Khertvisi Castle, Khertvisi, Georgia

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Helsinki Days 1 & 2

First stop on my trip after Georgia is Helsinki, Finland.  I had rain on my first day, but have had nice, clear weather since.  Here are a few pictures of what I've been up to!

View of the Caucasus from my airplane

Goodbye, Caucasus!

I got set up at the campground in Helsinki before the rain hit.  Thankfully, my tent is waterproof.  (You can see it way in the background, the little brown-and-red tent.)

Cathedral on Senate Square, with a statue of Alexander 2 of Russia in front

Sibelius monument

Floating market near the open-air market

Open-air market.  Note the large quantity of delicious berries for sale.  

Today's Special of 4 kinds of sausages was too intriguing to pass up

Here it is: reindeer, bear, moose and wild boar sausages over fried potatoes and onions, doused in lingonberry jam and spicy mustard.  Amazing.

Self portrait on the ferry out to the sea fortress, Suominlinna

View of Helsinki from the ferry.  Dark clouds rolled in but it stayed pretty much dry all day on day 2.

The sea fortress

Dry docks in the sea fortress

Beautiful beach on the island of the sea fortress

Not a self portrait!

One of the 5 submarines that made up the great Finnish submarine fleet of WW2

Inside the sub

The sea fortress island was really gorgeous, even in spite of the dark clouds.  The cool church tower in the middle also doubles as a lighthouse.

Some street art near the Finnish National Museum.  Not sure what it says or whether the bird is dead or knocked out.

Ceiling inside the rotunda at the Finnish National Museum

Finnish Parliament

Main train station in Helsinki

If they don't have it at Stockmann, you don't need it.

Cool wooden entryway

Sunset on day 2.  I took this picture at 10:25pm.

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