Slept reasonably well on the ferry. It was super calm so could barely feel the ship moving at all. Except we didn't close the blinds so could see a red glow on the horizon at 2am, and it was super sunny at 4am. Which is when we woke up. Whoops.
Breakfast was more chaos but otherwise pretty good.
Arrived at Helsinki at 10am and disembarked quite easily.
Tallink ferry and Viking cruise ship in Helsinki
Photo by Mum
Passport control sign near Kustaanmiekka Fortification
Kustaanmiekka Fortification
Island fortifications near Helsinki
View towards Helsinki
Finnish Naval Academy on Pikku-Musta island
This would be Stu's dream home - a little cottage on an island! Previously a pilot house, now a cafe
Helsinki from the ferry
Helsinki Cathedral from the ferry
We had a local guide did a bit of a tour of Helsinki, driving around and seeing quite a bit.
Bicycles for hire in Helsinki
We had a short photo stop at the Olympic stadium from 1952.
Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Statue of Paavo Nurmi outside Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Then down to the Sebalius monument. Which was quite pretty in the morning sun.
Except. Could not get a clear photo of it. An Indian tour group turned up at the same time and they can't just take photos of things, every single one of them needs to have multiple photos of themselves taken. Which means I couldn't get a photo without annoying PEOPLE in it. I was fuming by the time we had to leave.
Sibelius Monument
Sibelius Monument
Next stop was the Rock Church, which is a pretty cool church they built into a granite hill and put a roof over the top.
Interior of Temppeliaukio Church
Photo by Mum
Roof of Temppeliaukio Church
Interior of Temppeliaukio Church
Interior of Temppeliaukio Church
Continued driving around for a little while longer before being dumped in square next to the Lutheran cathedral and told to entertain ourselves for an hour and a half. hrmm. So Mum and I went into the Lutheran cathedral, wandered through the waterside markets, and went into the orthodox church before meeting back at the square.
Statue of Alexander II and Helsinki Cathedral
Interior of Helsinki Cathedral
Organ in Helsinki Cathedral
The National Library of Finland
Helsinki Cathedral
Helsinki City Hall
Keisarinnankivi (The Stone of the Empress) by Carl Ludvig Engel
Two-headed eagle on top of the Stone of the Empress
Presidential Palace
Supreme Court
Uspenski Finnish Orthodox Cathedral
Interior of Uspenski Finnish Orthodox Cathedral
Roof of Uspenski Finnish Orthodox Cathedral
Interior of Uspenski Finnish Orthodox Cathedral
Got taken to the hotel next where we dumped out stuff and I checked out how the local public transport system worked. Decided to go back to the Sebalius monument by bus. Found the little kiosk that sells tickets and got ourselves a two hour ticket for EUR 4.30. Got the bus with no problems.
We had the monument almost to ourselves for a little while and it's quite photogenic. Then another couple of tour groups turned up so we got out of there.
Me at the Sibelius Monument
Photo by Mum
Sibelius Monument
Looking up in the Sibelius Monument
Pipes in the Sibelius Monument
Looking up in the Sibelius Monument
Sibelius Monument
Walked over to the trams and caught one back into town.
Walked around the foreshore a bit, taking photos of the old sailing ships, and then we watched the ferry leave back to Stockholm.
Waterfront buildings and the Uspenski Finnish Orthodox Cathedral
Historical boats at Halkolaituri
Boats in Helsinki
Silja Serenade departing Helsinki
Took another tram up to Central to see the station, then another tram to near our hotel. So three trams and a bus - pretty good value for our two hour ticket!
Tram we caught in Helsinki
Helsinki Central train station
At the hotel we dumped more stuff then headed out for dinner. Found a Japanese restaurant and had some very nice teriyaki salmon. Then back to the hotel where Mum went and used the internet and I reorganised the suitcase and generally got myself feeling more in control.
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