~ Beautiful places of Barcelona and Catalonia

sábado, 4 de abril de 2015

FINLAND: TAMPERE

We arrived at Tampere by train from Helsinki at 4 pm in the afternoon after a journey of almost two hours. We left the station to the main street and walked toward a park at the other end of town.

We crossed a canal that connects the two lakes next to which this city is located. At this point we saw some of the factories that betrayed the industrial past of Tampere. Nowadays almost all of them have been converted into spaces for cultural activities.

We went from Helsinki to Tampere in this train

Factories in Tampere beside a canal

We kept walking down the wide sidewalk of this cobblestone street to the Town Hall Square. In front of the City Hall was the theater. This square was the only place with some charm I saw in the city center. We didn't see anything else interesting until we reached the large park beside the two huge lakes.

We walked through this street of Tampere from the train station to the large park at the other end of town

Theatre of Tampere in Finland

The City Hall of Tampere and the theatre are located beside the same square

At the entrance to this park we passed a church and we came to a partially snowy area. It was our first contact with the snow in Finland. We followed one of the paths in the park looking for an old watchtower, the Pyynikki Observation Tower, where currently there is a cafe.

In this park of Tampere we saw the snow in Finland for the first time

We walked through this park until we found an Observation tower with a cafe inside

From the top of the tower and after paying about 2 € we enjoyed beautiful views of the park and the lakes. Unfortunately it was cloudy and cold, because otherwise the view would have been fantastic.

Tampere is a city located beside two large lakes

Lake beside Tampere from the Pyynikki Observation Tower

One of the lakes beside Tampere from the Pyynikki Observation Tower

Quickly we went down to the cafe because of the cold where I took a hot cappuccino. The cafeteria was rather small so we were lucky to be able to sit. After the snack we began our way back through a parallel street to the previous one to try to see different things.

Cafe in the Pyynikki Observation Tower of Tampere

Already in the center we found an old factory where inside there were several premises, including a huge pub and brewery.

Brewery and Pub in a former factory of Tampere in Finland

We kept walking to the station and just before turning right the cathedral appeared, which at that time was closed. I liked the medieval look of the cathedral built in gray stone and surrounded by a small green area.

Cathedral of Tampere

Detail of the cathedral of Tampere, built in grey stone

It was getting dark when we reached the train station where we had dinner in a pub before boarding at 10pm on the train that would take us to Lapland.

In Tampere we spent six hours and definitely it was enough. Of this industrial city I only would highlight how it has managed to integrate the old factories in the city and the natural environment of the two lakes and the huge park between them.

This was our trip route in Finland and Estonia:

Day 1 - Helsinki

Aleksanterinkatu Street
Senaatintori
Lutheran Cathedral
Esplanadi Park
Kappeli Cafe

Day 2 - Helsinki and Tampere

Sibelius Monument
Olympic Stadium

Day 3 - Lapland

Ounasvaara Resort
Santa Claus Village
Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 4 - Lapland

Country Cross Ski in Ounasvaara Ski resort

Day 5 - Lapland

Snowshoes in Ounasvaara Ski Resort
Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 6 - Lapland

Rovaniemi
Arkikum Museum

Day 7 - Rauma

Yyteri Beach
Rauma

Day 8 - Turku and Helsinki

Castle and Cathedral of Turku
Senaatintori and Kauppatori (Senate Square and Market Square) in Helsinki
Suomenlinna (Sveavorg) in Helsinki

Day 9 - Tallinn in Estonia

Saint Olav Church. Views from the bell-tower
Pikk Street
Tower's Square

Town walls, Tower's Square and Viru Gate
Aleksander Nevski Cathedral
Saint Mary Cathedral
Kohtu and Patkuli Platform
Saint Nicholas Church
Town Hall and Town Hall's Square

Olde Hansa Restaurant
Saint Catherine Passage

Day 10 - Helsinki

Buying souvenirs near Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Finally, other countries and cities I have already visited are:

Barcelona

Dublin in Ireland

Istanbul and Cappadocia

Rome and The Vatican

Florence in Tuscany

Venice

Lisboa in Portugal

Dubrovnik, beaches and coast of Croatia
Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

The Greek Islands and Athens

Madrid

Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

Tallinn in Estonia

Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

Marrakech in Morocco

viernes, 3 de abril de 2015

FINLAND: HELSINKI

Helsinki is a rather small city. What is large is its metropolitan area. So the center of Helsinki can be seen quietly in a day, and even, in one morning. However I think that it's essential to visit the Suomenlinna Fortress on an island only a few kilometers from Helsinki and easily accessible by ferry. From the pier of Suomenlinna you can see actually the Lutheran cathedral of Helsinki. The ticket of the ferry is cheap because it cost the same than a bus ticket. It takes about half an hour and the ferrys depart quite often. Therefore, visiting Helsinki would take 1 or 2 days depending on the time available.

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki is a landmark of the city and the Senate Square the most elegant place

We were actually in Helsinki 4 half days. We did not wake up and go to bed in Helsinki the same day. We were the afternoon we arrived, the next morning, the afternoon before leaving and the morning we left. So we visited the city at times the first two days of our trip and the two last days.

Below you can see what we visited in Helsinki:

Day 1

Aleksanterinkatu Street
Senaatintori
Lutheran Cathedral
Esplanadi Park
Kappeli Cafe

Day 2

Sibelius Monument
Olympic Stadium

Day 8

Senaatintori and Kauppatori (Senate Square and Market Square)
Lutheran Cathedral
Suomenlinna (Sveavorg)

Day 10

Buying souvenirs near Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Day 1

Unfortunately, the first two days the weather was bad, rainy and cold, so we visited some places but we didn't enjoy them. I revisited the downtown places the last two days because they were close to our second hotel (near the Orthodox Cathedral).

Aleksanterinkatu Street

Aleksanterinkatu Street in Helsinki. Walking along this shopping street we reached the Senate Square

Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Neoclassical building beside Senaatintori in Helsinki

Senate Square in Helsinki from the top of the staircase to the Lutheran Cathedral

Esplanadi Park

Buildings beside Esplanadi Park in Helsinki

In the first two days in Helsinki, my best memory is the afternoon we spent at the beautifully decorated Cafe Kappeli in the Esplanadi Park near Kauppatori, with live music and a hot cappuchino coffee.

Kappeli Cafe

Cafe Kappeli in Helsinki

Day 2

The second day we walk through the park of the monument to Sibelius and around the Olympic Stadium, a remote area of the city. It was a weekday and it was raining so this area was quite lonely. We took this tour because it was not far from our first hotel in Helsinki, located near the Parliament.

Sibelius Monument

Sibelius Monument in Helsinki

Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium of Helsinki

Day 8

We returned to Helsinki after our Finland route the day before coming back to Barcelona. We left the rental car in the Europcar Office and the luggage in the Apartment. As the afternoon was lovely I went to revisit the places we visited under the rain some days ago. I began by Senate Square: large, stately, and limited by neoclassical buildings and the imposing Lutheran Cathedral.

Senaatintori (Senate Square)

The Government Palace in Helsinki is one of the buildings beside the Senate Square

Built in Neoclassical style, the Government Palace is the executive office building of the Government of Finland

Main building of the University of Helsinki beside the Senate Square

Baltic Sea behind the Senate Square from the Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

Lutheran Cathedral

Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

The Lutheran Cathedral is a landmark in Helsinki because it can be seen even from Suomenlinna

Staircase to the Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

This elegant square has a Soviet look of Tsarist times, similar to the buildings and places I saw in St. Petersburg a few years ago. Then I went to Kauppatori, the market square, just a few meters away. This large square is bounded on the south by the Baltic Sea and on the North by several elegant buildings. Among them is the Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland and the City Hall.

Kauppatori (Market Square)

Palace of the Prime Minister in Helsinki

Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland beside Kauppatori

Elegant buildings beside Kauppatori in Helsinki

City Hall of Helsinki beside Kauppatori (Market Square)

In addition, at one corner of the square, near the Presidential Palace is the Orthodox Cathedral, built in the same style like the ones of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Seeing these buildings I realized that Finland is a very young country (it became independent from Russia in 1918) and it has a very clear Russian past. Helsinki was founded actually by Russia to compete commercially with neighboring Tallinn, taking the capital that had historically held the city of Turku. While I was waiting for the ferry departure to Suomenlinna I amused myself taking some pictures to these buildings and enjoying the nice afternoon.

Orthodox Cathedral in Helsinki near Kauppatori

Selfie in Kauppatori, one of the places in Helsinki I liked more

From Kauppatori leave the ferrys to Suomenlinna

The ferry ride from Helsinki to Suomenlinna was very pleasant in spite of the cold air of the Baltic Sea. The views of Helsinki with its referent, the Lutheran Cathedral, from the ferry were nice. I got Suomenlinna a little before 6 pm and I wanted to catch the ferry back leaving at 7pm because the next was at 7:45 pm, too late.

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki from the ferry to Suomenlinna

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg)

So I only had about an hour, just to go to the Kingsgate (a kilometer and a half away) and back almost without stopping. I walked fast passing beside the church, next to a museum and next to the main square. In this first tranche there were buildings and parks. After crossing a couple of bridges I only saw the walls with guns and a large green area. Almost nobody. I just saw 4 or 5 people in one hour.

Pier of Suomenlinna from which you can see on the left the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg in Swedish) in Helsinki

Suomenlinna is a fortress on a set of islands linked by bridges like the one of this picture

Going to King's Gate in Suomenlinna

Due to lack of time and cold I just stopped briefly to do some pictures. I was walking through the Kingsgate area about 5 minutes without stopping and then I returned to the pier. Then I would realize that I did not see actually the door even though I was near, but I would not have had time to look. The ferry ride back was short and I enjoyed the views of Helsinki from the ferry at sunset.

Green area inside the Suomenlinna fortress in Finland

Gun in Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki near the King's Gate. My walk of almost 2 km in this fortress ended here

I think that Suomenlinna is an ideal place to spend a sunny summer day. It is a large green space, like a huge park. There is a kilometer and a half from the pier to Kingsgate. There is actually a pier next to the Kingsgate where the ferries stop only in summer.

Sunset in Helsinki from the ferry coming back from Suomenlinna

Day 10

During the last day in Helsinki barely we had time to buy some souvenirs in a shop we saw the day before near the Senate Square. It was a nice last-minute in Helsinki. The morning was lovely. We took the tram in a stop next to our apartment and in 15 minutes we were looking souvenirs. Before coming back, we took us the last pictures in the Senate Square with Lutheran Cathedral in the background.