There are some islands just off the coast of Helsinki called suomenlinna. Also known as the sea fortress. Was built in the mid to late 1700's by Sweden which controlled Finland. Sweden built it to help stop the Russians from going any further west. The fortress was hugely instrumental in the growth of Helsinki and the formation of Finland today. We spent the day roaming around the old fortress. Was quite impressive and really worth spending a day finding out about it. The liberation of the fortress in 1917 led directly to the formation of Finland. Was called the Gibraltar of the North and thought to be a very difficult fortress to take. The Russians managed to get it in 1809 and held it until 1917, but it is surpringly in good
Mike Rose
97 chapters
July 24, 2017
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Helsinki
There are some islands just off the coast of Helsinki called suomenlinna. Also known as the sea fortress. Was built in the mid to late 1700's by Sweden which controlled Finland. Sweden built it to help stop the Russians from going any further west. The fortress was hugely instrumental in the growth of Helsinki and the formation of Finland today. We spent the day roaming around the old fortress. Was quite impressive and really worth spending a day finding out about it. The liberation of the fortress in 1917 led directly to the formation of Finland. Was called the Gibraltar of the North and thought to be a very difficult fortress to take. The Russians managed to get it in 1809 and held it until 1917, but it is surpringly in good
condition (with a few touch ups) and has become a big tourist attraction. Despite a colder day we enjoyed a great day learning about the history of Finland. Was a good day that we finished off with a meal of good (expensive) Finnish food. Katelyn and I felt we accomplished a lot today even though we really only went to one place. Going to travel the city tomorrow to see what else makes this place so interesting!
1.
It all started with the first grey hair.........
2.
On the Road again.....
3.
Eataly and Old things......
4.
Culture Day
5.
The Medici Curse
6.
A Slanted View.......
7.
Lining up for David
8.
Holy Cannoli
9.
Exploring Paradise......
10.
Verona and Shakespeare......
11.
South to the home of Pizza and Mozzarella.....
12.
Sunday is not a slow day in Napoli...
13.
Pom Pom's for Pompeii
14.
Totally Different.....
15.
Hidden Gem of the Adriatic.....
16.
Kotor below the mountain.....
17.
King's Landing......
18.
Surf and Sun .......
19.
A Pleasant Day of Travel.........
20.
Rainy day in Croatia......
21.
Plitvice and Plum Brandy.......
22.
Whacked Crazy Day of Travel ......
23.
Fathers Day in Buda (with a) Pest.
24.
Relaxed Day in a Vibrant City.....
25.
Vienna the Good, the Bad, and the Lucky....
26.
Music and Mountains.....
27.
More of Magnificent Vienna...
28.
Day and Night in Prague.....
29.
Sunday in Prague.....
30.
Lots of Bones........
31.
Beer is Cheaper than Water......
32.
Perogies in Poland....
33.
A Sobering Day.......
34.
Happy Birthday Canada from Poland......
35.
A Few Days in Warsaw
36.
Shall we Gdansk.....
37.
Long Trip to Lithuania
38.
Vilnius in the Air and on the Ground...."
39.
Nida Break......
40.
Latvian Charm......
41.
Riga in the Rain....
42.
Estonian Excitement......
43.
Taking It Easy in Tallinn
44.
Pasty No More
45.
Hel(yeah)sinki
46.
Helsinki Highlights.....
47.
Sad Day as Katelyn Goes Home....
48.
To Russia With Love......
49.
Peterhof the Russian Versailles
50.
St. Petersburg Crazy........
51.
Moscow or Bust
52.
Moscow's Finest.......
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Moscow Winding Down...
54.
Gorky Park......
55.
Trans Siberian Railway........
56.
Baikal in the Rain.....
57.
Russia Ends, Mongolia Begins......
58.
Mongolia Camping Trip..........
59.
Busy Beijing
60.
Beijing and the Great Wall
61.
Great Wall Hike
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Great Wall Hike 2
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Back to Beijing and Summer Palace...
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Walk around Beijing
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Ancient City of Pingyao
66.
Warriors of Xi'an
67.
Panda-mania
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The Fun of Travelling
69.
Lijiang a Breathe of Fresh Air......
70.
Tiger Leaping Gorge-ous
71.
Stone Forest
72.
West Mountain of Kunming......
73.
Hot and Humid Guilin
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Rice, Rice, and More Rice......
75.
Terrific Tianmen Mountain.....
76.
Avatar Park in China.....
77.
Yellow Mountain in the Sky.....
78.
Tranquility in Chaos.......
79.
Modern Urban China
80.
Tibet or Bust
81.
Tibetan Temples and Taboos.....
82.
Treading in the Footsteps of the Dalai Lama...
83.
Tibetan Countryside......
84.
Everest
85.
Nepal Travel Hell........
86.
Trekking into the Top of the World.....
87.
Life Between Treks
88.
Annapurna Beauty
89.
Pokhara Relax Days
90.
Jungle Adventures
91.
End of Nepal
92.
To Thailand for Rest
93.
Beach Life
94.
Week on the Beach
95.
Christmas in Paradise
96.
Few days of Cool
97.
Fun in the Sun
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