Resting in Jyväskyla

I am waiting out the bad weather before beginning the next stage of the trip to Kuopio, which will take three days of modest cycling. Jyväskyla is the city that Alvar Aalto, the famous Finnish architect, spent his salad days. I visit the museum dedicated to his work, then wander the college campus where he designed most of the buildings. I am to admit I am not wowed by the architecture, though the buildings seem functional and practical, and like many Finnish buildings they tend to blend into the natural surroundings. The range of his work spans the elegance of Finlandia Hall, the only substantial building he designed in central Helsinki, to a dormitory at MIT in Boston. Altar's quick wit and eloquence impressed his first architectural mentor who told him that he should forget architecture and become a journalist. Fortunately, for Finland and the rest of his future clients, he stuck to his childhood dream of becoming an architect.

The city is perched next to a lake (so what else is new) and clustered on hills. On the highest hill at the center of the campus stands a campanila, designed by Aalto, who thought the the hills around Jyvaskyla reminded him of Tuscany. Slender cabled pedestrain and road bridges span the lake. The lakefront itself is a big park with blooming flowers and bike paths. The rest of the day is spent relaxing, grocery shopping and searching for a bike shop to buy oil for my chain. The thunderstorms have ceased, but it is still gray outside. Despite yesterday's monster ride, my body is bouncing back nicely. In the afternoon I take advantage of the sauna here in the summer hotel. My eyes have returned to full viewing capacity.