The first time you travel to a new city or country you never know what to expect. The first impression of Helsinki was not very flattering. As we left the dock we passed through some hi-rise apartments, they were concrete tilt slab type buildings. What caught my eye was most of the apartments had balconies, almost all were glassed in. I guess this is normal for a city this far North but it looked unusual to us. The part of the city we saw seemed very modern, there seemed to be very few old buildings.
Our excursion took us out to Porvoo, a small fishing village where we walked around the "Old Town" which consisted of two short streets with some old wooden houses selling souvenirs. We loaded back up on the bus and went to the dock area where we boarded a old fishing boat converted to take passengers on a short river cruise.
After a thirty minute cruise up river we stopped at Haikko Manor for lunch. It was a hotel/spa, a fairly fancy place. It was very crowded due to other tours also having lunch there. They served a traditional Danish meal.
The underground subway in Helsinki had been removed and the remaining excavations converted to bike paths.
Temppeliaukio or the Rock Church was very nice, it is somewhat plain but it makes a very favorable impression once you are inside.
Our last stop was at Helsinki Cathedral, a Lutheran Church. We did not get the chance to go inside.
Our excursion took us out to Porvoo, a small fishing village where we walked around the "Old Town" which consisted of two short streets with some old wooden houses selling souvenirs. We loaded back up on the bus and went to the dock area where we boarded a old fishing boat converted to take passengers on a short river cruise.
After a thirty minute cruise up river we stopped at Haikko Manor for lunch. It was a hotel/spa, a fairly fancy place. It was very crowded due to other tours also having lunch there. They served a traditional Danish meal.
The underground subway in Helsinki had been removed and the remaining excavations converted to bike paths.
Temppeliaukio or the Rock Church was very nice, it is somewhat plain but it makes a very favorable impression once you are inside.
Our last stop was at Helsinki Cathedral, a Lutheran Church. We did not get the chance to go inside.
TJ & EA in Helsinki Finland
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