Government Palace
On our walking tour through Helsinki, we passed this stately yellow facade of the Government Palace. This building has been at the center of Finnish government for over two centuries.
Designed in the early 1800s, the building was originally constructed when Finland was under Russian rule. It was first used by the Imperial Senate of Finland, making it one of the buildings that has transitioned through empire to independence without ever losing its role.
Today, it houses the Prime Minister’s Office, meaning that decisions shaping Finland today are being made within walls that once served a completely different political power. Here is a place where Finland’s story shifted from being ruled, to ruling itself.
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Orthodox Church
We stepped into this local neighborhood church in Piraeus and were struck by the beauty of its altar and ceiling. From the outside, there was nothing to suggest what was inside. But once we entered, the space opened upward in a way that commanded our attention. The ceiling was a deep blue, with Christ at […]
Museum for Human Rights
Before heading to the airport after teaching in Winnipeg, we had a couple of hours and chose to explore the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. It is not a traditional museum in either its design or its purpose. The building itself rises in glass and stone, with walkways that gradually lead upward. The museum is relatively new, […]
Ghetto Heroes Square
In 2019, we visited Ghetto Heroes Square in Krakow, a wide-open public square that today holds striking memorial installations. Scattered across the space are dozens of oversized bronze chairs: simple, empty, and haunting. The installation, created in 2005 by Lewicki and Latak, stands as a memorial to the Jewish residents of the Krakow Ghetto who once lived […]
