Helsinki cathedral
When we last spoke, Javier and I were on the ferry from St. Petersburg and turning in early to prepare for our busy day to follow. We arrived in Helsinki at 8am. After disembarking and breathing a sigh of relief once we cleared Helsinki customs, we quickly stored our backpacks in a locker and made our way to the city center. So, a little background information…when we were planning this part of our trip, we had read that Helsinki was not very exciting, and really not worth the stop. As a matter of fact, when we were taking the taxi from the airport to the ferry station, our taxi driver told us we could see all of Helsinki in a single day, if that. So, needless to say, we did not allot too much time for Helsinki, actually, we only gave ourselves a few hours.
Fun Chinese tourists at the Helsinki Cathedral.
Our walk into the city center was very quiet. At this point, it was around 9:15am Sunday morning, and most of the city was still asleep or at least relaxing at home. It was like a ghost town. As we neared the city center we realized how incredibly beautiful it was. The side streets we had been walking on did not give any indication that this was what lied ahead. We found the visitor’s center open, so thought we would stop in and see how to best spend our precious few hours. She gave us recommendations on eating (we were quite hungry at this point) and highlighted a few areas of interest. The first being the Helsinki cathedral. At this point it was about 9:45 and mass was going to start at 10. So, even though we only had a few hours, we decided to go. We sat in the old church and listened to the hymns and sermon- all in Finnish. Although we didn’t understand a word that was spoken, Javier and I both enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to stop, even for just an hour or so, and recharge- mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Jackie!
So, a little insight into how we function. When one of says we are hungry…it’s time to eat. Javier and I both have sudden needs to eat. It doesn’t happen gradually. It is instantaneous, and if not properly attended to, dangerous. We have resorted to carrying around packets of crackers or other small snacks for such emergencies. Well, before we decided to attend church, Javier had said he was hungry. He inhaled a little packet of crackers before, but by the time we were done, I knew we were in a slightly urgent situation. To my surprise, when we exited, we were not as dire as I thought. He must have been filled with the spirit because when we left, we stopped to take plenty of pictures, and leisurely made our way to a breakfast spot with no one getting hurt 😉
pro-Ukraine protest.
On the way to the cafe, we passed by three guys playing the xylophone…they were quite good. The cafe itself was a tiny door and stairwell at street level. On the second floor, we ordered our food and sat next to the window to watch the crowd below. We saw people dressed in blue and yellow flags with flower wreaths on their heads in a pro-Ukrainian march, and I very much
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sights
enjoyed watching a rather unhappy and strong-willed baby throw toys and dolls out of her stroller forcing her dad to stop every few steps, take an obvious deep breath, pick up the toy, and place it in the basket under the stroller. He would even look inside to make sure there was nothing else to throw, and as soon as he would start walking…out goes another one! It was a magic baby, and really made my morning…but I digress.
The weekend street market.
Javier and I are collecting patches and pins from every country we visit for our respective “art projects” when we return home. So, with only a couple hours left we walked the town in search of the perfect souvenir. Our search took us to an outdoor market of sorts located right on the waterfront. Along the water, we saw the Uspenski Cathedral as well as a huge statue of a startled, peeing, weird looking
Unicorn street back in the day.
man-child, thing. Another observation we made while walking the city were these plaques, right next to the street signs, with different animals on them. There were hamsters, and unicorns, and camels…there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them. So, before we left, we hopped into the visitor center again and asked about their significance. We were told that before there were street names and numbers, every block was identified by animal. So, if there was a fire, the fire station would be notified that there was a fire on the “Rabbit” block, and they would know where to go…pretty clever…
Cold and sunny. Tallinn ferry.
Before we knew it, it was time to return to the ferry terminal for our voyage to Tallinn, Estonia! Our journey to Tallinn was fairly uneventful. I will say that this ferry was waaaaay nicer than the ferry to Russia. The large open bar and seating area looked like it could make for one awesome pool party…if only there was a pool…and maybe warm weather… There was live jazz and blues music, good food, and storage lockers! By the time we arrived in Tallinn, the weather had gone from sunny and chilly to gloomy and rainy. No problem though, we only had a 40 min walk ahead of us…in the rain…most of it cobblestoned…carrying 40-50 pounds on our back…uphill. Good times. #jandjworld.