It's already two weeks since back from Finland, I am too busy to write the log in time...too lazy actually.

I met jiaqi at the harbour and was told that she didn't bring her passport, and she just considered it as a suburban trip, faint. Anyway, it's lucky enough that we got on board without trouble. Acutually, it's just like a domestic trip, only using different currency.

We got on the deck and were impressed by the beautiful view of the Slussen Harbour and later archipelago on Baltic Sea. As the night came, it became convival in the ship, people gathered at pubs, buffets, ballroom and casino. I was shocked that most people throwing bucks on blackjack and roulette are yellow faces and speaking chinese. I also tried my luck on a slot machine but no miracle happened. In the tax-free shop, jiaqi was so exciting at the cosmetic and perfumes, and introduced the various brands to me, totally no idea, so I turned to the chocolates and wines.

We arrived at Helsinki in the morning of 19th. It's a bit rainy, but did no matter. The First stop is the Upenski Cathedral, the largest orthodox church in Western Europe. It's built and decorated in russian style, and had a plaque commemorating Russian Emperor Alexander II. And the next stop is the Helsinki Cathedral. It's in a neoclassical style and the climax of the whole Senate Square. It's also a tribute to the Tsar of Russia and the Grand Duchy of Finland. After visting the National Museum of Finland, I got to know the history of finland was just dominated by either Sweden or Russia, so it left a combination of two cultures and art style. There are many excellent art or design museums at Helsinki,  but unfortunately I had no time to visit.

Then we came the Temppeliaukio Church, the site gave me the deepest impression in this trip. The churh is not as noticeable as Upenski or Helsinki Catherdral, it is built semi-underground. The interior was excavated and built into the rock, but is bathed in natural light entering through the glazed dome. And the interior acoustic quality is excellent by the rough, virtually unworked, rock surfaces. It's really a genius masterpiece.

The sky became clear in the noon, and we walked along the Mannerheimintie Avenue. Helsinki is a small city and most of the important buildings and visiting sites are on the sides of this avenue. One of them looks exactly the same as Great Hall of the People, hehe. After a few walk, we got to the Sibeliu Park for the monument of the world-famous composer Jean Sibelius. This unique work of art resembled organ pipes, welded together from 600 pipes and weighing over 24 metric tons. It’s said that melody would come out when wind blows, but I heard nothing. And there is a lake near the park, waking on the macadam of the lakeside and enjoying the beautiful views, it was fantastic. On the way back to the harbour, we dropped by the Cathedral again, it looked more beautiful under the blue sky and I tooked some more pictures.

It was still some time when arriving the harbour. So we had a salmon soup on the market square and fed the pigeons with biscuits. It was so relaxed after a whole day walking, and I just realized it might be very tired for a girl, sorry to jiaqi. After all, it’s a very nice trip, and very cheap. The only pity was that I hadn’t got a chance to enjoy the famous finnish sauna!