Around Scandinavia: Part Twenty Two

In which I explored the Finnish capital

03.06.2025: Tour Day8, Country4, City1

Finland borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Known for its lakes, dense forests, and Northen Lights (during winter).

Welcome to Helsinki! Vihar introduced us to Christie, our tour guide for half the day. Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland, located on the southern coast along the Gulf of Finland. It’s a vibrant blend of Nordic elegance, modern design, and Baltic charm. We had two hours for the city orientation tour since we had to board another ship! I wished we had few hours more here. 

We passed by the Military Museum and commercial space, Katajanokka. The bus was parked at 11am to see the cathedral. We were not allowed to enter the cathedral; it was a photo-stop.

Helsinki Cathedral

It is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka at the Senate Square. Neoclassical, with symmetrical lines, Corinthian columns, and a central dome flanked by four smaller domes. Twelve apostles (in the last supper) stand atop the roof, watching over the city (see the top corners of the image). Front view: St Peter carrying the keys of heaven in middle, Thomas carrying a square on left, Bartholomew carrying a knife further left, Simon the Zealot carrying the saw on right, St Matthias carrying an executioner’s axe further right. 

Bell Tower contains the bell from the demolished Ulrika Eleonora Church (1727), linking past and present. 

Also read: St Peter's Basilica

The Senate square is surrounded by four buildings: the Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, University of Helsinki, National Library of Finland, with the statue of Emperor Alexander II at the center. 

We boarded the bus at 11:20am and drove further. We passed by the Mannerheimintie street, Parliament house, Central station, Central library Oodi, National history museum, Stockmann department store, Svenska Swedish theatre, etc. 

We did not stop at the Sibelius Park due to time crunch. It has a collection of 600 steel tubes with the ability to capture the wind like a pipe organ and sending out melodious tunes. 

We stopped at 12:10pm at the Market Square opposite to the city hall, near the canal cruise boat harbor for 10min shopping! 

Ladies literally ran for the street shopping. We passed by the Olympic terminal, guessed it was the ferry we would board but no! We drove ahead to the Helsinki West Terminal 2 Tyynenmerenkatu to board the ferry at 12:45pm. It was a rush situation till we entered the gates. Vihar distributed the tickets, we queued up and passports were checked and we embarked the ship at 1pm.

Lunch cruising from Country4 to Country5

Tallink Shuttle Megastar sails on the Baltic Sea between the cities of Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia from 01:30pm to 03:30pm. This two-hour journey included lunch at the Delight Buffet, exploring the ship, shopping at the two-storey mall, enjoying the open deck, etc. We went to Deck 9 by lift and walked towards the bow. We passed by Fast Lane restaurants, to reach the Delight Buffet at the end. Our ticket was checked and we had lunch. Again, we had juice/soft-drink/wine/ice-cream as per choice. Veg options included fruits, mashed potatoes and beetroot balls. 

I had lunch with Poonam Gupta and Mamta. Post lunch, we walked towards the stern side of the deck. There were pubs and cafeterias. We went to the upper deck through the stairway. 

It was too windy to walk on the Deck 10. Since Manasi insisted me to walk from this end to that, I did not leave her hand! Then I came down to Deck 8. There is a Travellers store connecting Deck 8 (clothes, accessories, bags, etc) to Deck 7 (liquor, perfumes, food items, souvenirs, etc). We disembarked the ship at 03:40pm at the Port of Tallink Terminal D. We gathered near the souvenir shop at the entrance for the group members, then boarded our bus at 4pm. More on this in next post.