Hei Hei Helsinki

Today is our last day in Helsinki and tomorrow we fly back to the US. Gerald will be back to continue his work on occasion though mostly he'll be working virtually from Las Cruces, but we don't really have to say final farewells. We've got assurances of visits from Finnish friends and certainly plan to return as we haven't seen all we would like of this beautiful region of the world. It's been an excellent empty nest adventure, but now we need to head back to feather our new desert nest once our two shipments of EU & US stuff arrive. So we are still in the midst of moving, continuing stateside tomorrow. We'll be gearing down with margaritas on the veranda some day soon.

Our estimated mileage totals, not including our return flight:
me - 85,000 miles/137,000 km & Gerald - 118,000 miles/190,000 km

Yesterday I met one final goal, borrowed from Claire, of seeing live reindeer at the Korkeasaari Zoo. As with Suomenlinna, the zoo is on a nearby island of its own, and the setting is quite pretty with the cityscape views across the sparkling water. The zoo has natural landscaping and older wooden buildings typical of Finland, and I had a nice quark berry tart in the lovely alcove pictured here.


The dominant male deer was going from feed box to feed box, ousting the others so he could eat it all, and the babies had a cute little bleat as they trotted around. Reindeer are an important industry in the north, so it was good to actually see some in person, as I'd only seen them in the news until now. That male's antlers looked so soft and furry, though they are obviously a serious defense.


And so ends our tale with this final post. Thanks (kiitos) for following along. Our things are sailing west in their Scandinavian (recylable) couture and the Z is packed in there too, all seen to by our careful Finnish packers.



HeiHei, MoiMoi, Näkemiin!
Laurie

Major goal achieved

For three years I've seen this ferris wheel, Rinkeli, from all over town, as it sits on a hill at the Linnanmäki amusement park in the center of Helsinki, and I have always wanted a ride - it's just my speed: slow.

After some confusion, we finally got our 'single' tickets at the hot dog stand just below the ride (popular with the gulls), and up we went.

Finally.

Up on top.

You can see out to the sea and we could even see the bridge they are building by our old apartment - they're the two tilted piers to the left of the crane. An excellent way to spend our last Sunday in Helsinki.

Our friend Helen told us that when the syreeni (lilacs) bloom, you should look for a flower with five petals, and if you find it, you should eat it and then make a wish (like finding four-leaf clovers). The syreeni are blooming all over now as everything is a bit late this year due the long winter and cool spring, and we could even smell them up at the top of the ferris wheel. I just learned they are the city flower of Helsinki. Three more days in Finland now.

Fresh Air Fashion

I caught a Marimekko fashion show in the Esplanade Park today, complete with live music. Here are a few summer styles (click on the pictures to enlarge).

More of Suomenlinna

Here's the theater where they were rehearsing Cyrano:

People do live on the fortress islands and this house and its matching playhouse were charming:

I had coffee in this cafe which has a very 'al fresco' terrace too.


There is an artists' community living and working on the fortress too - here is their shop:

A lot to see, and so different from the busy city just minutes away. It's full of history and beyond what I can share from an afternoon stroll. Here's the site if you are interested in learning more: http://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/

Suomenlinna

Finally, I can share a post about the renown Suomenlinna fortress, Finland's world heritage site. I couldn't leave without seeing it, and the weather was promising so I was able to hop on a ferry using my regular transit card as it's right within the Helsinki zone. On Memorial day, too. Suomenlinna can be seen from the cruise ships, especially the star-shaped rampart - the first protection point from the sea.
Here is the King's Gate, built in 1753-54 for King Adolph Frederick of Sweden, the founder of the fortress:

A history lesson on the move through the sites:


There is a military base on a nearby island so there were loud booms regularly from their exercises, which really added to the impact of coming upon the antique weaponry everywhere. And this is a gunner's view from the ramparts:

A Moment in Time

I thought chances were good that a photo I submitted to the New York Times "A Moment in Time" project would make it in, given my location, and it did. You can view it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/03/blogs/a-moment-in-time.html#/4bde647eb93af13e4c00008c

(You'll have to copy&paste the link into your browser.) They asked for pictures taken exactly at 3pm UTC on May 2nd, and they were inundated with photos from all over the world. Nice spot for some armchair traveling. Use the 'return to globe' link to explore further.

Catherine's Palace

(This is the last entry of our Russian visit - best to start on page 1.)


The walkway along Catherine's Palace, or the Summer Palace.

Gerald's favorite - a cute cupid napping in the sun.

No shortage of detail!

This is an awesome contemporary artwork by Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave - a copy of a dress in a portrait of Elizabeth, made completely of paper.

The palace was extensively damaged in WWII and has been meticulously restored, and these 3 cupids show the darker pre-restoration gold (& more cupids for Gerald!).

One of Pavel's rooms, not normally opened so we were lucky to see more of the palace.

This is the Chinese silk room, with Catherine as a flower goddess in the portrait.