I feel that
Finland is sometimes overshadowed by its Nordic siblings Norway and Sweden but
it is a very nice and interesting place to visit! The ship docked for four days
in Helsinki, a walkable, small city located in a country for whom Santa Claus
is a national hero (you know, reindeer can’t live on the North Pole because
it’s too cold. However they thrive in Finland and therefore, this is where
Santa really lives). Finland is the most sparsely populated country in the
European Union with one million of the country’s five million inhabitants
living in Greater Helsinki. Although Helsinki is the country’s largest city, it
still feels small and quaint. If you’d like to visit Helsinki, here is what I
recommend you do:
--Churches: There
are a number of interesting churches to visit in Helsinki. The first is the
Lutheran Cathedral which demands attention on the Helsinki skyline. The church
was initially built in the 1800s but was recently refurbished. The exterior is
more ornate than the interior, which reminds me of the Lutheran church I
attended growing up: reserved and unassuming with green furnishings (not sure
what the significance of the color green is for Lutherans but this is always
what I find).
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| Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki. |
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| View of the Lutheran Cathedral on the Helsinki skyline. |
I also visited
the Church on the Rock, which is a church literally dug into the side of a
rock. The Rock Church is minimalistic, unlike the Uspenski Church. Upsenki is a
Russian Orthodox church and if you read my postings about St. Petersburg you
understand how much Russians like their ornate furnishings. Upsenki was a bit
more reserved than the churches I visited in St. Petersburg but much more
decorative than the other Helsinki churches. P.S. all of these churches were
free (big thumbs up!).
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| Inside the Church on the Rock in Helsinki. |
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| Front entrance of the Church on the Rock. |
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| Upsenki Church in Helsinki. |
--Suomenlinna
Island: A UNESCO World Heritage site, Suomenlinna Island was once one of the
greatest sea fortresses in the Baltic. Work began on the Suomenlinna fortress
in the 1700s by the Swedes but it took forever to complete. When the Russians
showed up in the early 1800s, the fortress wasn’t finished so Swedes didn’t
even put up a fight and conceded Finland to the advancing army. And so began
Russian rule of Finland. I only spent a half day on the island but you could
spend the whole day if you brought a picnic lunch and checked out the sites including the beaches and swimming holes.
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| Inside the Suomenlinna fortress. |
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| Monument on Suomenlinna Island. |
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| View of Helsinki from Suomenlinna Island. |
--Markets:
Market Square and the Old Market Hall were full of freshly picked raspberries,
strawberries and blueberries. Fresh fruit may not sound like anything to write
home about but I’ve been living on ship rations basically since January and
cannot eat another melon variety. Berries were calling my name in Helsinki and
these markets were the places to get them! Market Square also has a section
selling souvenirs. Available souvenirs include reindeer items including
antlers, skins and jerky (no, I didn’t purchase skins or antlers but reindeer jerky
was good!).
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| View of Market Square from the Upsenki Church. |
--Go to
Tallinn, Estonia: Tallinn is only a two hour ferry ride from Helsinki so I
spent one day in this city. Why not add another country to my list this
summer?! Read more about Tallinn in my next blog post.
