July 13th, 2016 - Helsinki, Finland

Good morning from Helsinki, Finland! Today, was a more relaxe- pace day compared to the last two marathon days in Russia.

Our first stop for the day was to the City Center to check out the Town Square, Lutheran cathedral, and to do a little shopping at the coastal market. Zeb and I enjoyed being able to go at our own pace checking out all three of these areas and picking up some cool art and photography work from the locals.

After our visit to the Town Square, we were off to Porvoo, Finland, one of the six medieval towns in Finland which is about 45 minutes slightly Northeast of Helsinki. Here, we enjoyed free time to ourselves wandering around the town taking pictures and doing a little shopping.

Our main activity for today was a visit to a rural horse farm and riding school. We enjoyed a wonderful home cooked Finnish lunch with a delicious dessert while enjoying the garden. After lunch, we were shown the grounds, horses, and stables. This by far was the highlight of the day because it was such a relaxed and carefree visit out to the rural farms of Finland. Zeb likes to make many comparisons to Nebraska and the area we were visiting.

Our last visit for the day was Temppeliaukio Church, also known as, Church of the Rock or Rock Church. Temppeliaukio Church was opened in 1969 and the interior was excavated and built directly out of solid rock and is bathed in natural light which enters through the skylight surrounding the center copper dome. The church is used frequently as a concert venue due to its excellent acoustics. The acoustic quality is created by the rough, virtually unworked rock surfaces.

All in all, we greatly enjoyed Finland and the relaxed atmosphere of our tour. Finland was a gorgeous country with lots of trees and beautiful views. We have concluded that Finland is a place we would like to return to in the future to explore independently.