Coming into Helsinki

Day 14: We arrived in Helsinki by car ferry in the early morning to sunny skies and a very nice view.

Lutheran Cathedral

After docking, we got on our bus to take a city tour of Helsinki. Our first stop was at the Lutheran Cathedral, 19th century.

Senate Square

The Lutheran Cathedral looks out on Senate Square. The square is Neoclassical and one of the finest ones of that style in Europe. It was built by Russia, who used a German architect, with instructions to follow the architectural design of St. Petersburg, Russia. Finland was part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to about 1917. Before that, it was part of Sweden and, today, Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish.

Per told us that some schools in Finland teach in Swedish and others teach in Finnish, though competency is required in both languages.

“Church in the Rock”

Our next stop was at the Temppeliaukio Church, known as the “Church in the Rock,” 1969. It was blasted out of solid granite.

Sibelius Monument

Our third stop was at the Sibelius Monument, 1967, dedicated to Finland’s greatest composer, Jean Sibelius. It is made up of 600 stainless–steel pipes and is called the “Love of Music.”

A Walk in Helsinki

We were given free time to explore Helsinki on our own after our city tour. We walked from our hotel to the main shopping area.

Because Helsinki was built in the 19th century, it is the only European capital without a old medieval town. But with enough energy and time, there are still many interesting sites to explore.

I have put my photos of our Helsinki city tour and a walk on a slideshow. Go to

Helsinki

(Slide Shows, Scandinavia/Estonia, Finland, “Helsinki”).