Going Berry Nuts

Helsinki, Finland.  And the end of the tour for some.

Beautiful, but oh, so grey!

Our run of wet weather continued, however by the time we had settled into the hotel and geared up for a city orientation walk, the sun was breaking between the clouds.  With a positive outlook for the weather, we disappeared off to walk the outdoor museum, Suomenlinna, once a Naval Fortress (1758) with a big, big history.  Suomenlinna is located over a series of islands in Helsinki Harbour and some residences are still owned by locals – so it’s a nice suburban/open air museum mix.   

We walked the grounds out to the Kings Gate then along the Russian defence line complete with some rather robust artillery in the gun emplacements. 

This poor chap was tied to a canon for punishment.  Yes, it was then fired!
This isn't really what's left of him, but a bronze memorial...but you knew that!

Whilst the Cap’n sought out more things military, GS happily toured the totally captivating toy museum and then learned more about the life and times of the period at the Commandant’s Residence, once home to the fort’s founder, Augustin Ehrensvard.

Aside from a quick visit to the unusual (though interesting architecturally) Church of the Rock, we did little else in Helsinki except pound the pavement and admire amazing buildings both old & new, enjoy trend-setting Finnish arts & design and appreciate flavoursome wafts courtesy of the current fad for street food. 

Down near the wharf, we succumbed to a mixed fish plate – salmon, cod and sardines(?) served with buttered potatoes and mixed vegetables.  Yumalicious!  But enough to feed a small army!  Market stalls, aside from the usual souvenirs, also had fur hats, fantastic woolly scarves & mittens, a wide selection of seasonal berries and wild mushrooms - all at unbelievable prices - it was so hard not to go completely nuts...

Design and arts is BIG in Helsinki and having won the Design Capital 2012 Award, delicious colours, modern design, inspirational architecture and fabulous traditional knitting is featured everywhere.  We could easily have spent a week in this vibrant and stylish city. 

(Note the stylish & comfortable chairs in the Ferry Terminal!)

Oh well, time to bid some of our fellow travellers farewell, welcome newcomers and move on to experience the Baltic coast and see more of Eastern Europe.  Again, led by the delightful Sanni!  Except, we'll just have to have a quick chat about all this long distance push-bike riding...

Another captivating view of Helsinki's Harbour

Tervetuloa Suomi

Aland Islands, Finland.  

The solidly built Pommern 1904 - on a very grey afternoon

We left Stockholm on a dull, grey morning for the 4 hour crossing on a rather substantial ferry to the Aland Islands.  The seas were equally grey, somewhat swelly and with white caps.  Yes, it was raining too.  Welcome to Finland.

We think this was a house with a "widow's watchtower"

Families were watching and waiting for ships
 like the Pommern to return home safely

The Alands consist of some 6757 skerries and islands, mostly rocky, flat and largely uninhabited.  The archipelago is something of an enigma, given its Finnish nationality, autonomous status and Swedish language.  Thanks to a shipping industry and tourism it is quite well off.

Marieham, its quaint village capital, seems unspoilt by either activity.  We noted however, large ladders attached to most of the houses and assumed this was to enable access during those long, snowed-in months.  We also learned that during winter, it is possible to drive over the ice to the islands from the Finnish mainland.  Strange but true!

Although the rain had eased, our fearless group set off on yet another 20km bike ride to explore some of the nearby tiny granite islands.  It was reported as a bracing tour through some lovely birch forested skerries.

Substantial Halyard Winch

For those not bike riding (Ed. yours truly), a nearby Maritime Museum beckoned, though we only had an hour to cover both the museum and the Pommern, a 1904 four-masted, steel hulled merchant ship that once plied its trade between the UK and Australia. 

Thankfully, many of the Pommern’s adventures were photographed or filmed and there were some indescribable pictures on display of the ship’s rounding of Cape Horn in less than appealing conditions and wild hurricane experiences in the Atlantic.

Thank goodness for modern day charts and weather forecasts!  

A Captain with taste in travelling companions!

The Museum was set up as a re-creation of a ship, with some truly remarkable supporting pieces, including a pirate flag (one of only three known to exist in the world), a collection of delightful figureheads and a large display of items made by the sailors during their time off-watch.  Aside from the usual macramé and knitting, the collection included shell covered boxes and pictures made from butterfly wings. 

At Dino’s Bar & Grill we mixed it with the locals, skipped meals of moose meat and waited in the convivial warmth before taking our midnight ferry to Helsinki.  Let’s just say that this crossing was even more challenging than the last and put paid to ANY idea of sailing the Baltic….(well, in anything less than a very, very large cruise ship!)

Now, wouldn't this be a really nice figurehead for WJ3?