Day 11 (I think) - Helsinki, Finland. Today we arrived in Finland to the most beautiful blue skies and no chance of rain. I couldn't imagine more perfect weather for vacationing. This is a good time to note that we are really big Dallas Stars fans (and hockey in general). On this trip, we are visiting the homelands of several players. Austin has Dallas Stars player shirts to wear in Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Though it looks like he is wearing the same shirt all the time, I assure you they are different. Today is a Miro Heiskanen shirt (our rookie defenseman).
Our first stop on our tour was Sibelius park and a monument for the Finnish composer. It was made up of over 600 steel pipes welded together. We were warned to not put our heads in the pipes because apparently that is a thing and people get stuck.
Next we drove to Rock Church or Temppeliaukion Kirkko. This is a Lutheran church that was built in 1969 into a rock in the side of a hill. It was very crowded and clearly something people flock to. I have to admit that after seeing all the churches in Russia, this one seemed a bit blah. We gave it the quick walk through and then crossed the street to find a few souvenirs and to try a Finnish soda.
Next we drove to Seurasaari Open-Air park or Seurasaaren Ulkomuseo. Finland is covered with a wide variety of trees and there are lakes everywhere. It is a beautiful place full of nature. This park is an uninhabited island where they have brought in old homes from all over Finland and rebuilt them here for people to see how their ancestors lived and survived the cold, dark winters. We walked around the park for a little over an hour and saw just a small fraction. It was such a beautiful day that we didn't want it to end.
After this, we visited the open air market where we tried wild strawberries (so sweet!), a Finnish pastry (pretty much like a cinnamon roll), and bought some salty licorice (a Finnish treat). We had a very calm day in Finland and I would love to go back and visit one day. They are a very happy people.
Next we drove to Rock Church or Temppeliaukion Kirkko. This is a Lutheran church that was built in 1969 into a rock in the side of a hill. It was very crowded and clearly something people flock to. I have to admit that after seeing all the churches in Russia, this one seemed a bit blah. We gave it the quick walk through and then crossed the street to find a few souvenirs and to try a Finnish soda.
Next we drove to Seurasaari Open-Air park or Seurasaaren Ulkomuseo. Finland is covered with a wide variety of trees and there are lakes everywhere. It is a beautiful place full of nature. This park is an uninhabited island where they have brought in old homes from all over Finland and rebuilt them here for people to see how their ancestors lived and survived the cold, dark winters. We walked around the park for a little over an hour and saw just a small fraction. It was such a beautiful day that we didn't want it to end.
After this, we visited the open air market where we tried wild strawberries (so sweet!), a Finnish pastry (pretty much like a cinnamon roll), and bought some salty licorice (a Finnish treat). We had a very calm day in Finland and I would love to go back and visit one day. They are a very happy people.
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