Arrival was into Meikki quay, an area of reclaimed land, being turned into parklands and new housing over the next couple of years, it looks a bit daggy now, but will be beautiful when it's finished.
After brekky at our Irish Pub on board we ventured off to meet up with our tour guide from SPB Tours once again. While we were waiting we got chatting to a lovely lady originally from Hobart, now a resident for 14 years, and a tour operator running food tours of Helsinki.
Our guide George and driver arrived and we began our 5 hour tour.
We passed a beautiful parkland called Kaivopuisto, the drive followed the coast line, the scenery was really pretty. Finland has turned on a great day for us, it's the second sunny day this year.
Next up a city central drive before stopping for 45 minutes at Centre Square to visit the waterfront markets and the city hall. The markets were full of stalls selling the usual tourist souvenirs, fresh local salmon, lots of fish, and a multitude of delicious summer fruits. Naturally I got several bags of berries etc. and a couple of gifts for the little kids at home. The market was great, way better than the tacky stores from yesterday.
All too soon it was time to get back on the bus to head off sightseeing. We passed the Central Railway station, and had a stop for photos at the Olympic Stadium, built for the 1952 Olympics. It is still a working stadium and has many events annually. It holds 42000, not a big stadium compared to the one in Melbourne!
We continued to enjoy seeing the sights of this lovely city before heading out to an open air museum, representing the Finnish building traditions from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The walk around was fabulous, quite lengthy, but an easy walk, and the sun and sights made it even more enjoyable.
Morning tea was provided at a gorgeous restaurant, they served coffee and a cinnamon scroll, delicious!
The buildings we visited depicted life in the harsh environment of a year that sees many many months of darkness, and extreme cold, very similar, but also very different to what we saw in Alaska, small windows, to retain heat.
The new bulbs are prolific, and must be a welcome sight after so many months of darkness. I am sure it's not our life style choice.
Finland has about 200 thousand lakes, and consequently boating is a popular pastime, that's when the lakes are not frozen golf courses!
The population is around 5.4 million, and has 900 thousand registered boats!! 40 percent are Lutheran, education is free, for all ... As is health care. Each person drinks about 16 kilos of coffee each a year on average ...They must never sleep!
Sibelius Monument was our next stop, quite unique, designed and built by a woman over 6 years, it cost her her life in the end. It was made up of 600 pieces of different size steel pipe, all welded and sculptured with filigree ... Will post a photo later. In the cold windy days it produces a musical tune, although who the heck would stand on the headland to listen??? Not this black duck for sure.
Very unique and quite similar in its 'popularity' to the Yellow Peril in Melbourne.
Our last stop was at the Church in the Rock called Temppeliaukio. It was built over 10 years, and is quite remarkable. It is still a functioning church. Warren lasted just a couple of minutes. His church quota was exceeded yesterday by about 15 or so!
Finally a stop in at the souvenir shops at the wharf, everything is so very expensive, so not much purchased here. Just the shot glass!
Free wifi continued onto the ship, so we sat on the pool deck, and waited for the sailaway party that didn't happen and came back to our cabin for a rest. It's a hard life you know!
Sail out was very lovely, big ferries coming and going
No comments:
Post a Comment