Helsinki's Open-Air Museum, Church in the Rock, and Kallio Church

Today, we went to the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum and looked at original old Finnish wooden structures (all transplanted to the site of the museum), some dating back to the late 17th century.  Several troops of tiny children, wearing brightly colored construction worker vests, were all tromping around the museum in single file lines.  Following the museum, we went to see the Church in the Rock (Temppeliaukion kirkko), designed by Tuomo and Timo Suomalainen.  I've attached a panaroma shot of the inside of the church, but you can find much nicer pictures of the church by Googling "Church in the Rock Helsinki."  It was a special moment to be greeted by the minister at the church and have her husband present us with a piece of choral music he had written.  We attempted to sing through the piece as a group, some of us more successful than others (those darn contemporary composers and their penchant for using no key signature!).  After a brief break, we headed to Kallio Church to meet Mark and Jeff's good friend Tommi Niskala, who is both the conductor and organist at the church.  He played a number of pieces on both the church's small and large organs, treating our little group to a private concert.

The Karuna Church at the Open-Air Museum

Church in the Rock

The large organ at Kallio Church

Tommi Niskala playing Finlandia on the organ