Day Sixty Nine Monday 26th September

Today a short ferry trip, just 15 minutes from the central Market Place in Helsinki to Suomenlinna, a Sea Fortress dating from 1748 on a cluster of four islands, and a World Heritage Site since 1991.

First we purchased 5 day travel passes to cover us for the rest of the week. All very civilised, they not only cover unlimited use of the metro, trams and buses, but also the ferry today. It was just as well we had them, because I was overconfident when boarding a tram from outside Central Station, (where we had just exchanged some Euros for Russian Roubles ready for tomorrow's adventure ) to take us the four stops to the Market Place, and we ended up going in the wrong direction and accidentally covering the rest of the figure of eight tour on the number 2/3 trams which we did some of last week! Good job we weren't in a hurry, but we did end up seeing a lot more of Helsinki! The mistake was quite understandable, honestly, but too complicated -and boring - to explain further here.

When we eventually arrived at the Market Square by the harbour, we followed Lonely Planet's instructions and bought stuff from the Old Market Hall for a picnic to take with us. Delicious smoked salmon and prawns to fill Ciabatta rolls. As we were by now past lunch time, and had just missed a ferry so had 40 minutes to wait for the next, we had our picnic there and then, hiding from the seagulls, who were hovering expectantly.

The weather has really brightened up, perfect for sitting outside on the ferry and enjoying the view of Helsinki from the sea. And the rather daunting sight of the enormous Silja Line and Viking Ferries, one on either side of the harbour, dwarfing the buildings in the background. (when we returned later in the afternoon, they were just on the move, and even more daunting as we passed very close to the Viking one in our little ferry)

The islands which make up Suomenlinna are rather like a big park incorporating the old buildings and fortifications. It is also a living community of 800 people , and there is a church, a school and a grocery store as well as a number of museums, cafes, restaurants and Craft Shops, and venues which can be used for weddings and corporate events. And it apparently has more than 800,000 visitors a year!

We followed the walking route along cobbled paths,through a tunnel and over a bridge, which runs the length of the three main islands, and then wandered over and around the fortifications and bunkers.around the original bastion fortress, and the artillery emplacements dating from the time of Russian rule in the 19th Century. There are views from cliffs into little coves and harbours, and a swimming beach.

It was a really good day out, and we returned to the campsite on foot, ferry, tram and metro, this time seamlessly and without incident!