Happy Labor Day to my American darlings out there! In my lone act of labor this weekend, and in an attempt to distract myself from handbag hari kari, I'm bringing you even more photos from my not-so- recent Baltic getaway.
We sailed from St. Petersburg to the idyllic seaside capital of Finland, Helsinki. Upon reaching port, we took off to hike around the countryside . . .
This is an unretouched photo; the sky really was that blue, and the grass that verdant. Finland was only recently urbanized, and so the Finns have strong ties to countryside retreats such as this. Given the natural beauty, it's easy to see why.
A view from our hike, which ended with a typically Finnish sauna (a Finnish word, by the way).
After our hike, we returned to meander around Helsinki. More than 20% of the country's only 5 million people live in the area; the laid-back layout and feel of the capital city reflects this recent urbanization.
We rambled along the port and stumbled across this farmer's market, a colorful mix of locals, tourists, and of course delicious looking produce . . .
A Russian Orthodox church & good representation of the melting pot of cultures and languages that comprise Finland. The country was occupied by Sweden for hundreds of years, followed by Russia, and the influence of those cultures was evident throughout. Note the street signs; all were in both Finnish and Swedish, the two official languages of Finland.
Some countries top their buildings with menacing gargoyles; in Finland, it's . . . a fuzzy little bear. This symbolized the remarkably safe, peaceful feel of the town to me; although this is a typical feeling in the orderly Nordic cities I've visited, never have I felt so safe wandering around a foreign (or US, for that matter) city.Next - and final, pinky swear! - stop, Stockholm . . .
For previous posts in this travel series:
11 comments:
oh my gosh this pictures are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Is the first building really blue, or is that a reflection? It's so peaceful looking.
What a great trip! Your pictures are gorgeous! = )
Ohhhhh, that farmer's market looks amazing. Well, your whole trip looks like it was pretty freaking incredible!
That is one blue sky. I hope your Labor Day was lovely.
How beautiful! I can't wait to visit the Nordic countries one day.
I really want to go there! The fuzzy bears sealed it for me.
gorgeous pics! love your site.
I really want to go on that trip now.
Giddy with excitement for Stockholm!
Random, but, when I was stuck in a fabulous court case for 3 months, the offices we ate lunch in had these gorgeous photos of the countryside of Helsinki (why? I'll never know) and it was like a happy little break during our 8 hour days of hell. And, I always told myself that if I survived, I'd go see those lovely creeks and hills in person. Hasn't happened yet, but, you just got me a little closer!
Gosh - those pictures even gave me a sense of peace - they were so calming! I think every building needs a fuzzy little bear on the top of it - the world would be a much happier place.
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