Last day in Helsinki

Today was our last day in Helsinki as we were both flying home early in the morning. The weather was perfect for a self guided walk in the area closest to the hotel. It was from a free booklet '4 different walks' which I had found at the tourist information office.
Just a short walk around the coast from our hotel were these four ice breakers. As the Baltic sea freezes in winter these are essential for keeping the shipping lanes open.

As you can see from this map, Helsinki is surrounded by water.










Each ship has its own mailbox

We followed the coast line to the other side of this small harbour.

On the way we passed many Art Deco features on the houses.

Even park benches had a style of their own.

This is the Store Enso Headquarters (1962). The white marble building was designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

Across the road from the Enso headquarters is the Uspenski Cathedral. This is the largest Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe. Built after the Russians defeated the Swedes in 1809 and shows the impact of the Russians on Finnish history. Less than 2% of the population of Finland belong to the Orthodox faith.

These warehouses were built in 1800 and like so many harbour warehouses they have been converted into restaurants.

This lighthouse ship (1886) was once used for hydrographic surveys. It has also been used as a Summer Villa and been rescued from the seabed. Now it is a bar.

The Hakolaituri Pier where we are walking was used to unload ships as early as the 1600s. Today it is used by traditional wooden sailing ships. In wintertime, when the sea ice is thick enough, it is also used by skaters.

Saw this contraption on one of the boats.

This is Tervassi Island. Accessed by a bridge from the mainland, this small island was used to store tar in the 1600s hence the name 'Tar island'.

One of the highlights of the walk was a visit to the Burgher's house Museum. It is the oldest wooden building still standing on its original site in inner city Helsinki. It is now a branch of the Helsinki City Museum and is decorated in the style of a modest middle class home of the 1860s. The exact year of its construction isn't known but it was definitely there in 1818. It was commissioned by a seaman's widow, Christina Wortin. Head fireman Alexander Wickholm bought the building in 1859 and it remained in his family until 1974. The Burgher's House was converted into a museum and opened to the public in 1980. The house had not been updated much by the family and so it is very much as it would have been in the mid 1800s.

This heater is from the early 20th century.

The mahogany card table laid out with dominoes, a wooden cigarette box and playing cards. Some period pieces have been added by the City museum but not many.

The pipe rack is from the early 19th century. The long stemmed pipes are from the 1850s. The tobacco tin is decorated with an embroidered image of deer hunting.

The stove is original. It was renovated in 1897

Above the oven was a wooden po[e where the bread would be placed to dry.

This is the Drawing room with the coffee table laid out with Russian porcelain cups and saucers. The furniture  was manufactured in Russia in the 1830s and was restored in 2017.

The building at the rear was used as both a sauna and a bakery. At the far end there used to be a stable, barn, shed for carriages, woodshed and outside toilet. They were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century and a 3 storey stone house built on the land.

The House of the Estates was designed as a meeting place for the clergy, burghers and peasants. Before the present parliamentary system came into being, the country was governed by the four estates of Nobility, Clergy, Burghers and Peasants. Three of the four met here, the Nobility having their own place around the corner.

The frieze at the top depicts Alexander I surrounded by the heads of the four estates and the symbols of faith and justice.

We were now back at the main square in front of the cathedral. We decided it was time for a sit down and some refreshments. Any cafes on the square were very expensive so we walked a few streets away and found a much cheaper place.

    

Lots of interesting sculpted decor on the way in, to what turned out to be converted baths.








Lots of atmosphere for half the price of the fancy cafes in Senate square.

Afterwards we decided to make the most of our travel cards and went on a circular tour of Helsinki by tram which was very easy to do. This bridge is just on the edge of central Helsinki where we changed trams.  Before arriving in Helsinki we were concerned that we would not find much to do in the five days we would be here but we were wrong. We both felt that we had seen a great deal and had enjoyed the city very much.

Our final stop on the tram was at the Central Market. By now it was very late on a Sunday afternoon and we did not expect the market to be open and regretted leaving it so late to get here.

However a number of the stalls were still open and serving delicious fresh food. By now we were hungry so this seemed the ideal place to finish our self guided tour.

Our last night of the trip was spent in the hotel eating our spoils from the market which was just a 10 minute walk away and finishing off a bottle of gin we had bought in Estonia. We both found food and in particular alcohol very, very expensive here. The small bottle of tonic water bought here(to accompany our gin!) was almost as expensive as the bottle of gin we bought in Lithuania. Yes, we did buy a couple of bottles of gin during the trip but didn't drink both bottles as we left one behind in Riga unfortunately.

We spent a couple of hours reminiscing about the trip before it was time to pack and say our goodbyes. Our taxi was booked for 3am as we both had early flights. Not sure where in the world the two of us will meet next, as we live almost 5000 miles from one another, but one thing I can guarantee it will be another trip full of fun and laughter.