Grand Circle Travel: Norwegian Costal Cruise and Lapland |
Fri., 9/25/15 – Moscow to Helsinki, Finland
We enjoyed one last “champagne and caviar” breakfast (some people really ate the stuff) and then OAT provided us with a taxi for the ride through rush hour traffic to Sheremetyevo Airport. We flew Finnair to Helsinki, a one-hour 40-minute flight. The airport in Helsinki is small and we had no trouble finding our Grand Circle driver who took us to our hotel, Scandic Grand Marina, which is down near the harbor.
It is a relief to be out of Russia. With world politics as they are today one never knows what action Putin will take next. Our group of 10 OAT Americans was nearly the only Americans we saw while in Russia. Migle told us that American tourism to Russia is down so much that they (Grand Circle) are no longer running the river boat excursions for Americans from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We never felt unsafe or unwelcome in any form other than the total lack of English signage or people who knew more than a few polite words in English, but it still feels like Russia and a Communist country.
We checked in and settled into our little room, rested, and then walked two blocks to a grocery store. Prices are higher in Finland, but there is more selection. We even bought peanut butter, which is Maapahkinavoi in Finnish. The jar has a picture of a squirrel on the label. I had to ask to be sure it was PB!
Later we walked out to stroll around the open air market in the Market Square and to find dinner. We ate at Sir Eino, a brew-pub with wonderful burgers and fries. It was true comfort food!
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Flag of Finland |
Pre- and Post EU plates
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Helsinki: Grand Marina Hotel |
Spire of the Orthodox Cathedral of Helsinki (Uspenski Cathedral)
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Before looking for a dinner restaurant, we strolled around the booths in the open air market (there were at least 50 of them) where vendors were selling fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, wool things, fur hats and boots, souvenirs, etc. One thing we learned is that the little red berries we thought were cranberries are lingonberries. Cranberries are only grown in the US.
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Open air market |
Open air market
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Open air market
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Open air market - not to be purchased because you can't bring furs back into the US |
Open air market
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Sat., 9/26/15 – Helsinki, Finland
We had the day to ourselves since our group will be arriving from the US throughout the day. We will meet them at 7 PM tonight.
We used our free time to take the ferryboat (5 Euros round trip) to the sea fortress, Suomenlinna. It was built in the 18th c. when Finland was still part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The cannons that face the west were put there in the 19th c. when Finland was ruled by Russia. Suomenlinna became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. It is a unique example of military architecture.
The ferry ride of 20 minutes let us disembark at the Main quay. Just as we got on land, a dark cloud appeared and we had a 10-minute rain shower, after which the sky cleared. We walked the main path and visited the five main attractions. Near the Main quay is the Russian Orthodox garrison church. In the 1920’s when Finland gained independence, the church was converted to a Lutheran church. The elaborate iconostasis was removed and the church now has a plain white interior. The steeple is a lighthouse for air and sea traffic and still operates as such today.
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Waiting for the ferry - cute little girl eating raw peas
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Waiting for the ferry - cute little girl eating raw peas |
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Rainbow
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Suomenlinna Church and lighthouse (steeple)
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Lighthouse in the church steeple |
Church bell
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Suomenlinna Church interior |
Suomenlinna Church interior - when it was a Russian Orthodox church
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Suomenlinna Church interior - protestant |
Fence constructed from old anchor chains and cannon barrels
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Suomenlinna has one of the oldest dry docks in the world. Swedish coastal ships were built there in the 1760’s and now it is used for renovating old wooden ships. The dock is operated like a lock. A ship can float in, the water is released, and the ship sits on blocks for repair.
We took the path along the 19th c. Russian defense line with sand banks and large cannons. From the banks we could look into the original bastion fortress at the southern end of the island. We walked under the King’s Gate that was built in 1753 as a ceremonial gateway to the original fortress. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden entered there when he inspected the construction of the fort in 1752.
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Dry dock |
Gale and cannon
Suomenlinna Fortress |
Suomenlinna Fortress
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Suomenlinna Fortress - King’s Gate |
The ferry ride back was pleasant. Many sailboats were out in the harbor. We spent the rest of the day (3:30 to 7 PM) at our hotel. At 7 we met the other 37people on our Grand Circle trip at a cocktail party. As we introduced ourselves it became obvious that this is an older group. One man was even a pilot in WW2! The majority of this group is/were teachers. Someone said that is because teachers usually have good retirement plans. Maybe so.
We ate dinner at our Grand Marina Hotel and had roast beef salad, salmon, and dessert.