Helsinki, Finland's capital, has a population about 600,000 people. It is located in the south of the country. Finland has a total population of about five million. Finlanders (or Finns) generally enjoy a comfortable standard of living and are consistently rated among the happiest people in the world. I spent about five days here, exploring the city and some nearby islands and parks. Lots to love here!
Welcome! I found Helsinki people to be friendly and helpful. They generally love their country and are proud of it. I spent most of my time in Helsinki, where the vast majority are multilingual, speaking Finnish, Swedish, and English.
Here's the Helsinki waterfront. A big fish market, including a floating market like this, selling fish directly to customers
Facing the waterfront is this massive Lutheran Cathedral, a place where nationally important services are held, and a wonderful venue for concerts (I attended one while I was here; the acoustics are fabulous!). Finns generally, and urban Finns especially, are not particularly "religious," so not many people attend services regularly, but they are available to those who want them.
Inside the cathedral was this installation called Gaia, a seven meter diameter globe using NASA imagery. This globe is on a tour around the globe and happened to be in Helsinki while I was here. The artist, Luke Jaream, created it to draw attention to our planet and what we can do to keep it healthy. While I was in Helsinki, I attended a concert in the cathedral, and the accoustics were fabulous! And, as it happened, the performers were a modern choral group from Denmark who sang earth-themed songs from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Estonia, all countries I visited during this trip! Very fun!
Next to the cathedral is the Government Palace, where national government administration happens. Like the rest of the Nordic countries, Finland has a strong social safety net, a highly regulated (for safety) commercial and industrial environment, and many well-functioning public services, from transportation to parks to education and health care.
Across from the government palace and adjacent to the cathedral is the main administrative building of the University of Helsinki. It is practically a mirror image of the palace. All three "headquarters" on the same square
Near the main square, perched high on a hill, is the Upenski (Russian Orthodox) Cathedral, a reminder that some of Finland's people have a Russian heritage. Finland was a possession of Russia for about one hundred years.
More about Helsinki: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CwMt2UA17JpMYmmQ8
In fact, when Sweden controlled Finland in the 1700s, they built a huge fortress in the Helsinki Archipelago to defend themselves against potential Russian aggression. Didn't do much good; the Russians took control of Finland in the late 1700s without much of a fight and used the fortress as their own naval base for about 100 years.
Finland declared its independence from Russia after the First World War. The fortress is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site called Suomenlinna; it is a well-preserved example of an 18th century fortification system. Getting there involves a free twenty minute ferry ride from the waterfront; it is a very popular place for Finns and tourists to visit.
Suomenlinna UNESCO Site: https://photos.app.goo.gl/va8bAgmTeNAyky5S8
Helsinki has a lot of public art, mainly sculptures, throughout the city. One of the most popular is the Three Smiths Statue, near the Central Railway station. It symbolizes the value and importance of working together
This sculpture, meant to represent organ pipes, is a tribute to one of Finland's most important classical composers, Jean Sibelius. You've probably heard one version or another of one of his most famous works, called Finlandia
Near the Sibelius monument is what looks like a pile of rocks.
If you go around to the other side, you can enter this place, often called the Rock Church, an amazing building that was carved and blasted out of the rock. It has great acoustics and also is often used for concerts as well as services
There are many cool buildings near the center of the city, just north of the waterfront. Here is a building called Finlandia Hall. It is a conference center that has been used for many things, including important international meetings. Remember the Helsinki Accords? Yeah, right here.
Here's the Central Railway Station, quite an impressive bit of architecture. The building is massive and quite beautiful!
But the coolest building in town, in my opinion, was Oode, Helsinki's Central Library
There's hardly a straight line or a corner in the place; all kinds of curves meant to evoke clouds, waves, and floating sensations.
The planners wanted Oodi to be the city's family room. I'd say they succeeded. Look at how many people are here on a late Thursday afternoon
No visit I make to a country is complete if I don't visit at least one national park. This was it: Sipponkorpi National Park, about 20 miles / 30 km northeast of Helsinki. A beautiful place with birch and aspens starting to turn their golden colors. Plenty of moss and lichen too!
And a sweet view of Fiskträsk Lake, one of the destinations of our hike in the park
Sipponkorpi National Park: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FSxDJr6NSepoRCGL7
My wish was for more time to explore the city, and I barely scratched the surface with the rest of Finland. Like I said at the outset, lots to love in Finland!
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