Anne arrived quite late the night
before, and we headed to bed not too late so we wouldn't be tired for today's
explorations. Jaana's friend Sari joined us, in fact she drove us which
was brilliant. She's so nice. So there we were, Jaana, Sari, and I
all with Cochlear Implants. Sari spoke no English. So translation
between us would go something like. Sari - Finnish - Jaana then translated it
to English, which Anne listened to then said it again so I could understand if
I couldn't work it due to Accents. But we were all patient and no one
minded and we all had a fun day.
Sari drove us to Porvoo, about an
hour's drive away from where Jaana lived. Porvoo is the second oldest
city in Finland. It's picturesque city centre of old wooden houses is a
proposed Unesco World Heritage site. Porvoo has been around since the 13th
century, although most of the present buildings date to the 19th century. In
1809, Finland's nobles assembled at the Diet of Porvoo to affirm the country's
conquest by Russia.
It was a beautiful day, albeit a
tad cold. We parked the car then strolled over the river and got these gorgeous
vistas..
These are the
wooden shore houses that line the river, which make Porvoo famous.
Further down are the wooden warehouses which are also about to become
Heritage buildings.
Over the bridge,
then up that street - we made our way to the Porvoo Cathedral.
A heavy, squat,
white stone building, this church wins no awards for architectural innovation,
but it's among the oldest and largest in Finland, with parts dating back to the
11th century. Predating the Reformation, it was originally a Catholic church,
but was somewhat crudely converted into a Protestant one later on by removing
icons and painting over murals. The building was burned down four times between
1300 and 1700, and took a direct hit from a bomb in 1914 — miraculously, the
bomb fell through the roof, but did not explode. The roof was burned by an
arsonist in 2006, but the damage was repaired and it's now open again, with
some of the Catholic-era murals restored in the process.
When we arrived, we
were in time to hear a choir of locals warming up, and it was a lovely sound.
I didn't really want to leave. If you look closely you'll see a painted
icon of a Unicorn on the far arch on the right. I couldn't find any
information about it but it looked ancient.
Most of the houses
were wooden, except for this one, and I vaguely remember reading it was
something to do with either a rich merchant or the Mayor. Whatever it was, it
was the most 'wealthiest' looking house in town.
It was pretty cold,
and spring was 2 months late, but there were signs that it was warming up...
There were also crocuses and tulips about - so pretty. We did stop to get
a hot chocolate, from this little shop, and I got an amazing Chilli one.
It was so nice, I went back and bought a packet of it which I have
brought home. While we were drinking the hot drinks just outside, I noticed a
rubbish bin catch fire from someone's cigarette butt, and because it's all
wooden buildings we alerted the shop owner who came out with some water to put
it out. Our excitement of the day! We saved the town!
One of the many
gorgeous looking wooden houses that we found while strolling around the old
town.
Another house and
we questioned the paint job. The yellow house, painted the side of the
blue house the same colour as their house. We wanted to know if they had
to get permission, or whether they could just do it!
We walked back into
the town where all the shops were and found Brunberg. One of Finland's most
famous confectioners, this family-run business was founded in 1871 and is best
known for their Pusu ("Kisses"), or giant puffs of flavored whipped
cream encased in a thin chocolate shell. (Until recently, they were known
somewhat politically incorrectly as "Negro Kisses".) Brunberg's
liquorice (lakritsi) is another local favorite, and the chocolate truffles were
to die for. I bought a big bag of them, which Anne and I divvied up back home.
I brought some home to NZ but they didn't last long! Here Jaana and
Sari pose for me outside the shop.
Inside the shop was
a map where all their visitors could place a pin on where they were from. They
get a lot of European visitors, but sadly, only THREE people were from New
Zealand - and two of those were Anne and I!!
Here is the
Australia/NZ part a bit closer. Anne is the Red (Auckland) I'm the
White - Blenheim, and someone else comes from somewhere on the West Coast of
the South Island.
An Antique shop that
we explored. Saw lots of things I would love but no way to get them home.
One of the many
wooden buildings - I think this one is a Museum.
Back down to the
river where I spied the famous red-coloured wooden storage buildings on the
riverside which are a part of the proposal for the Unesco World Heritage Site.
A quick photo on the bridge before we head back to Helsinki for another exploration in the city...
We drove back to
Jaana's place, parked the car there then we all caught the metro into town. As
we passed the sea, I actually saw people swimming. Now it was freezing
cold, I wouldn't have even put my toe in the water, so I reckon these Finns
crazy!!
We got out of the tram and this is
what greeted us. The most amazing sight of the Helsinki Cathedral and this very
important 'town' square. The Cathedral is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran
cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighbourhood
of Kruununhaka in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The church was
originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar
Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas' Church until the
independence of Finland in 1917.
The church's plan is a Greek cross
(a square centre and four equilateral arms), symmetrical in each of the four
cardinal directions, with each arm's façade featuring a colonnade and pediment.
Engel originally intended to place a further row of columns on the western end
to mark the main entrance opposite the eastern altar, but this was never built.
The cathedral sits
on the Senate Square which has been the main square of Helsinki since the
17th century. It was transformed into its current form in the early 19th
century, when Russian Tsar Alexander II, moved the capital of Finland from
Turku to Helsinki. The buildings on the four sides of the square represent the
four powers of the state as conceived at the time: senate, church, university
and commerce. The old merchant houses are now mainly occupied by city offices,
but there is also a nice café, and a bazaar. While the square is a popular
tourist destination, the steps on the north side are commonly used as a meeting
place, a venue for student meetings, sun bathing or even studying.
I loved the
Cathedral against the blue sky, and the white pillars. I loved the people
around enjoying the sunshine and sitting around talking. What a beautiful
place.
Inside the
Cathedral was just as beautiful. It gets around 400,000 visitors per year, so
it's a pretty popular place.
Very clean lines
and not cluttered, which made it lovely, light and airy.
The Organ pipes
were impressive.
Even under the
electric wires for the tram, the place looks amazing.
After leaving the
cathedral, we wandered down to the waterfront and looked at the ticket office
for the times for our trip the next day Drank in the views then wandered
up to the Greek Orthodox Church on the hill.
Uspenski Cathedral is an Eastern
Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its name
comes from the Old Church Slavonic word uspenie. Designed by the Russian
architect Alexey Gornostaev (1808–1862). The cathedral was built after his
death in 1862–1868.
The Cathedral is set upon a
hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula overlooking the city. On the back of the
cathedral, there is a plaque commemorating Russian Emperor Alexander II, who
was the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Finland during the cathedral's
construction. Main cathedral of the Finnish Orthodox Church in the diocese of
Helsinki, Uspenski Cathedral is claimed to be the largest orthodox church in
Western Europe.
The cathedral has
several valuable icons, among others St. Nicolas – The Wonder Maker, which was
stolen on 16 August 2007 between midday and 1 p.m. in broad daylight while
hundreds of tourists were visiting the cathedral. The icon is from the 19th
century and is of a rare variant. Originally it was given to the Orthodox
Cathedral of Vyborg, from where it was moved to Helsinki during the Second
World War. No further details of its origin are known The icon,
being 45 by 35 centimetres (18 in × 14 in), was placed in a kiota (a glass
covered protection frame) and weighs a couple of kilograms. It was on display
on a lectern. The icon is now being searched for in Finland as well as abroad.
Another icon, Theotokos of
Kozeltshan was stolen in June 2010, but recovered in February 2011.
No photos at all were allowed to be taken
inside the church, but 'my camera went off automatically' so I got a couple!
Having never been in a church like this before, I thought it was amazing.
Managed to get Anne to relax on the grass
for a couple of photos.
Afterwards we headed back along the
waterfront and had a hot drink in a nearby cafe. The cafe was rather
nice.
A tram ride then took us to the main
station. Both Anne and I thought it looked very communist architectural wise.
But it was built by a Russian Architect so it was no wonder. Very
beautiful inside, and large and spacious. I learnt here that St
Petersburg was only a four hour train journey from this station, and a train
was leaving very shortly. I felt like getting on - I hadn't realised how
close to Russia I really was!! So near and I didn't get there!
We then caught the metro back to the train
station and stayed up talking for a while, drinking lots of tea, and eating
bread and cheese. Another fun day full of amazing sights.
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