Time in Helsinki

Pic 1 Olympic Year in Helsinki
Pic 2 Copper Dome of the Temppeliaukio Church
Pic 3 Flower vendor at South Harbor Market
Pic 4 Helsinki Cathedral
Pic 5 Uspensky Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Pic 6 Sibelius Monument (Organ Pipes)
Pic 7 Kids on ride at Linnanmaki Amusement Park

On Sunday morning we said good bye to Lars Erik, Eivor, and Dan. They took us to Helsinki where we had an afternoon of sightseeing. We did a walking tour and saw the Olympic fields and arenas from the 1952 Olympics. We saw the National Opera House and Finlandia House, the National Museum, and Parliament. Then we walked to a church called Temppeliaukio Church that is carved from a rock and has a dome ceiling made of 22 miles of copper. The pews and altar are very simple in order to not detract from from the beautifully carved walls, ceiling, and pipe organ.

In the evening, we met the parents, Riita and Juhani, of Mom's former exchange student, Jari, for dinner. (They live in Spain for the winter and in Finland for the summer.) We went for a very nice dinner with them. On Monday morning, Juhani took us on a tram/walking tour around Helsinki again. We saw the church, the Helsinki Cathedral, where Jari and his wife were married and the Uspensky Russian Orthodox Cathedral. We walked the South Harbor market and purchased a few items. We went to the composer's, Jean Sibelius, monument. And the most favorite thing the kids did was go to another amusement park, Linnanmaki, for the afternoon!

For the evening Jari's brother, Juri, picked us up at the hotel and took us to his home for a nice meal which was our last in Finland.