Sydney
18 декабря 2017 г., Австралия ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Today we are leaving on an Emirates A 380 jet plane to Scandinavia for 29 days. The flight will take over 30 hours including stopovers. First stopover is Dubai then Copenhagen and on to ourЧитать далее
Dubai Stopover
19 декабря 2017 г., Объединенные Арабские Эмираты ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Dubai our first stopover on this very long journey and we went straight to the lounge for 3 hours to freshen up.
Copenhagen Stopover
19 декабря 2017 г., Дания ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
This stopover was for 4.5 hours and again we went straight for the lounge. John read some emails and I found a comfy spot under my jacket and slept for a little while.
Hotel Lilla Roberts - Helsinki
19 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
Finally arrived in Helsinki, Lilla Roberts is home for the next few days.
This boutique hotel is decorated with the original art deco of the 1930s. Lilla Roberts is located amongst trendy designedЧитать далее
Kappeli Coffee House
19 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C
We unpacked a few items before heading out for for a short walk to stretch the legs after sitting for so long on the plane . Yes, it is late, however, at this time of year it is more like dusk.
WeЧитать далее
Sightseeing in Helsinki
20 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ 🌧 2 °C
Christmas Markets are the first agenda item in our walk around the City.
Helsinki Sightseeing
20 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Helsinki is the largest city in Finland and has a population of 1.4 million. Helsinki is in the northernmost corner of Europe and is on the Baltic Sea. The Helsinki Archipelago consists of over 300Читать далее
City of Helsinki Museum
20 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Now for some history at the City of Helsinki Museum which was different to other museums especially the children and the virtual reality section.
The museum documents and displays the history ofЧитать далее
Senate Square
20 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
The Senate Square and its surroundings form a unique and cohesive example of Neoclassical architecture. The square is dominated by four buildings designed by Carl Ludvig Engel 1778-1840 HelsinkiЧитать далее
Helsinki at Night
20 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Still walking around this beautiful city, there is just so much to take in and the photos do not show how pretty everything really is, especially at night. The department store window dressings areЧитать далее
Suomenlinna Ferry
21 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Today we took the ferry to a local Island of Suomenlinna Sea Fortress where we spent quite a few hours just walking around looking at the fortifications.
Suomenlinna
21 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) is a sea fortress, which was built gradually from 1748 onwards on a group of islands belonging to the district of Helsinki. The work was supervised by the Swedish AdmiralЧитать далее
Suomenlinna Church
21 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
The Suomenlinna Church was built as a Russian Orthodox garrison church in 1854. The original building had five steeples with onion domes. In 1918 the Orthodox church was converted into an EvangelicalЧитать далее
Ehrensvärd’s Tomb
21 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
The Great Courtyard, designed by Augustin Ehrensvärd, served as the main square and administrative centre of the fortress. The houses surrounding the courtyard included the fortress commandant’sЧитать далее
Suomenlinna Dry Dock
21 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
The dry dock in Suomenlinna is the oldest in Finland and one of the oldest operational dry docks in Europe.
The construction of the dry dock began in 1750. The dock’s basins and service buildingsЧитать далее
Rock Church
21 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Back on the mainland we then went by tram around the city to Rock Church.
Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Toolo neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects andЧитать далее
Leaving Helsinki
22 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C
Today we leave Helsinki for Rovaniemi. We really enjoyed Helsinki with it's lovely buildings and ease of walking around. We only visited a little of Helsinki and hope one day to be back.
On our way to Rovaniemi
22 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ -9 °C
Santa is getting closer. We are today going to Rovaniemi which is the capital of Lapland in northern Finland. Almost totally destroyed during World War II, today it’s a modern city known for beingЧитать далее
Cumulus Hotel Rovaniemi
22 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ -9 °C
Arrived at our Hotel. It is not as fancy as the Hopwood's usually have but still comfortable and close to the main centre of town so very easy to walk around.
Rovaniemi
22 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ⛅ -10 °C
Unpacked and now time to explore and dinner.
Snow Mobile Tour
22 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ 🌙 -14 °C
First Lapland tour, which was on snow mobiles. It was so much fun but we did not see the Northern lights even though it was a clear night.
Husky Safari
23 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ -10 °C
Today was so much fun we went on a 2 hour Husky Sleigh Ride in morning.
John drove the husky's very well as we mushed along through forests and around frozen lakes. I would love to do this one againЧитать далее
Reindeer Pizza for Lunch
23 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ -5 °C
It did seem a little weird at first eating Rudolf but the pizza was so nice and so many restaurants have Reindeer on the menu. I guess it is just like beef on our menu back home.
Reindeer Safari
23 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☁️ -5 °C
Tonight was a 2 hour Reindeer safari.
The reindeer safari was quite subdued sitting back and being pulled by a reindeer.
Rudolf was no where to be seen maybe tomorrow at Santa's Village.
Santa's Village and Arctic Circle
24 декабря 2017 г., Финляндия ⋅ ⛅ -17 °C
Today was the highlight of this trip so far. One of the items on my bucket list is to meet Santa at his home at Christmas. I can now tick this item off the list as I met Santa today and we even had aЧитать далее


















































