Finland
Suomenlinna

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    • Day 6

      Island Hopping - Suomenlinna

      May 23, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      Helsinki Harbour has many islands and today Serena and I ferried out to Suomenlinna Island. It is an island that was heavily fortified by the Swedes fighting the against the Russians and a retreat for the King of Sweden. It also came under Russian control up to 1918 and after the Finnish Civil War returned to Finnish Control. Today the Island is a UNESCO world heritage site, a residential island to a select few, a minimum security prison and a Naval base.

      After our trip to the island we headed to see another church, St John's and the Helsinki Central fire station which are both magnificent.

      Tomorrow we are off to Tampere ( Spy museum visit) & Turku ( the old capital) all by train. It's going to be a full day with and early train and late home.
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    • Day 2

      Iso Mustasaari et l’attaque des 🦅

      November 6, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

      Hi ! Avec Julia, on décide d’aller visiter une des 8 îles de la Finlande en empruntant un ferry ⛴️ depuis Helsinki. Il s’agit de l’Iso Mustasaari, qui relie 2 autres îles par des ponts.
      Petit aparté sur les finnois.es : malgré un premier abord froid, pas très souriantes, les personnes sont très bien éduquées et respectent les règles à la lettre, il n’y a presque pas de contrôleurs dans les transports hormis dans les bus et elles ne traversent jamais au feu rouge 🚦bien qu’il n’y ait pas de voiture. On se sent en sécurité, il y a très peu de pauvreté, les finnois reçoivent beaucoup d’aide de l’état, les étudiant.es de l’université sont même payé.es !
      L’île est très mignonne, cela nous fait penser à l’Écosse. On se pense seules au monde, les paysages sont magnifiques.
      Le froid commence à se faire ressentir, on décide de se réchauffer dans un café où nous dégustons des tartes et goûtons des chocolats belges (nous aurions dû nous abstenir de le faire 😂).
      16h00, le soleil commence à se coucher (oui oui, ce n’est pas une blague..), au retour, nous nous faisons littéralement attaquées par des oiseaux 🦅 venus chasser dans la mer.
      Après plusieurs parties de jeux de société (j’apprends à jouer au Monopoly avec des cartes en 15min, un calvaire .. je décrète que ce jeu est uniquement lié au hasard 😌), l’heure du dodo a sonné. 🔔

      Ps : les photos sont signées Julia Bernard 📸
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    • Day 13

      Suomenlinn - die Festungsinsel

      May 23, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Suomenlinn ist eine im 18. Jahrhundert entstandene Festung, die auf mehreren miteinander verbundenen Inseln vor der finnischen Hauptstadt Helsinki liegt. Sie ist zudem auch UNESCO-Weltkukturerbe. Wir haben uns, neben dem U-Boot, das Militärmuseum angeschaut und durften in einem Kampfjet Probe sitzen.Read more

    • Day 6

      Seefestung

      August 12, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      Die Seefestung Suomenlinna wurde Mitte des 18. Jh. zum Schutz vor Russland erbaut und rund 50 Jahre später von den Russen fast kampflos erobert und fortan als Bollwerk gegen den Westen genutzt. Auf den sechs Schäreninseln sieht man noch Kanonen und Festungswälle, doch das Militär spielt kaum noch eine Rolle. "Gibraltar des Nordens", das zum Weltkulturerbe zählt, zu einer der meistbesuchten Sehenswürdigkeiten von Helsinki. Hier leben ca. 850 Menschen darunter viele Künstler.Read more

    • Day 106

      Suomenlinna, die Insel vor Helsinki

      July 15, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Per Fähre kommt man in wenigen Minuten auf die Insel, auf der man sich frei bewegen kann. Es war extrem windig und super viel los, aber es verteilt sich gut.
      Ist aber eher was für Familien mit Kindern, ich fand es etwas unspektakulär und würde es auch wenn dann eher an einem extra Tag und nicht direkt nach der Besichtigung von Helsinki machen.Read more

    • Day 32

      Suomenlinna - Festungsinsel

      July 20, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      Die Festungsinsel hat uns doch ein wenig enttäuscht. Vielleicht waren unsere Erwartungen zu hoch (wir hatten allerdings auch einen "Durchhänger-Tag"), ich weiß es nicht.
      Es wird wohl viel gebaut zur Zeit, zumindest waren einige Wege gesperrt und der Plan war irgendwie seltsam. Immerhin hatten wir eine schöne Fahrt mit der Fähre (Schiff fahren geht ja eigentlich immer).Read more

    • Day 16

      Second Helsinki Layover: Suomenlinna

      October 2, 2022 in Finland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

      I landed in a dark and cold Helsinki in the wee hours of the morning on October 2nd. After disembarking, I went through the now familiar routine: immigration and customs, bag storage, and then onto the train.

      Once in Helsinki, I made my way eastwards towards the pier for the Suomenlinna ferry. I arrived at the pier at 8.30am to find that the first ferry on Sundays was at 9.00am. The nearby street market wasn’t yet in full swing. I approached one vendor who happened to already be open, purchased a slice of rye with smoked salmon, and waited for the ferry.

      The ferry arrived promptly just before 9.00am, and I boarded it along with around eight other people. The ferry ride took about 15 minutes, during which I stood on the open air deck and enjoyed the refreshing crisp morning air. En route, the ferry offered great views of the Helsinki skyline and a smattering of small islands. Suomenlinna Fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It comprises of eight islands, five of which are connected by bridges. Suomenlinna, also known as Sveaborg, has been occupied by three countries: Sweden began constructing the fortifications in 1748 to protect itself against Russia. Russia gained control of the site in 1808 and expanded it. When Finland became independent following World War I, they gained control of the site. It became a UNESCO listed site in 1991. The islands are inhabited.

      The ferry deposited us at a jetty in front of a large pink building with a clock tower. This building houses the tourist information office. However, nothing was open because it was Sunday. I was a tad disappointed because I wanted to pick up a map and brochure so that I would at least know what I was looking at. Nevertheless, I figured out from the maps on the signboards that there is a recommended walking route of just under 2km each way leading past museums, cafes, and eventually to a feature in the fortress wall called King's Gate. On the signboards, the walking route was highlighted in blue. I started out in the most obvious direction and walked past some wooden houses. I saw shops, cafes, and even a hostel. I think the hostel was open, but nothing else was. Just past the houses was a church which was initially built as an orthodox church by the Russians, but it was turned into a Lutheran church when the Finns took over.
      https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/suomenlinna…

      After the church, though, I got confused by the signposts because each of them pointed to multiple landmarks in different directions. I got disoriented twice and landed up in residential areas, both times I beat a quick retreat as I didn't want to disturb anyone. After the second time I walked in the wrong direction, I went back to the signboards and thought a little more critically about what I was doing. The walking route was in blue on the map, and I looked at the signposts and saw that most directional signs were in brown but some were painted blue. Duh. I was supposed to follow the blue directional signs.

      The blue walking route takes visitors to two of the islands. I had already seen the first two sights, and so I set out in the direction of the other sights once I figured out I was supposed to follow the blue signs. Not long after, I saw the first of the fortress walls. The trees were starting to show their fall colors and it was pretty and atmospheric. Following the blue route, I soon crossed the bridge to the second island. The first major sight I saw was a pretty courtyard with a unique tomb featuring a representation of the deceased's armor. Soon after, I encountered the main fortress itself. Within the fortress walls, there were small hillocks. Rooms had been built into some of the hillocks, but the doors were all locked and I couldn't figure out what they had been used for. In some ways, the interior of the fortress resembled a hobbit village. There were also cannons and lookout posts. Finally, I reached the end point pf the blue route, which is King's Gate. Unfortunately, I could only walk underneath an arch; the rest of the King's Gate, including stone steps that went downwards past the arch, was cordoned off. I imagine it would have looked quite grand from the other direction since this presumably was where dignitaries were greeted. Just then, a saw a huge ferry the size of a cruise ship. Presumably it was a ferry from Tallinn (Estonia) across the Baltic. It looked as if it was heading for the channel between the island I was on and one of the other islands in the chain. My jaw dropped as it came closer and closer, and then it sailed between the two islands. I could not believe that this narrow strait was deep enough for a ship that size. I regained my composure and waved at the passengers on the ferry. Many of them waved back.
      https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fortress-of…

      By this time, I had spent almost two hours exploring. I decided to make my way back to the jetty. As I was walking back, I saw large groups of people heading towards me. I guess the later ferries had many more passengers. But, none of the cafes or shops were open. I got to the jetty just as the ferry was docking, and I made my way back to Helsinki.

      When I got back to the pier, I saw that the street market was in full swing, and that a large crowd of people were browsing through the shops and restaurants. I wandered around the street stalls as well as some boats that had set up shop. The majority were selling various forms of fresh and preserved seafood. I then walked through the Old Market Hall and looked at the food items on offer, which were pretty much the same as the open air market. Finally, I went back to the pier, purchased a meal of salmon, potatoes, and vegetables, and ate heartily. Once sated, I made my way back to the train station and to the airport

      https://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Finland/Uusim…
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    • Day 3

      Helsinki - day 2

      August 11, 2019 in Finland ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

      Day 2 was slightly more rainy, windy and gray, but nice nonetheless! Took the ferry to Suomenlinna and walked around for a bit. The weather didn't really improve, so after we looked for things inside, like lunch (great burgers from bun2bun!) and a visit to the library (very very nice).Read more

    • Day 6

      Suomenlinna

      August 12, 2023 in Finland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      Wir haben noch genügend Zeit, da wir erst um 23.30 Uhr an Bord sein müssen und entscheiden uns deshalb mit der Fähre nach Suomenlinna zu fahren. Wir kommen gleich mit drei netten Finnen ins Gespräch weil Alina so schöne "blue Eyes" hat. Die sind echt witzig und haben noch paar gute Tipps parat. Sprechen natürlich alle immer perfekt Englisch...das war uns auch in Schweden schon aufgefallen. Ob das wohl am guten Schulsystem in diesen Ländern liegt?Read more

    • Day 13

      Suomenlinna

      August 5, 2022 in Finland ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      Knapt er vi kommet til Helsinki, før vi tager båd videre til øen Suomenlinna. Her ligger resterne af et stort fæstningsværk Sveaborg, som gennem historien har forsvaret hele 3 forskellige stater, Sverige, Rusland og Finland. Der ligger stadig et militærakademi på øen, men der er i dag mest et yndet udflugtsmål for storbyens indbyggere. Vi brugte en hel dag der på at bade, drikke Ø-øl og udforske.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Suomenlinna, Sveaborg, Суоменлинна

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