Day 2 : Suomenlinna

 Day two in Helsinki.  You really have to make the most of your day the sun is up around 9:30a and down by around 3:30p.  Today we took the Ferry over to Suomenlinna.  This place was built by France and Sweden to protect against Russia.  Its interesting because prior to them building the fort Helsinki wasn't much of a town from being attacked so much.  The building of the fort brought a bunch of money and work to the area.

The Ferry was about a 20 minute ride.  The wind was really blowing so the waves were very choppy but you couldn't tell on the boat. 

There were a bunch of canons on the island from different time periods.  The fort was used I think they said in about 3 wars.

The wind was blowing like crazy today.  It was a mix of snow, rain and sleet that would sting your face because of the crazy winds.  You were somewhat protected down next to the embarkments but if you wanted to get a nice view bundle up and dig in your heals so you don't blow away.

There was a mix of earth embankments and stone walls.  Watching the video on the island after getting a bit blown up one time they rebuilt using the earth embankments.  This next picture is the Hells gate that people could get in through.  The fortress was built on about 3 islands all connected with bridges.  This was the farthest facing the sea.

Im sure there is a significance to turtles.  But instead of concrete barriers to stop cars they had these concrete turtles everywhere. 

Finally there is this hippopotamus.  Or at least I think it looks like a hippo.  He almost seems like the city mascot.  Ive seen books and all kinds of stuff with him on it.  This particular time it was a light.  Another thing I noticed was large floor lanterns with real candles right outside a bunch of shops.  It almost looked like what you would decorate with instead of a Christmas tree.