Americans often equate cemeteries with sadness, loss, grief — not so in Finland, and Helsinki in particular. Here they stroll among the departed in one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have visited, Hietaniemi Cemetery which overlooks the bay of Lapinlahti.

This country known for its reserved people, yet home to Lordi, continues to delight me with fascinating juxtapositions such as this common date spot. It may sound spooky at first, but, once you step into the serene park-like grounds filled with art gallery quality sculptures, you understand why everyone will want to spend a significant amount of time exploring this eternal resting place.

Some of my better half’s relatives are buried here and his great grandfather, Eemil Halonen, was commissioned to sculpt several works here.

                                            (Relatives past and present.)

Since I have yet to find a historically significant artist in my family tree, I am adopting his. Let’s take a stroll through Hietaniemi and great-grandpa Eemil’s work…

           (I like the idea of this for us…holding hands into eternity; he’s not so sure.)

                                                       (One last song.)

                     (His mom recreating her pose; she was the muse for this one.)

                                              (Hands open to the heavens.)

Details: Hietaniemenkatu 20, 00100 Helsinki, Finland (address)