Suomi - Finland
Once again the ferry sailed slowly around hundreds of islands
The Åland Islands are outside the EU custom zone so duty free alcohol is sold on board any ferry that stops at Mariehamn. The ticket price is relatively cheap, I paid €16 fxor a five hour crossing, so lots of people from Sweden and Finland do the return trip on the ferry as a day out and stock-up with duty free. It was the eve of the Mid Summer Festival, the biggest public holiday of the year and when I got off the ferry in Turku there were people wheeling sack trucks piled to shoulder height with alcohol ready for the Mid Summer partying.
It was about 8 pm when the ferry docked in Turku and the port was a few kilometres from the room that I had booked for the night. I was really pleased that I managed to sort out the public transport system and got a bus to the right place by showing the driver the location on a map on my phone. When I got off I was struck by how different the buildings looked compared to the ones in Sweden and Norway. They reminded me of when I was in Russia over 30 years ago.
As I had changed my travel plans I booked a room at the last minute and wasn’t sure what it would be like as it was fairly cheap. It turned out to be a fabulous recently renovated, independent hotel in a former private house built in 1902. I was very hungry when I arrived and although they didn’t have a restaurant the woman on the reception desk made me an open-sandwich, salad and cheese on rye bread with a few gherkins. I took it up to my room with a bottle of Finnish beer to watch the Netherlands v Canada Women’s World Cup game.
My room at the hotel in Turku.
Before she went to sleep Lucy changed her Åland flag badge for her Finland one
Because of the holiday there was a limited train service and everything was closed at the station, just a door open to the platform. But there were three trains running to Helsinki and I bought an on-line ticket for the VR inter-city express. When I arrived in Helsinki, the Tourist Information Office was closed for Midsummer, but the trams were running so I bought a 72-hour mobile travel card and went out to explore and took photos of the railway station. .
I loved the architecture of Helsinki railway station
One of the bonfires to mark the start of the Midsummer celebrations
Hyvää Juhannus Viikonloppuna Suomesta! Lucy tells me that is Happy Midsummer weekend from Finland. To start the weekend celebrations bonfires are lit along the coast. I tought the boat trip to see them would be mainly for tourists, but most people on board were Finnish starting their weekend partying on board. I chatted to a Finnish couple and then shared a table with Lena, a young Polish woman. She was returning to Poland on Sunday after working in Helsinki for the last couple of years, so she was able to give me a lot of advice about things to do. Most people were drinking bottles of sparkling wine but we both ordered a gin and tonic. They called it a G&T but if came in a can, was 5% proof, mixed with grapefruit juice and cost about £12.
On board the boat
A rare selfie, just to prove that I really did do this journey with Lucy and she hasn’t made it all up.
Returning to Helsinki
It was a great evening with a beautiful sunset, lots of islands, bonfires and good conversation. When we got off the boat Lena and I stopped at a bar before I returned to my hotel. I found that people were still partying so I ordered a Johnnie Walker and joined them. A single shot was €15, but it was mid summer and my first proper drink since I have been away. A wonderful long first day in Finland.
Like many people in Helsinki that morning, I woke up late and spent a leisurely morning lounging around at the hotel, a restored warehouse in the dock area of Helsinki.
Photos of the hotel before restoration
And as it is today
Lucy liked the chair in her room
Like much of Helsinki the dock area, including the hotel where I stayed has been restored to its former glory. Finland has a history of turmoil. It was dominated by Sweden from the 1300s and ceded to Russia in 1809. Independence was gained in 1917, but following defeat by the Soviet Union during WWII it was greatly influenced by Moscow until the end of the Cold War, hence the Russian architecture.
I spent the afternoon wandering around Katajanokka, the dock and harbour area, taking photographs of architectural features: brickwork, windows, doorways etc.
Then I returned to my hotel for the special Midsummer buffet. It was like a 4-course Christmas dinner with a huge selection of dishes to choose from. Soup, and a salad bar, then a huge sea trout, like a whole salmon and you took a chunk, served with courgettes, the inevitab gherkins and cranberries, (they come with everything) a horse radish sauce and mash. This was followed by blueberry pie with strawberries and vanilla mousse and coffee. After dinner, the light was really good so I went out again to walk off my dinner and take more photographs.
Three very different churches
Helsingin tuomiokirkko. - Helsinki Cathedral
The cathedral was build as a tribute to Tzar Nicholas I of Russia,
Temppeliaukion Kirkko - The Church of the Rock
Senate Square is the neoclassical heart of the city and most of the surrounding buildings were designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, an influential 19th century German architect who moved to Finland in the early 1800s.
I spotted this statue while I was on a tram and got off to take a photograph. It was unveiled in 1932, and depicts three naked smiths hammering on an anvil.
The Olympic stadium is being renovated so I was unable to visit it. But it gives me a reason to return to this fascinating city as there is so much more to see here
Comments
Post a Comment