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Helsinki Finland and Tallinn Estonia

Helsinki was chosen as part of our Nordic trip as a stopover before travelling on to Rovaniemi in the Arctic Circle.  Deciding to make the most of the opportunity, we stayed three nights, giving us time to see the city as well as a day trip to the historic Estonian city of Tallinn.

Getting There

The flight from Stockholm to Helsinki was by SAS.  Check in was quick and easy with self-serve check in machines and baggage deposit.  Landing at our destination, we took a taxi to our hotel.  As there were four of us, this was a cheaper option than the bus or train options.  The journey into town is quite dull and the city looked old and dreary.  Unfortunately, this proved to be an accurate first impression for the rest of our stay.

Accommodation

Our hotel the GLO Hotel Art appears to have been recently renovated.  It spans two buildings, and used an access card to open doors between the two buildings.  Reception was very friendly and helpful with advice and maps.  The hotel itself is located centrally, and was walk able to all the places we wanted to see.  Breakfast, although not as extensive as some other hotels, was still plentiful.

Helsinki Day1

Church of the Rock

To recover from the plane trip, we took a walk to the Church of the rock (Temppeliaukion kirkko).  This church has been built by excavating a hole into the surrounding rock and placing a dome over the top.  Certainly one of the more interesting churches we have seen.  The interior still has bare rock walls, lined with wood.  A very atmospheric church and worth the visit.

Church of the Rock Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Church of the Rock
Church of the Rock Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Church of the Rock
Church of the Rock Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Outside of the Church of the Rock

National Museum

The next stop on our walk was the National Museum of Finland (Suomen kansallismuseo).  The museum contains a comprehensive collection covering the history of Finland.  However, at this stage of our trip we had seen several other very good museums.  Unfortunately, we did not find this one all that interesting, especially when compared to the national museums of Denmark and Sweden.

Helsinki Museum Clocks Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Helsinki Museum Clocks

Mannerheim Statue

Not far from the museum is a statue of Finland’s national hero Mannerheim.  He is seated on a horse and the statue is near the Museum of Contemporary Art.  We saw the statue as we were passing it on the way to the Railway Square.  This area contains the railway station and major bus stop.  The square itself is surrounded by some very nice buildings.  As it was winter, not much else was happening here.

Mannerheim Statue Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Mannerheim Statue

Central Helsinki

From the railway station, we walked to the docks via Esplanadi, a park area.  It was decorated for Christmas, and very festive.  On the way, we stopped at the Havis Amanda Statue and took the obligatory photos.  This is a well-known statue of the scantily clad female.  The nearby docks were interesting, as were the views of the Uspenski Cathedral and the Office of the President of Finland.

Havis Amanda Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Havis Amanda
Havis Amanda Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Havis Amanda
Office of the President of Finland

There was a market at the docks.  We wandered around for a while and bought some snacks and a drink before heading back to our hotel.     

Suomenlinna

Suomenlinna

On our second day, we went to Helsinki’s number one attraction, the island fortress of Suomenlinna.  To get there, you need to catch the ferry from Kauppatori.  Tickets can be purchased at the dock from a ticket machine.  It was very easy to operate, with on-screen step by step instructions in many languages.  The ferry trip is only 15 minutes, with no stops on the way.

Fortress of Suomenlinna Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Fortress of Suomenlinna
Fortress of Suomenlinna Cannon Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Fortress of Suomenlinna Cannon

We spent three hours walking around the island, but were disappointed that some of the museums were closed, due to the time of year.  The fortifications themselves were quite impressive and the one museum that was open had comprehensive displays of the fortresses’ history.  There are many old cannons and defensive guns on display around the island as well as the old fortifications.

Uspenski Cathedral

On returning to Helsinki, we went to the Uspenski Cathedral.  The cathedral is outstanding, being set on a hill overlooking the city.  Unfortunately, they were undertaking renovations to the interior and it was full of scaffolding.  The iconography inside was amazing and would normally be very impressive, but much of it was obscured during our visit.

Helsinki Day2
Uspenski Cathedral Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Uspenski Cathedral
Uspenski Cathedral Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Uspenski Cathedral

Nearby is Senate Square, which was set up for a Christmas market.  The whole square was full of stalls and we spent an hour looking around them.

Helsinki Cathedral

Directly above the square is the Helsinki Cathedral.  This in impressive looking building, made even more so when you enter, as there is very little interior decoration, in keeping with its Lutheran faith.

Helsinki Cathedral Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Helsinki Cathedral
Helsinki Cathedral Altar Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Cathedral Altar
Helsinki Cathedral Organ Helsinki www.destinationsjourney.com
Helsinki Cathedral Organ

Museum of Finnish Military History

Last stop for the day was the Museum of Finnish Military History.  If you like military history, you will love this museum, as I did.  If not you will be bored as my wife was.  This is a very comprehensive museum, with a huge section on Finland’s involvement in World War 2 as well as more recent events.  I was particularly interested in the Hungarian section, detailing Hungary’s association with Finland during the second world war.  Something I knew nothing about.

Tallinn Estonia

Our final full day in Helsinki, was a day trip to the Estonian capital of Tallinn.  We caught the ferry from West Harbour Terminal 2.  It took around three and a half hours for the trip.  As it left very early in the morning, we arranged a taxi through the hotel, which was waiting promptly for us at the arranged time.  The trip was smooth and despite usually getting sea sick, my wife was fine.  The ferry has many bars and food outlets, so getting breakfast after being too early for the hotel’s breakfast was easy.

Helsinki to Tallinn

City Tour

We were met at the terminal in Tallinn, by our tour guide.  Due to the time of year, we were the only ones on the trip.  The first part was a trip around the greater city of Tallinn, with quick views from the bus of the sites.  The only place we stopped, and really the only one that interested us was the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.  It was here that Estonians gathered to protest and sing patriot songs, leading to their independence.

Gustav Ernesaks Memorial
Tallinn Song Festival Grounds

Tallinn Old City

The guide then took us on a walking tour of the old city.  This was the real reason we had visited.  She took us to all the major places of interest and was extremely good at explaining their history and significance.  This was far better than walking around ourselves, as we would probably have gotten lost in the twisting streets.

The old city of Tallinn is a UNESCO World Heritage Listed Site.  The whole area is full of fascinating buildings, towers, city walls and churches.  It would take many days to see everything, and by then you would become jaded with the experience.  Having only one day, we saw the major sections and came away with a good appreciation of the city.

Aleksander Nevski Cathedral

We started with the Aleksander Nevski Cathedral.  This is one of the iconic buildings in Tallinn and is very impressive from the outside.  Inside, it is even better.  The icons and altar are magnificent.  Unfortunately, photographs are not permitted inside.  We then moved on to Toompea Hill.  This provides spectacular views over the old town. 

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Walking Around the Old City

The tour took us through narrow winding streets, past old city walls and buildings.  When we finished with the guide in the town square, we had several hours to look around ourselves.  We found a nice restaurant for lunch, had a few beers and explored for a while.

Old City Walls Tallinn
Tallinn Estonia
Tallinn Streets
Main Street Tallinn
St Catherine’s Passage Tallinn
Steep Tallinn Streets
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Old City Walls Tallinn

We walked back to the terminal for the ferry.  It was an easy 30-minute walk and the ferry trip back was uneventful.

What Did We Think

Helsinki was probably the least memorable part of our Nordic Trip.  There wasn’t much that interested us in the city itself.  Even Suomenlinna was not that different from other fortresses we had seen, apart from being an island.  If we could do this trip again, we would have taken another day trip to St Petersburg, as well as the one to Tallinn.  This would have left enough time to see some of the sites in Helsinki, while potentially seeing other destinations with more to offer.  Alternatively, we could have transited straight through and not stopped, as our real destination on this leg of the trip was Rovaniemi.

Bergen Norway

Bergen Norway

Why start a Norwegian holiday in Bergen on the west coast?  We thought it would be easier to travel from the west coast to the east and then on to Sweden without repeating ourselves and back tracking.  It was also as easy to travel from Copenhagen to Bergen as it was to Oslo.

Bergen Airport to Clarion Hotel Admiral

Travelling to Bergen in Norway

Arriving at Bergen Airport at 5:40PM, it was dark and a little rainy.  We hired a taxi for the 20km, half hour trip into Bergen.  Our hotel the Clarion Hotel Admiral was on the wharf opposite the historic Hanseatic Wharf.  Despite the rain, we went for an evening stroll around the wharf area.  The Hanseatic Wharf was lit up and very picturesque, as was the sailing ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl.

Bergen Hanseatic Wharf at Night Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Bergen Hanseatic Wharf at Night
Sailing Ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Sailing Ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Sailing Ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Sailing Ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Bergenhus Fortress at Night Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Bergenhus Fortress at Night

Further down the Bergenhus Fortress was also lit up.  We spent around an hour walking around, before heading back to our hotel to warm up and have a hot meal at the restaurant.

Mt Fløyen and the Funicular

The next morning, we had a huge breakfast, which was included in the cost of our stay.  A very impressive array of foods available to cater for tourists and tastes from all over the world.  We then took an easy 10-minute walk to the funicular (Fløibanen) for a trip to the Mt Fløyen lookout over the city.  The funicular is a steep train, which goes up the side of the mountain.   The trip itself is an experience. But is also an operating train, used by the local residents.  In summer, it can be very busy, but as this was winter there were only a few of us on this trip, which was the first for the morning.

The views from Mt Fløyen are spectacular, as they overlook Bergen and the harbor.  There is a coffee and gift shop at the lookout but in winter opens later, so we had to do without coffee and snacks until we got back into town.  Be careful of your footing in winter and early mornings.  We had hiking boots on but some of the pavement was still icy and slippery underfoot.  The return trip down the mountain was as great as the one coming up as you look straight down the steep train track.

Bergen From Fløibanen Lookout Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Bergen From Fløibanen Lookout
Fløibanen Railway in Bergen Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Fløibanen Railway in Bergen

At the bottom, we made our way to a nearby café and had a very welcome hot chocolate and cakes.  If you really want to, there is a Starbucks and McDonald’s, but we wanted to taste something made locally and there is plenty of choice around the wharf area.  Even reindeer sausages if you feel up to it.

Local Bergen Cuisine Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Local Bergen Cuisine

Hanseatic Wharf

The Bergenhus Festning (fortress) just past the Hanseatic Wharf, is a small historic castle.  We spent half an hour looking around, before taking a much longer look through the shops on the wharf.  Many of these sell local crafts and really are worth looking around.  Even walking up to the second floor of some of them is a fun experience with creaky stairs and uneven floor boards.  We found some excellent Christmas decorations that now take pride of place on our Christmas tree each year. 

Bergen Hanseatic Wharf Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Bergen Hanseatic Wharf

Also near the fortress is a small museum, with artifacts from Bergen’s past.  We spent an interesting hour looking around learning about the Hanseatic League, Vikings and Runes.  It is certainly worth looking at.

After having a walk around the church and Cathedral, we went to the fish market.  This is marked as being world-famous, but to us just looked like a fish market.  However, above it is the tourist information office.  The staff were very helpful, and told us about a ginger bread house exhibit that is held in December.  To get to it, we walked down some of the old historic windy streets.  The exhibition was better than we expected.  There were hundreds of houses, all made of ginger bread, depicting scenes from all over the world, Paris, London to name just two.  Even better, they even sold ginger bread (Pepperkakebyen).  Of course, we bought a few samples to take with us.

Bergen Ginger Bread Exhibition Bergen Norway www.destinationsjourney.com
Bergen Ginger Bread Exhibition

After a walk through the pedestrian mall in the centre of town, we returned to our hotel for a meal and a good night’s sleep.  We had to be up early the next morning to catch the train for out Norway in a Nutshell trip.

So, what did we think of Bergen?  It was great.  We particularly liked the Hanseatic Wharf and the trip up the funicular.  The ginger bread exhibition was also a nice surprise.  Without travelling outside of the wharf area, we easily filled in a full day.  We didn’t go to the aquarium, as we have seen many of these elsewhere and the fish market was nothing special.

Map of Bergen

Copenhagen The Beautiful Capital City of Denmark

Flying to Copenhagen

We have visited Copenhagen twice during trips to Europe. The first was a very short trip because our flight was delayed and we lost over a day before we had to fly to Bergen. The second trip was for four days, when we were able to see a lot more of the Danish capital as well as some of the surrounding area. We flew into Copenhagen from Tromso in Norway on our second visit.

Travel From the Airport to the City

On both occasions, we caught a taxi to our hotel because we chose convenience over the cheaper option of a train.

Accommodation

We chose hotels in the centre of the city on both occasions. The Alexandra Copenhagen for our first trip and First Hotel Twentyseven for the second, because they were close to most attractions and Central Station. Neither hotel had a restaurant, but did provide breakfast and there were plenty of options for meals close by.

Once checked in at our hotel , we walked around town for the remainder of the afternoon and into the evening.

Copenhagen Card

As our second stay was four days long, we purchased Copenhagen Cards before leaving Australia. these were available for collection at the Tivoli Gardens booking office so we dropped in to collect them.

The Copenhagen card provides free entry into most of Copenhagen’s attractions. As a great bonus it includes free public transport around the city as far as Roskilde and Helsingør. Ours were for 72 hours and were used extensively. Before you buy one make sure you will get value out of it by working out where you will go and what tbe would have cost without the card.

Hans Christian Andersen Statue Copenhagen Denmark
Hans Christian Andersen Statue

National Museet

A short walk down the Hans Christian Anderson Boulevard was the National Museet (museum). This is one of the world’s great museums with excellent exhibits illustrating Denmark’s history. Extremely well laid out, you start at the pre-historical section, and then make our way through Viking times, the coming of Christianity through to modern-day.

There is an excellent collection of Viking artifacts, ranging from swords and shields to boats and rune stones. Some of the best-preserved bog bodies are also on display. Gruesome but captivating at the same time.

Bog Body - National Museet - Copenhagen
Bog Body – National Museet – Copenhagen
Swords - National Museet - Copenhagen
Swords – National Museet – Copenhagen
Hindsgavl Dagger - National Museet Copenhagen
Hindsgavl Dagger – National Museet Copenhagen

On the second floor is a very nice café where we stopped for a hot chocolate and snack, before pressing on. We spend around two hours here and could have taken longer if not pressed for time.

Christiansborg Palace

Christianborg Palace at Night Copenhagen
Christiansborg Palace at Night

Reception Rooms

The reception rooms are all beautifully laid out and decorated. T

The banquet hall is decorated Bjørn Nørgaard’s colourful tapestries, Venetian glass chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and the walls are decorated with yellow marbling.

The throne room, where the Queen receives kings, presidents and ambassadors is also open to inspect. The king’s throne is adorned with two golden lions and the queen’s throne features two gilded griffons.

The Royal Stables

Still operating as the royal stables with resident horses this building also preserves the history by displaying and conserving carriages. The stable’s finest vehicle is the Golden State Coach. It was built in 1840 and is coated with 24-carat gold leaf. The oldest coach in the stables is Queen Dowager Juliane Marie’s state coach which dates from 1778.

Christiansborg Palace Royal Stables Copenhagen Denmark
Golden State Coach

Ruins under Christiansborg Palace

The ruins under Christiansborg Castle, date back to 1167 and the original Bishop Absalon’s Castle. Walking around this underground site, you will get an idea of how the castle was continually renewed and developed.

Tivoli Gardens

We went to the Tivoli Gardens in the evening, because many other attractions were closed and we were able to see the rides lit up. The gardens are very popular with locals and tourists and were very busy. We found them to be more crowded than expected and difficult to get through at times. Certainly very pretty, with everything lit up, but we found it quite boring, and apart from a coffee and a walk around, did not stay more than an hour.

Tivoli Gardens at Night Copenhagen
Tivoli Gardens at Night

Strøget

Christmas Tree - Stroget - Copenhagen
Christmas Tree – Stroget – Copenhagen
Christmas Tree - Stroget - Copenhagen
Christmas Tree – Stroget – Copenhagen

Round Tower

Located in the centre of town not far from Storget the Round Tower provides a magnificent view of the city. Access is via a spiral walkway that takes up the full width of the tower. The final part consists of some short one way ladders where you need to make way for other visitors. The viewing platform circles the full roof of the tower and there are signs indicating the location of important buildings.

Rosenborg Palace and Crown Jewels

Walking through town to the Rosenborg Palace in the early morning allowed us to experience the sights and sounds of Copenhagen. The grounds approaching the palace were beautiful, even in winter and were enjoyable to walk around.

The interior of the palace is furnished in its medieval style and is very dark. This contrasts with Christiansborg Palace which we saw later which is very bright and decorated in a modern style.

Rosenborg’s big draw card is the Crown Jewels which are displayed in the palace’s dungeon. They are very well set out and you are able to get quite close to view them. The crowns even have steps next to them so that you can get a better view.

Jen Olsen’s Clock

Located in the Town Hall this amazing clock was undergoing maintenance when we visited. Access was still available enabling to to view it but not see it operate.

Friederik’s Church

The Marble Church with the characteristic copper green dome is one of the most impressive churches of the city. There is a magnificent view from the dome, which can be visited at 1 pm every day during the summer months and the same hours in the weekends of the rest of the year.

The church is open daily to the public, with restricted hours on Friday and Sunday.

Nyhavn and Amalienborg Palace

Getting to Nyhavn, most of the usual crowds were yet to arrive, so we could see all of the docks and buildings without other people around. The same went for the Amalienborg Palace. There was only a few people there. We took it as an excellent opportunity to take pictures of the palace and guards.

Nyhaven - Copenhagen
Buildings and Boats in Nyhavn – Copenhagen
Nyhaven - Copenhagen
Nyhavn – Copenhagen
The Canal at Nyhaven - Copenhagen
The Canal at Nyhavn – Copenhagen
Nyhaven - Copenhagen
Nyhavn – Copenhagen
Amalienborg Palace - Copenhagen
Amalienborg Palace – Copenhagen
Guard at Amalienborg Palace - Copenhagen
Guard at Amalienborg Palace – Copenhagen

The Little Mermaid Statue

One of the big attractions in Copenhagen is the Little Mermaid Statue. Its biggest criticism though is the size of the crowds of people gathered there. Not early in the morning though. There were less than ten of us, and could get photos of just us by the statue. Nearby is the Geflion Fountain. In winter the water is turned off, so it was not as spectacular as when operating, but still a very nice sculpture.

Copenhagen
The Little Mermaid – Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Geflion Fountain – Copenhagen

Canal Cruise

A canal cruise is a great way to see the highlights of Copenhagen giving  different perspective to that seen from the streets. Taking about and hour the cruise enable to to see Nyhavn the Opera House and many other landmarks from the canals. A commentary provides a good overview of the history of the sights as you go. We sat in the open area at the rear of the boat. This gave us a great view in all directions, without the windows or roof of the boat getting in the way.

Roskilde

Travel to Roskilde by train was covered by the Copenhagen Card, as was entry to the attractions there. We caught the train at central station and it was a short 20 minute trip to Roskilde. We walked into town from the train station taking in the main street and lovely gardens as we went.

Viking Boat Museum

Located on Roskilde Harbour this museum houses five preserved viking boats. The displays are well presented with viewing platforms enabling excellent views of the displays.

If you have children, there is an interactive area for them, where they are able to go onto a replica ship.

 Roskilde Cathedral

Roskilde Cathedral is the traditional resting place of Danish monarchs. As such there is a huge amount of history present there as well as the magnificent building itself. We spent two hours making our way around the tombs and interior of the cathedral before heading towards to Viking Boat Museum

Helsingør

We caught the 45 minute traIn ride from Copenhagen Central and again used our Copenhagen Card. The main reason for visiting this city, was Kronborg Castle, located only a short walk from the train station. As we walked to the castle, we found some interesting statues along with a male version of the little mermaid.

Kronborg Castle is famous as the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The castle interior is furnished in places as it was in the middle ages. We found the highlight to be the dungeon level which had limited lighting making it very atmospheric. As you wander around this level you are able to visualise how guards in medieval Denmark would have felt.

What Did We Think?

We found Copenhagen very easy to find your way around and we felt very safe. People were very friendly and helpful and the city centre is full of great attractions. We visited in December the first time and the city was full of festive decorations, with most shops having candles in their doorways, as well as decorations. Travel using the Copenhagen Card was easy and cheap which made the trips to Roskilde and Helsingor simple.

For other stories about our trips around Europe, click here

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