June 21, 2025
The sunny skies from yesterday have been replaced with gloomy rain clouds. In the early morning there was a break in the rain and I went for a walkabout in the park that my room faces. It was so enjoyable being outside in the calm of the day.
It was misting rain when we headed to the harbor to take the local ferry to Suomenlinna, a sea fortresses composed of eight islands, of which six have been fortified. It is located 4 km southeast of the city center and is about a 15 minute ferry ride.
The main island is spectacularly beautiful as the ferry rounded the corner into the bay there was parts of the fort visible on both sides covered with yellow flowers.
The resin had stopped as we began our walk around the fortress that was built on a hill overlooking the Bay of Finland. Construction of the fortress began in 1748 under the Swedish Crown as a defense against Russia. Under Russian rule, the fortress served as a base for the Baltic Fleet during World War 1 and several of the cannons are scattered around the fortress.
We hiked along the trails and up the hills for incredible views enjoying the landscape that included lots wildflowers. Locals use this island as a picnic spot. About midway into our exploring the main island it started to rain so we ducked into one of the buildings and waited for the rain to ease.
As we walk back to the start point for the island it really started to rain hard so we went to the cafe and had hot chocolate to wait out the rain. We explored a bit more then headed back to the city.
For dinner we went to a restaurant that served Finish food. We had a great meal experiencing the local fare in a kitschy restaurant that included tractors for bar seating. The food was great and the atmosphere was so much fun. A great way to end a rainy day in Helsinki.
