A Brief Glimpse of Helsinki

Some cities are not meant to be seen by cruise ship. Sure, some could argue that Helsinki has just enough to do that a cruise ship visit makes it ideal - nothing too overwhelming, and completely manageable in a few hours time. I suspect that there's more to see of Helsinki and its environs than we were able to witness on our Baltic Cruise stop.

Or maybe we were just pooped from our two day St. Petersburg extravaganza.

Either way, I'd like to give Helsinki and indeed Finland another chance.

Located on a peninsula at the very bottom of the country, Finland's capital has all the charm of other European cities with wide boulevards, classic architecture, thriving markets, with the addition of lots of moose and reindeer accoutrement. I mean, where else can you grab a moose burger followed by reindeer antler can openers?

Still, with a bit more time, I would have liked to explored the Suomenlinna fort, a World Heritage Site, or taken a boat ride and explored all the different islets off the coast of Southern Finland. As a prudish American, I'm not sure if I'd go along with the Finnish past time of sitting with some strangers naked in a sauna, but ya never know.

All I know is that all I got was the briefest of glimpses into life in Finland's capital, and it was just enough for me to know I'd like to get to know it even better some time in the future.

For now, let's take a quick gander at our few short hours in Helsinki, and begin to make plans for future visits.

As you sail into Helsinki, you pass a number of islands, all set up for the summer fun with little beach cabins surrounded by pine trees. With more time, this looked like the type of activity I would love to participate in. Despite the fact that I live in a completely different type of beach destination, it just looked so charming and idyllic, how could you not see yourself enjoying a warm afternoon along this or a similar beach?

As you near the port, the local birdlife comes out to greet you, providing a warm welcome to it's home.

My mom and I opted to buy the ticket from the ship to the bus that took you into town, dropping you off at at Erottajankatu, right near the "Esplanadi," or esplanade, a charming park with lots of ice cream shops, statues, benches to sit and people watch, and a wonderful place for a stroll. These bus tickets offer more freedom to see cities at your own pace, and was our intended option for most of the cities on this trip (though our time in Copenhagen forced us to choose a different option).

And while this freedom in Helsinki allowed us to wander the city at our leisure, it also didn't give us any particular thing to see or do. In hindsight, I might have preferred to pick a specific excursion, perhaps to the fort, and then do a quick wander of the city. Or, since cruising is not my preferred method of travel, I'd rather come for a weekend to Helsinki and do all the things I'd like to do without the time constraints. But that's a different post for another day. :)

We opted to do as the Finns do, and strolled leisurely through the Esplanadi, admiring the various statues, taking in the laid back vibe of this area of the city.

We stumbled upon the gardening crew who were removing all of the different flowers planted around one statue. This seemed like a silly idea to me, as the flowers still looked beautiful and well tended, but I'd be curious to check out this statue to see how they embellish it throughout the year.

At the end of the Esplanadi, we stumbled upon Kappeli, a cute looking café, operating since 1857. Though we didn't stop at the time, we did on our way back, enjoying a quick snack before heading back to the cruise ship.

We reached the end of the Esplanadi, and crossed over to the Market Square area, where lots of vendors were selling any number of wares, from fresh fruit, cut flower bouquets, to moose burgers and all sorts of reindeer paraphernalia.

Ville Vallgren's Havis Amanda sculture, cast in bronze in Paris in 1906, and finally unveiled in Helsinki in 1908.

Helsinki City Hall, previously a hotel built in 1833, the city purchased the building in 1901, later becoming the city hall overlooking Market Square.

Cherries are not a fruit that grows in my tropical island home, so I am always excited to see them in my travels. Though, if I'm reading the sign correctly, these were not grown anywhere near Helsinki, I was happy enough to buy a bag of cherries to eat as I walked around the city. All of the produce looked really tempting, but since fresh fruits and veggies (and other products such as meats) were not allowed back on board, I only allowed myself some cherries to consume while on land.

While strolling through the market, we happened to catch a film crew documenting the scene. As someone doing the same thing, however, on a much smaller scale, I could understand their instincts.

As I've already mentioned, you could get your hands on a moose and/or a reindeer burger - sadly, we had only eaten not too long before disembarking in Helsinki, so we couldn't be tempted. (My mom would have died before eating one anyway). Had Ben been there, though, I suspect he might have given at least one of them a go, and let's be honest - I might have needed a little nudging before I could dive in.

Antler items everywhere.

We made our way to the end of Market Square and stood before the Tsarina's Stone, or the Imperial Stone. If you look at the top of the obelisk, you can see a double-headed eagle, the symbol of the Russian Imperial family. Erected in 1833 as Helsinki became the capital of Finland, it was to memorialize the Empress Alexandra's, Emperor Nicholas I's wife (and not the Alexandra married to Nicholas II and bff's with Rasputin), first visit to the new capital.

One of the things that amused me was, while shopping at the market, a vendor asked if we were from the cruise ship. When we said we were, he asked if we had just come from St. Petersburg, or were heading that way. We said we just came from there, and he very dramatically gave a sigh of relief. "Glad you made it out of there alive!" he laughed.

Obelisk or no, the relationship between Finland and its ambitious neighbor still seems a little bit chilly.

We followed the street around, heading towards the two cathedrals that dot the Helsinki skyline, and had been noted as worthwhile sites on the Rick Steves walking tour of Helsinki.

First, we made it to Uspenski Cathedral, Western Europe's largest Orthodox church. It's ornate redbrick exterior with gold domes topping each spire made for an eye-catching monument in the skyline. This church also symbolizes the Russian influence on the city, as its construction began when Finland was still a part of the Russian Empire.

After ascending the steps to the platform of the church, we found out that the interior was closed. We spent some time walking around its exterior, admiring the views from our relatively high perch above the city, and took in all of its charms.

Views from the Uspenski Cathedral included Helsinki Cathedral, a place we would visit shortly (above), as well as the Halkolaituri Pier (below).

We continued our walk towards the Senate Square (Senaatintori), taking a few back streets and stopping in a few shops to do some browsing if not actual shopping. Once we reached the square, we came upon the Helsinki Cathedral, as well as other Neoclassical style buildings surrounding a large open space.

On the day of our arrival, we caught something that we weren't expecting to see - a giant display of the Finnish Defense Forces in celebration of Flag Day.

Being American, we have the world's biggest military budget - I mean, we love our tanks, jets, bombs, and all things war related! Yet, you don't often (and by that I mean you never) see military equipment just out and about in your daily lives. Living in Hawaii, which has a huge military presence, you often see tanks and convoys along the road, as well as impressive stealth planes taking off from the airport in Honolulu. Still, to wander into a foreign city and have a chance to check out its military equipment felt strange, and something I was not exactly excited to see. Interesting, sure, but also not inherently my cup of tea.

But alas, there they were for the population to gaze upon, and we used the steps in front of the Helsinki Cathedral to sit and do some people watching. We then decided to take a quick peek inside the cathedral. Growing up a Catholic, the churches I visited are ornate and highly decorative. As I explored these Protestant churches along the Baltic, I was surprised to see a lack of decoration - purposeful, of course, as this was a bone of contention during the 16th century Protestant Reformation - but still something that takes some getting used to. Of course, the exterior is interesting to look at (as was the interior, though not in the highly ornate style you'll see in other countries and other Christian interpretations) with its Neoclassical style designed by Carl Ludwig Engel, designer of much of Helsinki's state buildings.

Right next door is The National Library of Finland.

After walking around the Senate Square, we did a little more souvenir shopping, picking up a few trinkets for friends and family back home.

Next, we headed back to the Esplandi. This time, we decided to stop at Kappeli and enjoy a pastry or two before heading back to the ship.

I opted for the blueberry cake, as blueberries are my favorite fruit, even if they are tough to come by back in my home of Hawaii. I grew up in NJ, though, where blueberries are plentiful, and I go out of my way to eat them when I'm in climates where they grow more abundantly.

After a few moments of relaxation and people watching, we decided to make our way back to the ship. We passed back through the charming park, admiring the fountains and flowers, wishing we had a little more time in Helsinki to really get a better idea of the city and its surroundings.

All the flowers were gone!

But, just like most places on our Baltic Cruise adventure, the lilacs were in bloom and flowering everywhere you turned.

However, just in case we hadn't gotten enough shopping done in town, some more Finland specific items could be found right outside our cruise ship. I passed on these specific items shown below, but may have picked up a Christmas ornament or two.

Finally, all that was left to do was to sail back into the Baltic and say farewell to Finland. It was short, our time here, but enjoyable. I hope someday to return with Ben, perhaps for a few more days, and better explore different neighborhoods and the islands that surround the city.

Until then!

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Helsinki Details

Below you can see a map of where we walked around Helsinki. As you can see, we didn't venture too far from where we got dropped off, but did manage to get a decent overview of the city.

As I mentioned in the posting, I used Rick Steves' Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports guidebook that showcased the highlights of each city, including Helsinki. It's a very large and cumbersome book, but Rick Steves always does a great job of giving interesting contextual knowledge while pointing you in the right direction. I highly recommend the book.

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