The Sea Cloud II can be seen here anchored in the harbor. It was an impressive cruise ship that has a cool itinerary, including St. Petersburg.
The center piece of Helsinki is the Helsinki Cathedral. It is a Lutheran church (in fact there is a Martin Luther statue inside) and is very modestly decorated inside. No gold, no silver--just an organ, some pews, and that's about it. A big difference from the central European cathedrals I've seen before.
Another nice church is the Uspenski Cathedral. The lighting was really nice now.
Before I went to bed, i wandered around a bit. Here's a picture of the train station clock tower. Note the time, it's almost 11pm and there is still plenty of light.
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On Saturday, since yesterday was too busy to enjoy my birthday, I decided to go to Suomenlinna, an incredible island fortress near Helsinki that you can get to by a 15-minute ferry ride. When I arrive, I stop by the island grocery store for a sandwich and some beer for the day--I plan on making it all the way around before nightfall.
After getting off the ferry, I turn around and snap a picture of Helsinki. You can see the church in the center.
Starting around the island revealed several beautiful landscapes and views of the Baltic.
This is the tomb of Augustin Ehrensvärd, the original designer of the fortifications of the island. Well I'm getting hungry (not because of the tomb), so I will go off and find a place to enjoy my sandwich and a cold beer.
After lunch, I proceeded down the east side of the island and encountered this very large bunker. I poked around inside but there wasn't much there, just several large empty rooms.
This is the view from atop the previously shown bunker. The clouds were a little heavy here, but they didn't last long. It was a very nice day.
Here's a good view of the man-made bunkers that are all over the island.
These guns point west, into the channel that separates Helsinki from the island.
I finally make it to Kings Point, the southern-most point of the island that protects a small passage way created by another island to the south.
Here you can watch a sailboat navigating this tiny passage. The view from the water must be pretty intimating, with all those cannons pointing at them.
After enjoying the beer, I make way around the point and start making my way back along the other side of the island.
In this picture you can see how many times this building was destroyed and rebuilt. This place has really seen a lot of action.
I found this cool cave entrance and decided I'd check it out. However, this turned out to be more than I bargained for as this particular cave system was immense. The following pictures were taken as I tried navigating the complex system of tunnels.
The caves were pitch black. I needed the flash of my camera to see where I was going every once in a while. Hopefully, I will find an exit soon.
These caves are lined with limestone. Apparently the limestone was actually brought to the island by sea to help make the extensive cave system.
At last I see an exit--finally. So I leave the caves and head up on top of a nearby hill.
This cannon here points to the south-east.
They had plenty of extra barrels in case of mishaps or direct hits.
These guns point east, in the general direction of St Petersburg.
There even was a nice submarine that you could walk through.
There are actually about 950 people who live on the island, I guess a good many of them live in these buildings.
I waited for the ferry back to Helsinki on a nice bench with a great view. Here's a little video to help capture the moment.
Here's the Embraer ERJ that got me back and forth between Stuttgart, Germany and Helsinki. While the jet is small, the Finnair staff were awesome. Serving hot lunches, tea, and wine--even on this 2 hour and 40 minute flight.
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