Tom

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 16, 2025 at 2:33 PM

    Thanks, Nice pix and info.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 16, 2025 at 2:50 PM

    Those Russians are everywhere! I love the design museum. There are Moomin books that are getting popular among parents of young children today because of the relationship building. Anna and Joe

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 16, 2025 at 8:36 PM

    Looks like a wonderful adventure Larry
    Enjoy your blog
    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. ZoëOctober 16, 2025 at 10:34 PM

    We loved the Moomintroll books as kids! The juxtaposition of the ornate, beautiful architecture of the city and the sleek, simple designs that Finland (and Sweden) is known for is fascinating

    ReplyDelete

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