Retrospective: Helsinki: 16-17 August, 2014

Helsinki was founded in 1550 as a rival to the Hanseatic city of Tallinn by King Gustav I of Sweden.
A dozen Ferries run back and forward between Tallinn and Helsinki today, taking a little over 2 hours for the popular crossing.
I found the WiFi on board stable and I used it from port to port to message friends.

Helsinki is effectively surrounded by water, with the Lutherian Cathedral towering over the Harbour.
The Cathedral sits on a hill just back from the Harbour, with an enormous set of stairs up to it. Of an afternoon and evening several hundred youths sit on the steps drinking.
Restaurant meals are noticeably more expensive than the Bultic States, no doubt due in part to the much higher average wage and taxes. We were told that every second taxi driver is from Estonia. Ours was from central Africa, and he spoke quite good English, a slight British accent.

The Uspenski Cathedral, a traditional Russian Orthodox cathedral, stands close to the Harbour.

Colourful fruit and veg at the weekend open market at the harbour side. We caught a tour-boat from the harbour side to explore the many inlets and linking channels.





We left Helsinki by train; the Helsinki St.Petersbourg high speed link is operated by Finland rail using Alstom Allegro Pendolino trains. Between Helsinki and the Border, Finland officials came thru the train and our Passports where checked for the first time since Lisbon. We had travelled thru 7 countries but we were now leaving the EU Schengen Area.
Just after the border Russian officials boarded and checked our Passports and Visas. We were now definitely in a different country.