Helsinki

As we were dressing for the day our ship passed through a very narrow passage into Helsinki Harbor.  We felt like we were about to touch land as we passed by an old fort structure guarding the entrance.  Then again as we left the harbor this afternoon, the other side of the fort was visible to us.  It is so narrow that a special pilot was used to drive the ship through and then a pilot boat picked him up off our ship to take him back.

Our walking tour of the city was very interesting as we walked past building that were 300 years old, some that were 150 years old and some very new ones that opened just two years ago.  Helsinki and Finland were ruled by Sweden and then Soviet Union until 1917 when they gained their independence. They have been under Soviet influence until the collapse of the Soviet Union and then join the EU in 2002. Finlands main economy is from forestry, steel and ship building, electronic (Nokia/Microsoft, Angry Birds video game, medical devices) and fuel refining. Helsinki is known for John Sebelius and the song "Finlandia" and for being coffee consumers - average 8 cups per day, all day long. 

Some of the most interesting buildings we saw were the Lutheran Cathedral, 1919 Central Train Station,  the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and the Lutheran Rock Church which was built into a holy consecrated rock hill so that the rock dug out of the hill was used as part of the walls of the church and the ceiling is no higher than the hill was before it was dug out.

Helsinki has over 3000 statues throughout the city.  We learned about a past President Kallio, a military General Mannerheim, and John Sebelius who wrote the music "Finlandia". His memorial is made of 800 stainless steele tubes.  We also saw a Pike fish in front of the Music theatre and a naked lady in front of a bank.