Day 17: Helsinki - An Island Fortress, Organ pipes, and A hollow Rock

The weather seems better this morning - still cloudy but at least the rain has stopped. I had meant to check out at 12pm since I have an overnight train at 9pm to Rovaniemi but then the clouds cleared a little and there was some sun. So I checked out at 10am instead and moved my plans around and headed for Suomenlinna. As I will be back in Helsinki for 1 more day 2 days later, I left my luggage at Hotel Finn which the staff did not mind at all and they were very nice about it! I'm very thankful for that as I will be staying at Scandic Marski which is just around the corner from Hotel Finn and that meant I saved time, effort, and energy. Otherwise, I would have to drag my luggage to the lockers at the train station, and then drag them back to the hotel 2 days later.

Suomenlinna is a sea fortress built on 6 islands and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The only way to get to Suomenlinna is via ferry and the journey takes about 15-20 minutes. The next ferry didn't start until half an hour later, so I decided to grab a bite and a cup of coffee at one of the many food stalls in Kauppotari. I ordered Finnish meat pie and coffee for 5 euro which was expensive no matter how I looked at it. The meat pie was stuffed with beef and rice and I thought it tasted rather funny although still palatable.

As it was a fortress, there were no castles on Suomenlinna, and the area around King's Gate showed where the fortress walls once stood. The islands are large enough so you don't feel crowded out by tourists, and it was pleasant just walking along the coast lines looking out to the vast seas.

One of the highlights on Suomenlinna is the King's Gate. It was built in the 18th century as the gateway to the fortress. It was called the King's gate because this was where the founder of the fortress King Adolf Frederick stepped off to inspect the construction of the fortress.

Back at Kauppatori, I decided to talk a long long walk northwards to the Sibeliusparken where the Jean Sibelius monument is located. Enroute at Kamppi Square, I came across the Kamppi Chapel by chance. The chapel is also known as the Chapel of Silence. It is meant to be a place where people can have a moment of silence in the midst of bustling city life. It has an interesting exterior, rather like a chipped nut or husk.

As Sibeliusparken was somewhat out of the way of the city, I did not expect too many visitors at the Sibelius Monument but I was wrong. There were a number of busload of tourists and I had to wait a bit before the monument was cleared of tourists and I can take photos of the monument to my heart's content.

The monument was dedicated to Jean Sibelius - Finland's most famous composer. I have a special affinity with the composer as we both share the same birthday :) Regrettably, I have not  played much of his works but then he didn't write too many piano solos I guess. A note to self to start something on Sibelius when I get back!

The monument is made up of 600 hollow steel pipes, and pipe organ comes to mind immediately. The pipes were arranged in a a wave-like pattern that was interesting and artistically pleasing.

Museum of Natural History

Many apartments have these at their doorsteps. Presumably for polishing shoes.  Very traditional, very 'gentlemanly'

From here, I took a leisurely stroll to the nearby Temppeliaukion Church, also known as Church of the Rock. The interior of the church was carved out of solid rock and natural light came in from the roof of the rock. It was most interesting to see how the architect designed the church.

With about 4 more hours to spare, I did some more window shopping and hanged around the train station until it was time to board the train. I was very much looking forward to my first overnight train in a sleeper!