HIGHLIGHTS OF SCANDINAVIA TOUR - HELSINKI DAY 1

Hello again, my dear readers.

If you are following my posts, you might recall that after spending a week in London, we said goodbye to this amazing city to finally embark on our Highlights of Scandinavia and Baltic Cruise tour with Finland being the first stop on our itinerary.

Not going into too much detail, I would just like to remind you that the tour operator was Nordic Visitor and if you would like to read more about it, you could find it here.

Here is a very important fact about Nordic region and Finland in particular.  It has been named the worlds' happiest country for the ninth consecutive year in 2026 Worlds Happiest Country report.  Driven by high trust in institutions, social support and low corruption, Finland is closely followed by Denmark and Iceland.  The Nordic region continues to dominate the top ranking. driven by, among other factors, an excellent quality of life and work-life balance. And we were ego to see it for ourselves.

Upon arrival at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport where we were welcomed by a professional English-speaking driver (arranged by our tour operator Nordic Visitor) who drove in his private vehicle and once we reached our pre-booked hotel, Scandic Grand Marina,  helped us with the luggage.

It was reasonably early in the morning and since we had been in Europe for over a week by now and didn't feel jetlagged any more, we were ready to go out and explore the city as soon as our bags were delivered to our room.

Our hotel has a perfect position, it is in walking distance to the sea, Market Square and city centre.  We began our explorations by visiting Senate Square and the grand, neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral.

A short stroll away, we came across Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Orthodox Church in Scandinavia and one of the most visible symbols of the Russian influence on Finnish culture.

It was lunchtime somewhere so we headed to https://www.allaspool.fi/, an open all year round urban spa that includes sauna, seawater/fresh water pools, wellness facilities and a cafe.  There are estimated to be over 3 million saunas in Finland and almost every household has one.  This is one of the most vital parts of people's wellbeing and you can find them in private homes, apartment buildings, officers, factories and hotels.

Our hotel didn't have one but even if it did, my husband's medical history does not allow him to be in a room which is heated up to 90 ℃.  It didn't mean that we couldn't go inside, buy ourselves some drinks and food and take an outside table overlooking the Gulf of Finland and enjoy the sun and the joyful vibe of other patrons.

Once we left the pool, we took a stroll around city centre, admiring the style of architecture of the buildings that we walked by, crisp clear air  and the general feeling of open spaces not crammed with people, cars, dogs or bicycles.

 

For us, living within walking distance to the Pacific Ocean and its world famous Bondi Beach with its waves constantly crashing on the beach, the multitude of swimmers, surfers, runners, dogs walkers, kids and tourists  and all the noise that comes with them, walking along the embankment of the Gulf of Finland watching the almost still water lightly disturbed by a warm breeze gently rocking the boats was such a stunning contrast that we just stopped walking and stayed still for a minuted in appreciation of the beauty and serenity around us.

And with this blissful feeling of happiness we retired to our hotel and went to bed.  

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo

LONDON DAY 4, A VISIT TO ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL AND A NIGHT AT BBS PROMS

Hello again, my dear readers.  Hope you are all well.

It is our fourth day in London and we are on the road again.  Our day started with the trip to St Paul's Cathedral.  Although it is our third trip to the UK capital, we have never been inside and only saw it from the top of a Hop-On Hop-Off bus😄.  It was the high time to see it as I don't think we will be coming back in a hurry.

St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of London.   The Cathedral serves as the mother church of England of the Dioses of London in the Church of England.  It is one of the most recognisable sights of London and its world-famous dome is an iconic feature that has dominated the London skyline for the last 300 years. This present structure with its dome designed in English Baroque by Sir Christopher Wren, who spent 35 years working on the project, and when completed in 1710, was the tallest building in London until for 250 years till 1963.

There is no free admittance except for those who are The Friends of St Paul's Cathedral and infants from 0 to 5 years old.  However, they offer various discounts for different categories of visitors including for those who are over 65 which we both are.  Luckily for us, our Australian drivers licences were sufficient to prove our age and grant us a discount  for the tickets, so there is a plus side to old age after all 😉.

The moment we stepped inside, we were taken by the magnitude of the structure and the artistic and engineering genius of its architect.  

It took us a good couple of hours to walk around, slowly and carefully exploring the rich decor of the cathedral's interiors: its very tall coloured glass windows, richly decorated domes and the main altar, beautifully painted frescos depicting various biblical scenes, the tall columns supporting the main dome and the porticos all around the cathedral. 

There are over 500 monuments, with notable statues and sculptures honouring national figures such as Admiral Nelson, Florence Nightingale and other military and naval leaders.  It would probably taken us a few more hours in an attempt to see them all. 

Feeling tired and slightly overwhelmed, we left the cathedral and took a walk around the neighbourhood.  After a short 5 minutes walk we found ourselves on Paternoster Square and its iconic over 23 meters tall column topped with the golden flaming urn.  What caught me by surprise were the rows of pink canvas deck chairs placed in the centre of the square that were occupied by people enjoying the warm weather, having their lunches or just relaxing and watching the world go by. 

And just few meters away there were a bunch of men dressed in their corporate uniforms minus the jackets playing table tennis on their lunch break.  What a marvelous idea of the use of the public places for everyone to enjoy.

But that was not all.  At the other side of the square I saw a big bronze installation and walked towards it to have a closer look.  The moment I saw a dog and a rabbit, I knew immediately who the artists were.  Their names are Gilli and Mark and believe it or not, they live in Sydney and their kids went to the same school and the same time as my younger daughter Georgia.  Six degrees of separation, indeed.

These sculptures feature endangered animals alongside artist's signature hybrid characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman.  Visitors are encouraged to interact with the sculptures which I did.  It was time for us to go back to our hotel to get some rest before dressing up and going out to Royal Albert Hall for BBC Proms.

The first time I attended the BBC Proms was on my first trip to Europe and the UK on our honeymoon and I enjoyed it immensely.  So when we planned our 2025 trip to London and Scandinavia we checked the Proms 2025 program and discovered that Beethoven's 9th Symphony would be performed at Royal Albert Hall during our London sojourn and the tickets were going on sale on Saturday 17 of May 2025 at 9am UK time which was around 7 pm Australian Time.  At 7 pm sharp I logged into the Tickets Sale site and immediately received a message that were 16,980 in the queue and there was nothing we could do but sit and watch how the numbers were going down.  Two hours later our position was 2295 with the estimated wait of 14 minutes.  After 30 minutes of watching the final countdown, we became the proud owners of two tickets for a night at the Proms.  Job well done!!!

We had an absolutely marvelous evening.  I can listen to Beethoven's 9th every day and never get tired of it.  And who doesn't love the most famous piece "Ode to Joy"?

Our London sojourn ended on such a high note, we couldn't wish for a better way to celebrate our last night in London.  And now it was time to same goodbye to this glorious city and embark on our Scandinavian adventure. 

If you missed any of the previous posts and would like to catch up, you can do it here:

London, Day 1, arrival

London Day 2, morning - Visiting Wallace Collection

London Day 2, evening - Dinner at Sketch

London Day 3, trip to Windsor Castle and night at the theatre

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo