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| South West Harbor Cruise Terminal - Helsinki, Finland A regular ferry/shuttle runs between Helsinki and Tallin, Estonia (a favorate vacation spot for the Finns) Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
BEFORE WE booked the Baltic Cruise, I didn't really know much about Helsinki. Nor about Finland, for that matter. I did know that members of my extended family growing up had Finnish heritage. And I also knew that my home state of Michigan held a very substantial Finn population in its Upper Peninsula (colloquially known in Michigan as "the U.P.," - pronounced "you-pee"). A little bit of Michigan trivia, since Michigan is my heritage. In the five northwesternmost counties in the Upper Peninsula Finns are the largest ethnic group, with approximately 35 percent of the residents claiming Finnish heritage. Originally, Finns immigrated to the U.P. They are the only such counties in the United States that can boast that demographic. Originally, Finns immigrated to the western U.P., to work in the copper mines. At one time, most of the copper in the world was supplied from the U.P. of Michigan. But lest I forget, this blog is not about Michigan - it's about cruising in the Baltic, and stopping in Helsinki, Finland. 😉
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| Helsinki Cathedral Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
THE BACKGROUND, here is interesting. In conducting my pre-cruise research, I learned that while some of us have referred to this region of the world as "Scandinavia," we have been incorrect. In fact, the characterization of the places we visited on this cruise is confusing and a bit convoluted. But technically, "Scandinavians" are inhabitants of The Scandinavian Peninsula (i.e., Norway, Sweden and Denmark). Finland is not considered part of this region and the Finns are not considered "Scandinavian" (even though to my eye, at least parts of Finland appear to be part of the Scandinavian Peninsula - and was originally a part of Sweden). Did I mention that it is confusing and convoluted? This region is more correctly referred to as "The Nordic Region." It does appear, however, that all of the countries we visited (and a few others) can properly be classified as "Nordic." According to my limited research, the term Nordic includes Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland and The Faroe Islands. Estonia (which we also visited), along with Latvia and Lithuania are considered "Baltic" nations.
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| Russian Orthodox Cathedral - Helsinki, Finland Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
FINLAND WAS originally part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Before these countries formed distinct national groups, the (primarily Scandinavian) Vikings sailed all over the world. As they began to establish national identities, they also became more territorial. The Swedes conquered territory that is now Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia, while the Danes focused more on the Baltics (particularly Estonia). Over hundreds of years, the "Nordic" empires and influence waned, and the Russian empire took over, at one time controlling the Baltic nations and dominating Finland. In 1808 a war between Russia and Sweden culminated in a treaty which ceded Finland to Russia. From then until 1917, Finland was an autonomous region of Russia (The Grand Duchy of Finland). In 1917, Finland gained its independence. Shortly after the outbreak of WWII, that independence was challenged when in 1939, Russia demanded that Finland cede certain territories (primarily around St. Petersburg). Finland refused and the USSR invaded. Initially, the 1939-1940 "Winter War," between the Finns and the much larger, more powerful, and better militarily equipped Soviet Union - surprisingly - went in favor of the Finns who successfully repelled them. However, eventually, upon re-grouping, the Soviets overpowered them, and ultimately Finland ended up ceding about 10% of its sovereign territory to the Soviets. They did (at least in appearance) maintain their independence though. The Finish language began as an unofficial language, as Swedish was mostly spoken. Today, both Swedish and Finish are recognized as official languages of Finland. Of course, a majority of Finns also speak English as a second language.
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| Senate Square and the Hop on - Hop Off Bus - Helsinki, Finland Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
KNOWN AS a reformer with an affinity for Finland (no pun intended) 😃, Tsar Alexander II was revered by the Finns. Alexander established the Finnish Diet (Congress), and instituted other reforms in Finland, strengthening their autonomy. On his death, the Diet commissioned a monument in his honor, which stands in the center of Senate Square today.
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| Tsar Alexander, II Monument - Senate Square; Helsinki, Finland Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
RUSSIAN DOMINANCE is evident in the primary architecture in the city center of Helsinki. The primary center is Senate Square, where Russian influenced governmental buildings surround the square. I have read that that part of Helsinki is so reminiscent of Russia - particularly Moscow, that because of the "Cold War" tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., the "Russian" scenes in the movie, Gorky Park were actually filmed in Helsinki. Coming so recently out of the 2019 pandemic, our excursion planning for this trip was not as well organized as we have been on past cruises. We found that many of the prior resources we had used to book and to join tours were no longer available. As a result, we did not have organized tours in Helsinki or in Stockholm.
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| Swedish Embassy - Esplanade - Helsinki, Finland Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
WHAT WE did do in Helsinki, was join our new friends, Mike and Elaine for the day. I had purchased a Rick Steves book which had a self-guided tour, and we used parts of that along with the Hop on - Hop off bus to see the city. As a photographer, I was particularly interested in Senate Square, the nearby Russian Orthodox Cathedral, and the waterfront area. The plan worked rather well for us.
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| Like many European Cities, Helsinki has a very nice tram system for public transport Helsinki, Finland Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
I SHOULD point out that these largely waterborne cities often have multiple seaports, and there is not generally a single congregating point for all the cruise ships. We experienced this phenomenon at Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. Even with today's wonderfully available on-line resources (e.g., whatsinport.com), I found it a bit confounding to figure out where we would be berthed and how we would get around. While nerve-wracking at first, we were happy to learn that 2 out of the 3 had pretty easy solutions to the concern. In Stockholm, the cruise line provided a shuttle to the center city. In Helsinki, the Hop on - Hop off buses stopped essentially at the base of our gangplank. Both charged a modest fee. Copenhagen didn't have a shuttle. There may or may not have been a Hop on - Hop off bus within easy walking distance. We had a tour guide to meet, so we just grabbed a taxi, which turned out to be convenient enough.
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| Cafe Kappeli - Helsinki, Finland Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved |
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