March 13 - Helsinki, Finland

Finland, the home of Santa Claus, 187 888 lakes, and the city of Helsinki, was now stretched out in front of me. So the first things to check out were the churches, starting with the largest orthodox church in Western Europe - the Uspenski Cathedral.


This however doesn't recieve quite as many awe-inspiring looks as the Lutheran cathedral,which was built as a tribute to the Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia and is to Helsinki what tartan is to Scotland.


But whilst like every other church in Europe, the battle for majestic sky-piercing splendor continues, there's the wickedly original Temppeliaukio (rock) Church which although from the outside looks like quite literally nothing, is a church built in a hole with rock. The roof is made up of 22km of copper wire and the rest of the structure I figure is failry self explanitory.


The afternoon was spent exploring one of Finland's 179,584 islands - one that had been completely converted into a zoo. Of course the irony is that in winter with the sea water frozen the term island is hardly applicable, so we'll just refer to it as a bubble on the landscape. It was almost a surreal experience seeing African camels grazing in the snow, and stepping past ice sculptures and into the doors of a massive tropical plant/animal atrium with the snowdrifts mounding up on the other side of the glass. However, there was something in particular that enticed my attention more than everything else - including the bit where the tiger knocked the camera out of my hand whilst taking this shot..


..and that was the snow leopards. So it was another childhood dream ticked off as I stood in awe watching this guy destroy a leg of meat. I was like a kid at legoland, or coming to think of it, I was like what I would be at legoland.


So after more exploration of quirky phone booths and gargoyle-adorned buildings, we headed back to our ship stopping off of course, at the pizza buffet resaurant and testing the carrying capacity of each of my trouser pockets (which for future reference is 3 slices). And watching the islands float past in a sea of ice as the ship steered towards Stockholm kept one's eyes eagerly satisfied while the rest of the body is screaming "get inside mate it's bloody cold out here".



I've always said that when you're traveling, the places you see, the people you meet, and the weird-branded toothpastes you taste all help to nurture an amazing experience, but the essence lies simply in the definition of the word travel itself: to go from one place to another. So standing on the 'sundeck' I watch the Baltic sea rolling away into the abyss created when the darkness of the infinite sky and the oceans perpetual shadow collide, and the freedom (apart from the fact you're confined to a boat and can't technically go anywhere), is unparalleled. And it at times like these, where I'm not anywhere or witnessing anything in particular except the definition of travel in action, that I feel most content.

And the fact you're totally alone with the openness (Because you're the only one mad enough to brave the wind-chill; they use 'Baltic' as an adjective for a reason), its like having your mind forced open, whether you like it or not.


Most of the photos in this album are geo-tagged so you'll be able to see the exact location of where they were taken on a map on the right hand side.

Helsinki, Finland