How about some geographic whiplash on this Saturday morning? I’ve been referencing Denmark and the UK a lot lately, but still have plenty to share with regard to our time in Finland.
At the top of just about every Must-See list for Helsinki, you’re going to find Suomenlinna. It’s a military fortress on an island (there are 300 islands associated with the city of Helsinki). It also happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
Getting to Suomenlinna is wonderfully efficient. You hop on a ferry that’s part of the public transit system, sail for about 15 minutes, and you’re ready to start exploring. If you have a transit pass for the AB zone, this trip is included. If not, it will cost the price of a public transit ticket (a little over €3).
You can walk around the island for free, but entry to most of the historical sites do have an entry fee. I know there are also guided tour options which sound like fun.
On a sunny—but “crisp”—day, the kids and I headed off. The ferry terminal is located right beside Allas Sea Pool/Old Market Hall/Kauppatori, a short walk from Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral.
The tent and structure behind it are part of Allas Sea Pool, one of Helsinki’s most popular saunas. They have a sea pool (hence the name), along with warm-water pools, and a variety of saunas.
I opted to try Helsinki’s other famous waterfront sauna instead. You can read about my experience visiting Löyly Helsinki and swimming in the Baltic Sea
When we pulled away from the dock, we had a great view of the Tallink overnight ferry we ended up taking to Stockholm.
Ferrying past one of the many islands…
Suomenlinna is one of Finland’s most important historical landmarks, and Finns are proud of it, making it a popular destination for locals and tourists. The fortress is actually spread across several islands, connected by short bridges. It’s all very walkable and there are well-signed walking routes that take you to all the major landmarks.
It was originally built when Finland was part of Sweden so the original name is Swedish: Sveaborg. It was designed to defend the region’s eastern border from Russian invasion.
But when Finland became part of the Russian Empire, it changed hands. If you’re keeping track, it went from Sweden to Russia and finally to Finland.
After Finland gained independence in 1917, the name was changed to Suomenlinna.
Time for a tree pose!
This is the Jetty Barracks, built during a time of Russian control. The bright pink is striking!
It’s definitely one of the most photogenic stops on the island and you can see it as soon as you disembark from the ferry.
Yet another tree pose (the picture doesn’t capture how tiny the post was that he’s balancing on).
And another one! Notice his hood has gone up. It was COLD.
The Suomenlinna Church is fascinating. The original facade looked COMPLETELY different, because it was built in the Orthodox style by order of a Russian Czar. When Finland gained independence, they converted it both spiritually and aesthetically into a Lutheran church.
When Indy saw pictures of the original, he was quite appalled by the change. It certainly was more striking as an Orthodox church.
Fun fact: there’s also a functioning lighthouse in the church, one of a handful in the entire world! (And Belle derides my delight in reading placards! How would I learn about little historical gems like this without all that reading???)
Adults have to pay to get in the church, but kids don’t. Mine were keen to see the interior so I waited outside on the steps. They were impressed and said the inside was nice. It was fun for them to experience something like this on their own.
Although the sun was shining, the day was quite a bit colder than I expected, mostly because of high winds. I’d brought an apple and some cashews, but I decided I would try to keep spirits high by investing in some liquid courage.
At this stage of life, that looks like pricey (but DELICIOUS) hot chocolate, and a yummy chocolate cheesecake dessert (we got three forks and split it in thirds).
We opted for a cute cafe near the ferry (I can’t remember the name), but there are quite a few places to eat scattered across the different islands. In addition to Suomenlinna being a major tourist attraction, there are almost 1,000 permanent residents, so they have a school, grocery store, and other community amenities.
We stopped by the local library! It was a bright pink building.
Very cute and cozy.
When we reached the first bridge, we crossed over to the main part of the fortress which meant Prime Exploration Zone for a certain someone.
Of course we had to take a minute to do our classic arch poses.
The lighting was good, so I sweet-talked the kids into letting me take a few more pictures.
There are all sorts of tunnels that are freely accessible. Some of them are quite dark, though, so I was thankful to have a flashlight on my cell phone.
My favourite was this one, with plenty of natural light.
This is the grave site of the fortress architect, Swedish military engineer Augustin Ehrensvärd.
In addition to tunnels, there were lots of opportunities to leap out of windows.
The lighting was terrible at this spot in the mid-day sun, but it’s such a beautiful little vignette! There were geese everywhere—watch out for the turds if you visit!—plus bridges, water, and pretty reflections. It was a lovely spot.
While I was off reading some historical signs, the kids had a little photo shoot on this flowering side trail they found. They like to call me Momtographer, but happen to appreciate a nice photo as much as I do!
Oh my days. He is both tiny and giant at the same time.
Similar profile about a decade ago…
Aww…
And this kiddo IS ALMOST OLD ENOUGH TO DRIVE A CAR. I just cannot.
Shut the front door. Look at those tiny hands!!!
Indy can always make time for feats of strength. It’s a bit tricky to see because of the shadows, but he is suspended in the air FOR FUN.
So much architectural character! Doesn’t this door look like something out of a fairy-tale?
Another tree pose.
We got some great views of the Baltic Sea…
He spotted another arch and asked if I’d take a picture of another statue pose. Sure!
My favourite spot on the island was definitely The King’s Gate. It’s a bit of a trek to get there, but it’s lovely and was surprisingly quiet for being the most photographed area on the island.
It was designed to be the main entrance to the fortress, if not functionally, then at least ceremonially. It was built where the King of Sweden landed to inspect the building progress of work on Sveaborg, hence the name of The King’s Gate.
Can you spot a little someone hanging out in the top right of the next photo???
Another tree pose…
It looks like he’s sitting on something, but he’s actually supporting all his body weight with his upper body. I couldn’t do that!
I think this is a darling picture.
Belle had walked ahead of us to get some quiet time, so Indy and I stopped by the submarine Vesikko. Built in the early 1930s, Vesikko served in the Finnish Navy during World War II. It actually sank the Soviet merchant ship Vyborg in 1941. After the war, Finland was banned from operating submarines under peace treaty terms; all their submarines were sent to the scrapyard… except Vesikko. It’s Finland’s last surviving submarine. Today, it functions as a museum, but it’s only open in the summer.
I have no explanation for how or why he thought this next pose sounded fun, but he had a giant grin on his face the whole time and insisted I get a picture of him twisted up like a pretzel.
When it was time to head back to the ferry, Indy ran ahead and waited for me back on the front steps of the church.
The original church bell sits off to one side of the church and is the largest in Finland. It was cast in Moscow in the late 1880s and weighs 6,683 kilos.
A psalm is written in Slavic on the side and includes the following lines, which I thought were fitting:
Praise the Lord upon the loud cymbals… give unto the Lord glory and strength… Let the sea roar… All the Earth shall worship Him.
These chains and guns were originally used as part of the island’s defence. Now they’re a jungle gym/yoga studio.
While Indy and I were hanging out at the church, Belle was taking the scenic route. Translation: she got lost. Thankfully, the islands are tiny and we were reunited pretty quickly. I’m not sure what this tunnel picture represents or where it was on her travels, but she took a picture of it and I thought it looked cool!
Reunited at last…
When we headed back to the mainland, the Tallink ship was heading out for its overnight ride to Sweden.
The visit to Suomenlinna was fun and, since we didn’t opt to go in any of the on-site museums, it was completely free aside from the snacks we purchased.
Your turn!
I have no ideas for question prompts today and you’re all brilliant, so I figure if you have something to say, you can do it without any suggestions from me 🙂
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When I saw “island fortress”, I was half-expecting a former prison island like Robben Island or Alcatraz! Instead, it was a fascinating mix of military history, churches, tunnels, sea views, and cheesecake 😄
That change in architecture of the Suomenlinna Church when it went from Orthodox to Lutheran BIG! And Indy is right, it doesn’t look as impressive today. And the lighthouse fact is exactly the sort of thing you only discover by reading the placards!
And of course Indy seems to have found the perfect setting for an endless supply of tree poses and acrobatic stunts 😂
It’s a really gorgeous island (actually, a set of islands).
Another fact I learned from the placards: the signal the lighthouse produces is a Morse Code “H” for Helsinki 🙂
Indy has no sense of self preservation! I’d get so many gray hairs watching him climb and pose and jump. You’re a good mom to let him explore and try things like that.
Tell me about it!!! Maybe I can blame my recent grey hairs on his aerobatics?
He is actually a fairly cautious kid, so I try to let him take the lead on what feels safe. While he likes to explore, I feel like he knows his limits well??
You had me at island! How fun that the kids were able to get into the church for free, so they got to have an experience that you didn’t.
Indy is in his prime climbing and flexibility era! It won’t last forever, so the more pictures the better!
You would LOVE Suomenlinna, Birchie.
A good reminder that this too shall pass. There will come a day when he won’t be able (or won’t want) to climb so much. It’s fun to watch him explore in his own uniquely “athletic 11-year-old way” and I get to live vicariously.
This looks COOL!!! I like how it seems so uncrowded (maybe there were other people there and you just avoided putting them in photos.) I would love to spend an afternoon wandering around here. I love how Indy is so good at making his own fun! You can go just about anywhere with him and he’ll enjoy it. Well- at least it seems that way to me. I’m sure you could make a list of activities he doesn’t enjoy (clothes shopping? And I think you’ve mentioned art museums- nowhere for him to climb).
Anyway this looks like a really fun day. Amazing that this is all free!
It was not busy at all. I’m… not a fan of crowds, so this ticked lots of boxes for me 🙂
Indy is so… easy is the word we use. Yes there are a few tears every once in a while, but in general he is very happy-go-lucky and adaptable to every circumstance. Getting to watch him explore and enjoy life is a true joy.