Helsinki Finland

We were excited to be able to visit Finland and Helsinki. We knew it was way up in the north land and we knew it was the site of the planned 1940 Olympic games that were cancelled due to World War II. What we learned is that this is a vibrant city with beautiful parks and landmark buildings. Helsinki was established as a port and trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors to compete with the hanseatic city of Reval (today known as Tallinn). Helsinki is called the "Daughter of the Baltic" and is located on the tip of a peninsula and encompasses a remarkable 315 islands. The city has about 11,000 boat slips, so if you don't care for boats this is not the place for you. We were not surprised to be told that almost everybody fishes here and that the fish are plentiful in 60 varieties. 

We took a boat ride (what else would you do with all of these islands) through the islands and enjoyed a beautiful late spring day. Along the way we learned that this port city is home to a fleet of icebreakers that keep waterways open during the long winters filled with cold, little daylight, days.  Glad they were not needed while we were there! We visited the open air market filled with fresh seafood, flowers, and local artisans displaying handmade crafts and jewelry made out of Finland's national gemstone, spectrolite. Spectrolite which captures rich blues and greens reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights), is thought to bring good luck. Of course we had to buy some ;-)! We topped off our day with a coach ride to see some more of the sights of the city. 

Kontio is a Finnish state-owned icebreaker as they need these up here. It was Built by Wartsia Helsinki shipyard in 1987

The most photographed sight in the city is Helsinki Cathedral (Finish:Helsingin tuomiokirkko, Suurkirkko), the Finish Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral is located right in the centre of the city. The church was built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicolas I of Russia.  It was also known as St Nicholas' Church until the  independence of Finland in 1917. It is perched at the top of a great staircase on a large square and towers over the harbour facing buildings so it can be seen from afar.

The Sibelius Monument dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. 

The Sibelius Monument sits in a beautiful park and is made up of a series of more than 600 steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern. The artist created the abstract piece to capture the essence of the music of Sibelius. We were told that the monument actually plays tunes when the wind blows across the pipes but there was no wind when we were there.

The Olympiastadion (Finish: Helsingin Olympiastadion)

Construction of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) was completed in 1938 to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which had been moved from Tokyo to Helsinki but those games didn't happen because they were cancelled due to World War II. After the war the stadium found its place as Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics.

 Vesikko is one of the five submarines
 to serve in the Finnish Navy 

Our ride for a tour around the islands

Suomenlinna fortress

Suomenlinna, (Viapori in Finish and Sveaborg in Swedish) is an expansive sea fortress that spans six islands. The Swedish crown began building the fortress in 1748 to protect from Russian expansion.  The fortifications were designed to hold the inventory of munitions for the entire Swedish Army and the Swedish Navy. The fortress was surrendered to Russian in May of 1808 during what was called the Finish War leading to the occupation of Finland by Russian forces.