Helsinki

Helsinki is one of those cities which is beautiful, compact, lively and pleasant to visit. During our short stay there, we managed to see most of the sights.

Uspenski Cathedral towers over the other buildings near the harbour. Its gold cupolas and redbrick facade invite you to visit. It is the largest orthodox church in Western Europe and is quite impressive both on the inside and the outside. I have always been fascinated with the Russian Orthodox Church which comes across as mysterious. This one clearly is a symbol of the Russian influence in Finland.

On the other hand, you can find Helsinki's most prominent building - the Lutheran Cathedral - at the Senate Square. The Senate Square and surrounding buildings form a unique and cohesive example of Neo-Classicism. The Cathedral is Finland’s most photographed and recognisable building. It celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2002. It is impressive on the outside and quite stark on the inside which in itself lends to the beauty of the building.

There was a political rally taking place the day we visited.

We even managed to take a cruise to the Suomenlinna maritime fortress which is one of the world's largest. Built on six islands off Helsinki in the 1700s, the garrison town is one of the most popular sights in Finland. Suomenlinna has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.  It is a charming place, ideal for a day trip with museums, cafes and restaurants. We came across ammunition warehouses that looked like houses from Hobbiton.

These iron chains were handmade and they are part of the old anchors.

The Cathedral

The Hobbit's houses

Helsinki has some beautiful buildings and one could walk around the city just admiring them. The city’s architecture is typified by Nordic minimalism and refinement. Modernism, functionalism and the largest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings in Northern Europe make Helsinki a major city of architecture.

We visited the market place near the harbour where there were many food stalls selling local delicacies. Fresh salmon, crayfish, shrimp and smoked fish were quite popular.

Helsinki is the World Design Capital for 2012.

We passed a garden where all the tree trunks were covered in lace.

Wonder what is the story behind it.

Definitely made for a colourful picture.

The Finnish Archipelago is also very beautiful.

Overall, the trip was a success and I am glad that I went with the flow.

Cruising in the Stockholm Archipelago

After the course in Stockholm, I had decided to spend the weekend in Helsinki. Initially I had thought to fly there and back. But when I told my friend AnnSofie about it, she offered to join me and suggested that we do a cruise to Helsinki and back. I was a bit skeptical about it considering I was flying out of Stockholm on Sunday afternoon but AnnSofie reassured me that I would have plenty of time to make it to the airport from the cruise terminal. So I went with the flow and it turned out to be a superb plan over all.

Pranati and her sister Ankita joined us on the cruise making it a lively foursome. We had 2 adjacent cabins booked and the accommodation was pretty comfortable. We hardly spent time in it as we had so much to see and do on the ship.

The Gabriella is part of the Viking Line and has excellent live entertainment, a range of restaurants and duty free shopping.  

Some of her statistics are:

Built: 1992 Split, Croatia
Ice class: IA SUPER
GT/NT: 35,492/22,542
Length: 171.2 metres
Breadth: 27.6 metres
Draught: 6.4 metres
Speed: 20.5 knots
Main engines: 4 x Pielstick 12PC 2E
23,760 kW
Passengers: 2,420
Berths: 2,402
Cars: 400
Cargo units: 900 metres

Being on a cruise was a "first" for me. It certainly was cheaper and more exciting than taking a flight to Helsinki and staying in a hotel. It was great value for money and the food was awesome. Pranati and Ankita who are vegetarians had many options to choose from. We danced the nights away to the music of the live bands performing hits from the 70s and 80s.

I was told to expect a lot of drunk Swedes and Finns but I didn't see any. I did see a lot of older people and a lot of families who were there to have a great weekend.

Cruising in the archipelago off Stockholm is a real treat. It is the largest in Sweden and the second largest in the Baltic Sea. It comprises of almost 24000 islands, some inhabited and some deserted.

I am glad that I went with the flow and experienced something totally out of this world.