Helsinki - Part 1 (8 pictures)

The last city I visited on this trip was Helsinki, Finland.  Helsinki is a bit of an odd city to me in that it felt like it belonged in a former Communist country in some ways.  The city is not dirty (unlike Copenhagen), but for the most part it is quite drab and nondescript.  I don't think there are any buildings over 10 stories tall, and most seem to be 8 stories or less in the downtown area. 

On the other hand the people are incredibly nice and in many ways it felt like "home".  Maybe that's because so many people I saw looked like me or like family members.  I saw one old woman on the bus who if she was about 70 lbs heavier would have been a spitting image of my grandmother.  The exact same hair (some color, same curls, etc) and a very similar face.  Just a lot lighter.  :)

So despite having to take a bus from the airport (a train into the main train station downtown should finish sometime in 2014) and the general lack fantastic old buildings (with a few exceptions below) to take pictures of, I actually enjoyed my stay.  It also helped that I was there for the beginning of the 2013 IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) World Championships and managed to get a ticket to the USA vs. Austria game on the Saturday before I left.  It was my first taste of live hockey in several years and was fun to go see.

However, when I arrived, this was the view out my hotel window, which isn't exactly inviting.

However, in this post I am mostly going to focus on some pictures of the "big 3" (my term) churches in Helsinki.  Two of which dominate the skyline, and one of which dominates the tourist crowd.  :)




First up is the most famous church in Helsinki, and the building that is more or less the symbol of the city.  This is the Lutheran Cathedral.  It is built on a low hill and is visible over pretty much the entire downtown skyline.

One of things I found funny as that having just gone to the Thorvoldsen Museum in Copenhagen a few days before, I recognized the statues are on the roof.  They are Thorvaldsen's statues of the Disciples of Jesus and the designs were seemingly "borrowed" for use on the cathedral.  I only managed to get decent pictures of the two below and have no idea who they are.  But they are still cool.

The other church that dominates the skyline of the Eastern Orthodox cathedral near the harbor, just a few blocks from the Lutheran Cathedral.  This is supposedly the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedral or church outside of Eastern Europe and is a legacy of the long Russian rule over Finland.

The interior walls are quite beautifully decorated, as you can see below.

The last church in the "big 3" is the Church of he Rock.  This is a church that was blasted out a giant rock and which has a huge copper roof.  I was chatting with the girl who was manning the souvenir desk and she said they thousands of visitors a day.  But since they hold weddings and services in the church, the tourists usually have to rush in and take pictures in 15 minute intervals and the church team gets set up for the next wedding.

The acoustics in the church are said to be incredible and it is apparently also frequently used for chamber and similar music performances.

 I want to one more church, the Kallion Church (Kallion Kirkko) which is probably the highest structure in the city.  It sits on probably the biggest hill and is quite tall as you can see below.  However, because it is not in the downtown area, it doesn't dominate the skyline the way the two cathedrals do.

That's the last picture for this post.  Have a great day!