Day 9: Getting everything in!

Today was really the last full day that we had to see everything that we could possibly see in Helsinki. Tomorrow we have a full day traveling to Estonia. Tuesday we check out of this hotel and head to the airport hotel for the night since our flight to Germany is super early Wednesday morning.

We got to the Finnish National Gallery just as it opened this morning. The building itself was stunning. They have a huge, wide collection of art from all over the world. We were able to view one of Van Gogh's last paintings, "Street in Auvers." The colors are so beautiful!!!

Next, we hopped the city tram to go over to the harbor. While we were over on that side of town, we visited a breathtaking Eastern Orthodox church. The outside was very pretty but paled in comparison to the inside. The detail and work that went into designing and building the church is amazing.

After we saw the church, we took a 20 minute ferry ride out to one of the world's oldest zoos. It's on a small island just off the coast of Helsinki. We enjoyed going to a zoo without worrying about keeping 60+ kids safe!! :) The highlight for us was getting to see the reindeer! We made sure to make it to their exhibit. We also got up close and personal to a giant male lion lounging in the sun. It took most of the day to explore the island and see all of the animals. Many of them were inside their "houses" because of the exceptionally warm temperatures.

For dinner, we stayed at the hotel and enjoyed their very nice restaurant. The waiters brought us tablets to view the menu and order on. Very fancy!! Lynn decided to try a very Finnish dish....she ordered the reindeer steak!! It is a staple over here for many people! She said that it tasted very much like beef.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day! We are both really looking forward to our day trip across the Baltic to Estonia! :)