On the move again, we set our sights on the capital, Helsinki. Rastila is a year round site, very convenient for the city centre. We had an uneventful drive of 98 miles, arriving early afternoon. On the way we saw a road sign to Pietari/St Petersburg, an indication that Russia isn't so far away. After a brief lunch on the site, we headed for the Metro station only five minutes walk away. The journey time to the Central Station stop is twenty minutes.
We went straight to tourist information and made enquiries about trips by ferry to St Petersburg. The price was very reasonable for two nights in a cabin and various necessary add-ons - a total of €164. We decided to go for it and we depart on 27 September.
We had nothing else we particularly wanted to do this afternoon. We wandered around the stalls in the Market Square, then sat on a bench from where we were able to see the Uspenskin Katedraali (Uspenski Cathedral), an imposing red-brick building which stands on nearby Katajanokka island. Built as a Russian Orthodox church in 1868, it features classic onion-topped domes and now serves the Finnish Orthodox congregation. Maybe we will have time to visit it tomorrow.
Much closer to where we were was the Vanha Kauppahalli, an ornate market hall, built in 1889 and recently renovated. Inside were numerous stalls, most of which were selling food, much of if traditional Finnish, but all sorts of other things as well. We saw tins of bear meat; also elk, reindeer and many different kinds of smoked fish.
Making our way back to the Metro, we went inside the domed Tuomiokirkko, the Lutheran cathedral, very spartan inside but its lofty position overlooking the city and striking white stonework made it impossible to miss.
Amanda
We took the direct route to Helsinki, including
motorways, but it felt like a long journey. Not difficult, though,
and the roads were pretty empty until we got to the Helsinki ring
road, which took us all round the city as Rastila Camping is on the
east side. This is a proper all year round site serving the city, and
has a lot going for it. Although urban - there are a lot of blocks of
flats around - it is very green, and all the individual bays have
shoulder high hedges around them. Although not full, there are plenty
of motorhomes and caravans here. It is also close to the river,
although we haven't found that or the "beach" yet. Or the
wifi, for that matter, but we had been warned on TripAdvisor that the
wifi was underwhelming.
No matter. The best thing is that the shower block is actually heated! And the Metro station is just round the corner. Twenty minutes, and we were right in the City Centre, with just time to get to the Tourist Information Centre before it closed at 4. Our mission - to find out about the visa-free overnight cruises to St Petersburg. We are duly booked for next week. Really, we had to give it a try. St Peter Line offer an overnight cruise with cabin there, a day in the City with a ticket for a shuttle bus that you can get on and off, and cruise and cabin overnight back. Total for the two of us 164 Euros. Given that a ninety minute bus tour of Helsinki would have cost 54 Euros, it sounds like good value, even if it is pretty basic. All the security bits and warnings do sound a little scary, though. We shall see.
We then spent a couple of hours around the harbour, market place and Senate Square, with the imposing Lutheran Cathedral mounted high above and overlooking it. It had lovely clean lines, inside and out. Very unfussy, especially inside, and all bright white outside. The old Market Hall, a covered market, was also interesting, with its fixed wooden stalls now housing a fantastic array of very modern delicatessen counters. A lot of them were fish, but Geoff noted some rather exotic sounding meats.
We hopped back on the Metro and were back "home" in no time. We are just booked in here for one night, but plan to return next week and make this our base for the last few days before we get the ferry back to Germany. It has been good to have the opportunity to suss it out, and a bonus to discover that the ferry port we need to get to on our last day is only 10 minutes away!
No matter. The best thing is that the shower block is actually heated! And the Metro station is just round the corner. Twenty minutes, and we were right in the City Centre, with just time to get to the Tourist Information Centre before it closed at 4. Our mission - to find out about the visa-free overnight cruises to St Petersburg. We are duly booked for next week. Really, we had to give it a try. St Peter Line offer an overnight cruise with cabin there, a day in the City with a ticket for a shuttle bus that you can get on and off, and cruise and cabin overnight back. Total for the two of us 164 Euros. Given that a ninety minute bus tour of Helsinki would have cost 54 Euros, it sounds like good value, even if it is pretty basic. All the security bits and warnings do sound a little scary, though. We shall see.
We then spent a couple of hours around the harbour, market place and Senate Square, with the imposing Lutheran Cathedral mounted high above and overlooking it. It had lovely clean lines, inside and out. Very unfussy, especially inside, and all bright white outside. The old Market Hall, a covered market, was also interesting, with its fixed wooden stalls now housing a fantastic array of very modern delicatessen counters. A lot of them were fish, but Geoff noted some rather exotic sounding meats.
We hopped back on the Metro and were back "home" in no time. We are just booked in here for one night, but plan to return next week and make this our base for the last few days before we get the ferry back to Germany. It has been good to have the opportunity to suss it out, and a bonus to discover that the ferry port we need to get to on our last day is only 10 minutes away!
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