Day 5 Helsinki and Another Ferry Ride

After a smooth sailing, we arrived on time in the port of Helsinki. If boarding the boat was difficult, disembarking was a nightmare: too many people in one small space squeezing through a smaller opening into an even smaller space. However, we managed to finally get off the ferry and through customs. Our guide and our driver were waiting for us and we were off for a brief overview tour of the city.

Helsinki was a marked contrast to St. Petersburg- very quiet and subdued in terms of the people and of the architecture. There is little traffic and little colour, and certainly no Rococo decoration in sight.

We visited the Senate and Cathedral Square and the Upenski Cathedral.

Near the cathedral is a giant perfume atomizer, which our guide solemnly declared "Is Art".

 

The new central library is a pretty amazing building, operating as a community centre in the truest sense- and it has some books to lend as well. It draws upon the country's shipbuilding heritage, from its outward appearance to its interior uneven floors.

In a public park is a pretty unique area- these scaffold structures are for anyone to use to wash and dry their carpets.

After arriving at our hotel, we walked through the neighbourhood and down to the harbour where we browsed for a few moments at a flea market (people buy and sell useless stuff all over the world, it seems) and then settled in to enjoy a strong coffee on a sunny patio overlooking the flea market and the harbour beyond.

That's our ferry to and from St. Petersburg in the centre of the photo.

Our room in the hotel was lovely- as far from the front desk as possible, so very, very quiet (but so far that we couldn't get wifi).

We spent most of our time in Helsinki walking through the quiet streets and enjoying good coffee and generous meals.

At noon the following day, we were taken by a charming driver back to the port to take a ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. We were relieved that it was a completely different experience- quiet, orderly, no pushing anywhere.  The ferry was also a treat- so many comfortable spaces and facilities- including a supermarket! We found a great table in one of the pubs and enjoyed a beverage whilst listening to live music. Disembarking was easy and orderly- a wonderful contrast to our experience the day before.