{"id":4839,"date":"2025-08-09T13:07:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T17:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/?p=4839"},"modified":"2025-08-10T13:12:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T17:12:15","slug":"helsinki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/","title":{"rendered":"Helsinki"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Never had any cabin mates arrive last night; had a great night&#8217;s sleep.<\/p>\n<p>I met two cyclists yesterday as we waited to board the ferry to Helsinki. Unsurprisingly I ran into them this morning. As we disembarked, they mentioned I should see Suomenlinna, my intended destination anyway. I asked which direction to get there, and instead they led me directly &#8230; to a ferry. I rolled off the ferry to immediately board another! My cruise ship was still docked on the other side of the harbor.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4846\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,651\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rps20250809_195716747831995024608900.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900-300x191.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-4846 alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"651\" data-temp-aztec-id=\"0b5b3778-5a5c-409f-90a6-88483414f59b\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_195716747831995024608900-768x488.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Suomenlinna, a fortress constructed in 1748, played a critical role in multiple wars. It occupies eight islands (the main three now interconnected). Suomenlinna translates to &#8220;the castle of Finland&#8221; (formerly known as Sveaborg, or &#8220;castle of Sweden&#8221;), once hailed as the most heavily fortified fortress in Europe. In 1748, Sweden occupied the territory now known as Finland, when Finland eventually emerged as a back-and- forth between Russia, Sweden, and Germany.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4844\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"800,488\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989-300x183.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-4844 alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1939282912869759644148989-768x468.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4843\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1280,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-300x180.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-1024x614.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790.jpg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1937486288517400774047790-1200x720.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Suomenlina now houses a number of museums. including the remaining one (of five) submarine of Finland&#8217;s fleet.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4842\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1280,527\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-300x124.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-1024x422.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4842\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126.jpg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-300x124.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-1024x422.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-768x316.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1935274014794744458367126-1200x494.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In total there are over 8 km of walls.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4845\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-jpg\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1280,727\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287.jpg\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-300x170.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-1024x582.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-4845 alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287.jpg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-1024x582.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/rickpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/rps20250809_1942045405839037954810287-1200x682.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I spent the day there. After a late afternoon ferry ride back to Helsinki, I spent the evening wandering the streets, finding the usual street musicians, open-air markets, and even a food truck rodeo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Never had any cabin mates arrive last night; had a great night&#8217;s sleep. I met two cyclists yesterday as we waited to board the ferry to Helsinki. Unsurprisingly I ran into them this morning. As we disembarked, they mentioned I should see Suomenlinna, my intended destination anyway. I asked which direction to get there, and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/helsinki\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Helsinki&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-touring"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4839"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4858,"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4839\/revisions\/4858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irelandbybicycle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}