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!! :)
Never thought I'd go to Russia anytime soon, especially to the historically rich and famous city of St. Petersburg and with my best friend, M! Firstly, I did not know what to expect-except for sketchiness. We were warned repeatedly about pick pockets and crime but I am happy to report that for the two days we were traveling about we did not experience one mishap or any problems :) Everyone was super nice and friendly.
My beloved Babushkahs/Matrushkahs. I was in overload/heaven! Although I found out they were originally from Japan?! Who knew? However, in Russian culture they are a symbol of fertility and given as a wedding gift. I love em' I have around 5, 2 of which are from Russia :)
Church on Spilled Blood
Catherine the Great's
Catherine the Great's Palace
Mike
the remnants of my authentic Russian meal, i don't know what I ate exactly but it wasn't too bad. The orange pellets are the uneaten caviar
Some old school Russian entertainment, very talented individuals
Me @ the church of spilled blood, the colors are incredible!
very imposing, rather ominous and basically hideous Communist bloc housing, where they took the poor out of the cities and gave them these state paid concrete jungles to live. The picture doesn't do the structure justice, these buildings are MASSIVE and extremely thick and still in use
At Swan Lake
Peterhoff, Peter the Great's residence, so legit and ridiculously opulent, his "driveway" led to the ocean, aka the gulf of Finland. The Canal in the picture leads right up to his residence from the ocean
Mike at the Peterhoff, with the most fountains on the compound than I have ever seen, which all went off around noon and the exact same time, it was magical.
Seeing the Swan Lake Ballet
Mike fulfilling his dream by touring the famed Hermitage Museum, which was originally the Winter Palace of the royalty such as Catherine the Great, she became so enthralled in art that she began what is now the present day collection of the museum, that has Rembrant, to Van Gogh to Da Vinci works. Truly breathtaking and a true pleasure to take in.
..The city of St.Petersburg, I must say is one of the most romantic and beautiful cities I have ever been to. Like most of the Baltic countries, St. Petersburg was quite reminiscent to me of Amsterdam, which I found was the model for these countries, as many Dutch city planners helped to mold the Baltic. Amsterdam is one of my most loved and favorite cities, so the Baltic is now one of my favorite regions because they are similarly structured to the Netherlands.
Again, I did not know what to expect. All I knew about Russia was the usual, the opulence of the czars, communism and my obsession-babushkas (which turned out to be Japanese! so our tour guide informed us). I was absolutely blown away. I was quite expecting to see a dim and glum city still recovering from the effects of communism that had a few nice buildings. NO. Rather, we saw a vibrant city with buildings fit for giants, everything is HUGE my history teacher wasn't exaggerating, and I was also surprised by the pleasant nature of most Russians. As they are usually portrayed as cold authoritative people, a silly stereotype-I blame the movies ;).
The architecture was magnificent, ornate, complicated and inspiring, you couldn't help but go "WOAH". This was the city on our Baltic Adventure that felt the least American. It had the least amount of English signs compared to previous countries. I loved Russia, we hope to return and also go to Moscow.
MUST Dos:
visit the communist bloc housing. "concrete jungles" wow, super ugly and imposing, brush up on your history
-The Peterhoff-Amazzzing!
-Catherine the Great's Palace-decadence
-See a true Russian Ballet, we saw Swan Lake
-THE HERMITAGE! my favorite museum. of all time. take a whole day for this one
-Church on Spilled Blood, so amazing it doesn't look real
-Eat at the 'Last Palace' and be entertained by traditional Russian dancers and folk singers
-Have Russian Caviar, it's orange and salty
-Buy a babushkah, (the Japanese brought them in the 1800s), which is supposedly given to others when they get married or give birth, as certain symbolic meanings
-Peter and Paul Cathedral, beautiful and also where the Romanovs are buried
-Try to go during the Summer, where the nights of the midnight sun are upon Russia, lots of Russians get married during this time because it is extremely romantic and breathtaking and the sun is out for around 20 hours. We saw countless beautiful brides, it was very neat.
-Buy amber, it's a very baltic thing
