August 6, 2014
Suomennlina, the six-island historic fortress network of Helsinki
We took a short boat trip to Suomenlinna, a six-island historic fortress network yesterday. The massive walls and buildings have been the nest of Finnish National independence and the birthplace of Finnish national pride and consciousness. Today, it is a pupular tourist attraction and picnic park.
Of course, I took Agyag along, who was happily trotting off leash among the tourist, wagging her curly tail for a pat or a short cuddling. She is not your typical farm dog. She is my farm dog… and like all my dogs and animals, she is friendly, affectionate and confident wherever she goes.
We also sampled some excellent food and brew when taking some breaks. Agyag tried to hypnotize every bite out of our mouths. Sorry dog not today…
say “yuusto…” I mean “cheese…”
one of the garrison buildings from the past… massive structures to withstand the time of history
Rules are pretty relaxed around here… do you recall the signs back in the U.S.? “No shirt, No shoes, No service…” by the way, I think these people were not even tourists. They probably were the park rangers for the historic site in their summer uniform…
a watering hole in sight for some refreshments (cool tables…)
a WWII submarine built in the 1930’s. This tiny thing would be in trouble running into Spilberg’s great white shark from “Jaws”
The Three Graces and Cyndarella
Ok, if we keep eating with the same rate as we do and keep having as much fun as we do, in a few days, I have to post this photo as us, “The Three Graces…” (this is not in Helsinki I posted it for illustration only. The artist is Niki de Saint Phalle of France and the title is “The Three Graces”…)
Agyag is controlling traffic at the market. Once in a while she gives a dirty look at some people to extort food out of them…
The walls of the fortress from the sea
The modern day Viking raid. Anyone can participate while dining, wining and having a good time (soon we depart to Stockholm Sweden on one of these vessels)
Welcome to the Scandinavian Welfare System. Even the mime is painted gold instead of the usual white or silver. Life is good over here…
After the long day of island hopping we were happy to escape back to our hotel from the heat.