After arriving late the previous night, we were up and about early on Day 37.
Our hotel in Helsinki was awesome, it was built in an old jail that had been fitted out as a hotel. All the rooms were two cells merged together, the hallways still had the metal walkways and staircases and the dining room was in the basement, complete with metal cups and plates.
For our first day in Helsinki we bought tickets on the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus, departing from Helsinki Cathedral - a huge white church in the centre of town.
From there we rode the bus around town past all the sights, hopping on and off as we pleased. We stopped at the Uspenski Orthodox Church and the impressive Rock Church - built out of rock that creates awesome accoustics.
On the other side of town we visited the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Stadium. We checked out the complex and went up in the tower for a view from the top across the city.
We wandered the shops that evening and finished the day with an all-you-can-eat buffet of pizza, pasta, salad and dessert! Yum!
Day 38 was Ben's birthday! After an early run we set off on the ferry for his birthday choices of sightseeing - Suomenlinna Fortress and the Helsinki Zoo.
Suomenlinna is a maritime fortress built back in the 18th century. You can explore the original fortress walls, tunnels, cannons, or check out all the museums, including an old submarine. The naval academy is also out on the island and we watched them welcoming in a Japanese ship with artillery fire.
A short ferry ride later and we arrived at Helsinki Zoo, also on an island. Here Ben's life was made complete when he saw an ibex! I'm not quite sure why this was his 'unicorn' in life, but it was. We've searched zoos near and far, all across the globe to no avail, until we ended up stumbling across them unexpectantly at Helsinki Zoo.
That night, Ben's birthday dinner was at Hard Rock Cafe, Helsinki.
Day 39 we treated ourselves to a sleep in and late breakfast. We lazed around and packed our things then left Helsink aboard the train bound for Russia!
One thing of note throughout all the eastern European countries (as well as some of the Western ones and middle east) - bring change for toilets, you have to pay everywhere! Even in high class shopping malls in Helsinki, it costs to get through the boom gates into the public toilets.
One thing of note throughout all the eastern European countries (as well as some of the Western ones and middle east) - bring change for toilets, you have to pay everywhere! Even in high class shopping malls in Helsinki, it costs to get through the boom gates into the public toilets.
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