11th – A rocky day

After a late morning, it was hard work getting out of bed and breakfast had a large selection, I left the hotel a bit past 10 and starting going towards the western part of Helsinki.

I came by a large building that turned out to be the parliament building, a small lake with a lot of people spending their time walking, running and generally just relaxing. I reached the winter garden and the Olympic stadium which unfortunately was wrapped in construction so I arched back and came by two odd churches: one that had been dug into a rock and the other a very new wooden construction that from above had the shape of an egg.

Parliament building.

A green spot in the city.

The rock church was basically a circular hole been dug or blown into a large rock near the centre of the city. They had left the rough surface and drill holes all around so it was very rustic. There was also drains all around the walls for when water occasionally would run down the rock face which helped giving it a very cave-like feel. The ceiling was centred by a massive cobber circle made from app. 22km of copper strips. The church was very different and charming. The wooden church was much smaller and had a very calm to it. The interior construction was like the exterior; very minimalistic. With how the light came in from the ceiling it had a very serene feeling about it.

The roof of Temppeliaukion Church, cut into the rock.

The walls are bare rock.

The roof consisting of 22km small cobber strips can just be seen.

Kamppi Chapel.

Ceiling in the Kamppi Chapel.

Coming back to the city centre I started going east until I realized there was not much else there. I returned and unintentionally timed it perfectly for me to return to the harbour minutes before a 1½ hour tour of the archipelago departed. A lot of small islands and every single one is pretty much covered in trees. In between there are houses peeking out and located in some very attractive locations. The views form them must be very nice, especially during the summer and nice weather.

Uspenski Cathedral.

Returning to land a bit past 1600 I walked about a bit before taking a break back at the hotel. I left for dinner at a place a fair bit west; a small homey restaurant where I had a fish platter, a wiener schnitzel with sausage, bacon, sauerkraut and potatoes (basically “pig in 3 different ways with sides”). For dessert pancakes – small ones. Apparently in Finland you make pancakes small, not large thin ones, but small chubby ones.

I returned to the hotel and concluded the day early just past 2200.