May 29
Helsinki
[And this was our afternoon excursion . . . ]
[So, we’re on the ferry – good day for a sunburn . . . ]
[Cruising by . . . yacht clubs?]
[Helsinki behind us . . . ]
(Suomenlinna ahead . . . ]
[The fortress . . . ]
[Bird shots . . . ]
[Because they were there . . . ]
[And we have arrived . . . ]
[The pink clock-towered Jetty Barracks is the entrance to the fortress . . . ]
[Looking back at whence we came . . . ]
[Cafe Silo? I’m not sure how’d that sell around these parts? But we trudged up a mini-hill to get here . . .]
[Where we were . . . ]
[It’s a church/lighthouse combo . . . ]
[Tourists milling around . . . ]
[Dr. Kiehne practices the choreography for his opening act on Austin City Limits . . . ]
[Two stories on red brick on top of one story of rock, i.e., late Paleolithic . . . ]
[Massed tourists, a phenomenon becoming increasingly global . . . ]
[Pam spots an ‘op.’]
[A Super selfie in an overhead mirror . . . ]
[Where we were, again . . . ]
[Another excellent guide whose name escapes – in fact, there’s not much I keep captive any more . . . ]
[With Pam shooting behind them, Tom and the Super ponder things Finnish . . . ]
[If I had a boat . . . ]
[The Fortress is a World Heritage Site . . . ]
[Into the catacombs . . . ]
[Pam adopts the James Earl Jones expression before he slips into the Field of Dreams cornfield . . . ]
[The Super is standing where . . . ]
[One of these used to be (canned photo) . . . ]
[The Super tries to be friends . . . ]
[But his faced remained stoic . . . ]
[Me neither?]
[I believe these are called cannons . . . ]
[And I believe this is called a drydock . . . ]
[Actually, a rather famous drydock . . . ]
[The dry dock in Suomenlinna is the oldest in Finland and one of the oldest operational dry docks in Europe. The construction of the dry dock began in 1750. The dock’s basins and service buildings served as the base for the Swedish Coastal Fleet’s Sveaborg squadron until 1808. Ships for the Swedish Coastal Fleet were built there in the 1760s under the supervision of the famous naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman. During the Finnish period (1918– ) the State Aircraft Factory used the dock for building the first Finnish airplanes. In the 1930s, the dock’s inner basin was used as a naval submarine base. After the Second World War, Valmet Oy took over the ship-building operations, initially building ships as war reparations to the Soviet Union. (Suomenlinna Sveaborg Sights)]
[There was a huge owl flying along the side of the building to our left, but alas I couldn’t get a photo . . . ]
[But if you look really close, just slightly below photo center, you can see a mother duck out for a stroll with 3 ducklings . . . ]
[Best identified through the magical powers of googling, a wooden, yellow building . . . ]
[What we in the trade call a “scenic overlook” . . . ]
[What we in the trade also call a “scenic overlook” . . . ]
[The scenic overlook of the Gulf of Finland . . . ]
[Scenic, from a different angle . . . ]
[Overlook, from a different angle . . . ]
[Yup, that’s what it is. A Viking probably stood here once . . . ]
[A mass of humanity on a dirt road . . . ]
[Wrapping up the circular tour . . . ]
[To open water . . . ]
[Just strolling along a waterway with a bridge and background church . . . ]
[Outdoor live theatre . . . to be or not to be . . . ]
[Suomenlinna by summer . . . ]
[And by winter . . . ]
[Homeward (Helsinki) bound . . . ]
[Good-bye, Suomenlinna . . . ]
[Hello, Helsinki . . . ]
[Gabriella – the ship . . . ]
[Helsinki Allas Sea Pool . . . ]
[I thought I saw Havis Amanda down there . . . ]
[Close enough . . . ]
[Yes, it’s getting to be dinner time . . . ]
[And here is where we did it . . . ]
[Pam preclaimed here is where we were looking for . . . ]
[The Super snags a window seat . . . ]
[A small delight appeared on the table immediately . . . ]
[As you’ll recall, this is right across the street from Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square.]
[As you’ll also recall, they were prepping for a big event – thusly, our window view was obscured by the goings-on.]
[Nevertheless, the Super gave it the ole college try . . . ]
[OK, let’s fine dine!!]
[Who’s going to be first to spill their wine?]
[Why yes, I did have the vandace! “Vandace” means “giant fish” in Finnish . . . [
[It must be good? They appear to be preoccupied . . . ]
[The Super butters up. We all proclaimed our meals to be DEEEE-LISH . . . ]
[Some desserty looking thing! Yes, we dug in – I seem to recall Pam reported we walked seven miles on the day.]
[On the way “home,” we can do better . . . ]
[We can do better yet . . . ]
[No, I guess we can’t . . . ]
[Maybe the girls did better? (Pam’s photo)]
[What I see in the mirror every morning. Oh, did I use that already?]
A note in Finnish hotel bathroom: “Help us to save water. If you need fresh towel, throw yourself on the floor. If you don’t need fresh towel, hang yourself.”
Up Next: Looks like Estonia.
alexandriacardinals2.wordpress.com 
Nice photos. Looks heavenly!
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