Helsinki Finland!

Our next port was Helsinki Finland. This tour included highlights of Helsinki along with a visit to Porvoo. Before heading to Porvoo, we saw the Embassy Park, The Market Square, Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral and the Presidential Palace before we made a brief stop at the Senate Square. Helsinki’s lively Senate Square is dominated by the city’s main landmark, the Lutheran Cathedral, constructed in 1852. The cathedral is particularly striking: aside from its imposing location atop numerous steps, it has an oversized central copper clad dome that is green with oxidation. Other buildings in the Square are the Palace of the Council of State, built in 1822 and the University buildings. In the center of the square is a
statue of the Russian Czar Alexander II, created in 1894. You’ll see it in one of my pictures. We also saw the New Opera House, the Finlandia Hall, the National Museum, the Parliament House and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art designed by American architect, Steven Holl. Then it was eastward to Porvoo. We were served a very nice lunch at a leading hotel/restaurant on the outskirts of Porvoo ~ Haikko Manor House. It was a really beautiful hotel and we enjoyed the lunch very much. We were seated with at a table with an older couple from New York. Greg and I enjoyed talking with them very much. Our lunch was delicious!!

After lunch we went to a majestic medieval Cathedral. Inside….wow. I couldn’t stop taking pictures but sadly, it was so dark that all my photos are blurred because the shutter was open so long. We made a photo stop at the Old Bridge of Porvoo and then had time to do some shopping. I have pictures of the little shops along the cobblestone streets. It was such a pretty little place. From there we went to Porvoo Station where we took a private Steam Train ride on Lili. The train was named Lili after the wife of the man who designed it. We took a 40-minute ride to Hinthaara. Passing farms and many cedar trees. It was beautiful countryside.

We returned to Helsinki and went to the old Sipoo Church, one of the oldest granite churches in the country. It was built early in the 15th century and the vaulted paintings are exceptionally interesting. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of the ceilings. In fact, I was so busy taking pictures that I was late getting back to the bus. I ran out to the road and as I approached the bus, it started pulling away!! I wasn’t all that worried about it because I knew there was no way Greg would let the bus leave without me. It stopped and I ran up to the door and the tour guide inside wasn’t my guide! I turned and looked down the road and there was my identical bus….our tour guide and Greg was standing there just watching me. Oh man did I feel like a moron. I sheepishly walked to the bus and Greg just shook his head at me. The tour guide looked annoyed. I was only 3 minutes late to the bus….what was the big deal? I guess the whole trying to get on the wrong bus really made me look like a stupid American tourist. And speaking of our tour guide….she could not have looked more Finnish. I think she came to my shoulder and had an elf like quality to her. She had short white blonde hair, a tiny pointed nose, delicate features….and she even had on a bright green coat. I tell you, she must have come from a family of elves. Too bad she seemed annoyed at me the rest of the day.

Now to the pictures! Copy and paste the following directly into your browser:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=14i88s9b.k8u03uv&x=0&y=-snq4le

---