My Journey Home through Europe

My fellowship at the Finnish Institute in Rome ended at the end of August, and I decided to travel from Rome back to Finland by train. This was the first time I chose to travel like this instead of flying. I'd thought about this option, but I never had the time or the money to do it. Flying is still so much cheaper and easier. But this time I had enough time to travel across Europe, and I even got a travel grant from the The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland to attend a conference in Bordeaux along the way.

On my way from Rome to Paris.

I bought a seven day interrail-pass and booked seats in all the trains and a couple hotels along the way. I wanted to stop in a few cities such as Cologne and Copenhagen. My preparations also included sending my big suitcase to Finland in advance. Luckily, one of my acquaintances in Rome was flying to Finland and took my suitcase with her. I could now travel with only a backpack and a carry-on. Some items, such as the horn of a gramophone I'd just bought at the Porta Portese market in Rome, I had to carry with me in an Ikea-bag.

The train rode along the lake Geneva.

I departed from Rome in the morning on Saturday 27th of August and headed to Paris. The best views along this leg of my trip were along the ride between Milan and Geneva, where the train passed through the Alps, along deep mountain passes and the Lake Geneva. I arrived in Paris late in the evening. I stayed overnight and spent almost all day on Sunday at the Louvre. In the evening I picked up my stuff from the hotel and took a train to Bordeaux.

My new favorite item at the Louvre, an owl dressed up in military equipment.

In Bordeaux I attended a conference of Greek and Roman epigraphy (CIEGL 2022). I had been accepted to present a poster on my doctoral research (you can see the poster here). The most memorable moments of the conference were all the meetings with colleagues, a reception at the archaeological museum of Bordeaux after hours, where we could freely explore the museum, and a trip to Perigueux, where we got to know the Roman history of the city and visit the excellent Vesunna Museum.

The modern conference resembles the pilgrimage...

Presenting my poster. (Photo: Alessandra Tafaro).

On Friday morning 2nd of September I left Bordeaux and took a train to Cologne where I arrived in the afternoon. Right outside the railway station I was greeted by the impressive silhouette of the Cologne Cathedral. I took my stuff to the hotel and headed right away to the cathedral. It's just as magnificent as I'd heard. Two huge spires, high gothic arches, colorful stained glass windows, and curious details everywhere. Under the church some Roman architectural remains could be seen. I, of course, wanted to climb up to one of spires which had an amazing view over the city. It was an ascent of some 100 meters and over 500 steps.

Cologne Cathedral.

Next day I visited the Roman-German Museum, which is temporarily housed in a different and smaller place due to a renovation of the museum. The exhibition was, nonetheless, excellently organized. Items were grouped thematically and the Roman history of Cologne was presented in a chronological order. I was particularly impressed by the collection of Roman glassware. In addition to this museum, there was another temporary exhibition "Rom am Rhein" across the street. This exhibition showcased many of the same themes as the Roman-German Museum, but I was disappointed by the poor execution and incoherence of the exhibition. There were plenty of interesting items on display but there was very little information and the items were left detached from a larger historical and cultural context, and there was seemingly no common thread running through the exhibition. Still, I was happy with the collections of Roman items I'd seen that day. Finally I took a walk around some of the Roman sights in the city such as a piece of a Roman street, a piece of an aqueduct and some city walls.

Roman glassware at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum of Cologne.

I departed from Cologne on Saturday evening and headed towards Copenhagen. I had an overnight 12 hour train ride without a sleeper car ahead of me. I was prepared with snacks and several episodes of various TV series. The journey went without incidents, except for a one and a half hour stop before the Danish border. Apparently the only reason for the long stop was to delay the arrival of the train in Copenhagen. Without the stop the train would have arrived around 5 am. When we got to the border the train stopped for passport inspection and Danish officials boarded the train. One family traveling with two young children were forced to disembark because they couldn't present valid travel documents. They were promised a place to stay the night and that they could continue their journey once their documents would be cleared.

The train arrived in Copenhagen on Sunday morning around 7 am. I had booked a hotel right next to the railway station. I left my luggage at the reception, ate breakfast at the hotel, and then headed to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. I was at the door of the museum a little before opening time so I was one of the first ones in.

Waiting for the museum to open.

The sculptural collections of the Glyptotek.

I had long been waiting for a chance to visit the Glyptotek which houses a grand collection of Greek and Roman sculptures. The museum is also known for colorful reconstructions of some of their sculptures. The replicas have been painted with the colors that scholars think the original sculptures had. These painted copies have given rise to varied reactions, but they represent the original polychromatic style of the sculptures. There was also a concert at the museum that day with music from Mozart and Brahms.

Here are a few examples of the painted sculptures:

On Monday morning I continued my journey from Copenhagen to Stockholm where I arrived in the afternoon. I walked with my luggage to the old city of Stockholm where I bought some souvenirs. I had planned to visit the Fotografiska Museet, but in the end I was so tired and there was so little time that I just walked to the ferry terminal to wait for the departure of of the ship that would take me across the Baltic Sea to Finland. I finally arrived in Turku early in the morning of Tuesday 6th of September.

The ferry arriving in Turku.

That was the end of my journey from Rome to Finland, and the end of my one-year-long fellowship at the Finnish Institute in Rome. I've already settled back in my old apartment in Turku and started working as a doctoral researcher at the University of Turku. I will continue my research here at least for the next couple of years. My year in Rome was wonderful but I'm glad to be back home again.

The last leg of my journey: the city ferry Föri took me across the Aura River.

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All photos are my own unless mentioned otherwise.