Aug 16, 2017 - Helsinki, Finland

As my plane landed in Helsinki I looked out the window and thought wow, they literally had to cut through thousands of trees to make this landing strip. It's ALL green and conifers. I quickly made some other observations around the city. First, I was surprised at how many buildings have flat roof tops. I always thought that snow laden areas did not have flat roof tops due to the weight of the snow. Second, like in Sweden, the majority of the people live in apartment or condo type of buildings. There are relatively few single family...

Jul 25, 2017 - Rovaniemi LapLand

Crossed into lap land this morning heading for the arctic circle and the north cape rovaniemi is famous for the Santa clause village it is big theme park without the rides spent 2 hours there as part of the tour I would not recommend staying that long it is also the where you cross over into the arctic circle incidentally I spent the night in the Santa clause hotel and the bar next door called hemminways. The city was destroyed during WW2 and was rebuilt in the shape of a reindeer head with antlers There is a museum in town dedicated to...

Jul 23, 2017 - Helsinki

Got off the boat in Helsinki it is not much of a place i would recommend coming here i was glad i only stayed 1 night I had Reindeer for dinner tasted ok. Reindeer meat I wasn’t aware that they ate reindeer moose and elk. Every reindeer in finland is owned by someone they heard them like cows the fins are also very big on sauna they go at least once per week all the hotels have them and most of the houses. It is legal to camp on the side of the road for 24 hours not a problem there is not much traffic this far north.

Jul 23, 2017 - Kuopio

Kuopio Finland is sparsely populated fully of lakes and forest probably why Finland is called the land of 1000 lakes very scenic unfortunately the weather didn’t play the game there is a viewing tower on the outskirts of Kuopio that is 75 meters high could see anything because of the weather so no photos either.It is very cold here even in summer getting closer to the arctic circle and the North cape i would hate to be here in winter when it gets down to -30 degrees The Fins go ice fishing they run tours if you are interested Basically the...

May 19, 2017 - Helsinki

We walked Helsinki and explored on our own. As we entered City Center, a fashion show was getting underway, complete with a walkway. Pretty, blonde, blue eyed friendly girls were stationed everywhere distributing coupons and passing out fruit popsicles. Vendors peddled their homemade crafts. Julie bought a ceramic bowl. We had lunch at a bustling coffee shop. As we left, a Navy marching band was parading by replete with 4 mounted policemen. Our last stop was a modern chic department store where Julie got a unique sweater/scarf. We liked...

May 9, 2017 - Ivalo Lapland

We flew north to Rovaniemi, which sits almost on the Arctic Circle and into winter. There was snow on the ground as well as snow flurries and it was cold. Our first business was to take pictures commemorating our crossing "the line". We then took a bus further north to Ivalo - gateway to Lapland the home of the Sami, the indigenous people that have lived in northern Scandinavia since prehistoric times. Lapland, now called Samiland, spans northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Northwest Russia. The Sami are somewhat like the Indians...

May 8, 2017 - Helsinki

It was a pleasant 1:30hr. ride from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. It was drizzling when we left, but the sun was out when we arrived in Helsinki. After depositing our luggage at the hotel we took a long walk around market square and one of the many harbors of the city. The population of Helsinki is 635,000 - small compared to other European country's capitals, but being the capital, it is outfitted first-class. Unlike St. Petersburg that is striving to preserve its past identity and looks with strict building codes, Helsinki is embracing a...

Aug 24, 2016 - Helsinki, Finland - July 8, 2016

We docked in Helsinki around 7:00 AM and were due back on board at 3:30 PM. Carmen and I went exploring on our own and we took the Shuttle Bus which dropped us off near the downtown area. Our first stop was the Helsinki Cathedral. From there we worked our way to the Church in The Rock which was very interesting. It cost a dollar to use the restroom. Next we worked our way back toward the harbor to see the Uspenski Cathedral which was located on top of a very large rock formation. From there we returned to the Shuttle Bus stop and got on...

Aug 15, 2016 - Helsinki to St. Petersburg

Spectacular sunny morning! Got up early and headed off to revisit some of the sites we saw last evening. First off was the very impressive Uspenski Cathedral. The sun was in the right position, so we were WOWed by the light playing off the gorgeous spires. Unfortunately the cathedral didn't open until later, but we were still happy with our visit. Uspenski sits on a rise, so we got a great view overlooking the city roof tops of the Senate Square and the magnificent Helsinki Cathedral. Took a walk down to the square for more photo ops of the...

Aug 14, 2016 - Helsinki

Time to move on to Helsinki. We were somewhat disappointed to realize we weren't going to have much time there. This time we were travelling by plane so we had to be careful packing. It was just a 90-minute flight and went smoothly. We were picked up by bus and finally got on our way around 4 (we lost an hour due to entering a new time zone). We did manage to see quite a bit in our whirlwind 2-1/2 hour bus tour. Chuch of the Rock, a Lutheran church excavated out of the bedrock in the area; the lovely waterfront and marinas; the Sibelius...

Aug 13, 2016 - Another day in Copenhagen

A whole today to ourselves! We slept in, late breakfast, and with city map in hand leisurely started our day of exploration. Not far from the hotel we discovered Orestedsparken, a lovely large park complete with a serene pond encircled with weeping-willow trees, colorful floral gardens, and many elegant statues. Following one of the many canals, we came upon vibrant city squares with coffee kiosks, shops, restaurants, and lots of people. In one, we found the Rundetaarm - the Round Tower. One of the best-known structures in Denmark, it...

Aug 4, 2016 - Off to Scandinavia

Today we are leaving for our Scandinavian Adventure. We don't fly out of JFK until 5:40 so we have the morning to squeeze in a one more sight. After a breakfast at the Brooklyn Diner just down the block (we split the cheapest breakfast at $16.95), we headed for the Neue Galerie, a small museum specializing in German and Austrian Art that has The Woman in Gold, the subject of the movie of the same name. The painting was acquired for the galerie from Maria Altmann after her successful suit to reclaim the 5 Klindt paintings seized from her...