The first stop on our cruise was the port city and capital of Finland... Helsinki! Finland officially became my 40th country!
We had a day at sea the previous day so we were very much looking forward to getting on dry land. We took the MSC bus to the Market Square area and met up with some friendly turtles in the parking lot. These guys are just a pretty way of saying "don't drive your car in here!"
Market Square sits right between the water and the Office of the President of the Republic of Finland. The building's origins, however, begin in 1837 when it became the residence of the Governor-General of Finland back when it was autonomously part of the Russian Empire. Then Tsar Nicholas I decided he wanted it to be his Finnish residence. Since Finland was essentially under his rule, he also held the title of Grand Duke of Finland and therefore, he could take the palace for himself. But in 1917, Finland gained independence from Russia, and that was the end of that. It's been the residence of the President since 1919.
Market Square is definitely a cool place to hang out. You can get fresh fruits and vegetables, salmon soup, breads, souvenirs, local art, and even some reindeer burgers!
Todd and the kids checked out the fresh produce under the tents (gotta have 'em. Too many seagulls!)
The high on this day was 62 degrees F. And people were swimming in the pools! The Alles pools are set at 28 degrees C (or 82 F) and are open ALL YEAR ROUND!
The Sky Wheel, only open since 2014 gives you beautiful blue views of all of Helsinki. You can see two special cabins on the wheel. One is the "VIP Suite" where you get a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (and an hour on the wheel.) The cabin also has a clear floor (nope, no thanks!) There's also a cabin that serves as a sauna. Yes, you heard me. A sauna. And that package includes time in a hot tub down on the deck, too!
Of course, we have kids with us so we opted for the far less expensive blue cabin (ha!) on the Sky Wheel and hilariously, it made EVERY one of our pictures blue! Didn't they think that through? The views are very pretty though - especially of the Helsinki Cathedral.
Hello Alles pools, docks, and Market Square, all decked out in blue.
So the funniest thing happened... Grant noticed on more than one occasion that there was a hair tie on the ground. It was the weirdest thing. He just kept finding them! We found this one after we exited the Sky Wheel!
The Uspenski Cathedral is one of two prominent churches in the Helsinki skyline. Finished in 1868, it's the largest Orthodox church in western Europe. Superlative, check! Or... maybe. This is their claim, although I'm not sure what their definition of western Europe is, because Greece is technically in western Europe (at least according to the United Nations) and and there is an Orthodox church in Athens that is larger. Alexander II was the Grand Duchy of Finland during it's construction, as he did lots of good things for Finland, such as expanding their autonomy.
Inside of the Uspenski Cathedral, there are many relics - some of which have been stolen in recent years. Among them, a painting of St. Nicholas (you know, the guy we saw in Bari, Italy), who coincidentally is the patron saint of repentant thieves. It has not been recovered.
I'll say one thing about the Orthodox church in general... it's certainly the most colorful! I never tire of them!
Soon it was time for lunch. The kids wanted pizza. We did not. But we did want to sample the local beer. So we did just that!
The kids tore up the pizza at Pizzeria Via Tribunali while we waited patiently.
We absolutely had to go and see the Helsinki Cathedral as it's probably the most famous landmark in the entire city, but it's not featured on the manhole covers of Helsinki! I like them anyway.
Here's the fam, in Senate Square in front of both the Helsinki Cathedral and the statue of Tsar Alexander II, or as the Finn's know him, "The Good Tsar."
The Helsinki Cathedral was originally named St. Nicholas Church from it's construction completion in 1852 for the Grand Duke of Finland at the time, Tsar Nicholas I (Alexander II's father), and it remained so right up to when Finland gained independence in 1917.
The inside of the cathedral is somewhat underwhelming. It's a Lutheran church, so it's understated interior can't really compete with those of the Orthodox faith. But that's just what you're going to get with Lutheran churches as they do not believe in being flashy.
The organ is pretty impressive, though! And someone was actually playing it when we were in there!
It always makes me laugh when pews are really high. Grant barely could see over this one. But don't worry, that statue of Martin Luther on the left could see the altar!
We went back out into Senate Square and there were about a billion tour buses out there.
Grant is a fan of funny hats, so he bought this silly Viking hat. Isn't he the cutest?
Back in Market Square, Grant wanted some strawberries. So Daddy did a little shopping.
My little Viking was forced to share them, but he ate almost the entire basket! Meanwhile, Daddy and I had to eat more authentic Finnish foods. Todd had a crepe of sorts, while I opted for the reindeer burger! Yum! (Also, it was on my scratch off food map!)
After a food break, we had to catch the ferry out to the Suomenlinna Fortress.
Baileys on a boat, headed to a fortress.
Goodbye Helsinki! We'll be back in a bit!
There are lots of very old rocky bedrock islands between the city and the fortress.
The seagulls wanted to follow us out to Suomenlinna.
Reminder that I'm on a boat.
When we got to the island, naturally someone had to go to the bathroom. While I waited, I noticed these cool little lock boxes where you can charge your cell phone! Europe really thinks of everything.
We didn't have a ton of time to explore the island, but once you go through the tunnel that's under the brewery and the restaurant, you are greeted by the Russian trading block. As the sign says, "The ornamented wooden houses along the road used to belong to Russian garrison traders. These supplied goods for military and civilian needs, also acting as pharmacists, butchers, innkeepers, bakers and building contractors for the whole garrison area." The first of these types of buildings/homes were built in the late 1700s and six of the original buildings are still standing. They currently serve as shops, cafes and other privately owned businesses.
The Suomenlinna church was built as a Russian Orthodox church in 1854, as a church for the garrison. It was eventually converted to a Lutheran church. A lighthouse still functions in the steeple. Interestingly, this lighthouse gives four little flashes - in Morse code, that means "H" which stands for Helsinki.
This series of two connected islands is pretty vast and would definitely take an entire day to see most of it. It's a World Heritage Site and construction was started in 1748 - back when Finland was still a part of Sweden. They built it, ironically, to protect "Sweden" from the Russians. Of course, in 1809, Finland because a part of Russia. The name Suomenlinna means, "the Castle of Finland." One cool fact - about 800 people live here year round!
Also on the island is the submarine Vesikko. We didn't go in (because it was for an extra fee and we knew we didn't have a ton of time left) but it is an old World War II submarine that used to house about 20 members of the military as they made their rounds in the nearby waters. However, after World War II, in 1947, Finland was forbidden to have submarines anymore (what?) so this is where this one now resides. Above the water!
Barnacle geese are a staple on Suomenlinna. Here we found a little family of them!
It really is a beautiful island. I would have loved more time to explore.
Time to head back across the bridge toward the church and the boat.
All aboard with Daddy!
Eeeek, it's my dream to live in a tiny house on an island like this! Preferably somewhere warmer, but still. The name of this island is Katajanokanluoto (nope, no idea how to pronounce that) and this was originally the harbor pilot's guardhouse. It was built in 1876 (originally) but this building is from the early 2000s. There's no running water and no electricity here. It was most recently owned by a fishing magnet who bought it for 1.4 million but OH there was some drama. Apparently in 2002, he set the place on fire and was totally busted for it and convicted in 2007.
I feel like I didn't have enough time to explore Helsinki, so it would definitely be worth coming back for a visit. But ONLY in the summer!
Until next time, Helsinki!
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