2009 - Scandinavia - Day 8 - Helsinki, Finland

We docked in Helsinki Finland at 10 am. We then boarded our bus and had another city tour with a local guide. Our first stop was at Senate Square and the impressive church, called Tuomiokirkko. Most Scandinavians consider themselves to be Lutherans, so most of the churches we have seen have been Lutheran. Although the local guides tell us that only a handful of people show up to church on Sunday. It is usually only full around Christmas time. This church was built atop a hill on one end of the square, and you had to go up several steps to reach it. There was a beautiful statue in the middle of the square, dedicated to the Czar Alexander the second. He did a lot of good for Finland while he ruled. Our second stop was at a local park. There was a very odd but cool monument dedicated to a famous Finnish composer. I can’t remember his name, but he wrote the music that belongs to one of our hymns, and one of my favorites, Be still my soul. We then went to see another church called Temppeliaukio church, or Church in the Rock. It was the weirdest, but really cool church that I have ever seen. It was just like a hole dug into a granite wall, and the walls are just rough stone, and the ceiling is a bunch of bronze bands. It was really neat looking. It was small, but like no other church I have ever seen before. We then stopped at the LDS temple in Helsinki. That was a surprise because I had talked to Mike earlier, asking if we could drive by some of the other temples, I would have loved to have seen the Stockholm temple, but he said no. It is so peaceful on temple grounds. I was happy to be there. And our last stop for the day was in a quaint town called Porvoo. It is the second oldest town in Finland. We had 2 hours there on our own. The cobblestone streets must have been hundreds of years old, because they were so rounded down and uneven, you had to walk with your eyes down so you didn’t trip. It was hard on your feet. But it was a cool town. We walked up to the church and looked in the shops. I bought myself a bracelet and ring and some truffles. Mom got a keychain and ice cream of course. The last half hour, I spent on the dock by the bridge. It was so beautiful and peaceful sitting there, looking at the red timber buildings and the bridge and water. We then came back to our hotel around 5:30 pm. At 6:00, I got a call from a gentleman in our group, letting me know that he and his wife were going swimming in the hotel pool at 7:00, and asked if I wanted to join them. I was happy he thought of me and accepted. They came to sit by me while I was on the dock and he mentioned he’d love to go for a swim in the water, and I told him I would too, but that the river water looked so silty and dirty. And I told him how I wanted to swim in our hotel the other night, but didn’t feel comfortable going alone. So it was really sweet him to remember me and invite me along. Mom and I went to get dinner in the restaurant at the hotel. I ordered spaghetti. It was different, but good. The service was pretty slow though, so I didn’t get down to the pool until 7:30, and they were just leaving. But I decided to stay and swim for awhile anyway on my own. I swam for about 20 minutes, and then went back to the room.