Helsinki, Finland

After a very smooth crossing we arrived in Helsinki, Finland.

Good Morning Helsinki!

Good Morning Helsinki!

 

Our ship docked right next to this ride

Our ship docked right next to this ride

 

After breakfast, we had a few hours until our tour so we disembarked the ship and took a walk around the area, then wandered over to a street-market that was going on nearby at the harbor.  There were several pop-up tents with local goods and foods.  I purchased a hand-made birch wood pen, and Adam purchased a tee-shirt.

One of the buildings we saw on our walk near the ship

One of the buildings we saw on our walk near the ship

Street we went walking on

Street we went walking on

 

Market pllace

Market place

Harbor area

Harbor area

 

One of the stands in the market place

One of the stands in the market place

Berries

Berries

They were cooking all sorts of food, it smelled wonderful

They were cooking all sorts of food, it smelled wonderful

 

An interesting feature of the harbor is a “Sea Pool.”  They have a large platform right there at the harbor, and three big swimming pools in it – one is of sea-water, the other two are of filtered fresh water.  It was a cold and breezy morning, but there were several people swimming in the pools.  Must be very hardy people here!

Not a great photo - but the "Sea Pool"

Not a great photo – but the “Sea Pool”

 

After exploring the street market, we headed back on-board and had a light lunch before our tour.  Our tour was “Helsinki Highlights” and they took us by bus to some of the more noteworthy buildings and landmarks right around the harbor area.  I don’t think at any time we were more than about 10-15 blocks away from the harbor.  We saw a big beautiful Lutheran Church, with a large city square in front of it…

Town Square

Town Square

Lutheran Church

Lutheran Church (with Adam at the top of the stairs)

 

=)

=)

Adam's view from the top of the steps

Adam’s view from the top of the steps

Us at the square

Us at the square

Cobblestones everywhere! (those are not fun to walk on!)

Cobblestones everywhere! (those are not fun to walk on!)

 

and we saw a large monument in a local park…

Sculpture at the park

Sculpture at the park

The artist of the sculpture

The artist of the sculpture

 

and then we saw a church that had been carved out of a large rock…

Inside the beautiful Rock Church

Inside the beautiful Rock Church

 

The ceiling was covered in Copper

The ceiling was covered in Copper

The church had a beautiful organ

The church had a beautiful organ

We aren't sure what this is, but it looked interesting - stars that lead underground near the church

We aren’t sure what this is, but it looked interesting – stairs that lead underground near the church

 

Here’s some more ‘experimental’ 360 photos from Helsinki – my apologies for those who can’t view them…

 

 

 

Small island we passed as we were leaving Helsinki

Small island we passed as we were leaving Helsinki

 

Helsinki was an interesting and peaceful place, and we enjoyed our visit.

Click here to continue … on to Russia!