Nordic-Baltic Cruise

To get a good overview of Helsinki, Finland we decided to ride the Hop On Hop Off bus. Some of the sites included the Temppeliaukio Church, also known as Rock Church, which is carved directly into solid rock. It's history started in 1930 when the land was selected for the building and a competition for the design was held. The plans got interrupted by World War II so there was another competition and two brothers won in 1961. The church opened in 1969. It is used frequently as a concert venue due to its excellent acoustics created by the rough rock surfaces. The Pipe organ inside the Church has 43 stops and 3,001 copper pipes that match the church's copper roof overhead.

The Sibelius Monument has 569 welded stainless steel pipes and is dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius who died in 1957. Off to the side of the pipes is a high-relief figurative portrait of Sibelius in his mid-forties, cast of acid-resistant stainless steel and framed by three freeform shards.

We also saw the Helsinki Olympic Stadium originally built for the 1952 Olympic Games, the Finish National Theatre which opened in 1902 and is the oldest professional theatre in the country that performs in the Finnish language, and the Helsinki Central Railway Station with a view of a cafe inside it. Then there was the Three Smiths Statue, unveiled in 1932, which shows blacksmiths hammering an anvil together, and the Aleksis Kivi Memorial in honor of the Finnish author. And, from the ship, a view of the Hernesaari Cruise Port boldly telling visitors what city they are in.