Helsinki, Finland ... a refreshing change

What a contrast from St. Petersburg!  We have gone from seeing historical buildings that are all about pomp and flash to Helsinki’s by comparison, austere and natural appearance.  Approximately 90 % of the population is Evangelical Lutheran and much of the rest is eastern Orthodox.  The Protestant reformation is very evident here with minimal ornamentation of churches and other buildings. Helsinki has a long history, much of it connected to either Russia or the other Scandinavian countries. From the 13^th to the 17^th centuries, Finland was under the control of Sweden. From that time, until the early 19^th century they were under the control of Russia. At the time of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, Finland declared itself a sovereign state. 

Helsinki skyline from the boat

 

In Helsinki, Gail escorted a three hour walking tour of tour of the city.  It started from the Senate Square, where the buildings were first constructed in the early 1800’s.  They visited the Railway building,  the National museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Music Academy, a modern building which features amazing sculptures.  The most remarkable site was the Rock Church, a church blasted out of solid rock.  It is a natural, incredible, unique structure with a solid copper roof that provides for some fantastic acoustics.  Many concerts are held in this building and we were privileged to hear a remarkable Chinese children’s choir.

Senate square

Rock Church entrance

Rock Church interior

New Music Academy interior

 

John spent the day wandering around the town.  He ended up taking a bus tour of the city along with a one and a half hour boat tour of the harbour.  In between the two tours, he had lunch with the locals at the market square where fresh fish is brought in from the boats and cooked right there in small, tented diners.  The meal was wonderful and consisted of some potatoes and four different kinds of fish, one of which are tiny fish that are eaten whole (head and all). The harbour tour around the islands was very reminiscent of northern Ontario, perhaps Lake Nipissing or the Haliburton region. 

Uspenski Cathedral - Orthodox

Rocky islands of the archipelago

City is built on rocky islands

one of the many gardens

 

This city is very proud of its culture.  In spite of a population of only 500,000 it has a number of museums, a concert hall with its own orchestra, an opera hall with two stages, a music academy, and anything that smacks of Sibelius is revered. Helsinki is a small city, full of parks, some dedicated just for dogs.  The people are friendly, most speaking English quite well, and they seem cheerful despite the long winters.  Indeed, it is a striking contrast to Russia.

Today, Tuesday, we have a day at sea with another art class. Tomorrow we dock in Germany where Gail and John are both escorting 13 ½ hour tours to Berlin.