Rainy day in Finland
Trip Start
Aug 29, 2008
1
8
31
Trip End
Sep 20, 2008
Helsinki,
Southern Finland,
Finland
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
our second day there. The weather didn't look too promising but we
head out anyway.
We decided to get a little feel for finland's past we would visit
suomalinna - a great fortress just off the coast. We met some really
interesting folks from korea on the boat - I think they were on some
sort of Baltic tour. Anyway we got to the island a bit after 11 so
good time anyway. The only trouble is it was pouring!!
Apparently it rains a lot there....
We eventually decided to brave the elements anyway. It seems as though
the northern part of the fort is mostly still active - I think they
were doing some sort of exercises on this particular day. Interesting!
Many of the buildings didn't look all that old, actually and there was
a lot of work being done. Later, however, we make our way down to the
old fortress - it seems there are several layers to see , really. It
was originally a swedish outpost, later taken over by the russians
before findlly going over to Finland in the mid 1950s.
Anyway, there are all these tunnels and passageways - very rustic and
simple. The very end of the fort looks a bit castlelike, which is
pretty cool as well. And the views from here are spectacular - Finland
truly is a beautiful place!
In the afternoon we returned to Helsinki for a bit more shopping and
general siteseeing but the weather was going south pretty quickly.
There were tons more people about though and shopping there is a dream
as the Finns *never* bug you and always speak perfect English.
Our last stop before our great trek to the ferry was the national
museum. This looks small from the outside but like everything else in
Finland it is a bit more than meets the eye! On Tuesdays there is free
entry after 5:30, so this was a bit of a free bonus.
The museum had artifacts from every period of finland's great history.
It started with the first peoples, through to the Swedish royalty
(most of whom never even set foot on Finland), up to the russian czars
of the 1800s, and onto the revolution of 1918. For such a young
country they have quite a proud history. I was really impressed with
the completeness of the museum and everything it covered - really got
me interested in Finnish history.
The trek to the ferry was something else (we opted to sleep on the
boat), but I'd rather close this with my thoughts on Finland.
Finland truly is a unique place. I think it takes a bit of digging to
get at the heart if them but I do think they are happy to share their
great country with you. Helsinki reminds me a bit of a city in the UP
- fairly far removed from everything and I think that I'd how they
like it. I was very impressed with their English and the design there
is pretty neat. I'd like to return someday and get into the
countryside so I can get an even better feel for the place.
I was sad to leave Finland but I have many more cities to see.... Next
up is germany (with a quick stop in Tallinn).
