It’s Day 5 of Gate 1’s “9-Day Taste of Finland and Estonia” tour and we took the option of traveling west of Helsinki to historic Turku, Finland’s oldest city and former capital. Each day we are assigned new seats on the bus, and today I sat next to a Taiwanese woman from Torrance, California who… Read More Turku and Naantali
Today we visited Porvoo, located on the Gulf of Finland. According to our itinerary, we were going to “admire the views of the coastline and the archipelago along the way, strolling through the Old Town with its cobblestone streets, colorful wooden houses, and artisan boutiques.” With every step, I winced as I walked over the… Read More Killer cobblestones
We thought that when we got to Finland, where euros are the currency, that we would go to an ATM to get some cash. However we have been in Finland now for five days and have yet to see an ATM. Believe me, we have been looking. According to wise.com: In recent years, cash has… Read More Plastic, not paper
Talk to anyone about visiting Finland, and undoubtedly someone will say that the Temppeliaukio Church (part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland) is not to be missed. It is one of Finland’s most distinctive landmarks. Completed in 1969 and designed by Finnish architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, the church is carved directly into solid… Read More Helsinki’s underground rock church
After leaving the Sydney Philharmonic Choirs concert in Gloucster Cathedral, we drove directly to London Heathrow Airport where we said goodbye to Joan Ishibashi and waited for our FinnAir flight to Helsinki. Bill Potter and I went to use the facilities and both of us were so surprised at the choice of music — in… Read More We are in Finland!