Midsummer restlessness

Today is the funeral of Neil. I never knew him in real life, but online, since Pete's The Boy Who Heard Music, I knew him as a sweet, kind man who had the ability to make even a stone pillar roll on the floor laughing. The ability and the willingness and desire to bring such joy to others with laughter is, I think, the greatest gift one could have. My thoughts are with Neil and those close to him today. Rest in peace, Neil, and thank you for all the laughter.

***

There are no photos to post of the crime novel story, as the events of the rest of the story take place in the locations I've posted pictures of already. At the top floor of the house described in the previous post, where Vappu lives, lives Kyllikki, a woman in her forties who I think is trying to make ends meet with prostitution, or at least by occasionally acquiring money from the men she makes liaisons with; the drunkards who hang around in the yard from morning till night mock and badmouth her, calling her 'circular saw pussy' and other such names. One evening, Tapani meets her on the street, and they enter in a sort of a relationship. Some days after, things change when Kyllikki's former partner and owner of the apartment, called Snowman (a twist of his name), a man who has had a deeply tragic life and is now an alcoholic, returns, after a long time. The drunkards in the yard tell him that Kyllikki is seeing another man. Snowman, whose mind is deluded, either by alcohol or by the things he has had to endure in his life, has believed that Kyllikki is his first wife, who died tragically. Enraged, he storms up to the apartment, where Tapani is with Kyllikki. The next night, there is a fire in the building. Kyllikki dies in the fire, and Tapani is seriously, almost fatally, injured. The police suspect Snowman and arrest him.

It's a warm but very humid day. The Midsummer's celebration is upon us again - or Juhannus, as it's called here. It's an ancient pagan festival but with Christianity St. John's day was put on it, that's why the name. I'm not doing anything particular to celebrate it; perhaps because I'm a city person through and through, whereas Juhannus is a very anti-city thing. However, if the weather permits, I may go to the city tomorrow to photograph the miracle of Helsinki with nearly empty streets. Why nearly empty streets? Because a large percentage of the population goes out to the country. Why? it's the tradition. Even public transportation is closed for the morning, starting only at 11 am.

I've actually been taken over by a kind of restlessness after my little trip to Tallinn, Estonia on monday and tuesday. I enjoyed it so much, I want go back! Going there was just a whim: one of the ferry companies, Tallink, has these trips + hotel offers, so I called the reservation number on monday and was able to get a room for the next night. I hopped on the 2.30pm ferry was in Tallinn at 4.30pm, got the room at the Tallink Express hotel by the port, and came back on the 9pm ferry the following evening. The hotel was basic but had all the necessities: good bed, bathroom, free wifi and sumptuous breakfast. All this, the trips and the hotel, for just 55 euros put together. It's actually just half an euro more expensive than regular route trips on the same ferry, if you go on the week and take the earliest and latest ferries and get the online reservation -15% reduction.

 The result of my trip was 900+ photos. It's so wonderful that Tallinn is only a couple of hours away from Helsinki, yet the two cities are so distinctly different. The most wonderful thing for me is that you don't have to go far from the Medieval Old Town to find direct remains of the Soviet time (a building with the Soviet star still on top; the concert hall by the port, absurd in its massive dimensions and concrete heaviness, oddly enough with a design that looks a bit like it's trying to imitate ancient temples); streets where you might have newly and beautifully restored, grand houses and beside them similar houses that stand empty and in a state of decay, boards in their windows; industrial and residential buildings, at least on the outside ravaged and with grey walls; 60s and 70s colossi of grey apartment blocks. I truly recommend Tallinn. If the above sights are not quite your thing, there's something else too: the beautiful Old Town with its various restaurants and cafes and several spas around the city.

Perhaps I should contain myself for a while. It's not like I don't have anything to do: research work; about 2000 photos to sort through and edit; Marianne Faithfull's concert on wednesday; and next weekend, or the monday after, I'm off to the countryside up north to visit my parents.