First Full Day in Helsinki, Part 2
As we walked farther away from the FORUM Mall, Marc and I passed by the Main Railway Station once again. It was too bad we did not get to see the huge Art Noveau statues which flank the station's main entrance. They were all being refurbished and totally covered in scaffolding.
A side view of the Main Railway Station
This monumnet in a tiny square was right on the side of the railway station.
After checking out the floor which sold Helsinki souvenirs in Stockmann Department Store, Marc and I went to check out the inside of the Lutheran Cathedral or simply The Cathedral in Senate Square. Unlike the afternoon the day before when we first laid our eyes on it, the cathedral was full of visitors this time around. There was hardly anyone praying. I can just imagine how hard it was to do so given the huge number of tourists walking around and taking pictures.
We entered the cathedral from the side. The interior was quite austere in comparison to many old Catholic churches. I must say, it is this simplicity and absence of statues which mark the difference between Catholic and Lutheran churches.
The main altar inside the Cathedral
There was very loud organ music played inside.
I saw a total of four statues in the middle part of the cathedral almost facing each other. They were the following:
M. Luther
F. Melanchthon
M. Agricola
The pulpit inside the Cathedral
From the Cathedral, we proceeded to the Market Square where many tourists had gathered to look the the food and souvenirs being sold. I was quite disheartened to see that postcards cost 1 euro each. Back in San Francisco, one can buy 10 postcards for a dollar. Here in Helsinki, it was over $1.25 each. Goodness!
Market Square
There were many stalls here. Many sold Finnish souvenirs while other stalls sold fried Finnish fish (They looked like boquerones or anchovies) and calamari between 7 to 15 euros a plate.
There were Fur hats, scarves, and jackets as well.
More fur for sale
I wanted to buy more souvenirs beside postcards but even the tiniest teddy bear cost a tad too expensive for my taste.
Souvenirs took the form of bears and reindeers.
These wooden souvenirs looked very pretty and of high quality. They were sold cheaper here in the market than in many souvenir shops around Senate Square.
More wooden souvenirs
Veggies at Market Square
beautiful carrots
mushrooms
I had this for lunch. I have always been fond of fried fish and I was definitely game to try out the fish sold at the Market Square. They were simply labeled Finnish Fish and Calamari
At Market Square
Some ferry terminals where quite close to Market Square. We could see the Viking terminal from there. I found out the night before that the Silja Line was nearby too and so Marc and I decided to go there. Besides, we needed to book our passage to Tallinn in a few days. We saw the terminal for Linda Line too. Anyway, when we inquired about the fares from Silja, we were quoted 54 euros each way on the date we planned on sailing. We decided to do some more checking and price comparison. We thought the passage was only 20 and not 54 euros. Oh well!
The Silja Line ship we saw.
From the ferry terminal we finally got to visit the inside of the Uspenski Cathedral. Boy was I floored by the altar. It was mostly made of gold. I had not seen anything similar in such a long time since I lived and Spain and visited its Catholic churches.
The altar of the Uzpenskin Orthodox Cathedral
I know for a fact that taking photos was prohibited inside many Russian Orthodox cathedrals but visitors were allowed to do so here. So, what were we to do. We went with the flow and took pictures too.
The altar inside the Uzpenskin Cathedral
The dome of the Uzpenskin Cathedral
Inside the Uzpenskin Cathedral
Inside the Uzpenskin Cathedral
On the way back to Senate Square, we passed by this bridge which had locks on them. I read that these locks represented the eternal love many couples had for each other.
