Our first stop in Helsinki is Senate Square. We were met by an enthusiastic local city guide, Cornelia. The square is a large open area in the middle of downtown bordered by the Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, the main building of the University of Helsinki, and the National Library of Helsinki. This square is similar to New York’s Times Square, it is the gathering spot for special celebrations, such as New Year’s Eve and Independence Day(December 6th). In the center of the square is a statue of Alexander the second. The Finnish people still admire the Russian emperor , he was known as a reformer. In the 1860s he abolished corporal punishment, promoted local self government, imposed mandatory military service, and promoted university education.
Left to right…. University library, statue of Alexander the second, and the cathedral.Interesting sculpture of a fish(looks like our northern pike). We are outside the new Helsinki public library. A common theme about the large cities that we have visited is how clean they are. No trash in the streets and lots of trash cans and recycling bins available. Now that’s a library! It is 3 stories and doesn’t just have books. This library has sound recording rooms, kitchen rooms to host cooking classes, 3 D printers available for a nominal charge, huge laminating machines, screen print machines for printing tee shirts, etc. and a huge children’s section. It also has a cafe that serves beer and wine. It was full of users on a nice day when we visited. I think it would be a great place to spend time when the long winter days have only a few hours of daylight. Free instruments to checkout at the library!Kids in a recording room. Notice the cork squares on the wall. These rooms were totally soundproof, couldn’t here a thing as we walked by. The library was right on the bus route and next to a train station that you could take to the airport. A nice break for lunch at a small cafe. We shared a smorrebrod, an open faced sandwich on rye bread with hard boiled egg and shrimp. The shrimp was great, very fresh. Patty has a croissant with ham and cheese that we also shared. It was all washed down with a glass of wine. A nice thing about the Scandinavian countries, almost all restaurants spoke English and most employees were very friendly. Most people we came into contact with were very polite and friendly.Outdoor markets near the waterfront, again note how clean it is.Nice flowers and note the blanket on the chair back at this outdoor cafe. The Finns will sit outside as long as they can!The flowers are still looking good and it’s the last week of September and the nights are cool, dropping into the low 40s.
Rod and Patty Jenkins are retired and enjoy traveling. We hope you enjoy our posts as we we see different locations around the globe.
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