Wow I lovvvvvved this place. Helsinki was so beautiful. I felt like I was in NYC. Parks around the city. People performing, people sitting and reading, people tanning-people everywhere just doing their thing. It was very cool to observe so many Finnish in their indigenous habitats ;). I feel like people in Scandinavia are all outdoor lovers. So many people running, biking, boating-just outside enjoying the weather and exercising. I really admire their lifestyle and their beautiful country. Scandinavia was extremely clean everywhere we went; Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
Nice and clean! But do they pay for it, literally with their crazy-high taxes!
Tuomiokirkko Church, Helsinki/Helsinki Cathedral
Inside Helsinki Cathedral
The Jean Sibelius Monument, Helsinki
My new organ hat- tres chic
Rock Church
What a life :) lucky duck
I love this park, it reminded me a lot of central park, some hustle and bustle spots but also more quiet-calmer areas-a bit of everything, it was right near the large market. Mike and I just hung out and did some people watching, had some ice cream, it was very relaxing :)
Helllllo Helsinki!
In Market Square I got babushka earring and a broche. I am obsessed. I also got some beautiful clay jewelry :) Definitely a great place to go for unique and local finds! :)
Flowers Flowers Everywhere! This was in the market :)
Uspensky Cathedral
Uspensky resting atop a Finnish hill :)
holy guacamole, this was a bit of a hike and it was almost florida hot that day too, but well worth it :)
Uspensky Cathedral :) So beautiful and ornate inside!
Inside Uspensky Cathedral-gorgeoussss but alas with no AC-it was super hot!
:), the market where I got my babushkah pin (on my shirt)
A nice little treat on a hot Helsinki Day :)
Old meets New, around downtown Helsinki
MUST DOs: Helsinki Cathedral Uspensky Cathedral Rock Church Sibelius Organ Park Market Square (buy something :) ) Helsinki's Park Frolic about!! :)
Denmark Copenhagen. Wow. To begin it was late June and I felt like I was in Winter. It was so chilly and cold because the city is right off the ocean."Kopenhagen", like Amsterdam was a beautifully designed canal city and for the most part I felt like I was in Amsterdam, beautiful sites/canals and a language I do not understand! We were only there for a day but it was enough time to get a feel for the city because we went all over. We toured the Royal Palace grounds, and if you see their guards coming you move! They don't and will not move for you and they were scary, not like the English guards where you can mess with them.
Loveee this architecture.
Seriously mirroring Amsterdam
In the heart of the city
Everything is so oversized in the Baltic ie. this unnecessarily larger than life door. Hi Mike!
Me climbing and having some fun, trying to be a sculpture, so chic
Amsterdam's twin city? I think yes.
Handsome Mike in front of the continuously-being-built "Onion church". Very beautiful inside and very nice people, they let me use their "toilet"(in Europe they call it like they see it). **fact: Copenhagen did not have a lot of public restrooms.
The Famous beautiful Mermaid statue! What a site! Luckily when we were there she had all her pieces, vandals have decapitated the poor girl before!
The true little Mermaid didn't have a happily ever after...but I'll still go with Walt Disney's version.
The mermaid doesn't get her Prince and is forever a mermaid. The sculpture was actually the architect's wife Eline Eriksen (and life sized), as no other lady wanted to be nude in front of the artist. The statue fits the melancholic truth of the "fairy-tale".
Amazing. It was such a wonderful day
Everybody has a boat here
They had some sort of elephant exhibit, with all of these beautifully decorated elephants sprinkled around the city. This was Van Gogh-ish, can you see the face?
Mike's favorite building of the city
My original prized art piece from the Copenhagen square. It was so hopping with a diverse collection of art sellers. This gorgeous wire tree has amber, I asked the artist to add some and he graciously did so. Very nice people.
So gorgeous, I love canal cities!
Mike & I
Copenhagen is an extremely wealthy city, very homogenous and very clean, they pay very high taxes like most of Northern Europe but I must say the money goes to use. These cities especially Copenhagen were the most clean and beautifully maintained areas I have traveled to. They really know how to take care of their surroundings. My favorite part about the city was the main square. They had such an eclectic variety of art. I purchased two vintage tea cups (one for me and one for my step-mom) and that wire tree and Mike got this original uniquely constructed painting. It was just a fun place to be. The day we were there the high school classes were celebrating their graduation in about 20 differently decorated old military caravans, with all their Danish names written on the car (everyone was dressed in white) and part of their tradition was to hop on every important statue in the city while highly intoxicated. It looked like so much fun! I wanted to join them! One such statue was in the main square, so they were running all around us being jolly. That day there was also a beach volleyball competition, a fake beach was set up in the square, it was quite legitimate. I don't if it was just that day but this city seemed like it always had something going on. fun. It was so special to see something exclusively 'Copenhagen'. What I most liked about it all was how everything fit so well together. The modern stores with the intertwined nature. There was a lot of technological drive infused with human creativity, very inspiring. Denmark is home to a good hand of important "silicon valley" type of companies which has been a main contributer to its vast wealth.
For the REAL Little Mermaid story click below(read at your own risk, my friend Alana who is obsessedddd with the Little Mermaid was heartbroken when I told her the truth!, ***spoiler alert it ends with foam... :
-Tivoli Gardens (allegedly inspired Walt Disney to construct Disney world)
-Copenhagen old town/ square
-The Mermaid Statue
-Take a canal boat ride throughout the city
-Buy Amber!
-Buy a troll, its very Baltic
-Visit the old and new royal palace
-Eat a Danish!
