Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki was a wonderful place to spend a few days. The waterfront is beautiful and alive with boats and open air markets. The downtown Esplanade Park softens a lively, contemporary city. A transport system of ferries, trams, and a subway line make the city very accessible.

I stayed in a hotel that used to be a prison, third floor of the cell block. The cell doors were small, but opened into very nice accomodations. There were still bars on some of the windows in the common areas and the perimeter wall surrounded the hotel. They also sold handcuffs at the reception desk. The Tram stopped right at the front gate, so escape was easy and convenient.

Helsinki has a couple very nice museums. The Kiasma Contemporary Museum had some mind boggling displays. They also had alot of art created behind the iron curtain last century which was very interesting to see. Lot's of dark themes, worker themes, but also other's celebrating communism. Unfortunately, alot of the commentary about the artwork was not in English--it would have been cool to know the back story to some of the pieces.

The Finnish Museum had an awesome collection of art celebrating the Kalevala, the collection of Finnish mythology. These stories, set in verse, are held sacred and tell about how the world and Finnish people came to be. From what I gathered, it's a colorful story. There were also a few Picasso's and Van Gogh's on display.

Other sights around the city included Sibelius Park, The Church in the Rock, the Helsinki Zoo (an island of it's own) and Suomelinna (which means Fort of Finland), an island fortress set in the mouth of Helsinki Harbor. The Fort, mostly constructed in the 1700s, consisted of over 6 miles of fortress walls and more than 80% are still standing. It was considered an impenetrable Gibralter of the Baltic--but the Swedes and Russians both dispelled that reputation. Today the island is a beautifully presevered UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site and still home to about 800 residents who live in many of the original barracks and commute to Helsinki by ferry.

I guess the oddest sight, was the Carnival Samba Parade through downtown Helsinki which was loud, festive, colorful, and lasted for over 2 hours. There must have been 2000 dancers with accompanying floats and bands. Apparently, the weather in Finland isn't agreeable for a Mardi Gras parade in February, so they hold it in June, sponsored by the Brazillian Embassy and peopled by the hundreds of dance clubs throughout Finland. The costumes were incredible and would rival anything you would see in Rio. I have photos on my cell phone and if I can figure out how to get the downloaded I will post them.

I do have other photos if you want to take a look.