Walking around Helsinki (with Conversational Connectors)
So these are the "station dudes".
(This is a common meeting place. 'Let's meet under the dudes'.)
"_If I have understood correctly_, the Oodi library is pretty close."
(You're going to the wrong direction. Otherwise, well done.)
"Whoops! That was the wrong direction. Thank you, Mr. Text Box."
(The Oodi library)
"What kind of a spaceship is this?"
Photo by Bahnfrend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_Central_Library_Oodi#/media/File:Helsinki_Central_Library_Oodi,_2019_(01).jpg
"I'm going in. I'm not afraid of aliens."
(Oodi library's movie theatre) "_What is this?_(lit. what miracle is this?) Is there a movie theatre here?"
"Hi, pretty woman!" "F*** off. (lit. ski up someone's c***)"
"Wow, quite a harsh answer."
"3d printers and sewing machines... Looks like they don't have a single book here. Maybe crazy Finns hate books. They burned all of them?"
Third floor of Oodi
Photo by Ninaras https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki_Central_Library_Oodi#/media/File:Central_Library_Oodi_in_Helsinki_04.jpg
"Pheh! _Fortunately_ they do have books after all. _That reminds me_: _When I was a child_ when I had problems and I told grandma about them, she would usually say:"
"Years ago"
"_I'm not sure_ if it's always the best way to solve problems.
- Grandma used to swear like a sailor. _Kinda like_ the rude girl downstairs."
"The cursing/swearing hedgehog 7"
"So here are the comics. 'The swearing hedgehog'. This guy is swearing as well. Well for a good reason. Phones annoy me sometimes too."
"Hedgehogs are also sad. _Do you know why?_" "Well, tell me"
"Hedgehogs are sad, becaused nobody pats them." "_Oh, I didn't know that._ And who are you, _if I can ask_?"
"Oh me? I'm a library hamster. My name is Ham. I too used to be human. _It's a long story._ I won't bore you with it."
"Long time ago, in the 90s, I was a human, a beautiful girl, at least according to my mum I was beautifl. I read a lot of books. And I spent a lot of time in the library, _practically_ I lived there. Mostly I ate the pieces of salami and other things that others had dropped between the books."
"_One time_, I slept on a book... My saliva oozed on it wonderfully. That book will be valuable, once I become famous, when somebody makes a comic about me. When I woke up, I had turned into a hamster."
"Oh you poor thing. What a sad story."
"Don't you pity me! That's so annoying. I wouldn't even want to be a human. Humans are stupid barbarians. " "Sorry."
"But hey, _I would like to_ see the town a bit." "_Could you_ show me around? My name is John. I'm from Canada." "Ok, I can do that."
"I've only seen this library and the Central Railway Station." "_Is it ok_ if I first show you this nice statue." "Sure. Where is it?"
"It's in Jätkäsaari. We can go there by tram or by walking. My legs are pretty short though, so the walk can take some time." "I can carry you." "Very well. Let's go."
"Hello, beautiful boy." "Um, thank you for this cultural experience."
Photo by Heikki Kastemaa https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Bad_Boy#/media/Tiedosto:Tommi_Toija_Bad_Boy_2013.jpg
"_Could we_ go see something a bit more beautiful." "You don't understand anything about art. Well _let me think_. Ok, follow me."
National Museum of Finland
Photo by Thermos https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:National_Museum_of_Finland#/media/File:FinlandNationalMuseum.jpg
"_I have to admit that_ these are pretty beautiful."
"They depict scenes of Kalevala."
"Continues in the next part. Be patient."
Photo by Lauren Stevens https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:National_Museum_of_Finland#/media/File:The_National_Museum_of_Finland_on_28th_September_2014_ceiling_2.jpg