Introduction
From January through July of 2009, I took part in two study-abroad programs as part of my curriculum in the graduate architecture school at Washington University in St. Louis. The spring semester, from late January to late May, was based in Helsinki, Finland, while the summer program, from the beginning of June to the end of July, took place in Barcelona. Both programs were enormously eye-opening experiences for me; I got to see seven countries in Europe that I had never visited before (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, France, Spain, and the Netherlands) and learned a great deal both from the buildings and landscapes I encountered and from the wisdom of my teachers.
I took a total of over 26,000 photographs over those six months, none of which I have published online except on this website. My intent here is to share the highlights of the photographs in a sort of photo-diary format, similar to the gallery section of my Switzerland 2005 site. This site's background is black in order for the photographs to show up as well as possible.
In addition, as with Switzerland, I have scanned and transcribed in HTML all the entries I made in my handwritten nature journal over the course of these programs. That and all the photo pages are accessible at once from the navigation bar at left and the table of contents below. The table of contents also shows the dates of all the gallery pages at a glance.
As of July 20, 2013 — just shy of four years after my return from the trip and over 3 1/2 years since starting work on this website — the site is finally substantially complete, notwithstanding continued correction of typos and factual errors.
As of April 2023, I have updated the appearance of the site for better accessibility and mobile responsiveness, as well as completely rebuilt the site's back-end codebase to improve efficiency and make it more maintainable.
If you want to jump straight into the photo pages, the first one concerns my arrival in Helsinki.
Table of Contents
Finland
Introduction to Helsinki
January 23–29:arrival in Helsinki
January 31:Kallio – approach; church
January 31:Kallio – around town; the way home
February 3–5:miscellaneous
Utö
February 6:trip to Utö
February 7:Utö – misty introduction
February 8:Utö – tour + night shots
February 9:Utö – sun + moon
February 10:Utö – Stenhuset
February 10:Utö – sunsnow
February 11–12:Utö – site + lighthouse
February 13:Utö – cold day
February 14:Utö – last full day
February 15:trip back from Utö
Helsinki late winter
February 17:miscellaneous
February 18:Helsinki history tour
February 18–24:miscellaneous
February 25:Aalto studio, Munkkiniemi
February 25:Aalto house, Munkkiniemi
February 25 – March 7:miscellaneous
March 8–15:miscellaneous
March 15:Laajasalo
March 15–22:miscellaneous
Lapland
March 23–24:Helsinki to Rovaniemi
March 24:Rovaniemi
March 24:Rovaniemi to Inari
March 25:Ski to Pielpajärvi
March 25:Pielpajärven kirkko
March 25:Ski from Pielpajärvi
March 26:SIIDA
March 26:Inari to Bugøynes
March 27:Bugøynes morning
March 27:Bugøynes harbor
March 27:Bugøynes hill
March 27:Bugøynes evening
March 28:Bugøynes to Inari
March 28:Inari to Rovaniemi
March 28–29:Rovaniemi to Helsinki
S. Finland post-equinox
March 31:Tapiola 1
March 31 – April 1:Tapiola 2
April 2:Trip to Hämeenlinna
April 2:Hämeen Linna 1
April 2:Hämeen Linna 2
April 2:Hämeenlinna arts
Stockholm
April 3–4:trip to Stockholm
April 4:Drottninggatan
April 4:Stadsbibliotek
April 4:Markuskyrkan
April 4:Skogskyrkogården 1
April 4:Skogskyrkogården 2
April 4:Gamla Stan
April 4:Stockholm downtown
April 4:Stadshuset evening
April 4:Riddarholmskyrkan evening
April 5:Riddarholmskyrkan morning
April 5:Stadshuset morning 1
April 5:Stadshuset morning 2
April 5:Skeppsholmen
April 5:Swedish seashore
April 5:Sunset + Åland
April 6:Helsinki landing
Helsinki early April
April 6–10:miscellaneous
April 11:Temppeliaukio
April 11:Korkeasaari 1
April 11:Korkeasaari 2
April 11:fog sunset
April 14–15:miscellaneous
Tallinn
April 16:trip to Tallinn 1
April 16:trip to Tallinn 2
April 16:Tallinn – Oleviste kirik 1
April 16:Tallinn – Oleviste kirik 2
April 16:Tallinn – Vabaõhumuuseum 1
April 16:Tallinn – Vabaõhumuuseum 2
April 16:Tallinn – across town
April 16:Tallinn – KUMU
April 16:Tallinn – Vanalinn 1
April 16:Tallinn – Vanalinn 2
April 16:Tallinn – Vanalinn 3
April 16:Tallinn – trip back
Helsinki late April
April 17–19:miscellaneous
April 19:Katajanokka to Tervasaari
April 19:Tervasaari
April 19:Katajanokka Jugend 1
April 19:Katajanokka Jugend 2
April 20–21:TKK sunset
April 22:Lansiväylä
Southern Finland tour
April 23:Southern Finland tour – setting off
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Paimio Sanatorium 1
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Paimio Sanatorium 2
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Turku Cathedral
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Åbo Akademi
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Chapel of the Holy Cross, Turku
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Chapel of the Resurrection, Turku
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Art Chapel, Turku
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Forum Marinum, Turku
April 23:Southern Finland tour – Turku Main Library
April 23–24:Southern Finland tour – Turku downtown
April 24:Southern Finland tour – Turun Linna 1
April 24:Southern Finland tour – Turun Linna 2
April 24:Southern Finland tour – Rauma
April 24:Southern Finland tour – Villa Mairea
April 24:Southern Finland tour – arrival in Tampere
April 25:Southern Finland tour – Metso, Tampere
April 25:Southern Finland tour – Tampere Cathedral
April 25:Southern Finland tour – Kaleva Church, Tampere
April 25:Southern Finland tour – departure from Tampere
April 25:Southern Finland tour – Petäjäveden kirkko 1
April 25:Southern Finland tour – Petäjäveden kirkko 2
April 25–26:Southern Finland tour – Jyväskylä
April 26:Southern Finland tour – Jyväskylä University 1
April 26:Southern Finland tour – Jyväskylä University 2
April 26:Southern Finland tour – Säynätsalo 1
April 26:Southern Finland tour – Säynätsalo 2
April 26:Southern Finland tour – Muuratsalo 1
April 26:Southern Finland tour – Muuratsalo 2
Uusimaa May
April 28–30:Vappu Eve
May 1:Vappu night
May 1:Vappu
May 1–3:miscellaneous
May 4:Viikki Church
May 4:Viikki housing
May 4–11:miscellaneous
May 12:trip to Porvoo
May 12:Porvoo old town
May 12:Porvoo cathedral
May 12:Porvoo new town
May 12:Olympic Tower
May 13:Uspenski Cathedral
May 13:white night
May 14:Nuuksio 1
May 14:Nuuksio 2
May 14:Nuuksio 3
May 14:evening run
May 15:miscellaneous
May 16:shore sunset
May 16:sauna
Return to Utö
May 17:departure from Helsinki
May 17:trip to Utö – bus
May 17:trip to Utö – ferry 1
May 17:trip to Utö – ferry 2
May 17:Utö – sunset
May 18:Utö – sun
May 18:Utö – clouds
May 19:Utö – clearing fog
May 20:Utö – shore walk
May 21:Utö – foggy morning
May 21:Utö – south shore
May 21:Utö – Kattrumpan
May 21:Utö – bench tour 1
May 21:Utö – bench tour 2
Transition
Finland + Sweden
May 22:Utö – sunrise
May 22:Utö to Turku
May 22:around Turku 1
May 22:Turun Linna
May 22:around Turku 2
May 22:Turku to Stockholm
May 23:Norrmalm 1
May 23:Norrmalm 2
May 23:Södermalm
May 23:Stockholm to Malmö
May 23:Malmö – Inre Hamnen
May 23:Malmö – Hamnkanalen
May 23:Malmöhus 1
May 23:Malmöhus 2
May 23:Malmö – Gamla Staden
May 23–24:Malmö to Berlin
Germany
May 24:Berlin – Hauptbahnhof + Reichstag
May 24:Berlin Mitte
May 24:Berlin – Tiergarten
May 24:Berlin – Siegessäule
May 24:Berlin – Moabit
May 24:Berlin to Bamberg
May 24:Bamberg evening 1
May 24:Bamberg evening 2
May 25:Bamberg – Inselstadt 1
May 25:Bamberg – Domplatz 1
May 25:Bamberger Dom 1
May 25:Bamberger Dom 2
May 25:Bamberg – to Obere Pfarre
May 25:Bamberg – Obere Pfarre
May 25:Bamberg – Karmelitenkirche
May 25:Bamberg – Jakobskirche
May 25:Bamberg – Michelsberg 1
May 25:Bamberg – Michelsberg 2
May 25:Bamberg – Michelsberg to Domplatz
May 25:Bamberg – Domplatz 2
May 25:Bamberg – Inselstadt 2
May 25:Bamberg – Erlöserkirche 1
May 25:Bamberg – Erlöserkirche 2
May 26:Bamberg morning
May 26:Bamberg to Bodensee
Switzerland
May 26:Bodensee to Klosters
May 26:Flüelapass
May 26:arrival in Zernez
May 27:Zernez morning 1
May 27:Sent – to church
May 27:Sent – to northeast
May 27:Sent – around the village
May 27:Sent to Zernez via Klosters
May 27:Zernez afternoon
May 27:Zernez evening 1
May 28:Zernez morning 2
May 28:trip to Ramosch
May 28:hike to Vnà
May 28:Vnà 1
May 28:Vnà 2
May 28:Vnà 3
May 28:Vnà church
May 28:hike down from Vnà
May 28:Ramosch
May 28:ride to Tarasp Vulpera
May 28:Tarasp Vulpera
May 28:hike to Tarasp Fontana
May 28:Tarasp Fontana 1
May 28:Tarasp Fontana church
May 28:Tarasp Fontana 2
May 28:hike through Tarasp Chaposch + Valatscha
May 28:hike down to En
May 28:hike from En to Ardez
May 28:Ardez
May 28:Ardez to Zernez
May 28:Zernez church 1
May 28:Zernez church 2
May 28:Zernez evening 2
May 28:Zernez evening 3
May 29:departure from Zernez
May 29:Klosters to Zürich
May 29:Romandie
France + Spain
May 29:Geneva to Avignon
May 29:Avignon evening 1
May 29:Avignon evening 2
May 30:around Avignon 1
May 30:Palais des Papes
May 30:Rocher des Doms
May 30:around Avignon 2
May 30:around Avignon 3
May 30:around Avignon 4
May 30:Avignon to coast
May 30:French Pyrenees
May 30:arrival in Spain
May 30:ride to Barcelona
May 30:arrival in Barcelona
Barcelona
Main session
May 31:MACBA
May 31:beach
June 1:miscellaneous
June 2:Plaça de Jaume Sabartés
June 2–4:rooftop daytime 1
June 6:Vila Olímpica
June 6:Parc Diagonal Mar
June 6:Badalona
June 6:miscellaneous
June 7–9:miscellaneous
June 10:Museu Picasso
June 10–14:rooftop party
June 15:Miralles office + CCCB
June 16:German Pavilion + CaixaForum
June 17–19:metro construction
June 23:Verbenas de Sant Joan
June 26–29:trip to Igualada
June 29:Igualada Cemetery 1
June 29:Igualada Cemetery 2
June 29:Igualada Cemetery 3
June 29:return from Igualada
July 4–9:Tour de France
July 10–17:rooftop evening
July 17:rooftop twilight
July 19:rooftop daytime 2
Amsterdam
July 20:Amsterdam arrival 1
July 20:Amsterdam arrival 2
July 20:Amsterdam arrival 3
July 20:Amsterdam – boat tour 1
July 20:Amsterdam – boat tour 2
July 20:Amsterdam evening
July 21:Amsterdam morning
July 21:Amsterdam – Het Schip 1
July 21:Amsterdam – Het Schip 2
July 21:Amsterdam – Westerpark
July 21:Amsterdam – Plan Zuid 1
July 22:trip to Rotterdam
July 22:around Rotterdam 1
July 22:around Rotterdam 2
July 22:Rotterdam – Architectuurinstituut 1
July 22:Rotterdam – Huis Sonneveld
July 22:Rotterdam – Architectuurinstituut 2
July 22:Rotterdam – Kunsthal
July 22:departure from Rotterdam
July 22:Amsterdam – Plan Zuid 2
July 22:Amsterdam – Plan Zuid 3
July 22–23:Amsterdam – evening + hostel
July 23:Amsterdam – Beurs 1
July 23:Amsterdam – Beurs 2
July 23:Amsterdam – Beurs 3
July 23:Amsterdam Centrum
July 23:ride to Schiphol
July 23:flight from Amsterdam
Barcelona final week
July 25:walk to Palau Nacional
July 25:Palau Nacional 1
July 25:Palau Nacional 2
July 25:walk from Palau Nacional
July 26:walk to Castell de Montjuïc – through Poble Sec
July 26:walk to Castell de Montjuïc – Mirador de l'Alcalde
July 26:Castell perimeter 1
July 26:Castell perimeter 2
July 26:Castell perimeter 3
July 26:Castell de Montjuïc 1
July 26:Castell de Montjuïc 2
July 26:Castell de Montjuïc 3
July 26:Castell de Montjuïc 4
July 26:walk from Castell de Montjuïc – Mirador de l'Alcalde
July 26:walk from Castell de Montjuïc – through Poble Sec
July 27:walk to Park Güell
July 27:Park Güell 1
July 27:Park Güell 2
July 27:Park Güell 3
July 27:Gràcia
July 27:Passeig de Gràcia
July 27:Casa Amatller
July 27:into Ciutat Vella
July 27:Catedral + Roman Quarter
July 27:Roman Quarter
July 27:walk to Santa Maria del Mar
July 27:Santa Maria del Mar
July 27:walk to Palau Güell
July 27:Palau Güell
July 28:walk to Fundació Joan Miró
July 28:Fundació Joan Miró
July 28:walk from Fundació Joan Miró
July 29:departure from Barcelona