Many of my fellow passengers on the first ferry of the morning from Tallinn to Helsinki had clearly been up all night indulging in Tallinn's nightlife so the ride was pretty quiet. The ferry was a pea green and orange ship that must have held around two thousand passengers on its nine decks. Even though neighboring Sweden is the birthplace of Ikea, much of the decor and furniture was from there, though there was also an Italian theme for no apparent reason. The trip only took two hours and the water was dead calm. We had a great parting view of Tallinn, which was a nice farewell.
The introduction to Helsinki wasn't quite as positive unfortunately. It was cold, windy, and threatening to downpour. I'd been told in advance that Finnish culture is a bit closed off and that the people aren't terribly warm and friendly. This held true for the city as well. Helsinki didn't seem to be very good at promoting itself so my friend and I wandered around, not really sure which museums and attractions were actually worth their hefty admission fees. (Perhaps I can illustrate my point about Helsinki failing at self promotion with a slogan I saw for a huge electronics store: probably always cheaper.)
We ended up walking to Senate Square, passing some dreary architecture along the way.
I'll admit, I was pretty excited to find an accordion though.
Senate Square itself was lovely. A big, open plaza, it is dominated by Helsinki Cathedral. The interior was sparse yet tasteful, with arches and gold chandeliers.
Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, a clear sign of Russia's former presence in Finland, was a serious looking building perched on a hill.
Since a popular movie in 2004 showed an Italian couple add aching a padlock to a bridge and throwing the key into the water, it has become a tradition for couples to put a small lock on the Bridge of Love, usually with their names or their wedding date on it.
By now, the rain was starting to bucket down on us. It had only been a day but Helsinki wasn't off to a great start so we ducked in to a cafe to find another town to visit in Finland. By the time we left the cafe, the rain had let up and we had our next destination: the Arctic Circle!