Five Countries in Five Weeks – Cold Northern Europe: Finland

Even though Northern Europe was expensive it was a nice change from the places we usually visit. This is the second article of the Northern Europe series. Having left Stockholm via the Viking Ferry, we arrived that same evening in Turku, Finland. And after a few days we took the bus down to Helsinki. Here are some of the highlights.

We saw several homesteads like this that were alone on their own island.

Traveling in unaccustomed style.

We made a stop at Mariehamn, Aland Islands. On the cliffside path facing the sea there were several residents watching the ferries pass by. Mariehamn and the Alan Islands are an autonomous region of Finland where the residents speak Swedish. Mariehamn (“Marie’s Port”) was named after the 19th century Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse).

Stenkrossen, an abandoned quarry by Mariehamn’s Western Harbor.

Turku Castle, built in the 1280’s, greets us shortly after we disembarked from the ferry. A fire in 1614 destroyed most of the castle and after it was rebuilt and made into a warehouse.

Even though the walk to the apartment was cold and we had several blocks to go I just had to stop and take a photo of this building.

Market Square with the Orthodox Church of Saint Alexandra on the right.

Läntinen Pitkäkatu. We trudged through snow and more snow on our way to the bus station and back.

Left: Läntinen Pitkäkatu. Kauppiaskatu 20. The house was designed by Robert Lyly and was completed in 1926. Right: Detail of the Woman & Girl statue gracing the corner. I’m not sure who did the artwork. It dates to the same time as the building.

They really love licorice in these northern countries. I do too …. but a whole tupperware-type container of it? And of course there is also Fudge. Licorice flavored!

Left: “Turku Cathedral is a medieval basilica located in Turku, Finland. It was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century and dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300.” – Wiki
The main cathedral was in Turku (earlier called Abo) because it was the capital of the country.
Right: I wanted to get a closer photo of the facade and interior but it was just too cold to go over the bridge in my decidedly unwinterly clothes so I had to settle for this shot from the bus as we were leaving town.

Finally heading south to Helsinki. We could enjoy the scenery … or decide just who to vote for in the upcoming elections, each candidate conveniently also given a number.

Three photos of the landscape as we went in and out of snow flurries.

Red seems to be the preferred color of Finnish barns.

I can almost hear one of Sibelius’s symphonies to accompany these vistas.

We really wanted to spend more time in Helsinki but it was just too cold and budget-breaking.

A telephoto of the Helsinki Train Station, taken as we were walking down to our next hotel. I was hoping to get a closer look the next day but getting ferry tickets for Estonia was a higher priority. Can’t see everything.

I wasn’t able to find out what this building was. I had seen another one almost identical to this one.

The bitter cold walk to the ferry dock still had some pretty interesting sites. Halfway to the ferry we ducked into a nice hotel lobby to warm up.

Next: Estonia.