Helsinki, Finland: Suomenlinna, Market Square, the Church on the Rock & more

Greetings. From, somewhere, up in the air above, Sweden. And. There's, Helsinki, the capital, of Finland, in the distance, today, we are finally going to pick up the RV although, we are going to take a day to explore the city before the great road trip, adventure, begins. You. Know we're gonna drive all the way to the North Cape right so. Exciting, but first we want to see Helsinki. I'm riding. Riding. Riding, riding. In. My. RV. Wherever. I want. To be. You. Guys I'm free in. My RV. I've. Made it to Helsinki, like. Almost, every airport it is a pretty long walk to the exit, where my friend our host fellow Video Creator and our veer Petrie is waiting, for us, where. Could, he be. Well, we have arrived in Helsinki, and here sir on my friend victory and. We're. Gonna go get the motorhome now or later, and and see their chief. England, further for. The next. It. Is another, walk to where he was able to park his own motorhome how cool he came to pick us up in an RV. Yeah. This is what we would call a Class C. First. Order of business of, course we have to get supplies you know pillows blankets towels, toilet. Paper you know the essentials, ooh and water, and some, food and we've, come to this huge, mall, although, almost everything. Is closed at this time it is past 6:00 p.m. and Sunday. Then I get some surprise stuff next. We go pick up the RV and take, it to wrassle a campground, in Helsinki. Here. We get to hang out a little bit and he tells me how everything works, in the RV but there's. No video of that, well. Good morning, from. The Rostelecom, ground. In. Helsinki, Finland. It. Was rainy. This. Morning early, but as you can see it's, weather. Is improving dramatically. And I think we're gonna have a nice day here. At. Helsinki. You. Will have an old Class, C, European, style and, an. Old Scania, bus pretty. Cool. There. Goes Petri on his way back home in Barkhouse, we'll. Catch up with him tomorrow but right now we're going to take the metro. The. Metro system here is really easy to navigate since, there is only one line that splits at the end the. Bus and tram system, slightly. More complicated and, that's where we are rhasta and you, may notice that in this area of finland most signs, are bilingual they are in swamy and also. In swedish and the, reason for that is that there is a large, swedish, speaking community, in the southwest, portion of Finland. So. Far very nice. And there goes UPS we're. Walking towards Senate, square which is like, the center of town and from. There we'll, continue. Now the tour buses are here so this will get there's. The Helsinki, Cathedral and they are having some kind of military show, here at Senate, square it.

Turns Out it is the hundredth anniversary of, the Finnish Defence Forces and they, have this hundred Day Festival touring throughout the country, there's. The statue of Alexander the second, Grand Duke of England, and also emperor, of Russia because you know at one time this was part of Russia right as cool. And serendipitous. As disease I would have preferred to see the square in its natural state another. Time perhaps. We're. Gonna walk a short distance towards, Market, Square what's. Out lady. Yeah. It's only a block away. There. Is a cruise ship in town so we are surrounded, by lots, of fellow tourists, here it, is such a beautiful day. There. Are street, musicians. And there's, the open sky Cathedral, the, Finnish Orthodox, Church maybe. We'll get a chance to see it later, we, haven't had breakfast, yet so first we're going to the Old Market Hall, the. Building dates back to 1889, and it was one of the first indoor, markets, in Finland before. That there were all pretty much outdoors. Oh by. The way the aptly, named alko is a state monopoly and your only choice if you want to get booze so. Much stuff, here, here's, the three butchers, and by, the way since it is such a touristy, place a lot of the signs are in English, as well as in Swami. Here's. A Spanish place, take. A look at that Hammond. Liberian, Hammond that's the good stuff. Vietnam. The marinated, fish. Yep, that's what I want to have. This. Is the traditional, marinated, salmon from the average Finland is supposed to be very. Good that's right look at all this, deliciousness. But. We actually want to try the salmon, soup which, is not ready, yet so we're having some pastries. While we wait and, now. We're full. Let's. Have some coffee here at Roberts, coffee and continue. Exploring it. Is definitely, a perfect, day, to be outdoors if perhaps, a little bit too windy. Can't. Barely hear the accordion, with wind as we. Approach Market, Square here, the, important, looking building is none other than the Helsinki, City Hall. We. Wander, around Market. Square a, little bit. It's. Very, busy here today. Yeah. The salmon sub seems to be a popular, item everywhere. Yeah. It is a zoo out here, having. A cruise ship in, town by the way this obelisk, is called the stone of the Empress the oldest, public monument, in Helsinki, erected, after the capital was moved here by Russian, Emperor Alexander the. First in 1812, he wanted to reduce the Swedish influence, by bringing the capital closer, to Russia. There. Is once again the upends key Cathedral, a little closer this time. How. About we hop on a boat and take a ride to suomenlinna which. Is an island with. A fortress, UNESCO. World Heritage Site should, be interesting, and. Here's. The Alice C pool very. Popular but. Not today. This, morning we, bought a day pass for 9 euro using, the HSL, mobile, ticket, app which. Is good for the metro the trams buses, and, this, boat also so it is a pretty good deal if you, want to visit Helsinki. For a day and you want to move around the city they. Also have multi-day, passes, by the way if you plan to stay longer and save even more money so, pretty. Good deal and. Off. We go. By. The way so milena pretty, large island, so, we're only going to be able to see a small portion of it but, even if we don't get to see everything, at the boat trip alone is worth it especially since, it is included, in our day tickets. This. Big red and white fairy here on the right is the one that goes back and forth from here to Tallinn the capital of Estonia. Well. Yeah. The bird is certainly, the star here, everybody. Is, into, the bird, even. Myself like. We've never seen a seagull, before right and. Oblivious. That our destination, is right in front of us. And.

There. Is a pretty, nice view looking. Back towards, the center of Helsinki. Let's, check out suomenlinna, among, the hordes of tourists. We, enter through the jetty barracks, and we, don't really know what to expect except. That there is a fortress, somewhere, here on the island this, wasn't really part of the plan so we didn't do much research, to. Be honest I didn't think we were going to have time or that it would be so easy to come here. Most. Of these houses which are now businesses, date, back to the mid 1800s. Here's. This woman Lynette church it was originally, Orthodox, but, it got modified, and converted, into Lutheran. After, Finland's, Independence, in 1918. There's, the old organ, and, the. Old bell. Let's, continue. Here. We see some rather ancient. Artifacts, through, a window. Someone. Recommended, cafes. Some of our at the Toy Museum so. That's, where we're going and. Here. We are the. Former, home of Captain, Vasily. F and now, it is the toy museum. At, some local, bail. Interesting. Growth on, that tree. You. Notice, we still haven't found the fortress, not yet we, didn't get a map but, I believe it is this way and there's. A lot of construction, happening around here. And. There's. The fortress. Did. You see the fortress. Good. Because I don't know what got into us but we decided to walk back to the ferry and see, the rest of Helsinki, instead. Can. You believe it we, came all the way to swimming, Lena and didn't explore, the fortress, I guess now we have a good excuse, to come back certainly. What. A spectacular, view. That, is. Time, to get off the boat. All. The tourists, now waiting, to go to those for Melina. Well. Yeah at least we got there early and avoided, some of the crowds I don't. Think we've seen this part of the Market Square yet. Interesting. They, even sell reindeer, skins. And. Lots. Of, souvenirs, hey maybe we can get a postcard, or a magnet. Okay. Let's get out of here it is just a little bit crowded, and. We didn't get our salmon soup after all but you know what our time here in Finland, is just, getting started so we'll get our salmon soup and many other things in due time. Hmm. Some of this stuff looks pretty good. Okay, let's take the tram using, our daily, pass we. Wait a few minutes here at the cow pottery, or Market. Square station. Across. From this statue called, the javis Amanda, the. Female, figure, rising, from the sea symbolizes. The birth of Helsinki. Our. Trams should, come from that way in, a few minutes, actually. There it is. Pretty. Cool the lively, city Helsinki, huh, that's. The central railway station over, there oh by. The way I just realized I haven't told you where we're going. The. Church. Is. So windy well, anyways yes, it is a church built, inside, a rock with, a copper, lined dome. Apparently. The church is very popular. With concerts, although. What we're seeing today it's, more, like a rehearsal, I think. I'll. Be the first one to say it it. Is a very. Interesting. Performance. That. Is, beautiful. And I just realized that there is no photography. Sign which nobody, seems to be paying attention to much less enforcing. So maybe. I shouldn't, even be doing this but, it is such captivating. Music I'm. Sorry I have to share it. Ah. That, was awesome and, the acoustics, so grating there well. Let's, walk around a little more, there is another neat, chapel, that I want to visit you'll. See and these. Are some pretty cool looking, balconies, here winter, proof is. That a Cuban, flag I see on that building, well. It is the Cuban embassy all the way here in Helsinki. Here's. The Mexican, Embassy -, we continue walking, towards.

This. Other Chapel, I mentioned, and there it is I see it right, next to the, rink a square it, is called the campi chapel also known as the Chapel of silence, since. It is a way to escape, the. Hustle and, bustle of, one. Of helsinki's, busiest. Areas and have, a moment of silence. A place. To calm down and. Find. Your inner peace. We're. Back outside much, more relaxed. But very hungry all, we had for breakfast, was that smoked salmon, and the pastries, and but now we are pretty famished, he's, a sculpture, called, deleted. A vases with, pretty much translates. As enterpreneur, sculpture, and there's, the campi chapel as seen from the busy square. Let's. Go into the shopping mall shall. We well. That looks pretty massive. It's a huge, shopping. Mall here. My. Idea was to walk through the mall and find out another exit, on the other side but I think, we're lost. Finally. Found the exits and now we're looking for this rooftop bar, on the Turney hotel and maybe, grab a bite to eat. We. Found an awesome finish, IPA, but, they don't serve food. Check. Out that view though. The. Private, party perhaps. Well. There are not that many high-rise. Buildings. Here, in Helsinki, and this. Is certainly, one of the few but the, view is amazing. We. Get a panoramic, view of the city although, let, me tell you that IPA on an empty stomach is not, a very good idea so we've gotta go get something, to eat soon. To. Channel Rick Steves less. A commanding. View we. Can even see swarming Lina in the distance, and, the. Cruise ship living, port, let. Me tell you if they served food here we would have lingered, for a while. This. White boulevard here is called Esplanade, II and. Has a vibe that almost reminds, me of Paris. There's, this esplanade, urban. Park and there, is music. We. Are now approaching Senate, square once again coming full circle and notice, we haven't had anything to eat yet since. This morning and we've. Heard about this restaurant called savolta, which, serves traditional, Finnish style dishes we. Begin with some wine, some. House appetizers, as supreme, savolta, which is like an assortment of appetizers. And, we got to Lapland, specialties. The reindeer, of course and attend our braised, lamb, and. Finished. It off with some Calvados. Because, why not a very expensive meal but it was basically our only meal of the day was, it worth it I don't, know it was really tasty food, it seemed authentic somewhat. Smallish, portions, but that is to be expected at, a place like this hey. You, only live once right now. That, we've got our finished food fix, it's, time to return to the campground, and get the RV ready. For our epic, journey north. I might. Even give you a quick tour of the, RV and yes, and there is a lot more to see here in Helsinki but don't despair, we're coming back after the road trip and we'll, see the rest of the stuff then. Greetings. From, Helsinki. Finland, as, promised, I want to give you a quick. Tour of our, European. Motorhome. Anyways, can you believe it is 9:30, p.m. here. In Helsinki, Finland, and the, Sun is still out I mean it's it's incredible hi lady how late it, gets dark at this higher. Latitudes, but anyway this is a sunlight. It's about 25 feet in length this. Here is the back of our, it's. A three way, absorption. Refrigerator, which is pretty nice this. Is the cassette toilet here, which I'll, show you in. Future. Video I'm, not quite sold on it yet although. To, be honest I've only dumped it once and it wasn't that bad.

Here. We have a huge, garage. Well this is very common with Europe, more homes to have this very. Large garage, area. Under the bed in. The back here and I. Think it's, a good feature some of our classes, have something, like this but not all of them but. It's, very nice to have all that storage back there here's another access. To that a. Basement. Or garage storage. This. Right here is our true map combi, it's, a water. Heater and. An. Heater. You know for, when we need it so that's very nice, now another difference, between American motorhomes, and European motorhomes down here as you can see we have a and, it's leaking a little bit I have to fix that that's. The. Gray water. Dump. But, over here they don't have like a dump station like, we do in the United States, you. Dumped the. The gray water is like. A like. A drain basically, like a like a drain and then and you make sure you're aligned that that pipe with a drink and you open, the valve and. Drink. And then, for. The cassette toilet they. Have a place and, there, is like right, next to the laundry room now let me show you inside and I, apologize, in advance it might be a little messy in here because, we've. Been here for for. Just a 24 hour section. So. This is basically. My first impressions, of this. So. You can see, here's. Our cockpit it's a. Fiat. Ducato, I've been practicing, my stick shift skills. A. Little, bit here, we have this these, are the two. Chairs. That swivel, nice we have another chair this is a pretty nice table per story, now. As we walk here to the back we have our three-way, refrigerator. With I mentioned, before, right, now is working. On, power. But. It's our American, but you can change it as you can see you. Can make it work with the battery you. Can make it work off propane, or you, can make it worth automatically. As it, is now with. Electrical. Power. It's. Very nice it's, it's very similar to each other. Oh yeah. Finnish IPA and. Here. We have some storage, and some pantry, storage that we really haven't used much of it and. Three. Burner stove this. Is kind of weird because if. You if you leave it like that you know you hit. There. I don't want to break it but that's, our. Sink. Here for. Dishwashing. And so. Forth and so on, here. We have a skylight and with. This with, the screen for the bugs and, more, storage here. Are. Instructions in, in Swami so I cannot, understand, them but. Luckily we have Google, then. Let me show you this is the bedroom here we.

Have His and hers a wardrobe. Closets, we have more storage up there. We. Have skylight, here also we have we have skylight, there in the middle. I'm. Out of breath here well here we, have the infamous cassette. Toilet, which. At. Some point I will demonstrate where, there's a light he hears the light and, we. Have our our sink, here and then, that's me we. Have some storage, here for toiletries. And such. Skylight. That you can. Open. You know to, to vent any any, undesirable. Fumes and then, here we have the, shower the. Way you work this shower because right now it's. In you know in this mode where you can walk around but what you do you remove this piece here. And. Then. Come. This way and, this. Way. - no that's not how it works here. -. And. You, know. There. And. There. You have your shower, which. Actually, it's. Really roomy considering. The. Size of this RV. Here. There there's another, bed that I'm probably, not going to use because there's only the two of us we here we have some power outlets, and 12-volt, power outlet of. Course european-style, so, I have, to use. This. This. Adaptors for all my electronics. That. Is is fine that they, are all. Ready. For for the voltage shield I just need it, ok, let, me show you here we have this. Would be the battery for the. Vehicle, this will be the battery for the RV here's. Our fresh water tank which were almost out of water and here's our gray, water tank which is almost kind of empty, also. What. Else said let, me show you the propane, tanks they, do it a little bit different here it's. More like like, the. Way you would do a mini travel trainer, ok, let me show you how, the propane, works and. Here's, our carry-on bags very away from the trip. We. Have this door, here and. We. Have we. Have two propane tanks, and, what we do when. This. One Brown ran out for example just unplugged it from it and plugged. It into the new one and, that's pretty much a quick, overview, of our. Motor. Home here in Finland, that we're gonna take on for Spain now on a two-week, road, trip. Around. The, Nordic and Scandinavian. Countries, and. OS, and without. Further ado I'm just going to let. You guys go this, is our. Motorhome. As I said courtesy. Of savonia. Caravan here and my friend Peter E in. The in. Finland, and until. Next time thank.

You For watching and see. You on the on the, European roads. My, videos are made possible in part by the support, of viewers like you so do me a favor if you liked it share it with your friends, spread the word and for more options go to travelling Roberts comm slash support, as always, thank you so much and see, you on the road.

2018-07-31 03:33

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