Stockholm Palace

The final stop on our cruise before returning to Dover was Stockholm, Sweden. This picture is of the southern side of the Stockholm Palace. This is the official residence of the Swedish Royal Family.

The first building on this site was a 13th century fortress. This grew into a palace. Many renovations and rebuildings have occured over the centuries.

The palace has over 600 rooms. These include offices for the King and other members of the Royal Family.

Kadrioru Kunstimuuseum

This is the Kadrioru Kunstimuuseum or Kadriorg Art Museum. It was the Kadriorg Palace. When the Tzars ruled Russia and Estonia, this was a summer "cottage" for the Tzars.

Peter the Great built it for his wife Catherine. Their daughter, Elizabeth, enjoyed coming here. The upper flower garden behind the palace has been restored in 18th century style.

The palace itself now is home to the foreign art collection of the Art Museum of Estonia. I enjoyed our time visiting this historic building.

Tallinn Lower Town

This picture was taken from the Upper Town of Tallinn. It shows some of the roofs of the Lower Town. In the background, you can see the Norwegian Jewel and another cruise ship.

At one time, the Upper and Lower Towns were different cities. The Upper Town was populated mainly by the upper class. The Lower Town was populated by the workers.

There was a single road between the towns. If there was a dispute, one or another or both towns would barricade the road and prevent people from travelling between the towns. Now both are part of Tallinn.

Estonia

After spending a pleasant day in Finland, our ship sailed overnight to Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The population of this small nation is around 1.34 million. The capital and largest city has around 400,000 residents. This means that the although Tallinn is the capital, it has the charm of a large town or small city.

The national flag is in the picture atop the castle tower. It has a blue, black and white strip. We were told that the blue represents the sky. The black represent the earth. The white is for purity.

Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It had been under Soviet, German and then Soviet control again since 1939.

After gaining independence, aggressive reforms resulted in it being the most prosperous region of the former Soviet Union. It joined the European Union in 2004.

The White Church

This is the Helsinki Cathedral. It is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in the heart of Helsinki. It was finished in 1852.

It forms one side of the Senate Square. Tall steps lead from the square up to the church building. It is quite a climb.

The area around the church is not busy, but it is within walking distance of downtown and many shops. The day that we were there, an outdoor market was open a short distance away by the harbour.

The Rock Church

This picture is of the inside of the Rock Church or Rock Temple in Helsinki, Finland. This church is built into the side of a hill. It's walls are solid rock. I found it absolutely beautiful.

The name of the church is actually Temppeliaukio Church. It is a Lutheran church. It opened in 1969.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit this church every year. It is also frequency used for concerts.

Helsinki Olympic Stadium

From St. Petersburg, Russia, we sailed overnight to Helsinki, Finland. One of the first stops on our tour while there was the Olympic Stadium.

This stadium was built for the 1940 Olympics. However, these Olympics were cancelled. In 1952, the Olympics were finally hosted here.

It is still the largest stadium in Finland and is used for many sporting events and concerts. The 2005 World Championships in Athletics were held here. The tower is 72 meters (240 feet high).