0347 A couple of days in Helsinki

3^rd & 4^th Sept 2015

Rain one day, sunshine the next !

We decided to have two nights in Helsinki so we would have a chance to see the city before leaving Scandinavia and heading down to Tallinn and Lithuania.  We also needed a bit of a break from driving everyday, and Helsinki seemed like a good place to do it.  Additionally, there was a really good camp site with excellent facilities very close to the city, plus, the real bonus, a Toyota dealer not 5 minutes from the camp site so I could get my oil change done  Unfortunately the weather conspired against us – it rained most of the night, and for a good part of the next day as well !!

So in the morning, although it wasn’t actually raining, we had a really wet pack up, so everything was very wet when we put it away (tent / awning etc) – But as we were coming back for another night, no big deal.  We drove in to the centre of Helsinki so we could do some sightseeing and go to the information centre etc, and then drive directly to the Toyota dealer at 2 pm.  Not a big city, it was fairly easy to get around – Just the issue of trying to avoid bicycles and pedestrians who have the absolute right of way, and just walk out onto crossings or cycle on their own little paths without looking left or right. I am sure once you get used to it it would be OK, but I am always either having to brake hard for a pedestrian who suddenly crosses the road (on a crossing), or a bike, into whose bike lane I have strayed unwittingly !  Also, one does NOT jaywalk here – You cross on the crossings !! 

Once in town, we found the Tourist Information centre and then tried to find a place to park – Hmmm.  Not easy.  We did see an underground car park with a long steep entry, but I couldn’t see the height until the last minute – 2.2m.  That is OK – I am 2.13m – But by the time I read the sign, I had gone past the entrance – So we continued searching without luck until we got back to the underground park, and we went down – And just scraped in under the barrier !  Then we went down.  And down.  And down !  It was rough hewn solid rock we were driving through, rendered and whitewashed, but still solid rock.  In fact, in the walkway back to the surface, they have left parts of the rock exposed for effect.  Quite weird though, like we were down in an old bomb shelter. ………….Maybe we were !!

Once we had found our way back to the surface, it was BUCKETING down – We had waterproof jackets and started walking, but after a couple of blocks it was coming down so hard we had to shelter inside the foyer of a cinema !  Along with plenty of other people !  15 minutes later it had slackened off a bit, and we made our way to the information centre.  We wanted to find out about ferries to Tallinn, and also enquire about the possibilities of a quick trip to St Petersburg to visit the Hermitage and other museums – We have been to Moscow before, but never made it to St Petersburg, so were keen to do it.  It is a 2 day trip, having an over night ferry to St P, then a day there, and then an overnight ferry back to Helsinki, and no Russian visa required.  We got the prices, and then, since it was still raining, went next door to a very nice café where they had a great lunch for €10, which wasn’t bad at all – Especially after Norway !

By the time we came out from lunch the rain had virtually stopped, so we went off first to see the Tuomiokirkko – The Lutheran Cathedral, that is up on a hill overlooking a big square, and has a big wide stone staircase leading up to it. Outside it is quite impressive, but inside it is Spartan, almost mausoleum like, with very little ornamentation under the lofty dome except 3 large and stern statues of Reformation heroes Luther, Mclanchthon, and Mikael Agricola. I only took one photo inside, of the organ, because that was about the only thing worth photographing !  (The statues were too dark and stern !!) 

Coming out from the Tuomiokirkko, we headed the short distance down, across a small harbour, to a hill on the other side where stands and equally imposing Russian Orthodox Uspenskin Cathedral, together with its eye-catching red brick and classic onion-topped domes. The two churches face off high above the city like two queens on a theological chessboard !  And inside it was very similar to the cathedrals inside the Moscow Kremlin that I have visited – very busy, lots of religious panels and marble and gold mausoleums of past historical figures. 

On the road below the Cathedral is a small wrought iron bridge that is COVERED in padlocks.  We saw this in several other cities and are not sure what it means – Perhaps a boy puts a padlock on there, and gives his true love a key, and if she can find the padlock and unlock, she is his love forever ?   Something romantic like that, anyway !!  (Edit later - I wasn't far wrong - I found this on Google  http://bittenbythetravelbug.com/helsinki-finland-rakkauden-silta-bridge-of-love-locks/ )     

Walking back towards the car park we saw lots of police and soliders, and passing what we found out later was the Presidential Palace we saw a big limo with a coat of arms in place of the number plate and a flag on the front fender – Must be waiting for El Presidente to come out ! 

From there we had to go back to get the car to go for its oil change, so we recovered it from its underground cellar and made it to

the Toyota dealer just a few minutes late after getting lost !  As usual I had to supply the oil filter and special tool to undo the filter cover because no one has this V8 diesel engine in Europe, but they had oil, and I got him to grease all the prop shaft and steering, and asked him to adjust the brakes.  An hour later, it was completed – Except he couldn’t adjust the brakes because at 3500 kg my car is too heavy for his hoist to lift it high enough off the ground ! We have had this problem before, so not an issue – I just have to make sure I pull the handbrake up a long way when parking ! 

So by 4 pm we were back at the camp site.  We had decided not to go to St Petersburg because once you had up the costs – Ferry, cabin, museum entry fees, food, compulsory bus, port and other fees in Russia, as well as the car parking this end – It was getting on for about €600, which for just one day was a bit too much.  Love to have gone, and if we had never been to Russia before, probably would have, but we still have more to do and see in Europe yet………  So a relatively early night – And the weather forecast is for a sunny day tomorrow, so we have decided to stay and explore Helsinki more tomorrow, then catch the ferry to Tallinn on Saturday.

Friday 4^th Sept.

It wasn’t a clear blue sky when we woke up, but there was some blue up there, so it looked promising.  So we had a leisurely breakfast, packed rain gear in our backpacks, and walked the 200 yards or so up the road to the local Metro station.  Buying the ticket was relatively straightforward, and off we went into the centre of town again – Much easier and cheaper t

han driving and parking the car.  And going down into the Metro was very reminiscent of Moscow – VERY long steep escalators up from the bowels of the earth once we reached the city.   Our first task this morning was to find a post office where we could package and mail a Travel Book on Norway back to my friend Reagan’s brother in low in Bergen.  We found the PO not far from the station, mailed off the book, and then set off to walk to the Temppeliaukion Kirkko, or Church.  This was designed by famous Finnish architects in 1969 and (for some reason) remains one of Helsinki’s foremost

attractions. Hewn into solid rock, it apparently “feels close to a Finnish ideal of spirituality in nature – You could be in a rocky glade were it not for the 24 m diameter roof covered in 22 km of copper stripping.   It certainly was very different and interesting, but I think the superlatives heaped upon it by the guidebooks are a little OTT – But that is just IMHO !   About 3 coachloads of Japanese tourists rushing around inside pointing iPhones and iPads and other cameras at anything that moved somewhat disturbed the serenity of what is actually a church for me.  One they had left, (I waited them out !), it was actually very interesting to sit there and just enjoy it quietly !

From this church we decided to walk back down through the city to the markets and also some other sights round the harbour – I think we slightly miscalculated the distance, but we did OK !  And as it was still reasonably sunny and warm, it was a good day for walking, and we walked down to the western end of the harbour.   At the bottom of the hill we found a big square, with stalls set up with locals selling assorted bric a brac – Nothing very fancy.  Behind it was one of Helsinki’s famous Market Halls – or Kauppahalli – of which there are 3 in the city, This one was the Hietalahden Kauppahalli, and has lots of interesting food stalls and eateries – Perhaps we should have had our lunch there, but we wanted to get down to the fresh food markets down on the east side, so we kept going.

Eventually we got back to the east side, and after wandering down the lovely pedestrian Esplanade in the centre, reached the kauppatori with fresh fruit, and food stalls.  The berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and many more) looked delicious, but were not practical for us to carry home on the metro !   We wandered around admiring everything, and then found a little stall selling little whole fish (like whitebait but bigger), salmon, prawns, crawfish, and lots more – We settled for fish and sat down to a very pleasant lunch at a

little table and watched the world pass by – Who in turn watched us eating our lunch and drinking our beer !! Very pleasant in the warm sunshine.

By now it ws nearly 3 pm, and we had seen what we wanted in Helsinki (and were a bit pooped from all the walking !) and headed for the metro.  On the way we booked our ferry for Tallinn for 11.30 am tomorrow, found an ATM to get some Euros out (that terrible Aussie $ exchange rate is hurting big time !!), and also changed a few Norwegian Krone we had left into Euro, and then we headed to the metro.  It was an easy ride back to the camp site, where we did some laundry in preparation for a few days on the road down to Poland, did a supermarket shop to top up our supplies, (we are not quite sure what to expect !), and then just relaxed around the camp site.  We tried some local meatballs on Spaghetti (which was actually quite good !), and then eventually turned in, ready for our next adventure tomorrow.

Pics here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0347ACoupleOfDaysInHelsinki?authkey=Gv1sRgCPXmm5e2jMqfQw