Day 19: Porvoo and Helsinki

We started out today by driving out to Porvoo, a cute old town outside of Helsinki.  It has a Russian feel to it.

We have seen a number of churches that have boats hanging in them to protect the sailers and fishermen.

I have never seem this before--Hebrew writing in a church.  Since I can't read Hebrew I don't know what it means.

The town was very charming and quiet to walk through.

This is called a gossip mirror--so you can look out your window and see what's happening up and down the street.

There was a coffee roaster that had a cafe on a barge next to their shop.

We went to the Runeberg museum, which was the guy who wrote Finland's national anthem.

His son was a famous sculptor.

One of our favorite places in Helsinki was the Finlandia Caviar bar.

We ended our stay with a dinner tonight on the terrace of the Savoy.

The views of the city were spectacular.

Great food and wine were a wonderful way to end this trip.

We are flying out tomorrow. 

Day 18: Suomenlinna Island, around Helsinki, & the Library

We started the day by taking a boat out to Suomenlinna Fortress which is on an island.  The boat trip was beautiful.

The island was peaceful, even though it was originally a fortress.

The walls of the structures were like artwork.

These are barnacle geese.

There was an ancient dry dock that is still in use.

On the boat ride back we had a great view of Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral.

We spent some time at the amazing train station designed by Eliel Saarinen.

But the most surprising part of the day was going to the public library.  It is visited by 7,000 people a day.  There are books there but so much more.

This is a small taste of the different spaces we encountered.

We saw sewing areas, kitchens, craft areas, and these 3-D printers.

There were virtual reality game rooms, cafes, and meeting rooms.

The patio had great views.  Here's the old Olympic Stadium.

And Alvar Aalto's Finlandia building. 

We then walked up to the church in the rock.

And ended our day looking at some of the Art Nouveau buildings on the Esplanade.

Day 17: Tallin to Helsinki

We left Tallinn this morning on a ferry to Helsinki.  The ferry was ginormous.

We had our final views of Tallinn from the ship.

There were tons of sail boats out when we approached Helsinki.

We're staying at a hotel called F6, close to market square and the Esplanade.  It has a retro modern feel.  Our room is more like an apartment rather than a hotel room.  They have this funky patio and we have our own lounge chairs outside of our room.

We walked to the market square and old market hall.  This guy was enjoying the outdoor tent eating.

Friends!

We ended with a great seafood meal tonight.