Helsinki [antikvár]

A lady author from London arrived in Helsinki. It was dark. My guest was tired and saw nothing of Helsinki as she drove by taxi to her hotel by the Market Square. At the crack of dawn I took her to my boat which was moored next to the Market Hall by special permission. My intention was to show her something of Helsinki. First we visited Suomenlinna Fortress and then we went swimming. The water inspired her to sing. The song was one of Tom Jones' most popular and told of cool clear water. While we were boiling potatoes in salt water near Lauttasaari my guest wondered why I hadn't bought fresh fish from the market where "the boats are full of fresh fish". She got her answer in a minute when I pulled a great cod from the water, filleted it and let it season for a moment on the salty potatoes. After lunch we went ashore at Taivallahti to drink coffee and watch the tennis players. We wandered through a beautiful green landscape to The Ball Park and then via the Elaintarha football field to the Laakso riding green, from where we proceeded in the shade of immense pines to Ruskeasuo. There we had afternoon coffee and saw how the Grefberg sisters played table tennis. On our way we saw one rabbit and about a dozen horses. At Tilkka Military Hospital we saw pheasants and a moose calf. "Lovely day" commented my Englishwoman and added: "My dear Gunnar, when are we going to get to Helsinki?" She seemed dismayed when I told her I had been showing her Helsinki the whole time. I took out a map to prove to her that we had not once passed beyond the boundaries of the city. "Now I understand what I didn't understand when you visited me in London and pined daily for the sea and the islands. Now I understand", she said. "You have it all here in this capital city." The next day we went to Kallio and climbed to the top parapet of Kallio Church. "You can almost see the entire world from here", she said. "At least all of Helsinki, which really is a good part of the world", I replied without my usual modesty. When we came to Hakaniemi Market