In the winter, the Baltic Sea is frozen. You can actually walk on the surface, or go cross-country skiing, or dig a hole through the ice to try catch some fish. In the spring, the landscape is that of an immense expanse of freezing water, with hundreds of small islands inhabited with small wooden houses, often of a deep red color. There are perhaps 2000 islands off the coast of Finland, and 315 islands in the bay of Helsinki alone.

Today is April 18, 2014. We are back from our charming escapade to Porvoo, and it is the latter part of the afternoon. We decide to take the shuttle boat to go visit the Suomenlinna islands under the sun set. The 4 islands of Suomenlinna are classified as part of Unesco’s World Heritage. Once there, it will not take us long to find out why.

The 15-minute boat ride passes by small islands in the bay, some of which host charming red wooden houses, an authentic symbol of the Nordic countries, and which we spotted yesterday from the Observatory hill (see our 1^st post from Helsinki).

A little bit of history

In 1758 the Swedes built a fortress on Suomenlinna in order to protect the bay of Helsinki. The military architecture which has taken over these fortress islands is unique, with many blockhouses everywhere, all connected to each other through underground pathways. Underneath our steps, lies a huge underground maze, dark, damp and mysterious.

The decommissioned military barracks have been retrofitted into houses or workshops. There is a shipyard where a nice collection of old boats are being renovated.

Huge cannons directed at the sea remind us of the mission of defense assigned to the Suomenlinna islands, even though the Russians defeated the Swedes rather easily in 1808 and then seized Helsinki and most of current Finland… As it turned out, Suomenlinna’s defensive block was not as effective as hoped.

A church light-house

In the center of the main island, you can admire a rather unusual structure: a church which is also a light-house at the same time. A smart combination, you might say, although a bit unexpected! There are only 5 such buildings in the world.

Nowadays, about one thousand people live on the islands which have become a district and an integral part of Helsinki.

Strolling around the Suomenlinna Islands is quite pleasant. The atmosphere is serene, in spite of the big cannons. Walkways follow the shore and offer great viewpoints where you can gaze far out in the horizon. A few families and groups of friends have come for a dinner picnic to enjoy the first sunny evenings of the spring. The air is pure, the sea looks mysterious as the sun is slowly setting down.

In our next post, we will talk a little bit more about the wonderful Baltic experience, more specifically with our report of the crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia.