I did not have a good night. I went to my room at 9:30 p.m., when it was still light outside, and went to bed shortly thereafter. But I woke up at midnight, then at 2:00 a.m., then at 3:30 a.m. I tossed and turned and just could not fall asleep again. So at 4:15, I gave up trying, and decided to call Mam to chat, since it was just 10:15 p.m. her time. It was good to speak with her for a while. At 5:15, I made one final effort to sleep, and then woke up at 8:30. So I got up, showered and got ready for my day.
I decided to make the most of my complimentary breakfast this morning, and tried a whole bunch of things. I am slowly learning some Finnish vocabulary: I had a glass of jäävesi (ice water), luomukaurapuuro (organic oats porridge) with kuuma maito (warm milk), munakokkelia (scrambled eggs), nakkeja (sausages), voilla leivottuja croissantteja (croissants baked with butter), mustikka marmelad (blueberry jam), jugurtti (yogurt), hedelmäsalaati (fruit salad), juusto (cheese) and kalkkuna (turkey).
After breakfast, I headed outside at 9:45, ready to explore the city. I made my way to the Svenska Teatern to get my ticket for tonight's performance of "Kristina från Duvemåla". I was truly impressed with my Swedish-language skills: I was able to greet the attendant, explain that I had reserved a ticket for tonight's performance by telephone from Canada, and that I had come to buy the ticket. The entire conversation was in Swedish. I felt so proud.
I then walked around the harbour area of Helsinki and saw both the Tuomiokirkko Lutheran Cathedral and the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral. As I walked, I listened to the only Finnish music I had on my iPod, a few movements of a Jean Sibelius symphony. The day was bright and sunshiny, but slightly cooler than yesterday, with an expected high of 9C and lots of wind.
It was by the Lutheran Cathedral that I boarded a hop-on, hop-off bus, which allowed me to have a 1.5 hour tour of the city. I saw the dock that was built to welcome the 1952 Olympic athletes, and the Marina. I got off the bus to visit Temppeliaukio church, constructed entirely into solid rock, with unfinished granite walls and a copper roof. It was truly an amazing church. I knew the bus would be back 45 minutes after it had dropped me off, so I had time to stop at a tourist shop and get a small present for my sister and for my friend Martin. I also got postcards and stamps that I plan to send to family and friends.
I got back to the bus stop just in time to continue the hop-on, hop-off tour. I saw the Sibelius monument, the Olympic complex from 1952 and the Finnish parliament. The bus tour ended near the Lutheran Cathedral, so I decided to go in and visit. It was my first time in a Lutheran church, and I saw that it was a lot less ornate than a Catholic church. It was a lot more austere. I was also surprised to see a sculpture of Martin Luther inside, but I guess it makes sense.
I was told that because I had done the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, I could get a discount to do the ship tour of the harbour (only 10 euros more). So, I got a ticket for the 2:00 p.m. harbour tour, and went in search of lunch. It was 12:30, and I was getting hungry. I found a small cafe and got two more traditional Finnish foods I had wanted to try: lihapasteija (meatpie) and pinaattipiiras (spinach pie), along with some water. Both delicious and flavourful, unlike the karjalanpiirakka I had yesterday.
I got to the harbour front well ahead of schedule, so I boarded the ship, and found a seat on the outside deck, way on top of the boat. It was OK while the boat was moored, but once it started moving and we got further out to sea, the wind picked up and it was cold. I am sure there was a wind chill. After half and hour, I chickened out and went back indoors, only venturing out occasionally to snap some more pictures. Along the way, we saw the fortress-island of Suomenlinna, which has been declared a Unesco World Heritage site, and which I plan to visit on Saturday. We also saw the last submarine Finland was allowed to have, after the signing of a 1947 treaty forbad them from having any others. I snapped a few shots of some ships moored in the harbour for my dad.
When we got back to land and I had found my land legs again (the sea was really choppy and the boat had rocked a lot from side to side), I decided to treat myself to a typical Finnish dessert: salmiakki ice cream, made with salted black licorice. It was an odd shade of dark grey, but was it ever good! From there, I climbed the stairs to the Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox church in Western Europe. I admired the Byzantine icons.
As I gradually made my way back to my hotel, I stopped at the Svenska Teatern again to inquire whether I could attend the performance tonight, wearing jeans and t-shirt. They said it was OK because there is no dress code. Once again, I was impressed with my language skills, and avoided the same mistake I made in Sweden in 2010, when I asked: Kan jag åka dit i mina kläder (Can I go there in my clothes?)
Near my hotel, I stopped at the grocery store, in search of tippaleipä, the traditional sweet that Finns enjoy on May Day (I had been unable to find any yesterday). It is still in its packaging, and I think I will have one after dinner.
So here we are now. It is just after 5:00 p.m., and I am getting ready for my 6:30 show. I am not sure if I will be having dinner before or after it. We shall see...
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