Weekend 2: Suomenlinna!

Suomenlinna is a fortress whose original name (Sveaborg) meant "Swedish Fortress" but now, for obvious reasons, it is called Suomenlinna instead ("Finnish Fortress"). It is the pre-eminent cultural attraction in Finland and the 2nd-most-often visited tourist attraction (after a water park - no joke).

A breezy 15-minute ferry ride takes me to Suomenlinna, where in the grand tradition of all my other travel experiences to date, I get lost. Suomenlinna is a collection of 5-6 islands (two original islands were bridged together some time ago) connected by narrow wooden bridges. Due to my poor sense of direction, I only actually made it to two of these islands, but according to the tour guide they were the most popular and interesting islands anyway so I'll leave it at that. (note: the tourist website says 8 islands but I stick with what the tour guide told me... :)

There are 850 permanent residents on these islands, as well as a plentiful supply of tourists during the non-dark months. As it is a popular picnicking destination, there were also crowds of university students arriving in small mobs laden with 12-packs of beer they don't have to bother carrying discreetly here -- public alcohol consumption is just fine!

Among the interesting bits of trivia I learned:

• The fortress wall was originally supposed to be 40 kilometers long and take only four years to complete, but 40 years (and eight kilometers) later they finally backed off of that plan. Turns out the rock is really really hard on Suomenlinna.
  
• The soldiers who were staffed to build the fortress wall had a tough life. They slept three to a mattress for warmth, with mattresses washed every six years and only replaced after 18 years. Needless to say, disease was a problem.
  
• Suomenlinna is now a UNESCO World Heritage site - hurray! One down, several hundred left to go...
  

Suomenlinna screams "picnic here!"

Some courtyard building were painted in bright colors while the fortress was under Russian possession...

The quintessential image of Suomenlinna is this helmet and sword which covers the tomb of the first commander of the fortress.