Finland Part 2

Helsinki

After two days at Joenssu, we head back to Helsinki for some leisure time. Helsinki is the capital of Finland, with about 600k population. Getting around Helsinki is quite easy, and for tourist you could opt for the hop-on/hop-off bus or go on the 3T tram. The tram proves to be a more economical choice as a tourist day ticket for all public transport is only €6 whereas the tour would cost 4 times more. Amongst the popular sights of Helsinki are the Market Square, which is located in the harbour, the Senate Square four famous surrounding buildings, namely the Helsinki Cathedral, The University, The Government Palace and the National Library.

The Senate Square & Helsinki Cathedral


Helsinki University


Government Palace


They still have the oldskool open flame gas lantern


Cherries & Strawberries anyone?

They are also having sales in Helsinki as per usual summer and most of the shopping places are full. It rained when we were there, hence we could only stay indoors. Prices in Helsinki are a bit higher than the rest of Europe, due to the fact that Finland is high taxed nation, with the tax bracket around 40 – 60 %. But they do put the taxpayers’ money into good use, with free education and free medical for all. With only a population of 5 million, they could utilise the fund efficiently and all the population could benefit from it. Finland is also ranked the highest by Transparency International. Just imagine what we could do with 5 times more population if proper fund management could be implemented.

Another thing that I noticed, the Finns are outdoor people. Even when the weather turn for the worse, they could be seen outdoors either power walking, cross country running, in line roller balding or in the winter skiing. Most of them would bring their gym shoes when they travel and they would hit the gym anywhere in the world they traveled.

Tallin

After Helsinki, we crossed the Gulf of Finland to Tallin, Estonia. Tallin is the capital of Estonia, former Soviet Union. The trip by boat took 1 hr and 40 mins, with about 80km of sea separating them. They managed to claim independence in the 90’s but remnant of the Soviet era could still be seen in the buildings. Tallin is divided into 2 parts, the old (medieval) town and the newer portion. The ambiance in the old town is very rustic, with pebbled roads and limestone buildings. Tallin is on the verge of a big limestone foundation, with 52 known layers of sedimentary limestone could be identified.

Kalev Chocolatiere

Tallin Town Hall

The Round Dome Cathedral

Tallin TV Tower - remnants of Soviet Union. The building was a drab grey concrete structure, with the interior preserved as it was during Soviet's rule.

Tallin to the Finns is like Padang Besar or Bukit Kayu Hitam to us. Everything is cheaper in Tallin due to lower taxation and the exchange rate was about 15 kroner to 1 EURO. So we managed to grab more souvenirs in Tallin more than in Helsinki.

Tallin also has an interesting history, being a seaside resort to the Soviet empire. A lot of spa's and vacation home are located here, with some majestic Russian buildings for the Czar could be found. The older buildings are nice to look at, but you could distinguish the Soviet Builiding, with its grey cooncrete exterior. It's like they dont even consider external paint as an option. To be honest, most of it are plain ugly. But Tallin has decided to keep most of the buildings after independence as it could be preserved as part of the towns unique architecture heritage.



Another thing to note is that we were treated to a private opera session by accident. We were visiting one of the monuments when we noticed there's someone practising and warming up. Once we finish the tour, the performance was about to start and we stayed for the whole duration. Irregardless whether we could understand what they are singing about, but the experience was unforgettable.

Overall I enjoyed the opportunity to visit these unique places. Normally, we would like to visit glamorous places, hence off the beaten path town like Tallin could be a real eye opener. Glad to have experience it.