Helsinki

Ah, Helsinki, what a beautiful day we had there.  I spent the morning on the balcony of the cabin, looking at the scenery as we were cruising into the port early in the morning.  I could see thousands of islands dot the waters just off the mainland. It looked as if we were in the San Juans of the Pacific Northwest, felt like home.

Finnish Countryside
Our day began with a trip to a home in the countryside for coffee, tea, and traditional Karelian Pie and Rye bread.  The Karelian Pie and rye bread were served along with egg butter (quite good actually).  The hosts, the Nurmis, were very pleasant, opening up their home to us and several other guests.  Their home sits in Sipoo, just about 20 miles outside the city and is nearby a lake surrounded by trees. It's quite an idyllic setting  - I could have stayed there forever! They do rent out a cabin on their property - here's the web site.

Rye bread - enough for several months!

Santa?

Feeling at home

We spent the morning walking around the home, checking out all the saunas (almost every Finnish home has one), went the grounds nearby the lake, etc.  The smoke sauna out by the lake uses real wood and black smoke so the user comes out of the sauna looking like they were just in a coal mine. It's quite popular to use the sauna in the winter then go for a quick dip in the ice cold lake.   Sounds interesting, but no thanks!

Smoke Sauna and Indoor Steam Sauna

After our morning in the countryside we made our way back to Helsinki, stopping along the way at this beautiful centuries old church: Sipoo Old Church. It's only used in the summer - no heat in the cold winter months!

Church in the Rock
The name says it all - it's a church, built into a rock in the middle of the city. Temppeliaukio Kirkko, as it's known in Finnish, is a beautiful, modern church built in 1969.  The walls surrounding the church are made up of the rocks it is built into, and a dome of copper wire covers the top.  Within the rock walls, there are small knotches throughout where remnants of candle wax exist as candles are placed here during special services.  The space itself is filled with light, simplistic yet very spiritual.

Hotel Kamp

In the afternoon, we camped out and basked in the sun in front of Hotel Kamp, listed in the book. We dined at a small table out front, ordered Finnish beer and spent the afternoon people watching. 

The remainder of our day in Helsinki was spent checking out the outdoor market, another church, and just taking in the sights and sounds of the city. A few pictures from the afternoon:

Hotel Kamp, Date of Completion: June 2010