Fabulous Day in Helsinki, Finland

I already marked "X" Helsinki in my bucketlist. It is very simple, I finally visited Finland's capital city. It was our 5th day during our cruise trip in the Baltic region. Our ship arrived at 8:00 AM in Helsinki port. Considering around 2,000 passengers in that ship, it took us almost an hour before we went out from the ship and started our sightseeing.

Our tour guide was already waiting for us outside the port. As the the bus was already complete with tourists who booked that group trip, we started then the sightseeing. Our first stop was the famous modern architecture known as the Sibelius Monument. The tour guide was guiding our bus driver where to go next. She was also explaining about the interesting islands in Helsinki.

The Helsinki Cathedral in Senate Square in Helsinki. Aug. 3, 2013. © http://myeurotravelandadventures.blogspot.com

That tour took around two and a half hours with photos stops to some interesting sights. We were also given around two hours to explore the city on our own. We were dropped at the Senate square where most buses stop and park.

The Sibelius Monument. © http://myeurotravelandadventures.blogspot.com

Sibelius Monument in  Sibelius Park,  The world-famous composer Jean Sibelius' monument was designed by sculptress Eila Hiltunen and unveiled in 1967. It is one of the most well-known tourist attractions in Helsinki as nearly every guided tourist tour is brought to Sibelius Park to marvel at this unique work of art resembling organ pipes, welded together from 600 pipes and weighing over 24 metric tons.

The Church in the Rock (Temppeliaukion kirkko, literally "Temple Square Church").

"An atmospheric if minimalistic church, this church was literally dug out of solid rock. From above, it resembles a crashed UFO. The roof is made of 22 km of copper strips. Completed in 1969, this has become one of Helsinki's most popular attractions."

Some hours sightseeing is not enough to see and experience all the sights in Helsinki. I wish to visit it again in the future. For now, I am happy and contented that I visited  Finland's  lovely capital  and the so-called  "Daughter of the Baltic".

It was indeed a fabulous day in  Helsinki, considering the sunny weather we had that day!