Day 6 - Helsinki

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A pretty hectic day as it is our only full day in Finland. We were up pretty early as we were still feeling the effects of the Aisan time zone we just left behind. We went to a guide-book recommended place called Cafe Ekberg for breakfast and got our fill on a buffet breakfast of great breads, cheese, eggs, cold meat and fruit. It was still raining (seemed non-stop since we arrived here) so we just strolled around for a bit and came by the retro railway station. Built in 1914 the architecture is great and it felt like we were in a movie with trains departing for Moscow and St Petersburg.

Helsinki is well connected by ferry to Stockholm and it is only a short ferry ride across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn in Estonia. I learned on a later trip to a museum that this is one of the reasons why Finland historically spent many years under Swedish or Russian rule before gaining independence in the early 20th century. We also took the ferry over to the islands of Suomenlinna which has been the site of several battles in defending Helsinki from one invasion or another.

It brightened up this afternoon and we got to see what a pleasant place this is once the sun shines. We were getting a bit jaded from walking (to be honest my legs are still hurting from my exertions on the Great Wall) so we jumped on a tram to the Olympic Stadium. A different era to Beijing as Helsinki had the Olympics in 1952 - The games before the Melbourne one of course you sports buffs will note. There is a tower built in one corner of the stadium and for 2 Euros you can take the lift up and get a bird's eye view of the stadium - Sensational!

We had a great evening meal tonight in a traditional Finnish restaurant. I am a little concerned that I am trying to eat my way around the world but I can't resist the idea of a bit of reindeer stew and now I can recommend it. Time for an early night as it's another day, another city tomorrow as we fly onto Manchester to catch up with some old friends. Busy couple of days coming up so not sure when the next update will be.

More pics to add once I find a USB connection.

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