Having only seen the airport on the way in, we have now had a few days in Helsinki to have a look around and spend a little more time with Simon and Jatta who have come up from Turku.
Day before yesterday – what day is it ? – was just a transit day – our flight from Dublin airport was delayed about an hour by the time we took off and then our connection in Stockholm was about 90 minutes late but finally our Scandinavian Airlines flight bought us to Helsinki. We met up with Simon and Jatta at our apartment quite late – after 10.00 pm when our flight got in and they had recently arrived from Turku on the bus.
We had a great location in a 5th floor apartment in a relatively “new” looking area not far from the railway station. It is a really great spot !
Very nice apartment !
And Finland has put the weather on again ! Despite being very windy – and a storm last night – we have had 2 lovely days to explore what we think is a lovely city !
We started yesterday with a quick breakfast across the road at “Food & Co” it basically caters for the breakfast and lunch crowds in the nearby apartments and offices. We then walked back into the main part of the city, past the railway station and down to the market square / dock area.
Helsinki Railway station
We strolled through the pedestrian walkway parklands to the market square
After a quick look around the market stalls (the market is on every day) – quite a few were being literally “blown away” with the gale force winds – we boarded a ferry for the quick 10 minute ride to Suomenlina, a sea fortress dating back to 1748. The name now means Castle of Finland however it has been under Swedish, then Russian control over the centuries. In particular, the cannons lining the coastal edges face both east and west depending on who controlled the island. It is no longer under any military use and is in fact a UNESCO site as a sample of its military era. It is also in use now as civilian occupation with over 800 permanent residents.
Walking through some of the old fortifications
Battling the winds !
After we battled our way around the fort in the wind – including an interesting stop at the military museum which had a great exhibition of Finland’s involvement in the two world wars – we stopped for a coffee break out of the wind before boarding our ferry back into town.
Braving the winds on top of the ferry back to town
We walked back through the centre of town to the main shopping area then decided to head back to the apartment. We found an “Alko” – a bottleshop – to pick up some drinks to have on our balcony before dinner. “Alko” is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland. It is the only store in the country which retails beer over 5.5% ABV, wine (except in vineyards) and spirits.
For dinner, we walked to the nearby “Woolshed” for our taste of “home cooking” – not really, its just an “Australian Gastropub” themed restaurant but the meals were pretty good for an easy dinner. After a windy but mostly clear day, a thunderstorm rolled in while we were in the restaurant but we managed to get back to the apartment between downpours.
Today was more walking – the “churches and parks” circuit !
We had a lazy start and had bought a few bits at the local supermarket for our breakfast. The weather was bright blue skies for us – more wind but not quite as windy as yesterday. To start, we decided to do a loop around the lovely parklands nearby and branched off at one point to visit the “church in the rock”. It is literally a church built in the rock on a hill, in a domed shape with a domed roof and skylights to provide light all around. The roof of the dome has been lined with 22 kilometres of copper coil and the use of copper within the structure makes for a striking setting amongst the grey/green and copper colour of the rocks.
The large lake adjoining the parklands
The church in the rock
A quick stop for Adrienne to find a Christmas decoration for her “holidays collection” then it was back to the apartment via the parliament area. We were lucky to have a late checkout so after this we walked up to the railway station to put our luggage in the lockers for the rest of the afternoon until we left.
Parliament building
Back across the park to our apartment – in the middle
After securing our bags in the lockers, we headed for the two big churches to have a look around. First was the Lutheran church – Helsinki Cathedral. It was originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas’ Church until the independence of Finland in 1917.
Then it was off to the Orthodox church – Uspenski Cathedral. This was built between 1862 and 1868 and sits on a hill above the harbour. The contrast in the skyline between the white of the Lutheran church and red of the Orthodox church is quite striking from a distance.
As we arrived near the Orthodox church, we sensed a bit of “unusual” activity about ! Jatta had mentioned that Princess Mary of Denmark – “our Mary from Tassie” was in Finland – and in Helsinki and Turku – but she wasn’t sure of the days. During our walk she had “Googled” and realised Mary was in Helsinki today. We were walking past a fairly innocuous looking building but all of a sudden a group of very “official” looking characters walked along the entrance of the building and in the front door. At the same time, a couple of “official” looking “guards” seemed to be patrolling either end of the entrance to the building and a red carpet suddenly appeared at the front door ! So we decided to back our hunch and see who showed up. Sure enough, a little convoy with a Danish flag drove past and unloaded Mary at the front door. Well, the back of Mary anyway ! We couldn’t manage to sell our “back of Mary” photos to the late arriving paparazzi ! 😂
The Danish convoy
The back of Princess Mary 😂
After all our excitement, we stopped for a late lunch and then headed down to the parklands on the watersedge and circled back around to the market square. The walk is really nice with all the small islands nearby off shore.
Lots of nice restaurants and coffee spots along the water
We stopped at the market hall on the harbour to have a last coffee and watch the big ship leaving the harbour on its way to Stockholm before we wandered back to the railway station to collect our luggage and head on our separate ways – Simon & Jatta back to Turku and us to the airport. Poor Simon & Jatta, we have probably walked them off their feet as they showed us around Helsinki over the two days – it has been so nice to share the time with them !
One last coffee before we go ..
We are now in the lounge at Helsinki airport and have agreed that we have really enjoyed Helsinki as a city – a very relaxed place helped by great weather, a great location and great company ! Next stop Singapore ………
Today’s Tour Trivia – Helsinki is the northernmost city to host a summer Olympics (1952). It had originally been chosen to hold the 1940 games – cancelled due to WWII.