Gym's Ramblings: Finding Finland - September 5-6, 2021

Gym was always intrigued by a country that would give its sons names like Teemu Selane, Mikka Kiprusoff and Saku Koivu. As a hockey fan, Gym had been introduced to many great players like these and wondered if when naming a child in Finland, you went with words no one used before, containing the maximum number of vowels.

Speaking of vowels, how did Finland manage to develop its own, very complex language? For centuries, Finland was controlled by Swedish kings and then after the Napoleonic Wars, it came under control of the Russian czars. Finland has really only been truly independent since 1917. And yet, 95% of the population speaks Finnish as a first language and Finnish has no relation whatsoever to Swedish or Russian. Get this, Finnish has no prepositions! And even stranger, the language is most related to Estonian and Hungarian. Apparently, there is only one word used throughout the world from the Finnish language, sauna.

The Marina made two, one-day stops in Finland, one in Kotka, followed by a day in Helsinki.

Kotka

The MS Marina was originally supposed to go to St. Petersburg, Russia. The Russians however, aren't very reliable when it comes to providing comfort that the pandemic is being well-handled and that the people are getting vaccinated. As a result, visiting the fabled capital of the czars would have to wait for another trip. Kotka was one of the two stops that replaced two days in Russia. Kotka was surprisingly, very worthwhile.

Kotka is built on an island, located on the delta formed by the Kymi River, where it flows into the Gulf of Finland. You can drive east to the Russian border, on an excellent highway, in 48 minutes. Alternatively, by driving west you can reach Helsinki in about 90 minutes. We boarded a tour bus at the pier and needed to get on the main highway to reach the city. The main highway was the No. 7, the "Trans-Finland" and it looked like the Trans-Canada, except nicer. This gave Gym an idea. Next time Gym and his lovely companion will drive to St. Petersburg!

Kotka was established in 1878 when the Russians were in control. Before that, the area was the site of more than one large naval battle between Russia and Sweden. Our adventurers learned that you could have set up bleachers on the shoreline of modern Kotka, to watch a doozy of a battle that was fought just offshore in 1789. Today, there is no shortage of cannons and cannonballs being dredged up by archeological people from that battle.

The city itself is clean and well laid out. The brief visit started by checking out the impressive neo gothic, Kotka Church. Constructed in 1898 and renovated in 1999, it is notable for its flying buttresses, its stained glass windows, its pipe organ and the bright wooden interior. There are several pristine 'Urban National Parks' in town, the tour went on to visit one called the Kotka Water Park. Even at this late stage of summer there was still lots of color around the salt water bay that is the nucleus of the park. The park also features a salt-water waterfall. Gym and his boss, took a short walk along the well kept trails. Finally, the tour visited the new Kotka Maritime Museum in town. There are many great exhibits there including a film recreating the naval battle in 1789. As the following pictures show, this museum is a must-see attraction on any visit to the area.

Front door of the Church of Kotka. Neo classical in style,
the building opened in 1898 and was completely renovated
on its centennial.

Unlike other churches it is light, bright and
spacious.

Above the alter at the front is a huge painting
of The Three Kings.

Beautiful chandeliers and a 44-voice pipe organ are seen
here in a picture taken of the back of the church.

These massive flying buttresses create the skeleton that
allow for 3 sets of soaring arches. The church has room for 1500 people.

A water feature at the Sapokka Water Garden.

Sapokka is a salt water bay with a variety of colourful plantings.

beyond the bridge is the harbour and the Balticc Sea

Boats just beyond the park

A manmade saltwater waterfall...and a poser on the right

A view of the entrance to the Kotka Maritime Museum.

It is built to look like a giant wave.

Finnish Antique Boat Hall from above.

Until recently the Finns were renowned glass makers in the Kotka area

The Finn's are proud of the icebreakers they build.

A massive wood naval patrol boat - circa WW2.

In Alan Jackson's song, "you can't beat the way an old wood boat rides"
and his daddy's boat even had a 75 Johnson motor like this one.

A car/sleigh/boat is good on land, water and ice.

Helsinki

The MS Marina left Kotka on the evening of September 5, 2021 and sailed west to the capital. Gym and Mrs. Gym were signed up for a walking tour of the capital, on September 6th. It would cover a lot of ground and Helsinki is hilly!

Helsinki was founded in 1550 but it was during the time when Russia was in charge that it was made the capital and then it really started to grow. Today it has 1.3 million inhabitants. They are spread out over 300 islands that have 11,000 boat berths.

The capital of Finland is the northernmost country capital city in the world. A little north of 60 degrees latitude, it is also the closest capital city to Santa Claus. Being closer to Santa means you do get a long and cold winter season. The area gets 100+ annual days of snow and an average of 169 annual days with an average temperature below freezing.

Gym thinks Finland is the cleanest country he has ever visited and Helsinki is the capital of spotlessness. There were no street people in evidence and there was no litter anywhere. Public spaces were numerous, with wide, green boulevards and lots of well-treed parks. As you will see in the pictures that follow, there is lots of attractive architecture and some amazing public art. How do Finns handle all those short and cold winter days though? Gym thinks that when they are not playing hockey and indoor soccer, they sit at home drinking Finlandia Vodka and come up with new vowel-laden names for their children. In the summer though, it looks to me like theyc an really enjoy the outdoors in such a firsttt class city.

As this is being written after Gym and his dear wife have finished their cruise and left the MS Marina, a brief comment on how that boat ride went. Generally speaking, their experience cruising the Baltic Sea was a treat, especially since the boss tends to get seasick. Mrs. Gym commented that the Baltic was like a big bathtub and it was a very smooth 10-day sail.

Helsinki Cathedral from Senate Square.

Senate Square's central monument, a statue of Czar Alexander II.

Not far from Senate Square is the start of The Esplanade.
This picture looks back toward the Havis Amanda bronze.

Restaurant on Kapelli Esplanade.

The esplanade is still very green in early September.

Helsinki City Hall

Central Railway/Subway Station

Prime Minister's Office from Senate Square

Statue of John Ludvig Runeberg, the Finnish Poet.

Outside the Helsinki Central Train Station the "Lantern Carriers"
wear masks during Covid times.

In the Central Train Station is the most unique Burger King in the world.
Sure, Burger King could put a store in the train station but they
couldn't mess with the beautiful interior that was already there