Tuesday, July 20,
1982
I completely
missed a commotion where Sue thought passengers were complaining about people
(i.e., us) taking up too many seats. There seemed to still be available seats, but at
about 6:30 or 7:00, more people boarded and we sat up to share our rows.
Arrived in Helsinki at 8:15 and had to force ourselves to wake up.
In the Helsinki
train station, we paid 2 Finnish markka (FIM)/40 cents to use the restroom and
the lady gave us a receipt!
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| Restroom receipt |
To store our bags in a locker, I had to buy a postcard to get the proper change. After getting a map at tourist information, we went to the nearest patch of green to have our breakfast, before heading to the Vaakuna Hotelli where we heard one could get a sauna treatment. We entered the hotel and noted the saunas were on the 7th and 8th floors of this posh hotel. At floor 7, the door to the sauna was locked. We returned to hotel reception where we learned we had to book a time, and were able to do so for 16:00. We walked past Eduskuntatalo/Parliament (1926-1931 by architect Johan Sigfrid Sirén) to No. 1 Tunturikatu Street for a place to get Marimekko (Finnish design company) fabrics. It was a small shop with mostly clothing, plus scarves, wallets and purses, napkins, oilcoth and fabrics. The National Museum did not open until 11:00, so we crossed the street to view the modern buildings of Finlandia-talo/Finlandia Hall (1971 by architect Alvar Aalto) that holds the congress hall and concert hall. Next door was the City Museum that didn’t open until 12:00.
We went to the post office, then to the Stockmann department store. At the corner was the Kolmen sepän patsas/Three Blacksmiths statue (1932 by Felix Nylund), where three naked men stood stiffly at an anvil and it is said they will hit the anvil when a virgin walks by.
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| Kolmen sepän patsas/Three Blacksmiths statue |
It wasn’t working today, because we completely circled the statue without eliciting any movement. Walking down Aleksanterinkatu, we could look down side streets at the Helsingin rautatieasema /the massive railroad station of “notable” architecture (1919 designed by Eliel Saarinen) with two pairs of statues holding spherical lamps.
Senaatintori/Senate Square has the university library opposite the Valtioneuvoston linna/Government Palace (1818-1822), and Helsingin tuomiokirkko/Helsinki Cathedral (1830-1852 designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in neo-Classical style) across from Sederholmin talo/Sederholm House (1757), the oldest building in the city. In the center is a statue of Keisari Aleksanteri II/Emperor Alexander II (1894 by sculptor Walter Runeberg).
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| Statue of Alexander II in Senaatintori/Senate Square |
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| Helsingin tuomiokirkko/Helsinki Cathedral |
We entered the cathedral with its plain grey-blue with white trim interior. A dramatic painting hung over the altar and the only elaborate thing was the organ. A statue of Martin Luther was prominent.
We continued down the street past the back of the Presidentinlinna/presidential palace (1816–1820 designed by architect Pehr Granstedt and converted in 1843 and 1845 by architect Carl Ludvig Engel) and the Ritarihuone/House of Nobility (1862 in neo-Gothic style by G.T. Chiewitz).
We ended up at the docks and crossed a bridge to an island with the brick Uspenskin katedraali/Uspensky Cathedral (1862-1868 designed by the Russian architect Aleksey Gornostayev).
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| Uspenskin katedraali/Uspensky Cathedral |
Inside the church was rich with treasures; many paintings with gold or silver molded on so that faces, hands, or figures stood out. A painted hand might hold a silver cup. It seemed to be a Russian Orthodox church due to all the Cyrillic writing.
We crossed back to the mainland to the Kauppatori/Market Square full of stalls selling flowers, fish, fruits and vegetables, and also souvenirs such as deer skin, woven baskets, etc.
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| Kauppatori/Market Square |
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| Kauppatori/Market Square tram |
We walked along
the Esplanadi/Esplanade where we noticed a sort of 50’ metal slat fence built
up in the air. We wondered what it was, but as we passed it we saw that the
sunlight turned into a rainbow of colors against it. The winter shadows of
trees had been painted across part of the Esplanadi.
We unsuccessfully
looked for a restaurant serving isoirän
evär or “Grandpa’s Knapsack,” checking for it on menus and looking in the phonebook
for recommended restaurants. We asked at a travel bureau and were sent out to
the island of Tervesaari, north above the Uspensky Cathedral island. Walking
out on the causeway, there were docks for private boats and people were using
tables to scrub mats, rugs, and hangings (from their boats?). We found the Café
Tervasaaren Aitta and checked the menu, but couldn’t find this particular name!
(NB. I still can’t find any reference to isoirän
evär or Grandpa’s Knapsack, although there are reindeer meat pies called poron lihapiirakka.) Decided to eat
there anyway, sharing a deep bowl of salmon soup (large chunks of salmon and
potato with dill in a milk and butter broth). With drinks and a 14% service
charge, the bill came to 65 FIM/$14. We have seen bunches of dill sold in the market,
and also bunches of birch branches (vihta)
with which you are supposed to sprinkle yourself with water or slap your skin
to stimulate circulation while in the sauna.
We crossed back
over the causeway and headed inland past the Kansallisteatteri/National Theater (1902 designed by Onni Tarjanne
in the National Romantic style). Went in Stockmann department store to check
out the souvenirs, then went to see household goods and toys. Sue bought some
kits to make a 3-dimensional star and a lampshade, both from thin wood slats. I
got tiny carved wooden bells to give as hostess gifts. Sue also bought needles
for her Swedish sewing machine (Husqvarna). The clerks in the store had various
national flags on their name tags, of the languages they could speak .
It was time to go
to the Vaakuna Hotel for the sauna appointment. We paid the cashier 30 FIM/$6.40
each. Everything was computerized at this hotel as was our sauna bill. We were
sent up to sauna #8 where the door was locked. I pushed a red button in the
wall next to the door and we could hear a bell ring. A thickset woman dressed in white answered
the door and motioned us into a room with two lounge beds, a dresser, and a
room-service menu. We undressed and wrapped ourselves in towels, and waited.
The woman came back and said, “No! No!” and we had to doff our towels as she
herded us into the sauna. It was dark, lighted by two yellowish lamps behind
wood slats. In one corner was a metal box with glowing embers on top. Two sides
had wooden steps, the top one having a sheet on it. We took two steps inside
and broke out in a sweat! A thermometer read 90 degrees C/194 degrees F! There
were buckets of cold water and we didn’t know their purpose. We sprinkled some water
on the embers to create steam, then sprinkled some on ourselves to be able to
tolerate the heat! Oof! We kept stepping outside the sauna to catch our breath
before going back in. We kept expecting the woman to come back and let us know
what to do next. Finally I ran to the dressing room and checked my watch and we
had been there only 15-20 minutes! I pushed a square button in the wall, and
the lady came back, and we were like, “What’s next? She said, “Sauna, shower, sauna,
shower, and...” while she pointed to the dressing room. Okay… We took a cold
shower and it actually felt good. Returned to the sauna to get sweaty once
more. This time took a good shower, shampooed our hair, all with their
supplies. Went to the dressing room to dry off, and used their deodorant and
Nivea crème. Dressed and used the lavatory before leaving at 17:00. Obviously
we had no idea what we were doing!
Went to the train
station to retrieve our bags and wait for the 18:03 train to Turku/Abo Harbor.
We got to sit in 1st class for the first time in several days; ah, such
luxurious seats! Traveled through birch and evergreen forests with the
occasional farm. We kept falling asleep!
Arrived in Turku
at 20:55 and were dropped off a bit far from the station, stepping off into
gravel and grass. Trekked to the station and farther to the end of the wharf
for the Silva Line which honors Eurail Passes. We stopped at the ticket window to fill out info
cards. Went upstairs to check-in for boarding passes. Walked through the
airport-like terminal to Berth 2, and almost passed a window labeled customs
inspections. The man at the window just smiled and we continued on to board the
boat “Fennia.” We found a pair of seats next to the dance lounge. The boat
departed soon after 21:30 and we took turns exploring the boat with its cabins,
lounges, TV room (Finnish and Swedish subtitles for shows in English), sauna,
video and slot games, Smörgåsbord room, movie theater, and duty free shop. We
noticed a bright orange glint from windows of buildings on the numerous islands
on our side of the boat, and ran to the other side to see a fantastic sunset.
That was at 22:30. At 23:00 the bar opened up with disco music. We will be
serenaded until 2:00!
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