helsinki, finland

For some reason I was really excited to visit Finland. I don't know if it's just because it's not a common destination spot but in my mind it just sounded so pretty ... and it was just that.

We first drove through Helsinki and learned that it was the center of Finnish commerce and culture, as well as the nation's capital (we already knew it was the capital). Our first stop was Temppeliaukio Church (Temple Square in Finnish) one of the most unique structures in the world. It was built out of a large rock and has excellent acoustics; it's quality is ensured by the rough, virtually unworked, rock surfaces.

After the church we drove 45 minutes outside of the city to the quaint village of Porvoo. Porvoo is an old town situated at the mouth of River Porvoo and is one of the most photographed views in Finland. I loved Porvoo; the country side was so lush and green and the views from the old bridge of the red riverside storehouses were picture perfect. After taking a few shots at the bridge we walked through the charming little town of Porvoo with its idyllic little houses and narrow winding streets. We visited a few of the small handicraft stores but our favorites were the jewelry, candy and toy shops. We found several beautiful pieces of jewelry made out of fresh water pearls at the jewelry shop, but unfortunately the girl couldn't get her credit card machine to work and didn't accept dollars, so we had to leave all the lovely jewelry behind.

Our tour guide told us to be sure and stop at the local candy shop and try some of the delicious Finnish truffles. Little did she know she was on a bus full of grocers who had to try the amazing truffles along with everything else in the store. The store was pact with tourists and the little shop workers were going crazy. But she was right, the truffles were amazing! The toy store was perfect; I tried to find something for my future children but ended up helping my mom find something for Shae.

We were sad to leave Porvoo but we boarded the buses and headed to Haikko Manor for lunch. Once again, the Manor was breathtaking and we had a delicious traditional Scandinavian dish that was just a whole bunch of comfort food (just what we like). The fun (somtimes annoying) thing about this trip was that every time we would go somewhere we would always sit by someone new and learn a little bit about them. At this particular lunch we had the pleasure of sitting across from Kurt Bestor's parents. For those of you who don't know Kurt Bestor he is a very gifted LDS composer and performer and my mother and I both LOVE his Christmas CD's and have been to several of his Christmas concerts. He has lovely parents who shared several amazing stories about their family and their travels and who soon became our new cruise buddies.

Next we made a stop at Sibelius Park that had a beautiful monument for Sibelius, the most famous composer in Finland. Last we made a stop at the Senate Square where we had some time to stroll down the (hard to walk on) cobblestone streets and where we found the amazing Market Square. It's sort of similar to Union Square's farmer's market but it was fun to see the different local fish, fruits and vegetables.

Our mission on this trip was to find some unique jewelry that we could bring back with us. After our disappointing experience at the last jewelry shop we thought we wouldn't be finding anything in Finland. Luckily, we found a cute little jewelry stand with very unique rings that were just what we wanted. We found several other Finnish treasures for Shae and then we headed back to the boat.

Finally, as we entered our stateroom my moms luggage was sitting on our bed. We were both so excited we almost cried and the rest of the evening was spent going through all my moms stuff and finally enjoying some decent shampoo. At this point, my mom had gone 6 days without her luggage. Everyone knew her story and began to recognize that she still didn't have her luggage because she wore the same pants everyday. She was so excited to just wear anything else and show everyone that her luggage had come. Moms video camera was also in her luggage and she was very disappointed that she had missed so much, so she immediately pulled it out and started recording to make up for lost footage. This was probably my favorite part of the trip, my mom is a nerd and loved to bust out the video camera and start talking to it every chance she got (yes, she is one of those tourists). And the sad thing is, she's probably the only one that will ever watch it (love you, mom).

I'm kind of back and forth but I think out of all the stops on this trip, Porvoo was my favorite.

Porvoo






Inside Temppeliaukio Church



Sibelius' Monument


Around Helskink



The big boats that brake up the ice in the winter time


Some of our Finnish friends