Embassies

I returned to Helsinki Wednesday afternoon after the conference and will be spending a few more days here for sightseeing. I like to see what the embassies look like in different cities (especially after living next door to one in Bratislava) and saw several in the central area of the city.

This is the Slovak Embassy, a rather undistinguished contemporary building on Annankantu. I don't know if it occupies the entire building, but that's the Slovak flag in front.

The U.S. Embassy is in a beautiful park-like setting in the southeast corner of Helsinki, near the water on Itäinen Puistotie. Here is one of only two pictures I have of the Embassy, barely visible behind an ominous steel fence.

I actually took several more, but a guard came out and made me delete them from my digital camera while he watched. He let me keep this one as it shows the Amerian flag, but he said that pictures showing the entrances to the complex are forbidden - yet another sad commentary on the hyper-security-conscious age we live in. The complex is quite beautiful, with several historic buildings, and a modern building on the street for people applying for visas. I also saw a huge white party tent that seems to have been the site a big party last night.

The British Embassy across the street is also surrounded by heavy metal fencing, but the U.S. guard wasn't concerned about letting me keep this image.

In a striking contrast, the French Embassy across from the U.S. Embassy is remarkably free of security gates. But I was surprised at the disappointing architecture and especially the tacky looking exterior surface.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.