Right before sunsrise

Helsinki, Finland. Photo by Monika Csapo

It was early in the morning when I took this photo. I had to walk from the railway station to the harbor because there were no trams going yet. It was interesting to walk the empty streets of Helsinki early Sunday morning where the only people besides me were a policeman, some security guys and street cleaners. Actually I have never seen the city so empty before.

As the boat left the harbor it was still dark. I arrived at 7:15 am on the island, and although I could see lights in some windows, there was no one outside on the streets. The atmosphere was a nice mixture of comfort and solitude this way that I saw that also others were already awake, but I could enjoy the empty space and silence around me still.

I downloaded a compass-app, but it was so cold and windy that I did not have the patience to read the instructions so I just started to walk towards the direction where I saw that the sky was getting brighter. I walked around the island by the shore, this is how I got to this place.

I liked the blue shades of dawn mixed with the green of the sea and the white-yellow of the street lamps. Also the whole scene had a certain dynamic, this is why I decided to take the first photos here.

After approximately ten minutes I continued moving, because it was impossible to stand still for so long time in the cold weather. The sun did not rise (visibly) instead of that I landed in the middle of a random snow storm.  I could continue listing all the other things I saw on the way, but all these are so minor and insignificant compared to the general feel of being alone on the empty streets at dawn so close to nature seeing how a morning really looks like when there is no noise around.

The most impressive experience was when I walked over the bridge on the island and a sea breeze came from the right. I could see the wind diving into the water and continuing "running" in parallel lines in it like some water snakes swimming under the surface just like as if it would be some surrealistic movie. It was an amazing view and also a very deep natural experience. I really suggest to everyone to get up at least once in his life before sunrise and go to nature to see how it looks like when life starts on that day.