On the afternoon of the fifth day, we walked through Stockholm for the last time, and made our way to the port to board a ship to Finland.

We boarded in the early afternoon and set sail over the Baltic sea, winding a path through the small, mostly uninhabited islands that are dotted though out the fjord.

Gulls and Cormorantshave largely taken up residence on the smaller islands.

The landscape changed as we wound our way though the fjord, and came to the open sea. Making our way north east towards Finnish waters. The sun low in the sky, as golden hour approached.

The golden sun set below the horizon and as we slept we continued on to Helsinki.
The Next morning we had docked in Helsinki so we went straight to the hotel, dropped out bags of, grabbed our cameras and went out into the city to get our bearings.

It was my second time in Helsinki so I had a rough idea of the layout of the city and a good idea of places I wanted to shoot. We grabbed some food and made a rough plan of places to go the next day.

We set out early the next day and headed into the city once again. Stopping to take photos occasionally.

We walked through Kruununhaka in the center of Helsinki, passing the stunning and bold cathedral.

The Chapel of silence or (Kamppi Chapel) in the Narinkka Square centeral Helsinki is stunning in its size and simplicity. Intended to be a place to calm down and have a moment of silence in one of the busiest areas in Finland.

After the chapel of silence wen kept the religious theme and made our way to another church. Temppeliaukio Church, also known as The Church of the Rock. A marvel of architecture, The whole thing carved straight out of the bedrock, with a huge Copper dome as a ceiling surrounded by an enormous circular skylight so the whole church, despite being in the rock, is bathed in natural sun light.

From there we went into the city and to the Magnum Ice cream shop to get a hand made custom ice cream!

As you enter you are handed a ice cream stick, you choose your base ice cream flavor and your chocolate topping, then choose from a huge selection of toppings. And they make it right in front of you. Amazing.

The next day we got on another boat and went to Suomenlinna, an 18th century sea fortress, built on 6 small islands that now form part of the City of Helsinki. It was built in the late 17th century to protect against Russian expansionism. Rich with History, the fortress is largely as it was back then.

It was a beautiful day and the seascapes where stunning from Suomenlinna.

Later that afternoon we got back in to the city, and went to a traditional Finnish/Lappish restaurant Lappi Ravintola. The food was incredible, traditional Lappish food at its best.

Elk steak, Reindeer sausage and roast reindeer with winter vegetables.

After we had eaten we went back towards the hotel and stopped for a couple of hours in the dark, by the port to get some long exposure shots. It was the perfect end to our travels and a good way to say good bye to Scandinavia.