Today, we took the city bus to central Helsinki and
meandered the streets until we came to the Central Railway Station, across the street
from the iconic Atheneum Art Museum. Helsinki's tree-lined avenues, graceful
parks, and distinctive architecture make the city a wonderful venue for
walking. Next, we walked through Helsinki University to Senate Square to see
the whitewashed neoclassical St. Nicholas Cathedral. From the Senate Square we
went to the harbor area to look around and then a return visit to the Johan
Nystrom Cafe to get another of the best pastries I have ever eaten. After our
snack… we walked past the Uspenski Orthodox
Cathedral, the biggest Orthodox Cathedral in Scandinavia. We did a walk through
the harbor area, passing the Presidential Palace and visiting the open-air
market. We considered going back to Suomenlinna Island and Fortress but decided
to make our way to the Temppeliaukio Church instead. Leaving the Market Square
we strolled through the Esplanade Park to Mannerheimintie Street, Helsinki’s
main thoroughfare. It is safe to say there are not many churches in the world
quite like this one, Temppeliaukio or the Rock Church is partly underground and
has been hewn from the bedrock. The
bedrock forms the interior walls and is really unique... Around the central copper dome is a circular
skylight through which sunlight floods into the church. On our way back to the
Market Square we did some souvenir browsing. It was such a gorgeous, sunny day. I even went with shorts, that hasn’t happened
in a while. Ultimately, we decided to return
to the ship for lunch... I was back into tanning mode today; my faded tan will
hopefully come back to life quickly... Another great day in the Baltic….
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