Getting There - Stockholm & Helsinki

Inner harbor & Helsinki Cathedral - Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki Cathedral

Our overnight ferry took us from Stockholm to Helsinki, the capital and largest city of Finland. The building in the center of the photo above is Helsinki Cathedral ("Helsingin tuomiokirkko"), the seat of the Lutheran Diocese of Helsinki. The photo to the left is a closer view of Helsinki Cathedral. It sits on one side of Senate Square ("Senaatintori"), a beautiful, large plaza surrounded by public buildings. As you can see, the plaza is in the heart of the city - an uncommon urban treasure. Our brief tour of Helsinki also included the sites in the photos below.

Sibelius monument - Helsinki

Olympic Stadium & statue of Paavo Nurmi - Helsinki

The Sibelius monument honors Jean Sibelius. An important composer by any measure, Sibelius is especially remembered in his native Finland for compositions in the "national romantic" style. Finland was then a part of the Russian Empire. Sibelius' symphonic poem, "Finlandia" (1899-1900) was often played, in defiance of Russian censorship, as an expression of Finnish desires for national independence. Sibelius later reworked the choral section, known as "Finlandia Hymn," into a stand-alone piece that became a popular national song and hymn tune. I recall playing a simplified version as a young band student. You can find numerous recordings of "Finlandia" in its various iterations on YouTube. 

(Music link: "Finlandia Hymn")

The photo to the right shows Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, the main venue of 1952 Olympic Games. A statue of Paavo Nurmi, "The Flying Finn," can be seen in the lower left-hand corner of the photo. Nurmi was a distance runner who dominated international competition in the 1920's and 1930's.

Unfortunately, I do not remember much about our activities in Helsinki beyond what these photos show. I do remember that it felt good to be there - I liked the place.