CENTRAL EUROPE BLOG May 15th, 2026 - HELSINKI

 

5/15/26– We are finally here, our last full day on the trip. A moment of reflection crosses my mind, but not yet as there’s more to do today. First thing I do is check in for our flight for tomorrow. We booked through American Airlines but it’s coded through Finnair so our seats aren’t assigned. Luckily, I’m still able to find two aisle seats next to each other.

Shortly before noon we begin our walk toward the ferry dock. It’s twenty-five minutes with very cold wind blowing our way, but we manage to pass the time with a few sites along the route.

Once we get to the dock we find that the next ferry isn’t for another thirty minutes. No worries as there’s an outdoor food court here where we promptly order a basket of fried vendace, which is a Finnish delicacy featuring small freshwater whitefish coated in rye flour. Honestly, this is quite good and a perfect snack to start with.

We purchase our ferry ticket (3.50 Euro) and wait five minutes before we can board. This is tiny compared to the barge we took yesterday of course and only a twelve minute ride to Suomenlinna Island.

With no timetable set for today we casually follow others toward the sea fortress (from the 18th century). On the way we find the museum and gift shop but we prefer just to enjoy the walk around the grounds.

The outside of the fortress is battered by cold winds drifting from the bay, but as we duck into the place itself we find reprieve. Mostly, it looks completely abandoned and unsure if the buildings are still in use to some degree, but every now and then we come across a shipyard or a tunnel that’s interesting.

        

After spending about ninety minutes, we take the ferry back for our next location, Uspenski Cathdral. This Greek Orthodox cathedral was completed in 1868 and somewhat intricate on the inside, although not much space (despite the large ceiling). It cost 5 Euros and although it doesn’t seem worth the price it’s our last day so why not.

It’s now only 4pm but we feel like we’ve accomplished what we set out to do. With our last day in the books we gather a few more things from the grocery store on our way back to the AirBnb and get set for tomorrow’s plane ride home. Oh, and saw one of those robotic delivery carts today so that's cool.

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