On to Helsinki, Finland

A 2-hour ferry ride to start the day! And beautiful clear skies again. The ferries are huge, like the size of a smaller cruise ships. And with similar amenities! Restaurants, bars, karaoke, gaming machines, shopping stores, lounges, etc.

The Megastar, the Tallink Line ship I sailed on, is 700 feet long, reaches speeds of 27 knots, and carries 2,800 passengers and 150 vehicles!

Tallinn’s Old Town on the slight hill on the right — and “New Town” on the left

More glorious weather upon arrival in Helsinki and I hopped on a tram to get to my hostel. Beautiful city, and the hostel room and facilities are great!

Finland has two official languages (Finnish and Swedish) because it was part of Sweden until 1809. Both are used on Helsinki public transportation, street names, public notices and signs, etc. And officially, it’s difficult to pronounce either version!

My Eurohostel room – upgraded me free to a larger two bed room, and right across the hall from the bathroom! Lucky!

Since it was available, I threw some laundry in the very inexpensive machines at the hostel (only ~$1 a load!). I also bought a Helsinki Region Card that gives me free public transport, museum admissions, tours, etc., for the three days I’m here.

Another good thing – I’m in a Scandinavian country so licorice is abundant in many variations! A fave of mine! (Note: Finland is not really a Scandinavian country. More traditionally, the Scandinavian countries include Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. But Iceland and Finland are included with them as part of the Nordic countries.)

There was a well recommended pizza place near the hostel, so that’s where I got a late lunch. Pizza and Italian Moretti beer!

Uspenski Cathedral, the main church of the Orthodox Parish of Helsinki and the Orthodox Church of Finland.

The Bridge of Love with thousands of padlocks

A large 3’ x 4’ painting by a local artist who paints and sells his work out of a tiny box van (Helsinki ArtDreams). Amazing work! Liked his art so much I bought a small print for myself.

The Main Guard Post near the Presidential Palace

The Main Guard Post has a guard in front of its main entrance. Enlisted men serving as guards are selected from the military police. The guard shift lasts an hour at the most, only 20 minutes in cold winter weather. During their shift, guards must stand absolutely still.

Video of the Guard Changing

A few of my favorites from the Ateneum Art Museum, most by Finnish artists.