suomenlinna and helsinki
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Well I'm back home again. I flew in last Tuesday night and I'm still waking at 1.30 a.m irrespective of the time I go to bed. The last few days of my trip were spent in Helsinki, a city I last visited in 2010. Apart from a new rail line to the airport, the city seems little changed.
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My hotel was down on the wharf near the cruise ship terminal. Soon after I arrived I caught the tram to see Helsinki Cathedral and Market Square, a lively part of town filled with tourists.
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I had a delicious salmon supper for dinner.
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The next day was my designated shopping day having done none in Greece. I bookmarked a few shops on the Design Trail and spent the morning wandering around.
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The shops don't open until 10.00 or 11.00 in Helsinki and most are closed on Sunday so I wandered around the town first and then around the Esplanade.
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The park was a hive of activity and lots of spring flowers were in bloom.
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I managed to buy a few things on my shopping trip that came home with me. I was restrained though because after Greece I found Helsinki quite expensive.
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The locals were out and about enjoying the sunshine. After lunch the day clouded over so I postponed my trip to the UNESCO heritage site of Suomenlinna until Sunday.
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Maybe that wasn't such a good idea when the day dawned grey and drizzly. I visited the Art Gallery first then made my way to the ferry.
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I'd come to Europe well prepared for bad weather and had packed both an umbrella and a rain jacket just in case. Naturally I'd left both items in my hotel room that day.
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I knew Suomenlinna was the site of a Swedish fortress so I was expecting it to be all grey stone and dour. I wasn't expecting it to be so pretty.
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800 people live on the islands and many of the buildings are really colourful. There are cafes, restaurants and shops and many, many museums.
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There is a walking trail (the blue route) you take from the jetty across 2 islands to the Kings Gate.
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You pass by Suomenlinna church and these fantastic buildings.
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These buildings are part of the Russian Merchant Quarters.
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The island is lush and green.
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It was heady with the scent of lilacs.
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You walk through a tunnel to reach the Great Courtyard.
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This is such an elegant building.
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I walked towards the fort as the weather started to take a turn for the worse.
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By this time the drizzle had turned into cold driving rain so I decided to return home.
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This is what the sky looked like as the ferry came into Market Square.
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As soon as I made it back to the hotel the sun came out. I hadn't finished seeing the island and felt a bit cheated and with a late flight the next day, I decided to make a 2nd visit to Suomenlinna.
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On Monday the weather was much better and there were fewer tourists.
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I found all these places I'd walked by in the rain.
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This is Piper Park, which is so pretty and it houses a cafe overlooking a beach and some battlements.
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The Cafe
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The battlements overlooking the water.
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The pretty cove.
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I kept walking until I reached the Kings Gate.
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Finland is quite a young country formerly governed by both Sweden and Russia. Now the Finnish flag flies over the Fortress
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A final look at the buildings before the ferry back to Market Square.
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I was so glad I made the 2nd trip to Suomenlinna. It was well worth the 15 minute ferry ride.
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So that's it. No more holiday happy snaps for a while. I'll have to start planning for next years holiday.
See you all again next week with some baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
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