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Scandinavia 2017
  • We are Living the Dream
  • We are Living the Dream

Scandinavia 2017

Un’avventura di 30 giorni di We are Living the Dream Leggi altro
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  • Inizio del viaggio
    18 dicembre 2017
    We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Sydney

    18 dicembre 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 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 our destination in Helsinki.

    It has been one of my bucket list dreams to visit Santa in Lapland and today is the beginning of fulfilling the dream of Christmas with Santa.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Hotel Lilla Roberts - Helsinki

    19 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 designed buildings in Helsinki's historic City of the Guard, just a stone's throw from the busy streets of the city centre. We selected this Hotel due its proximity to the tourist sights.Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Kappeli Coffee House

    19 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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.

    We came across this beautiful café and of course the Hopwoods had to stop for a coffee at Kappeli Coffee House. The building was christened Kappeli (the Chapel) as it looks like a church. This café was excellent and we visited a number of times during our stay for our coffee and cake fix.

    Kappeli was founded in 1840 by Confectioner Jerngren as a wooden booth in Helsinki's Esplanade, where pastries and lemonade were sold. The booth quickly fell into disrepair and it was necessary to build something new on the site. So the new Kappeli, designed by Hampus Dahlström was built and became the city's number-one summer venue.

    In 1883, restauranteur Josef Wolontis obtained the restaurant's rental rights, and under his management Kappeli became Helsinki's nerve centre in the heart of the city, a meeting-place for poets and musicians and alike including the Hopwoods.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Helsinki Sightseeing

    20 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 300 islands.

    The public transportation system is one of the best in the world and it is very easy to walk and bike everywhere.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    City of Helsinki Museum

    20 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 of Helsinki. Its mission is to record and uphold Helsinki's spiritual, material and architectural heritage. The museum features personal memories and everyday life of the city's residents. Very cool and interesting indeed.Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore
    Night Markets Senate Square
    Senate Square during the DaySenate Square at Night

    Senate Square

    20 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, the main building of the University of Helsinki and the National Library of Finland.

    During Christmas they have markets which have lots of Christmas decorations, gifts and food.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Helsinki at Night

    20 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 are just beautiful, it's a shame our stores cannot do this.

    The day is nearing it's end for the Hopwoods who were getting hungry and tired from a full day of sightseeing.

    So obviously our final stop was for dinner which was at a local Finnish Restaurant. We shared a platter of 6 Finnish delicacies which included Reindeer Mousse, Chanterelle Soup and for mains Salmon soup and Elk.

    Now on a full tummy time to walk back to the Hotel.    Leggi altro

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    Suomenlinna

    21 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 Admiral Augustin Eherensvärd 1710-1772. The landscape and the architecture of the fortress have been shaped by several historic events. It has served to defend three different sovereign states over the years, Kingdom of Sweden, Russian Empire and most recently the Republic of Finland.Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore
    Russian Section

    Suomenlinna Church

    21 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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 Evangelical Lutheran church, as Finland sought to indicate its new-found independence from Russia. The onion domes of the four smaller towers were immediately removed. Another interesting feature from the renovation is that the church's central dome has doubled as a lighthouse since 1929, making it one of only a few churches in the world that has that dual purpose.

    After a little while, refreshments were required so we found a Russian Café and had mulled wine and gingerbread biscuits.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Ehrensvärd’s Tomb

    21 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ☁️ 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’s house and the main guard house.

    In the middle of the square you can see the tomb of Augustin Ehrensvärd
    who died in 1772. He was temporarily buried elsewhere for 10 years until the tomb in Viapori was finished. The monument was completed in the early 19th century, just before the end of the Swedish rule in Finland.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Suomenlinna Dry Dock

    21 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ⛅ 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 buildings served as the base for the Swedish Coastal Fleet’s Sveaborg squadron until 1808. Ships for the Swedish Coastal Fleet were built here in the 1760s under the supervision of the famous naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman.

    During the Finnish period from 1918 the State Aircraft Factory used the dock for building the first Finnish airplanes. In the 1930s, the dock’s inner basin was used as a naval submarine base. After the Second World War, Valmet Oy took over the ship-building operations, initially building ships as war reparations to the Soviet Union.

    There is so much to see here, we walked around for hours but it is now time to jump back on board the ferry and head back to the mainland.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore

    Rock Church

    21 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ⛅ 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 and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.

    We then went back to Senate Square for dinner. I had the Russian Borscht soup and John a homemade hotdog. We also went into Stockman's department store to purchase some gingerbread as it was voted the best gingerbread in Europe.    Leggi altro

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  • We are Living the DreamScandinavia 2017Viaggiatore
    Cute note on Santa's doorOne foot on either side of the Arctic Circle

    Santa's Village and Arctic Circle

    24 dicembre 2017, Finlandia ⋅ ⛅ -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 a chat. He was looking forward to dropping gifts to every good boy and girl in Australia, he also mentioned he was 400 years old and he stays young from meeting all the visiting children. We could only stay for about 5 minutes as he was getting ready for the Elves to contact him when the sleigh was packed and ready to hit the sky.

    We then walked around Santa's village (which is located on the Arctic Circle) for a few hours, we even came across a letter on Santa's door from a little girl who wrote to Santa which was rather cute.    Leggi altro

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