EuroTour 2010, Day 35, Helsinki

We woke up this morning on the coast of Finland.  Another country can be added to our lifetime lists.  I believe that is four in a row for Barbie, and five in a row for me.  Hot darn!

Finland.  A land for Finns.

Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is probably best known for the amazing Frank Zappa concerts that took place here in 1974, eventually to become the double-CD You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume 2, The Helsinki Concert.  Okay, maybe that is just what I know Helsinki for.  

You probably know two things about Helsinki; one, it the capital of Finland; and, two it is very cold.  I am here to tell you that you hardly know Helsinki, except for the fact that you know pretty much all that there is to know.

Here is what I learned about Helsinki, Finland before I got on board a bus to tour the city.  It is the Northernmost metropolitan area of more than one million residents in the world.  Finland began as part of Sweden, and was a part of Sweden for its first 600 years.  In 1809, Russia won Finland from the Swedes and Tsar Alexander I established it as a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire.  In European monarchy terms, this meant that Finland had its own monarch who was subordinate to the Tsar, and the Tsar added to his many titles, Grand Prince of Finland.  When you do not live under them, monarchs are amusingly silly.

Finally, I learned that Finland gained independence from Russia quite peacefully, almost.  As Finland was within the Russian Empire, the February Revolution in 1917 that removed the Tsar essentially removed Finland's head of state.  Finland had a parliament at this time, which had a slight left-wing majority that passed the Power Law, which would give the highest power in Finland to the Parliament.  Russia's provisional government, which was attempting to set up a social democracy in Russia, rejected this law and disbanded the Finnish parliament.  A new election was held and the Finnish parliament moved slightly to the right.  After the October Revolution, the right leaning Finnish parliament was weary of the far-left Bolsheviks and declared independence unilaterally.  Russia, in the midst of its own civil war, did not care very much.  There you have it, Finland peacefully seceded from Russia.  

Except for one catch.  In January of the next year, 1918, civil war erupted in Finland between the left-wing Red Guard and right-wing White Guard.  The two basically fought as proxies for Russia and Germany, busy fighting each other for ages in various wars.  Russia was far too unstable with its own civil war going on, and the German backed White Guard won and set up a Presidential Republic.

Now you also know why, in case you wondered, maps of World War II show Finland on the German side.  They did side with the Axis, mainly because Stalin invaded Finland twice and the enemy of their enemy was their friend.  If you want to feel better about Finland, though, you can.  They actually fought directly against the Nazi's before the end of the war, over the mines in Finland's northern region.

And now we all know way more about Finland than we ever needed.  Really, all you need to know is this: first 600 years part of Sweden, next 200 years part of Russia, last 100 years its own democracy.

There.

Helsinki has very cool crosswalk signs.  The male figure walks with a bold, confident stride.

Helsinki, a town for love.

Tuomiokirkko Cathedral, referred to as Helsinki Cathedral on most maps.  Built from 1830-1852, this was originally a Russian Orthodox church and was called St. Nicholas' Church, in honor of Tsar Nicholas I.  After Finland gained its independence from Russia, this became a Lutheran church and became, simply, Helsinki Cathedral.

There is Lutheran constraint, there is Scandinavian Lutheran restraint, and then there is Finnish Scandinavian Lutheran restraint.  Look at this subtle and under-decorated interior.  This is the polar opposite of a Roman Catholic cathedral.

I mean, look at that dome.  Do these Finns think that prayer can work without Jesuses painted all over your dome?

The view of Helsinki from the steps of the cathedral.  I immediately got the sense that Helsinki is likely a lovely place to live, but a somewhat unexciting place to visit.  There is some shopping, with a massive mall and department store, but I am not into shopping.

I would joke about Finland not needing armed forces, but considering they had to fight two wars with Russia and one with Germany during their first thirty years of existence, I say we let this one go without jokes.

A statue of Tsar Alexander I.  He chose to move Finland's capital from Turku to Helsinki, in order to eliminate Swedish loyalties in the old capital.  That basically makes him the father of the town, which explains why there was no rush to pull down this statue.  Turku, by the way, is where most of the mega-cruise-ships are built.

A panorama of Senate Square, Helsinki, Finland.

Look, I know you have seen this building too many times already.  But look at that sky.

Ooppera.  The Fins would join me in the phonetic revolution, I believe.

You have seen me stand by statues and strike their pose for a few years now.  The tour guide on the bus actually suggested that we all do this, but told us to not take off our clothes to match the naked statue.

The tour guide did not want me to show you THAT.  By the way, this is Paavo Nurmi, who won 9 Olympic gold medals for Finland from 1920 to 1928.

I believe that THIS is an exact twin of the car my brother drives in Bonn, Germany, including the color.

The Sibelius Monument, Helsinki, Finland.  Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is Finland's greatest and most famous classical composer.  Heard of him?  Me neither.  In all fairness, I do not know that many classical composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

I took this picture from beneath the monument.  I am very fond of it.

Yes, I still love to take me them pictures where the foreground is in focus and the background is out of focus.  I know you dig it the most.

Another Helsinki landmark is Temppeliaukio Church, referred to often as the Rock Church.

They excavated this church out of the surrounding natural rock formation, and added some rock wall above as well.

The dome of the church, visible above the rocks.  If you consider that Helsinki's average temperature is at or below freezing for six months of the year, I imagine that all the natural insulation of the rock makes this one cozy church.

Helsinki Trolley Candid.  August, 2010.

After a few hours around Helsinki, we opted to return to the ship for lunch instead of staying in town for shopping and such.  I am certain that Helsinki is a lovely place to live, but one of their highlights is a church cut into rock.  Case rested.

Nothing else on the menu appealed to me, so I went with a bacon-cheeseburger.  When in doubt, order bacon.

Barbie got the fish and chips.

During lunch, the ferry from Tallinn arrived and the flood of cars flowed out of it.  Seriously, you need to see this sometime.  We saw it last year in Corsica.  They seem to break the laws of physics with these ferries, as the number of cars and trucks seem to be five or six times the number you would think would fit on there.

As long as it is a slow day, I might as well show you the lovely waterfall thingy in the Crystal Plaza.  It is quite beautiful.

My parents went to see How To Train Your Dragon, which I saw with my nephews and loved, while Barbie and I got to work for the afternoon.  And one of us got a pedicure, I think.

Time for dinner.

Barbie's Crabmeat Tower with new potatoes, sweet corn, and palm hearts, drizzled with pumpkin seed oil.

My Oxtail and foie gras spring roll with port wine reduction and truffled mashed potatoes.

Jeff's Green split pea soup.

Barbie's Roasted black angus prime rib with broccoli flan and broiled tomato.

Jeff's Seared sea scallops, on a citrus-pistachio risotto with caramelized baby fennel.

Barbie finished with the Vanilla créme brulée with fresh fruits.

I got the, get this, Succulent Chocolate Mousse; bittersweet chocolate mousse on chocolate rice crisps with citrus salad and vanilla ice cream.

Until tomorrow...

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