Helsinki, Finland

My already-long list of "Places for return visits" is growing and i am adding Helsinki to it.

After stepping off the boat from Stockholm, i headed straight for the city centre to explore. It is a nice and cool temperature of 13 degrees celcius. I thought it would be impossible to perspire in this weather but a 1km walk with my rucksack from the ferry terminal to the city centre soon proved me wrong!

Me in front of Kamppi, a shopping mall built on top of the central bus station.

Uspenski Cathedral - Finland was once under the control of Sweden and after the war of 1808-1809, was ceded to Russia. here, you can see traces of Russian-style architecture - like the "onion domes" of this Orthodox cathedral. Unfortunately, a Russian visa takes 12 weeks to apply so i would probably have to wait for some other time to go.

At the Senate Square - The Helsinki cathedral, statue of of Tsar Alexandar II (with a bird perched on his head), and 4 other statues underneath him representing Law, Peace, Light and Work. This square is where Helsinki citizens usher in the new year.

Rudolph swimming in a cheesy bowl of soup! So it is true that Finns eat reindeer meat and it is a normal everyday affair. They also have it stocked in supermarkets frozen or canned. There was also canned bear meat for sale. Costs about 7 or 8 euros - definitely more upmarket than tuna then.

Actually, Helsinki is pretty cosmopolitan in its tastes. There are plenty of Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Greek, and Turkish restaurants around, and they are always crowded!

Street march on a Saturday afternoon. The ASEM (Asia-Europe) summit is taking place in Helsinki right now, and all the big wigs, like the Japanese and Korean prime ministers are in town. Protesters have timed a demonstration to coincide with the event. It is an all-in-one protest. Anti-war, anti-capitalism, anti-EU, anti-NATO, and even "Free Burma" causes were promoted. It was quite peaceful in the afternoon, but the riot police soon had some action as it turned a little violent later, as i saw on the evening news.

3 days in Stockholm

Another top-notch city with lots to see and do. I really want to come back here again some other time, as with Copenhagen.

Boats lined up at the marina. There are lots of islands in the archipelago just outside of Stockholm you can sail to.

Royal Palace - where the King and Queen of Sweden receives visitors.

Colourful old houses in the Gamla Stan (Old town)



A viking ship - the ultimate souvenir. If not for space constraints in my rucksack, i would have bought this!

Full moon in Stockholm. Notice how beautiful those big yellow cranes look in the moonlight! :-)

Another day, another cruise. This one took me all the way to Helsinki, Finland. These overnight cruises are popular with locals (Swedes and Finns) as cheap weekend getaways. Think huge floating casinos, bars, and duty-free shops with aisles chocked full of duty-free alcohol, cigarettes, perfumes and cosmetics. It is all designed to make you Spend! Spend! Spend! Resistance is futile.

Malmö, Sweden

It is amazing what TV can do to you. I remember watching a Discovery Channel programme on "Mega Structures" and one particular episode featured the trials and tribulations of building the "Turning Torso", designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It is about 180 metres high and comprises of 9 big "cubes" all twisting to look like, well the turning torso of a human. It was by no means easy to construct and took about 4 years to complete - after several delays of course. But i think winning a few engineering and design awards makes up for it.

So, a few months later, i find myself trudging in the rain in the city of Malmö to locate this building and take about 20 photos of it from all angles.

Everything is slanted at an angle, even the windows.

It was well worth the effort.

I don´t remember much else of Malmö, to be honest. It was very rainy and i had to abandon my plans to cycle around the southern coast and head straight to Denmark instead!

Denmark

In Denmark, i visited Odense, a small city in Funen island, and Copenhagen -the capital city.

Do you remember reading fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen like "The Little Mermaid", "The Princess and the Pea", and many others? I definitely have fond memories of my mum reading these stories to me when i was a kid! This celebrated writer had his books translated into several languages all over the world. HC Andersen was born and raised in Odense until he decided to leave for Copenhagen on his own to explore a career in theatre and the arts. He was also a gifted artist. I went there to visit the HC Andersen Haus that detailed his life story. They have a whole library full of his books in various languages, and also on audio.

Odense - statue of HC Andersen - the famous fairy tale writer

In Copenhagen - crowds throng the streets along the canals and Nyhavn here is the start-point for boat tours.

View of the sound between Denmark and Sweden from the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

As previously mentioned (several times), Scandinavia is extremely expensive and the supermarket is my best friend for economising. I usually pack sandwiches and snacks with me when i go out. The weather was pretty good in Denmark so i sat outside most of the time to have my picnic lunches! This way, i can save my money for sightseeing. And Coffee. And Cake. Mmmmm...

Mackeral salat, sandwich buns and banana from supermarket = 24 DKK

Coffee and chocolate cake = 20 DKK

Thats about 6 Euros in total.

Tivoli - an amusement park smack in the city of Copenhagen. It is more than 100 years old and has a variety of amusement/ thrill rides, games, stage shows. This is one of the several restaurants within the park.

Forget about Ikea. The Design Museum and cafe in Copenhagen showcases the cream of modern Danish design - style, form and functionality! So cool it hurts. It makes you want to buy everything in its shop - from furniture, glass ware, to home accessories to travel gear.

Bergen and the western fjords

I realise i am way behind my postings but better late than never. Norway is incredibly scenic and i took many photos along my train and even bus journeys as it meandered through the mountains and valleys between Bergen and Oslo. These are some of the photos i took from the cruise excursion.

Kjosfossen falls - free fall of 305 feet.

The tiny village of Flåm, where i took a ferry through Aurlandsfjorden and Sognefjorden - see photos below.

Bergen, Norway

Made it to Bergen yesterday, after my Glasgow airport fiasco (which i'll save for another day) and meeting up with Helena. I met her 3 months ago while travelling around Vietnam and now i'm crashing at her place while exploring the city. It's great to have her show me around her city and avoid all (well, most) of the tourist traps :-)

Bergen is very beautiful and picturesque, framed by the sea and mountains. Helena and i took the funicular train up to Mt FlØyen today to get a great view of the city, and then a nice walk down through the woods. The air is crisp, fresh and smells of alpine - and no, its not the same scent as your car air-fresheners, funnily enough.

I'm going on a fjord tour tomorrow - another place awarded as a UN World Heritage site-can't wait.
Photos to follow soon.

For now, i'm trying to get by on my budget traveller's budget but my credit card is feeling the heat from all that constant swiping. It is a phenomenally expensive country and i can't seem to pay for anything without getting a heart attack each time.

Internet for 45 minutes - 50 kroners (about 6 euros)
Single bus trip around Bergen - 30 kroners (about 4 euros)
(Very very simple) vegetarian indian food in Oslo - 65 kroners (8 euros)
One day Royal Fjord Tour - 945 kroners (120 euros)

ch-chingggggg!! ch-chinggggg!

i keep imagining my friendly UOB bank is going to call me soon to tell me i've busted my limit. Better switch off my phone.