Holy Helsinki Batman!

  Helsinki, Finland
Wednesday, July 4, 2007

We arrived in Helsinki yesterday after taking the overnight ferry from Stockholm.  We decided to opt for the cheaper (reasonably affordable) option which meant that we didn't have a bed to sleep in for the ride but we found an unused conference room which gave us beautiful views out the side of the boat over the ocean, as well as spectacular sunset views.

Sunset over the Islands

We didn't realize how small Helsinki was when we got off the boat and trammed into town, but it still took us quite a while to get organized find out where our hostel was.  We ended up having Dan stay with the bags and Gabrielle ran off to find the nearest info center, which was staffed of course by multi, multi, multi lingual young people.  On average, they speak 5 or 6 languages.  We continue to be suitably embarrassed.  Dan, on the other hand, made a friend in the train station square.  He sat down on a park bench and ended up talking to the old guy sitting next to him.  The kind old gentleman offered him some vodka which Dan politely declined since it was only 10:30 am (you need to at least wait till after 12pm you lush!).  The intoxicated gentleman then proceeded to strike up a lively, if somewhat incoherent, conversation in which Dan believes he confessed to the assassination of JFK and then said something about sailing and university.  Soon the gentleman tottled off to find a new park bench and some other backpacker to enlighten.

Rare Treats

Gabrielle soon returned and we were able to find our hostel.  We checked in and set out to explore the city.  There were some awesome markets going on down by the water front as well as the fantastically picturesque Helsinki Cathedral.  We couldn't go in until later that evening due to a wedding being held inside.  The interior was fairly simple for most of it, but a few spots were incredibly detailed.  The simplicity of the rest of the cathedral only amplified this effect.  In the day the square of the cathedral was crowded with tourists but at night there was barely anyone there and it was beautiful to just sit and watch the sunlight fade, since the sun doesn't set until about 11pm here.

Sunset Helsinki

We checked out another church that was pretty close by and had some cool gold onion domes on top, as well as a glitzy interior and some good views over the city.  According to our guide book it is very Russian in style, which makes sense because Finland shares a border with Russia.  Strangely enough, despite the large number of Russian's we noticed here, not many Fin's seem to speak Russian (or haven't put it on their badges that they can).  I guess there still may be some old grudges or something.

Random Cool Church

The next day we caught a ferry out to the island fortress of Suomenlinna, originally built in 1748 as a military fortification to protect Finland's borders.  It's also a UNESCO world heritage site.  It inhabits several small islands but they are now mostly connected with bridges.  The area was beautiful to walk and have a picnic.  We also explored along the wall tops and in some cave fortifications that were used to survive artillery barrages.  There was also a fancy grave for the architect who built the place and some gorgeous parks.  The fortress went through ownership of the Swedes, the Fin's, the Russians, and then the Fin's again.  It has been used as a fortress, a jail, and then a fortress again before becoming a tourist site. 

Something about boys and Cannons

We hit the town again and just explored.  We ended up watching a free Jazz concert playing in the streets.  Apparently there are free concerts almost every afternoon and evening throughout the summer!  The band was fantastic and played some great tunes (nothing we recognized but they were great nonetheless). 

Street Jazz

We've really enjoyed our time in Helsinki and we never hit a single museum!  We head on Estonia tomorrow so it's goodbye to Scandinavia for us (our bank accounts are cheering).  It's an expensive place to travel but well worth it. 

All our best from Finland

Dan and Gabrielle