Travel with me: TRIP TO HELSINKI, part 1

I usually visit Finland’s capital a couple of times a year. Sometimes I go on a business trip for my company, sometimes to visit one or several friends of mine who live there, and once I even went there to participate in a Massive Multiplayer Mobile Game Ingress” created by Niantic Labs (back then a department at Google) that was a precursor to Pokémon Go. This time I’m in town for my friend’s birthday party, catching up with a couple of our common friends who will be there at the party, and also hopefully meeting a member of ETHLend’s team tomorrow for coffee.

Day 1. Departure from Stockholm

My trip began on Friday afternoon, when I boarded one of Viking Line’s ferry boats, christened Gabriella.

You will probably laugh, but the company’s other boats bear names of Mariella, Cinderella, Rosella, Mariella, and Amorella. Is it just me or is there a pattern?!

I mostly stayed in my cabin, working on an assignment for the MOOC in Academic Writing in English that I’m currently taking from Lund University via coursera.org. When I was done peer-reviewing my coursemates’ assignments, I went to the boat’s club to listen to live music on stage and enjoy a piña colada:

I know it isn’t supposed to be pink. This strange hue of the drink is due to the club’s lighting.

Day 2. Arrival in Helsinki

I woke up this morning, took a shower (my cabin has its own small bathroom) and went to the boat’s buffet restaurant to grab a breakfast. It was a clear and sunny morning, so I could enjoy a view of a seascape, while appreciating the hearty meal:

Check out the pile of freshly baked Karelian pies on my plate. They taste so good with a bit of butter melted on top!

It is Saturday, so I guess I’ll have some pancakes with jam too!

Then it was time to disembark and step onto the Finnish soil. It is sunny and chilly in Helsinki today – a perfect weather for a walk in the city centre and for snapping some shots!

The ferry boat that brought me to Helsinki
Did you know that Helsinki has two Cathedrals? One is Orthodox and another one is Protestant (Lutheran). This fact reflects the country’s historical past of being part of Sweden and part of the Russian Empire in different time periods. I decided to walk past the both cathedrals on my way from the ferry terminal to take the photos:

The Christian Orthodox Cathedral with its characteristic onion-shaped golden domes

The Protestant Cathedral in all its strict Lutheran beauty

And now I’m sitting at the Helsinki University Library, studying another module for my online course and also composing this blog post. Soon I’ll be heading to my friend’s place in the beautiful outskirts of the capital to help her prepare for the party tonight.

To be continued…

---

All photos in this post were taken with my smartphone camera, Nexus 5

---