Helsinki, Finland

Stepping off the train in Helsinki - Michal and I were absolutely blown away.  We were immediately approached by a nice young lady, named Fanni, who welcomed us to her country.  Her English was impeccable.  She then asked if we needed help finding our Hotel or would like any maps with touristy suggestions during our stay in Helsinki.  We were left speechless.  I think our response was probably something like, "Um... yes?" She gave us all these awesome activities to do and see in Helsinki and what the most popular attractions were - Fanni also gave us recommendations on where to eat and shop.  Her directions to our Hotel were more than perfect and we couldn't believe that we were given such amazing service.  Because of Fanni, we immediately fell in love with Helsinki before even leaving the train station.

Per Fanni's recommendation we went to see the most popular attractions, and then afterwards decided to do a 6-8 km walking tour which would take us to "less popular" sites - but allow us to go explore more of the city.

Our first stop was to go to the Helsinki Cathedral, but on the way there, ran into the National Library.  It was more than massive - and made me happy to see lots of people exiting the library with books in (I assume) Finnish and English.

With the Helsinki Cathedral being the most popular attraction in this city, we made sure to document that we were here with plenty of pictures.

 This cathedral is Lutheran and when entering the inside - you can definitely tell - because there are no ornate and elaborate decorations adorning the wall.  Is is very plain and simple with a few artworks here and there.

Michal's favorite part of the inside was the Organ pipes (not as many as the MoTab) and the marble statue of Martin Luther.

We were thrilled to find people who asked us if we wanted our pictures taken together - in ENGLISH!

This square is really impressive - it is known as the Senate Square and we learned (from locals) that each year locals gather here to ring in the New Year.

 In the center of the Senate Square is the statue of Tsar Alexander II.  The popular tsar is surrounded by statues representing Law, Peace, Light, and Work.  Also, the year 1863 is carved into the granite base of the statue to mark the year when the tsar convened the 'Diet of Finland,' which began a period of national reforms. Since this statute is placed between the Cathedral and the Senate - it symbolizes the turning point between work and leisure.

 Our next stop was the other massive cathedral in Helsinki: Upenski Cathedral.  This cathedral is one of the clearest symbols of the Russian impact on Finnish history.  Besides the Lutheran Church, the Finnish Orthodox Church (located here) is one of the two official national churches in Finland and its members account for just over ONE percent of the population.  (Did I mention that Finn's aren't very religious?)

This was all we really got to see on the inside of the Orthodox Church.

Here is a view of the Lutheran Church from the Orthodox church's front door.

... and if you look carefully below you can see the orange tents - this was the outdoor Market which we were headed to next.

 The Market Square

 Michal was SO SO excited to eat this sausage - it was Reindeer Sausage.  I had to have a bite just to say that I had some, but it wasn't my cup of tea.  I think that I had some fruit instead.

Michal was also thrilled to notice that the trailer of this fruit stand was a BMW trailer.  Only Michal would notice something like this.

I think the cuter guy is sitting on the left.

After walking around much of the day, we decided to take the furthest walking tour which was around 6 km (appx 3.75 miles).

Here I am posing on the "Long Bridge" which still bears the scars of bombing from oth the Civil War of 1918 and the Second World War.  Isn't it such a flattering picture of me?  Can you tell how windy and cold it was?

 Here Michal shows off his "Boxing Skills" near the statue of The Boxers dating from 1932,

I found some fun finds too... Some awesome architecture and some awesome rock sculpture. I believe that the interesting rock sculpture is entitled, "The Torch" and was in memory of Miina Sillanpaa, the first female member of the Finnish Government as the Minister of Social Affairs.

Another one of my favorite finds on this tour.  A doggie pen.   A place to take your dogs to the park so that they can roughhouse and play with other dogs.  How clever.  Do you think we could every institute this idea in the United States?

 After wandering through many beautiful parks and walking paths we ended up at the Olympic Stadium, which was to host the 1940 Olympic Games - but never did because they were postponed due to the War.  However, later Helsinki was able to host the Summer Olympics in 1952 since they weren't able to complete their hosting assignment in 1940.  However, this is a very small stadium as it can currently hold 40k spectators.  To think that the BYU football stadium is larger just brings a smile to our faces!


Also located in front of the stadium is a statue of a legendary Finnish distance runner: Paavo Nurmi.  Nurmi competed in 3 Olympics in the 1920s and won a total of nine gold and three silver medals.


Next we traveled by the Parliament House which is one of the most famous edifices of Finland. It has 14 corinthian columns and the building constitutes a fine example of Finnish art and industrial design in the 1920s. The Parliament House is a complete work of art in which architecture, industrial design, workmanship, and art form a harmonious whole.

Here Michal is standing next to the famous equestrian statue of Field Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim which stands proudly beside the avenue bearing his name.  Mannerheim holds an unparalleled position in Finnish military and plitical history.  He served as Supreme Commander of the Finnish Army during WWI and subsequently also as President of the Republic. His birthday, June 4, is commemorated as Finnish Flag Day.

And to conclude our tour - the train station.  Which is Michal's highlight of any city.

After walking a total of around 18 km (appx 11 miles) this day, we were pooped and headed back to the Hotel to pack up and prepare to head back to Warsaw after being gone for a whole week.  It was surely a wonderful week - and I was so happy that I got to spend every minute of it with my best friend.   While Russia wasn't my favorite country, and in fact would probably rank on the very bottom of my list of places to recommend, I had fun exploring with Michal and learning new things about new cultures and peoples.