This is the National Lutheran Cathedral. 90% of Finns are members of the Lutheran church , one of two national churches. The other church is the Finnish Orthodox Church with only 1 % of a population of 5 million people.
The government levies a 1% income tax to support the national churchs However, anyone can fill out a form to opt out of this tax. But people need to think twice. If they opt out, they cannot have their family take part in baptisms, confirmations or funeral services. In the world of computers, it is easy to check.
This is the Uspenski Cathedral , the home of the Finnish Orthodox church.
This is the inside of the Uspenski Cathedral.
Everywhere I looked people were sitting on the grass or park benches or even church steps to take in the sun. I was cold even with a sweater while many people were in tee shirts and shorts. The temperature was 60 degrees!
There are only three months of good weather - June, July, August, or so my colleague told me. Winter can be six months long, 20 degrees below zero, with three feet of snow piled on the streets and with only 5 hours of daylight every day ( 9am to 2 pm).
English is the third most popular language. Incredibly, Somali is the fourth most spoken laguage due to the large number of Somalis taken in by Finland under political asylum.
The summer market down by the harbor opens in June and continues through August . It is popular with visitors and natives alike. The number one visitor these days is the Chinese followed closely by the Japanese . They come mostly to go up north to Lapland and see the land of the midnight sun.
Actual Conversation
"Say, give me one of those great looking hot dogs and a coke , please "
"You know they are made from raindeer meat, don't you ?"
"Say, just give me a coke , please " (Christmas would never have been the same )
The harbor area .
Things are not well in Gotham! Or Helsinki. Nor here at the Parliament . There are massive protests and backlash about Finland being a member of the EU which it joined relatively . The country is witnessing cut backs in benefits and increases in taxes . Why ? Because Greece is experiencing a financial meltdown and all EU members must help out. Finns who are incredibly conservative in their national and personal spending are experiencing one of the downsides to the EU.
An ultra right party, anti- immigrant and anti-EU, is gaining a lot of supporters and has just won the majority of votes in the most recent elections .
Gypsies, called "Roma" in most of Europe (based on their base in Romania) have become a big problem for the Finns who had never had beggars on the street corners and now they seem to be everywhere. The EU grants free entry to citizens of all EU countries. However, Denmark, Norway and Finland are considering imposing restrictions regardless of the EU charter.
Finland still gives a warm welcome to all . The main train station, designed by one of their award winning architects, is a hub of activity .
The electric tram (trollys) are the main form of public transportation and can get you anywhere in the city. During non-rush hours, the city provides entertainment in the form of folk or rock singing and in poetry recitals. Offices or businesses can hire a tram for a happy hour. Now if only the New York subway would do similar things.
This is one of many parks near or along side Helinkis main streets.
The Scandi Marski Hotel. The staff was great and could not have been nicer but the Marski was my least favorite hotel. The room was postage stamp size, shampoo and soap came from dispensers on the wall, the door opened "the wrong way" , there was no coffee or hotwater pot in the room and when I asked for an iron, I was told to go to the central ironing room on the third floor. Okay, maybe I am a little spoiled …
A lovely building ( a modern art mueum ) in a lovely city
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