Friday, May 31, 2013

Day 7: A lot of sightseeing!

Since we were unable to meet with any other schools and/or professors (we tried lots!!!), the rest of our trip is sightseeing and learning more about the Finnish history and culture.

We started the day with an hour and 45 minute guided bus tour of Helsinki.  Several languages were offered so it was nice to understand what the recording was saying!!  We circled around the new part and old part of the city (even though none of it looks "new", with the except of a few modern-designed museum buildings).  We started by one of the harbors.  This harbor is a port of call for several cruise lines.  Next, we got views of and information about the House of Estates, Finnish Bank, several statues from centuries ago, cathedrals, and historic buildings.  We took a short stop at Temppeliaukio Church, which is a church designed and built into rock.  This is a very popular tourist destination.  Also on the tour, we were able to see Suomenlinna, the island with the former Russian-controlled fortress, from the mainland.  The harbor on that side of town is very famous for its shipbuilding. Many of the ships that cruise the Caribbean were actually built Finland.  We also stopped at a park to view Sibelius Monument, which was built to honor the very famous Finnish composer Sibelius.  He is the composer of "Findlandia" which is very popular around the world.  We're not sure that we can explain all of the amazing sights that we saw today!  There is so much history and culture that sometimes it's hard to take it all in!

After the tour, we grabbed lunch at Stockman's little cafĂ©.  This is a HUGE department store in the middle of Helsinki.  The saying goes that if you can't find it here, you don't need it!

We walked back along the guided tour route to the National Museum of Finland.  This museum presents Finnish life from prehistoric times to now.  The exhibits tell about life over a period of around 10,000 years!!!!!!!  Now that's history!

We did a lot of just walking around, taking in the sights and sounds of Helsinki today.  The weather was perfect for exploring the city.  Tomorrow, we will take the ferry and spend the day at Suomenlinna, exploring the fortress and series of islands.  That should take the majority of the day.  When we get back, we plan on seeing more historic sites and visiting more of the museums.

Hope everyone back home enjoys their weekend!!!

Lynn on the guided city tour

Statue outside historic building (now a bank) -- notice the damage at the bottom of the statue (from fighting during the war)

"Rock Church" organ

"Rock Church"

1952 Helsinki Olympic Stadium

National Museum of Finland

Lynn with....well, we're not quite sure!


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