The collection of collections – Hallwyl Museum

The collection of collections – Hallwyl Museum

When I was preparing for my summer in Stockholm I made a list with all the castles and museums I was going to visit. Six weeks into my stay I've only visited two. One thing I can blame this on is the heatwave but I've also experienced a lost interest in walking around castles this summer. I'm not quite sure what's going on but I'll have to revisit the subject when I get back to Helsinki. One place I visited pretty early on is the Hallwyl Museum. I had seen some pictures of the interior on social media and I knew it used to be someone's home so I was a bit curious. I'm really glad I paid for the guided tour, I got a lot more information than if I had been walking around by myself (I sometimes get lazy with reading the descriptions). There was only three of us on the tour so we got to see more spaces than if we had been a larger group. The rooms are preserved in their original state and give you a glimpse of how the super wealthy and forward thinking lived during that era. The rooms are as one would…

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The Gilded Wonderland

The Gilded Wonderland

Before we even arrived to the Hermitage Museum I was told of one (of many) theories the locals have, that in order to see all the contents of the museum, you would need to visit the museum five days a week for seven years! That still didn't prepare me for the overwhelming grand golden overdose that was to come. I don't think I've ever seen so many chandeliers in my life! I don't really know how to describe it, hopefully the images give you just a hint of the extravagance of the place. At some point I couldn't even look at the paintings anymore because there was so much else to see within the rooms themselves. When I visit grand and heavily adorned castles like this, I at some point think about how wealth was so unevenly distributed back then (some would argue that things haven't changed that much). I can only imagine how the poor lived if this is what the rich and privileged enjoyed. At the end of the day it's the craftsmanship and history that draws me to places like this. I'm not saying we should go back to this way of building and decorating, I'm just appreciative…

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Everyone is welcome

Everyone is welcome

I recently bought a Museum Card as a birthday present to myself. With the card you can visit over 240 museums all over Finland and it's valid for a year. I think the card is a brilliant idea since museum entrance usually costs 10-15€. It's great to give as a gift and I think you end up visiting museums more often once you have the card. But let's not forget that for many people going to museums is just something they can't afford. That's why I like the UK's approach to museums, all national museums have free entry. So everyone has access and everyone is welcome! On our last day in Edinburgh, we visited the National Museum of Scotland before heading to the airport. I didn't know anything about the museum before we went so I was expecting it to be about the country's history. This national museum however had some surprises in store. Besides Scottish history there were artifacts from cultures all over the world, animals, minerals and a whole lot more. It's like the people who put this museum together decided to put a little bit of everything in it, just for the fun of it. They also have very friendly guides who tell you…

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Take me to the gods

Take me to the gods

It's already July but I'm still going through images from my Berlin trip in April.When you visit a new place there's always one place that surprises and truly impresses you. Being a true grandma tourist and added the fact that I'm not a seasoned traveller that happened when we walked towards the museum island . It wasn't just the sheer size of the Berlin Cathedral but also the amount of  impressive museum buildings around it . I have been told that there are more impressive cathedrals and building in for example Italy but I haven't seen those yet. To my defence we don't have buildings of that size in Finland. The museum buildings themselves are worth exploring. Unfortunately the church was closed (forgot to check the opening hours, need to seriously improve my travel planning skills) and the queue to the Egyptian Museum, our original goal on the island was a kilometer long so we settled for the collection of classical antiquities at the Altes Museum. The museum didn't disappoint (even though parts of it was closed for renovation) and once we started exploring antique Greece we forgot about our previous plans. I especially liked the with the rotunda with…

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A wall covered with candy

A wall covered with candy

The Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art is right now showing an exhibition done in collaboration with Marimekko. Called Kimpassa/Together, the exhibition consists of pieces created specifically for the Kiasma spaces by 16 designers and contemporary artists. The exhibition is very versatile, though I had expected it to be bigger. It's definitely a must for Marimekko fans out there! Below are my favourite pieces from the exhibition. The most impressive piece was without a doubt Hanna Vihriälä's Rose.The piece is fascinating from afar . . . . . . . . but even more when you come closer and realise that the artwork is made of candy! The museum counted that over 200 000 pins had been used for the piece!

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Amazing Tove

Amazing Tove

Tove Jansson, the beloved creator of the Moomin characters was born a 100 years ago and to celebrate this Ateneum is hosting a major exhibition covering Jansson's long artistic career. I went to see the exhibition a while back and was very impressed. Until then I had mostly viewed Jansson as a children's books author and illustrator. I didn't know that she was also an avid and talented painter. The exhibition is surprisingly extensive and chronicles Jansson's work from her early childhood drawings to her abstract paintings in the 60's. What really struck me was the diversity in her work and her use of colour. The exhibition also shows how the Moomin characters were born and how they developed over time. I really recommend this exhibition to everyone. I left the museum with a smile on my face and feeling very inspired. I think I'm gonna watch a few Moomin episodes now!

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