In the early 1970’s Vaasa was the indisputable center of Ostrobothnia. It was the bilingual and cultural hub of the area with a rich business life, and of course hotels. At least three of them with a rich history were located right in the heart of the city. Perhaps it was the proximity of theContinue reading “Good Bye, Good Morning Hotel”
Author Archives: desertedfinland
Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend
I frequently visited my old hometown down south, and also frequently drove through the small village, where I had lived as a child and started my urban exploration. There wasn’t really much there to see, and little changed, as years rolled by. The reason for my visits was always the same. I wanted to see,Continue reading “Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend”
Kruunuvuori Villas Part II
My last post was all about how I ended up exploring the Kruunuvuori Villas. This post contains more pictures and a brief history. In the late 19th century some wealthy inhabitants of Helsinki started looking for a place to build their summerhouses. They found Kruunuvuori and built the first villas. Others soon followed. In 1905Continue reading “Kruunuvuori Villas Part II”
Kruunuvuori Villas Part I
September 2015. I travelled to Helsinki to watch Finland play Faroe Islands in the EURO 2016 qualification. I stayed at a friend’s couch and brought her a bottle of wine, she had thought wine would be nice, too, so there was plenty of it. Back then I was pretty desperately in love with another friendContinue reading “Kruunuvuori Villas Part I”
Bygone Luxury
The summer was in the city. My injured foot had gotten better and I often enjoyed long city tours on my bike. It was getting late, almost 11 pm, when I caught sight of this. A beautiful, luxurious modernist villa was standing on a plot of wasteland between half built streets and brand new blocksContinue reading “Bygone Luxury”
A Touch of Soviet Class
The spring of 2015 dawned as warm as ever. When the temperature for the first time allowed me to leave my jacket home, I took a long walk by the riverside. The result: my face was instantly burned, and three hours later it was aching. More was to come the following day. My feet didn’tContinue reading “A Touch of Soviet Class”
Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XVII
The place really seemed to be the home of long lost jackets. Paint had fallen off the roof on the upper floors, and everything was covered in this white dust. This common room was one of the few on the boys’ side to have art on the walls. Something in that colorful pattern pleases me.Continue reading “Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XVII”
Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XVI
Another funny detail in the building was, that the main staircase of the new annex building was actually located in the old building. The second floor common room. The boys had much more comfortable couches than the girls, but they had to share the kitchen and living room with a much larger group of peopleContinue reading “Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XVI”
Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XV
We’ll start our tour on the dark… I mean the old side with a cupbord under the stairs, where the local Harry Potter has hidden Christmas flowers and a bottle of brandy. The basement was a mess just like everything else. On the floor there are construction drawings, but what interests me the most isContinue reading “Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XV”
Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XIV
The first room down here was the graveyard of bikes. A dusty electic piano has been left behind. Behind the piano was a corridor very similar to the one on all the floors above. But I didn’t expect to find apartments here. The rooms here were larger and were apparently used by the pupils forContinue reading “Smells Like Teen Spirit Part XIV”