Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

02.03.11 – Day 3 with Kim and Dave in Helsinki We met up today around noon. Everyone, including me, needed a morning off to recuperate. Kim and Dave are getting over their jet lag, which Kim never seems to have too much problem with, and I needed some down time from having a blast. The night before we went out for a late dinner and drinks so the morning was a slow start for me

We had a busy afternoon visiting the Design Museum and Mikael Agricolan Kirkko before heading off to meet Max and Emma after school in Fazer’s downtown. We decided to split up after having some sweet pastries with the kids. Kim and Emma headed off for some shopping on Aleksantriankatu and Dave and I would take the ferry out to Suomenlinna. Max decided to bail rather than join Dave and I

Suomenlinna is an island fortress a short ferry ride from the main harbor in Helsinki. I thought Dave would appreciate the trip out there because the ferry ride is through the ice choked harbor and the combination of 19th century military structures and the contrast between the brightly colored buildings and white snow make for great photo ops. We also headed out around the same time the Silja Line departs for Stockholm so I knew the ship would be passing close by.

We made it out to the Southern most point just in time to see the huge Silja Line ferry pass by close enough to hit with snowballs. The ship passed by quickly but we spent some time climbing up on the fortress walls to watch it quickly navigate its way past several other small islands and make its way out to deep water before heading West for Stockholm. We had to be careful because the tops of the main fortress walls which we were standing on were covered in snow and if either one of us was to slip and fall… if the crash to the ice, a good 23 meters (75 feet) below, didn’t kill you, you would freeze to death in a matter of minutes.

We managed to live to tell the tale and met up with Kim at the hotel for dinner. I was more than happy that Kim could spend some time with Emma doing something they both enjoy, shopping, and it sounded like they had fun talking about all sorts of things. Kim’s the perfect aunt! Not saying there isn’t more than 1 perfect aunt

We decompressed in Kim’s hotel room watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes on her iPad. I headed home early to recharge for another fun-filled day ahead.

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