Our next stop was Helsinki, Finland. As a stark contrast to Russia, we were impressed by the clean, modern buildings and public transportation system. The first two shots were taken in Porvoo, a small, wooden structure town established in 1386. The red buildings along the waterfront are the original "salt houses" where food was preserved and stored. There were many quaint little shops and lots of cobblestones for walking. Our granny guide told us some interesting facts about this country of 5.6million people. Long ago they assessed their resources and concluded they had two: timber, as the country is 75% forested; and their brains. If they were to compete in the world marketplace they had to be educated. Therefore, by the age of 16 a child is expected to master four languages; Finish, Swedish, English and either French or German. Even more impressive was the fact that 36% of the population holds a master's degree or better. The main industries are ship building, where they construct most of the world's icebreakers, and Nokia phones.
The third picture was taken at a lovely farmhouse where we were treated to an excellent lunch. The last picture was taken at the open air market along the waterfront. Along with the gorgeous fruit and vegetables there were booths with locally made cloth good and the hats pictured. I'm sure this was not a PETA approved shopping site but they were beautiful. Also along the waterfront were some wooden frames--drying stations. Here in the late spring women meet at the water's edge and wash their rugs in the salt water. Then they leave them on the racks to dry. This tradition goes on and is a big social event when the weather improves.