August 31 , 2008
Written September 14
Dear Friends and Families,
We have recently become interested in the UNESCO "World Heritage" program. Some new friends talked about how they use it to guide where they travel and the side excursions they make while even on business trips. While I'm sure we've seen a few, maybe we'll start "a collection".
After the rush from the boat, we wandered around for several hours, saw the remains of the old town, the old stone buildings, the old guns, etc. The history of this place is integral to the history of Finland* and anyone interested in 18th and 19th Century European history needs to make a visit.
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In our few hours on the five islands, we touched each piece of the history. Most of what remains of the 18th and 19th centuries are the stone walls and military buildings. We strolled past the old guns and even an old submarine. We also walked above the huge dry dock and saw a few boats being worked on there and elsewhere on the islands. The church is still in service, both for religious services and as a lighthouse. Our pictures: |
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So, one World Heritage site down, about a thousand to go. This could get hard!
John and Marianne
Websites:
Suomenlinna:http://www.suomenlinna.fi/index.php?lang=eng
Package Tours:http://www.suomenlinnatours.com/frontpage
