Ferry ride and navigating around Helsinki -- 8/3/17

After breakfast in the hotel in Tallinn, we took a quick cab ride to the harbor and boarded a ferry to Helsinki.  This is nothing like any ferry I have ever experienced in the States. I would call it a miniature cruise ship.  Luckily, Dan had the forethought to purchase tickets in a lounge, so we wouldn't have to fight for 6 seats together.  

It was a quick and uneventful ferry trip (about 2 hours).  The tram stopped right outside of the ferry dock, but there was a huge line to get tickets at the single ticket booth.  We had to wait through two different trams just to be able to purchase tickets.  Little did we know, that no one checks tickets on the trams (similar to Amsterdam), so they weren't even necessary.  This was one of the first sights that greeted us after we boarded the tram.  What in the world?!? That is one way to have a fountain that waters your landscaping...

After checking into the hotel, we walked a few blocks to a restaurant, Juttutupa, for lunch.  We were able to sit outside.  The air feels so fresh and crisp in Finland, even in a large city.  You could tell that we were the farthest North that we had ever traveled.

The restaurant had pizza on the menu, and Jack was very excited.  He could choose two toppings, and wanted to choose reindeer as one of them, but I talked him out of it.  

After lunch, we found a playground in a park across the street.

It was quite crowded on such a beautiful day.  Dan spotted this mom leaving the park with her three kids in a contraption on the front of her bike that essentially looked like a wheelbarrow.  What a great invention!  I would have loved one of these when the kids were little.

We attempted to do a little sightseeing, but we quickly learned that the tram system and streets in Helsinki are not as easy to decipher as other cities we have visited.  There was not a published map that showed each stop for each tram line, so it was complicated to know where to disembark.  After some struggling, we found the train station (not our intended destination).  It was designed by Eliel Saarinen, a famous Finnish architect.  He and his family emigrated to the US in the 1920s.  His son became a famous architect in his own right, as he designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the Dulles International Airport main terminal.  

After wandering for a bit and finally asking directions in a museum, we were pointed in the right direction to walk to Temppeliauko Church, the Church in the Rock.  It was built in 1969 by blasting it out of a solid piece of granite.  We don't normally visit modern churches on our trips, but this was a "must see" in Helsinki.  We lucked upon someone playing live piano music when we visited.

 The outside doesn't look like much, but the inside, however...

Here are two panoramic views.  I apologize for Hadley's distorted face in one.  She was in the middle of the balcony as I filmed it.

You will notice rocks that look wet in places.  The granite still weeps at times from groundwater.

The dome is made of a copper coil that would be 13 miles long if stretched out.

We all needed a bit of downtime after getting up so early to catch the ferry, so we went back to the hotel for some rest.  The brain break was enough to clear our minds in order to figure out the tram system and the street layout before heading back out to see more sights.  In stark contrast to the Church in the Rock, the Lutheran Cathedral sits high atop Senate Square.

Here are some pictures of the inside of the Cathedral.  The organ is huge!

Here is a picture overlooking Senate Square from the top of the Cathedral steps.  The Senate building (of course) and the University of Helsinki are also located in this square.

A few blocks away, we found Market Square, which was our intended destination after lunch, instead of the train station.  The market stalls were all packed up for the evening, but it was a pretty view none the less.

The Havis Amanda fountain is just across the street from Market Square.  It was a bit controversial when unveiled in 1908 due to its racy nature, but it has now been embraced as a main symbol of Helsinki.  The seals do look a little like they are vomiting water on her, though.  

The Esplanade park, built in the 1840s, runs several blocks through the middle of Helsinki.  It is a very beautiful strolling opportunity.

Here is one of the many beautiful fountains in the Esplanade.

We passed a funeral home every time we rode the tram back and forth from the hotel.  How's this for blatant advertising?

We capped off the night with a visit to Helsinki's Hard Rock Cafe, which is a tradition on our overseas trips.  That is one of John Lennon's jacket's behind us.  

Jack also had a chance to rock out in a photo opportunity.