Atlantica - 01.09.2007, Page 46

44 A T L A N T I C A
Icelandair flies two times
weekly from Keflavík
International Airport
to Helsinki.
TOP THREE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DESIGN JUNKIES
1. Klaus K Hotel: The Coolest Hotel Digs. Ever. A member of the exclusive Design Hotels International, Klaus K’s
swank rooms are a perfect example of where understated design lends itself to consummate comfort. The rooms are
themed around moods depicted in the Finnish Kalevala tale—passion, mystical, desire and envy—and fine attention to
detail is paid at every corner, from the plush sheets to the double and triple-toned walls to the toiletries provided by the
exclusive Helsinki Day Spa, located inside the hotel. The breakfast buffet, with its fresh strawberries, fresher croissants,
and freshest squeezed carrot juice, among other breakfast delicacies, is enough to make you want to ask in advance if
you can have breakfast for lunch and dinner. klauskhotel.com
2. Helsinki Central Rail Station: With its foreboding clock tower and two pairs of statues holding illuminated globes
on either side of the main entrance, Helsinki’s rail station is as much an icon in the city as Grand Central Station is in
New York. Designed by renowned Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, the station opened in 1919 and is now the most
visited building in Finland, seeing almost 200,000 passengers a day.
3. Temppeliaukio church: Try to ignore the gaggle of tour buses that seem to be permanently stationed outside the
church because once you check out this stone-hewn edifice, you’ll never look at a church in the same way. Opened in
1969 and designed by Finnish architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, the exterior of the church resembles a
flattened UFO while the interior was excavated and built—literally—into the rock. Thanks to 180 panes of glass between
the top of the glazed dome and the rock wall, natural light floods the space. The church is often used as a concert venue
because of its superb acoustics, the quality of which is a result of the rough, virtually unworked, rock surfaces.
HELSINKIa
One Christmas, two years ago, the lamps
weren’t working. It was no big deal, we
just lit candles. We all know each
other by our voices.