We went to Helsinki, Finland by Allegro high speed train from St. Petersburg. Comfortable chairs with folding table for writing or eating and potable drinking water were available for each carriage. Internet wifi was provided, power plugs were also available to charge your devices under the wide landscape windows to enjoy the scenery during the trip. Three times passport checked by immigration officers from Russia & Finland.
Arriving in Helsinki train station we didn't meet the local guide and porter, so we had to lower the suitcases from the train by ourselves while our tour leader trying to find him. My 29" suitcase was broken, one of the back wheel was lost, it made me struggle to bring it to the platform. Almost half an hour we waited, suddenly the local guide came with the porter and the small car to bring all luggages. He said that he waited on the wrong side, it's a pity that he's the local guide but he lost in his hometown train station, it's ridiculous.
Directly we went for dinner then check in in the Radisson Blu hotel in downtown, unfortunately no shops opened anymore, as people were going home to prepare Labor (Vappu) day on the next day. The streets were very quiet, it seemed that there was nobody stay in the city. I only went out for a while, to take some pictures of the environment around the hotel. It's windy, so my mother and I went back to the room to take a rest.
On the next day, we visited The Helsinki Cathedral the most prominent building and symbol of the city. The sky was very blue, it's next to the Senate square where people provided a stage and playground to celebrate Vappu Day. Carl Ludvig Engel (1778–1840) designed several neoclassical buildings in Helsinki. The focal point of Engel's city plan is the Senate Square. It is surrounded by the Government Palace (to the East), the main building of Helsinki University (to the West), and (to the North) the enormous Cathedral, which was finished in 1852, twelve years after C. L. Engel's death.
We took a group picture at the Senate Square with Helsinki Cathedral as the background
Continue the trip to Havis Amanda, a nude female bronze statue symbolized as the rebirth of Helsinki, was sculpted by Ville Vallgren in 1906. My sister's name is Amanda, so the tour participant teased her about it as if it's her statue. The statue was standing in the middle of the fountain surrounding by sea lions. It's next to the Market Square, we were bustling with people activity, vendors selling fresh Finnish food and souvenirs, also available ferry service by The Helsinki City Transport. It seems all people in Helsinki populaton, 610.601 persons were going to the recreational places, Market Square was one of them. We bought Gelato ice cream there.
Temppeliaukio Church was our next destination, quarried out of the natural bedrock. The church was designed by architects Timo & Tuomo Suomalainen, opened in 1969. Due to its excellent acoustics the church is a popular venue for concerts. In the church you could find religious good words as bookmark in many languages including Indonesian, it's free. Nice music was played to accompany people to pray, it's very peaceful. Next to the church, there was a souvenir shop, the only place where we could shop in Finland, as others were closed.
On the way to the Sibelius Monument park, we passed by many people who went to the park. The cars were park along the way by the beach, it's very long. Most of them were wearing white hat like a sailor, our friend would like to buy, but my local guide said, it's only for the graduated. Sibelius Monument park built by Eila Hiltunen to memorize the famous composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Recembling organ pipes, is made of welded steel over 600 pipes with the bust of the composer on one side. The monument is 8,5m high, 10,5m wide, 6,5m deep, and weighs 24 tons.
The park were full of people, we still had time to enjoy the park, then we went across the street to enjoy the beach. There were some wooden benches on the beach, although the sun shone, the wind was still cold. The time was up, it's time to go to the pier, some of our friends bought ice cream, they could not bring it into the bus, so we had to wait for them to finish it.
Finally we took an over night ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm called Silja line, we had to wait in queue an hour before gate open at 15:30. The cruise capacity was 2852 passengers and 450 cars with 13 decks. Helsinki panorama view from the deck was very beautiful. There were islands next to Helsinki, it made the view more beautiful. There were public area for entertainment on the 7 level of the cruise such as Promenade, Pub and Stage Performance, while on the 6th floor there were a restaurant and Duty Free Shop.
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