Scandinavia Day Twelve: A Morning In Helsinki Finland: Churches, Sports And The Arts.

I awoke early aboard the ferry on the Baltic  Sea hoping to watch the sun rise over the ocean but was disappointed to find rain falling falling from a cloudy sky.

Breakfast wasn’t served until 7:30 a.m so I spent some time editing photographs and catching up on Facebook and a blog post.  After breakfast, I finished packing and noticed the many small islands and then the  vast  Fortress of Finland, Suomenlinna, guarding the entrance to Helsinki harbor.  This is a link to some more photographs of out arrival into Helsinki harbor and city bus tour. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/scandinavia-july-26-august-8-2015/nggallery/scandinavia-july-25-august-8-2015/helsinki-ship-and-morning-bus-tour-august-6-2015

We departed the ship and took a  bus tour through the city streets and made  a number of stops at various city landmarks, the first being the majestic white Helsinki cathedral Tuomiokirkko. 

We visited this beautiful church and it’s  view atop Senate Square below.

Next we visited the  unique Temppeliaukion Kirkko or the “rock church” carved inside granite rocks. This beautiful Lutheran church had an impressive copper dome.

We were treated to a wonderful performance by  local musicians on the  large organ and Steinway  piano.

We next visited another unique local landmark, Sibelius park  and it’s tubular monument to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.  We drove through some residential districts and past local cemeteries and made our way to our hotel. Here is a link to some more photographs from  our visit to these unique Helsinki landmarks. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/scandinavia-july-26-august-8-2015/nggallery/scandinavia-july-25-august-8-2015/helsinki-tuomiokirkko-cathedral-rock-church-sibelius-park-august-6-2015

After an early check-in we were on our own and my sister and our friends headed over to the Olympic stadium where the 1952 Olympics were held.

We rode the elevator to the top of the observation tower where we had a spectacular view of Helsinki.  Looking down onto the stadium you could almost here the roar of the crowd of those long ago events. 

We then made our way to the Opera House hoping to get tickets for a show but were told the season didn’t open for a few weeks but we had a nice tour of the lobby. Here is a link to some more photos from our visit to the stadium and opera house.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/scandinavia-july-26-august-8-2015/nggallery/scandinavia-july-25-august-8-2015/helsinki-olympic-stadium-and-opera-house-agust-6-2015

We walked to the trolley and rode to the downtown area near the harbor. We stopped for a cup of coffee and bite to eat and enjoyed taking in the sights, sounds and smells of downtown Helsinki. 

We then walked to the harbor, bustling with tourists and locals shopping at the local produce markets. The fresh produce, as I found in all of Scandinavia was wholesome and seemed larger than the fruits and vegetables we produce here in the States. 

We decided to visit the famous Fortress of Finland so we purchased our tickets and waited, under the brilliant sun, for our boat. It was a busy day and looks like there will have to be a Helsinki Part  Two. Here is the link to some more photographs form our ride and walk to the harbor. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/scandinavia-july-26-august-8-2015/nggallery/scandinavia-july-25-august-8-2015/helsinki-finland-trip-to-harbor-august-6-2015

“Imagine having a city full of things that no other city had.”
― Bill Bryson