Europe

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On this year's visit in Europe, we spent a bit of time in each of Germany and Finland. Read below for more details.

Frankfurt - 24 August & 25 August: We started our “Round The World 2013” adventure in Frankfurt. It has been many, many years since we’ve visited this city so it was like seeing an old friend. To begin – first and foremost – it was “Happy 74^th Birthday Ed!”

Our time in Frankfurt was spent primarily in the city’s “Old Town” (Alte Stadt) which consists of a great collection of reconstructed buildings and churches. Despite it raining on both days, we were able to get some photographs of this lovely area. Thankfully it wasn’t cold; the rain just made photography a bit more challenging than usual.

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	Town Hall with the Justice Fountain in Front
	A view of the Old Town (on a rainy, dreary day)
	Another view of Old Town
	St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church from Romer's Square
	A closer view of St. Bartholomew's (shot from the back as it's spire (as shown above) is now mostly hidden)
	St. Nicholas Protestant Church in Old Town
	St. Nicholas' simple altar
	The church organ at St. Nicholas

Finland – 26 August through 1 September: Our initial night in Finland was spent at the Hilton Vantaa Airport Hotel. Then, instead of taking a plane, we took a long-distance bus to the city of Turku, the oldest city in Finland and also a former capital. It is approximately 150 kilometers west of Helsinki at the mouth of the River Aura which opens into a huge archipelago. Highlights of our touring include:

Strolling along the River Aura: From the Centro Hotel, it was a quick walk to reach the walkway along the river. Almost immediately, we came across Turku’s Bibliotheca (Library). Then we proceeded to walk along the river (~3 kilometers or 1.8 miles) to reach Turku Cathedral (see below). En route, we passed numerous historic buildings – some of which we could identify and others we just photographed because of their beauty.

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	Turku's Library (notice all the bicycles by the fountain)
	Turku Cathedral as seen from the River Aura
	The Minerva Building (built in 1911)
	We don't know the name of this building but its many chimneys are turret are impressive!

After passing the Martinsilta Bridge, the last one on the river so as to allow large ships to access the area, we subsequently used the town ferry, Főri, to cross the River Aura back to our side of the river (the city centre side of the river). From there, we walked beside the Turku Guest Harbor (where boat owners rent slips when visiting Turku) and ultimately came to Forum Marinum, a Maritime Museum with numerous exhibits and ships, including The Sigyn, a wooden-hulled, three-masted barque which sits in a floating dry dock.

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Turku Castle: Turku Castle sits at the mouth of River Aura. It is one of the largest surviving medieval buildings in Finland. Construction of the castle was begun in 1280. Since it was mid-week and out of the prime tourism season, we had the place to ourselves. The Castle is huge and is built primarily of stone and bricks with some parts subsequently covered with stucco and white-washed. After taking pictures of the impressive structure from the outside, we walked through the thick Castle walls (~5 meters or ~16 feet) through a narrow entry. There we were in a three-story tall enclosed area. Very impressive! After walking through this area, we proceeded through the Castle until we came into the courtyard of the Castle. Here we had to walk down stone stairs to reach ground level. Obviously, the central structure was highly fortified. Again, we stopped to take photographs of this beautiful area in the Castle complex. We subsequently left the Castle from the back of the courtyard area. Interestingly, we did come across what formerly was the moat of the castle.

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	The entry to Turku Castle
	Ed has passed through the Castle's massive walls
	Looking up at a wooden bridge connecting to massive stone buildings
	This area of the castle features an exterior wooden walkway
	Here you can see original stone walls as well as white-washed walls
	Looking down into the Castle's massive courtyard
	Lindy in the courtyard above but standing in front of the building we climbed into to photograph the courtyard
	The exit to the Castle shows how massive the entire structure is, especially when taken from its former moat

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Turku Cathedral: Turku Cathedral is located on Unikankare Mound, a short distance from the River Aura. It’s only about a ten minute walk from Centro Hotel. The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and is a national shrine. It was consecrated as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1300. The Cathedral is magnificent – both its exterior and interior. The side chapels were impressive as was the beautiful organ. We enjoyed spending a morning exploring here.

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	Turku Cathedral
	The lovely interior of the Cathedral
	The main altar in the Cathedral
	The huge organ of the Cathedral
	One of the beautiful stained glass windows in the Corpus Christie Chapel (also known as the Tavast Chapel)
	The Chapel of All Souls
	A cask located in The Chapel of All Souls dated 1644

Michael’s Church: We saw Michael’s Church (actually only its spire) from Vartiovuori Hill so we decided to try to locate it. Success! It is another beautiful Lutheran church constructed in neo-gothic style. The main spire rises 77 meters (~253 feet) from its foundation (the granite beneath its brick structure). Michael’s Church was consecrated in 1905 (108 years old). It is ornately decorated both inside and outside.

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	Michael's Church
	A close-up view of the Church entry
	The lovely interior of the Church
	The altar area with a pulpit and beautiful stained glass windows
	A view of Michael's Church from its side to show how massive a structure it is as well as its beautiful structure

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After two days of exploring in Turku, we returned to Helsinki via train. We spent our time there visiting with a good friend, Jukka. In addition to enjoying time at his home, Jukka arranged for us to visit the town of Porvoo, approximately 30 miles east of Helsinki. We did so by taking a popular day cruise there and back. We had a great time exploring its many old streets, squares and buildings. Molly, Jukka’s large puppy, proved to be quite the hit – both in transit and while we were at Porvoo.

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	Molly enjoying multiple pets (as well as being a lap dog)
	A full kitchen as we all prepare for a lovely dinner at Jukka's
	Lindy, Jukka & Molly getting ready to board the J.L. Runeberg to Porvoo
	A swinging bridge lets us leave the port area to proceed towards Porvoo
	Jukka & Molly enjoying a brisk ride to Porvoo
	The lovely views we enjoyed while passing numerous islands
	Porvoo's waterside warehouses with the old city behind
	A lovely pedway which leads us to Porvoo's city square
	The City Square
	The Cathedral of Porvoo
	The interior of the Cathedral
	Inside the Cathedral is a memorial to the maritime sailors of Porvoo
	Jukka & Molly taking a break outside the Cathedral
	Porvoo must definitely get a lot of snow given the pitch on the roof of this house as well as the ladders to access the roof to remove snow
	Porvoo's City Hall

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	The ferry used by pedestrians and cyclists to cross the River Aura
	The entry to the Forum Marinum
	The Sigyn in its floating dry dock