Helsinki, capital of Finland since 1812, is the third largest city in the Nordic countries after Stockholm and Oslo. It is best visited in summer when the weather is mild, lasting from early June until late August.
Helsinki is well connected with cruise services to Tallinn (Estonia). And that’s what I did – getting in Helsinki by cruise.
The cruise tickets (74 euros for two adults) include a buffet lunch at one of the restaurants. Food was okay and there’s a free flow of wine and beer.
Where’s my food?
Some might prefer to stay overnight on the cruise and reach Helsinki in the morning.
There is also a playroom for children.
Of course, one can play at one of the machines on board.
Top deck of the ship was almost empty as the weather was unusually cold this summer.
There are basically 3 cruise company operating this route. Eckero Line, Viking Line and Tallink Silja.
Due to my schedule and of course the best price available, I took Eckero Line. Visit the website for more information: https://www.eckeroline.fi/en/
I left Tallinn around noon and 2 hours 15 minutes later, I arrived at the Port of Helsinki.
This is the West Terminal. Most people hopped on a tram or took a taxi to travel to the city. Not me. I walked all the way to the city. It’s about 20 minutes walk and I got lost a little while looking for the hostel.
This is the sculpture of Bad Bad Boy.
On the bright side, I get to see the city on foot.
After I dropped my luggage to the hostel, I rushed to the Temppeliaukio Church (Rock Church) as I’m afraid the church would be closed for the day.
Fortunately, it was still open when I got there. This church is unique as it is excavated directly into solid rock. Completed in 1969, this church is one of the main attractions in Helsinki.
There are no bells in this church. In their place, a chime melody composed by Taneli Kuusisto is played, which can be heard from the loud speakers placed in the outer walls of the church.
The church hall is bathed in daylight, which passes into the hall from the narrow skylights between the rock and wall and copper ceiling dome.
The excavation surface of the walls has been left rough for acoustic reasons. The church has excellent acoustic and it is a popular venue for concert.
The construction of the church designed on this rocky hill was interrupted due to the Winter War on 30 November 1939. The Rock Church was supposed to look like the picture above.
The outer rock of the church. A signage reminding visitors that it is not for climbing.
There seem to be a lot of statues and sculptures around the city.
This is the National Museum of Finland.
The Parliament House.
Museum of Contemporary Art.
My next stop is the Helsinki Cathedral. Designed by Carl Ludwig Engel and completed in 1852, the cathedral is another popular tourist sights.
It is open daily, from 9am till 6pm in September to May and 9am till midnight in June to August.
Helsinki Cathedral is on the northern side of the Senate Square. There are statues of 12 apostles on the roof.
The Senate Square is dominated by four buildings: Helsinki Cathedral, Government Palace, the main building of University of Helsinki and the National Library of Finland.
Visitors have to climb the broad flight of steps to reach the cathedral on top.
The steps are so steep that it can look as if you are standing on a cliff edge.
A statue of Emperor Alexander II is located in the center of Senate Square. The figures surrounding the statue represent law, culture and peasants.
The Pohjoisesplanadi street has lots of high end boutiques.
My favourite quote on the wine glass: Of course size matters, no one wants a small glass of wine. Haha.
Moonmins are characters created by a Finnish illustrator, Tove Jansson. You can buy its merchandise at Kankurin Tupa, largest souvenir shop in Finland.
You can also get Moonmin merchandise at Forum shopping mall.
I heard the price of Moonmin merchandise in Forum shopping mall is cheaper as compared to the Kankurin Tupa store.
The Yard Hostel is where I stayed for the night. It took me some time to find this hostel because there is no signage at the exterior of the building. The Yard Hostel is also known as City Forum Hostel.
Only a small plate indicates that it’s located on the 3rd floor.
The public area of the hostel. This is also where I had my simple breakfast with toast bread, cereal and milk which is included in the hostel price.
The reception area.
I got a private double room with shared bathroom. The accommodation in Helsinki is really expensive, especially in the heart of the city. That’s why I booked a hostel instead, for 82 euros per night.
The room is small and simple.
In the next morning, I set out for the Sibelius Park.
In the Sibelius Park, one can find the world famous composer Jean Sibelius monument, created by Eila Hiltunen. The monument was unveiled on 7 September 1967.
The bust of the composer on one side of the monument.
The monument resembles organ pipe. It is made of welded steel with over 600 pipes.
Quite impressive when you view the pipes up close.
The Sibelius monument can be viewed 24/7 all year round.
A lake in Sibelius Park.
Bus No. 24 stops near Sibelius Park. Walking time from Helsinki city centre to Sibelius Monument takes about 30 minutes.
Another famous park in Helsinki is Esplanade Park. It is situated right in the heart of the city.
At the end of Esplanade Park is the Market Square. This is where we took a ferry to Suomenlinna fortress. I’ll write about Suomenlinna fortress in the next posting.
The Havis Amanda statue was sculptured in 1906 in Paris and brought over to this location in 1908. Some believe that washing one’s face here at the fountain will increase the male’s sexual ability.
People buying fishes right from the boat.
Market Square has many booths selling traditional market foods and treats, as well as handicrafts and souvenirs.
Salmon soup is a local favorite.
So is the seafood platters.
I had my lunch at the one of the booth in Market Square.
I ordered a salmon soup, a seafood platter and a reindeer meat ball platter. The food is good and affordable.
Reindeer skins sold at the Market Square. The price of a reindeer skin ranges from 100 to 150 euros.
Just a short walk from the Market Square, I reached Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral.
Completed in 1868, the Uspenski Cathedral is the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe.
Uspenski Church exterior is easily recognizable with its redbrick facade and golden cupolas.
The church is closed on Mondays and is open Tuesday to Friday (9.30am–4pm), Saturday 10am-3pm and Sunday 12pm-3pm. It will also be closed during ceremonies. Entrance to the church is free.
The beautiful interior of the Uspenski Church.
With this I completed my must visit church of Helsinki which is the Rock (Temppeliaukio Church), White (Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral) and Red (Uspenski Church).
View of Market Square from Uspensk church.
On the way back to the hostel, I saw participants of the Helsinki Pride Parade marching down to the Esplanadi Park. It started on 1 July 2017 which was the day I visited Helsinki.
The crowd was celebrating and expressing their support for gender and sexual minorities. The rainbow flags is the symbol of LGBT community.
Miss and Mr. Gay Finland.
After visiting Helsinki’s main attractions, I proceeded to Soumenlinna Fortress, the greatest fortress in the Baltic.
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