Helsinki
FINLAND | Thursday, 14 June 2012 | Views [600]
I am still astonished at the beauty of this country. The forests of the North,
the lakes of the East and now the setting of Helsinki! The harbour is right in
the city centre and the Market Square is bordered on one side by water (except
in winter when it’s so bloody cold the sea freezes). Just offshore there are
some lovely Islands, I visited some when I went out to Suomilinna ((Finland’s
Fortress)a UNESCO heritage site) here the city is left behind and stunning sea
view and lush public gardens along with Museums, cafes and the only Finnish Submarine left, made for
a lovely few hours. Later I took the Cannel Cruise which gave some more
stunning views. The History of Finland is complex with it being firstly part of
Sweden and then part of Russia. The Russian Tsar’s seemed to be OK with Finland
making it a duchy and thus keeping its own identity. Tsar Alexander II even
went so far as to have the 2 Cathedrals built, one Orthodox and the other
Lutheran (note the difference in the interiors). So that’s why they have 2
Cathedrals! Many of the early buildings were destroyed in the 1800’s due to
(yep you guessed) fire, but by royal decree houses then had to be built of stone
or brick, most still here and many are still used for their original purpose or
converted to modern use. The Sibelius monument is a modern piece and quite
interesting. We were all told that quite strangely it was designed by “a woman”
Why was that so strange? I also visited the Helsinki Olympic Park, originally built
for the 1940’s games but not used until 1952. From the number of people there
today enjoying the sunshine and using the facilities it is a valued asset of
the city, I just wonder if Stratford will be so popular in 2060? After WW2 Finland were banned from having any submarines, They must have hidden the one I found this week!!!
