Helsinki, Finland

Tuesday May 20

Last night sailing to Helsinki we got an hour back on the clock so we caught up on some sleep and were nice and refreshed for our SPB tour today. It was 11:15pm last night before we turned our watches back and it was still light outside!

Going to bed and it's still light

We met our guide, Tania and headed off on the coach with 22 other people from our ship. Our first stop was Senate Square with the Lutheran church - St Nicholas Cathedral - overlooking it and offering a great view over the city. Compared to the churches we visited in St. Petersburg, the inside of this one was very austere (much like the Finns themselves) and it is actually used for services and not just as a tourist attraction.

St. Nicholas Cathedral

Our next stop was at the Olympic Stadium where Helsinki hosted the 1952 games. They were meant to host them in 1940 but, due to the war, their turn was postponed. The statue in front of the stadium is of their most famous athlete, Paavo Nurmi, the winner of 9 gold medals and 3 silver medals from the 1920, 1924 and 1928 games. He also set 22 world records during his career - quite an athlete!

The Olympic Stadium

Helsinki sits on top of granite rock and you can see it everywhere throughout the city and especially in the parks. The monument to Sibelius, their famous composer (he wrote Finlandia), is constructed on an outcrop of granite overlooking a lovely park and bay and apparently when it rains or is windy, the monument makes musical sounds but we didn't experience any on such a warm sunny day.

The monument to Sibelius

Our last stop was at the Church in the Rock and it is literally carved into the bedrock and covered with an enormous copper dome. Again, this church is used for services and seats about 1,000 people. It was very peaceful just sitting and taking in the marvellous natural setting and the brilliant architecture.

Noelle at the Church in the Rock

Helsinki has a number of interesting buildings with totally different architectural styles to the other Nordic countries we've visited and the railway station that was built in 1909 was one of them.

Helsinki Railway Station

As we didn't have very long in port today, we couldn't stroll around the city to see some of the other attractions there and people watch but from what our guide told us, the Finns like to keep their distance and hardly speak to their neighbours unless they are in a sauna (with no clothes on)!

 

Posted with Blogsy