12th – Slithering about

The alarm went off as yesterday at 0800. Snoozed it once and then turned if off and the woke up an hour later. Woops.

I got myself ready, had breakfast and then left the hotel to take the boat to Suomenlinna 15 minutes away, the main island of four that are connected with bridges to each other, with a large defensive installation built by the Swedes, taken by the Russians and in the end given back to the Finns.

The island furthest south, i.e. the one furthest towards the sea, has the majority of the walls and cannon placements. Despite the fortification having been converted to a tourist destination it is still being actively maintained as it has been given the rank of UNESCO Heritage Site. You walk around and get some great views of the installation and people come over here when the weather is nice to do picnics, visit the 10m long sand beach or soak up rays on some of the many patches of grass or rocks. Another thing that reflects its attraction to tourists is the relatively large number of restaurants and cafes. In addition to that they also have a church, brewery, prison, school, day care and library.

Some of the many buildings now re-purposed to normal apartments.

Submarine Vesikko.

One of the other islands, Pikku-Musta, has a navy school which means there are plenty of uniformed personnel (conscripts, officers etc.) walking about, and it’s fairly common to see groups marching the pathways on the islands. While this is a very touristy area this is a serious training facility and there are parts of the islands that are strictly off limits.

The main barracks square, had the regular drill just moments earlier.

Finland's "special" lion.

King's Gate.

Due to the many garrison buildings and living quarters for military members and their families that are no longer in use they have been converted into ordinary housing. There are quite a few people living on these islands and you regularly see signs reminding guests that you are walking in or entering a residential area.

At one point I found a secluded spot where there were plenty of birds to spot (had I brought my long lens I could have spent most my day here!) and trying to get a better angle to two birds I took a few steps from a rock onto soft ground. This resulted to my surprise in a snake suddenly quickly slithering out and away. Of all the things I had expected to see when visiting Helsinki, a snake was not on the list.

I would never have expected that I was to come to Finland if I wanted to see snakes in the wild.

The cathedral towering over the buildings when returning to the mainland.

After spending up towards 6 hours walking around I returned to the main land where I had a short break back in my room before going out for dinner. Sushi buffet for 14 euros, and while it wasn’t on the same level as the stuff I got in Singapore (I didn’t have any expectations of that, either!) it was – at least – as good as the mainstream stuff back home in Denmark. And for just a fraction of the price? Yes please!

I returned to the hotel, almost rolling, I’d admit, and had a few drinks at the bar while seeing Finland beating Canada 5-1 at hockey. They must feel a bit better now after we beat them – to everyone’s surprise – 3-2 just a few days ago.