Walking Around Helsinki in a Snowstorm, Part 1 of 3

The Russian double-headed eagle still flies over Helsinki

Today was the day to walk around the tourist core of Helsinki. In a snowstorm! Yes, today, for the first time in my young life, I am somewhere where it is snowing on my birthday of May 4. Even that one terrible birthday when I lived in Upstate New York and there was a foot of snow on the ground on my birthday, it wasn't snowing that actual day. The accumulated snow just wasn't melting. Today there were actual snow flakes which, if I were being truthful, would be "snow flurries." But it is snow falling on May 4 nonetheless.

I mapped out a walking route to hit the highlights, generally following (with detours) the Rick Steves' recommended Helsinki walking tour. I walked out of my hotel and turned right. A block away, I make my first detour off the Rick Steves' recommended route to take a look-see here.

Vanha kirkko, conveniently located in Vanha kirkkopuisto. This actually is easy to translate. "Kirkko" is easily identifiable as the word for church, similar to the word in other Nordic countries even though Finnish is not a Nordic, or even Indo-European, language. "Vanha" is the word for "old," which, again, is closely related to the word for the Indo-European languages with which I have a passing familiarity. "Vanha kirkko" thus is "old church," as this dates back to 1826, which is old for Helsinki, a city which dates back to the days when Chicago and St. Louis were being built, not when London or Paris or Rome first sprouted. Add the last couple of syllables and "Vanha kirkkopuisto" translates to "Old Church Park."

I am walking down to the one-named Bulevardi. Like Madonna and Cher and Prince, it needs only one name. And that name is: Boulevard.

This is the Ahlström Capital building.

There is nothing particularly significant about Ahlström Capital, except that the Savoy restaurant occupies the top two floors of this building. The Savoy is the fanciest, most gourmet (and a candidate for most expensive) restaurant in Helsinki. I was thinking about doing birthday dinner here, since it is the finest restaurant in town. But then I looked at the menu.

The menu is from the "challenging" side of fine dining, which seems to be a problem with "fine dining" establishments in Northern Europe, as opposed to Paris or Rome, where "fine dining" is all about presentation and deliciousness. I don't want to be "challenged" by my food like some member of the judging panel on a Food TV cooking competition show. I want good eats.

This is on the other prominent one-named street in Helsinki: Eteläesplanadi, or the "Esplanade." 

Across the street, still along the Esplanade, is the interesting-looking building above. Does it have a name? I'm sure it does. Do I know it? I'm sure I don't.

The Esplanade ends at Market Square.

At the western end of Market Square is Havis Amanda, a fountain featuring a nude mermaid. The seals, however, we even cooler.

I shall refrain from doing an exaggerated seal clap.

Market Square overlooks the cruise ship harbor.

The stalls are covered. They have to be. There's a snowstorm blowing through Market Square even as I snapped this picture.

Fruits, vegetables and souvenirs are the main items for sale in the market stalls.

The Russian doube-headed eagle looms large over Market Square.

The Finnish name: Keisarinnankivi. Tsarina's Stone.

Just to the east of the Market Square is Uspenski Cathedral, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral built by the Russian czar when Finland (and Helsinki) were Russian controlled.

 

I see references to this being a "Finnish Orthodox" Cathedral. And there are Finns who are practicing Orthodox Christians. But this is a Russian cathedral.

Let's have a look inside.

By the standards of other Orthodox churches in which I've been inside, you could call the interior of Uspenski almost spartan. It is ornate, but I've seen more ornate in Orthodox churchery.

Then it is a sharp turn over to Senaatintori, Senate Square.

This is the home of the Helsinki Cathedral. Lutheran Cathedral. Let's have a look inside, shall we?

That's the side view, which is the entrance.

By the standards of other Lutheran churches I've seen in northern Europe, the Helsinki Cathedral is positively lavish.

Here's Martin Luther.

 

Don't let him near the church door! He'll nail his 95 theses to it! And put you on a Diet of Worms.

It's interesting. This is the most ornate Lutheran church I've seen in Europe. And I just said that the Orthodox Cathedral was the most austere Orthodox church I've seen in Europe. And yet the Orthodox church still is more ornate than the Lutheran.

This street is Aleksanterinkatu. The stretch west of Senate Square is a big shopping zone.

The massive Stockmann's department store is located on Aleksanterinkatu.

The street ends at (one of) the most famous pieces of public art statuary in all of Helsinki. The Three Blacksmiths.

But they're for the next post.

Sopron in the Daylight

Sopron's signature building, the Fire Watch Tower

Let's take in Sopron by day.

That is the Hotel Pannonia, where I am staying these two nights in Sopron.  Pannonia means?  Yes?  That's right.  Pannonia was a Roman province that ended to the north at the Danube River.

There are only so many ways into the old city.  Today I took a different route and walked by Maria-kut.  Mary's court, maybe?

All paths in the old city lead to the Fire Watch Tower.

And, since this is the Advent season, Judaism being Christ's religion by birth, this is the old Synagogue.

Reindeer and sleigh, this time in the daylight.

I somehow missed this Gingerbread Man and his Ginger-daughter last night at the Holy Trinity statue.

Not sure how I managed that.  And speaking of being drunk, these pieces from the "Santa's railroad" under construction at the Holy Trinity Statue:

In the daylight, doesn't it look like drunk Santa crashed his sleigh into this Christmas railroad engine?

Oh that Santa.

Let's refocus religiously and step inside the Catholic Church on Fő tér:

No mass.

The Virgin Mary blessed this massage parlor:

I don't know if this is a hair salon, or a wig store, or what, but I love the metal sculpture over the door:

And here's another church:

This fooled me.  It wasn't a Catholic Church.  It's Lutheran.

Usually you don't see the Lutherans being this ornate.

They're usually more austere.  Wasn't Catholic extravagance one of the big reasons for Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg?  Isn't that why he went on his Diet of Worms?

It's time now for the Fire Watch Tower.

Cue the music.

Well, of course that would be the music.  Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

Abandon all hope of an easy walk that avoids inducing claustrophobia with an acrophobic chaser.

I don't understand the definition of "acrophobia" as an "irrational fear of heights."  I say, all fears of heights are quite rational.

Actually, the climb was not too bad.  It was occasionally interrupted by historic scenes of Sopron's past.

And the view was nice.

The observation deck is not quite the top of the tower, but it was high enough for me.

This is not a fire pole that you can use to shimmy down to the bottom.

Soon I was out in the daylight where there was an Advent Market happening.

Carousels!  More fun to photograph than they ever would be to ride.

We end with the sausage seller at the Sopron Advent Market.

You don't usually see piles and piles of fresh sausage sitting out on tables, using nature as the refrigerator.