Like Paavo Nurmi, we set off to see the sights of Helsinki. Took the tram to the north edge of the city, and basically walked back home past all the significant sites. Started with the Olympic Games precinct including the Olympic Stadium with its huge column, the gymnastics and weightlifting centre, the outdoor swimming stadium where all 11(!) swimming events were contested, and the warm up arenas.
Bit of a detour to see the Sibelius monument, then the Opera House and Finlandia (concert) Hall. Hiked up the hill to the unique Temppeliaukio (Rock) church hewn out of one of the many rocky outcrops that dot the city. Beautiful inside, and pretty much hidden from outside, kind of like Coober Pedy's church but in a rock setting.
Down past the parliament to the market square. Thought that this would be good place for lunch, but there was nothing there on a Sunday arvo. After some kebabs up the road, we dodged a large number of very cold scouts doing some kind of parade around the city, and went into the Senate Square Cathedral (Lutheran). It was good to see a plain church for once, although it had an impressive organ. Past City Hall and the President's Palace to Uspenski (Orthodox) Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed (on a Sunday!) so we had to give it a miss. Back to the hostel via the wharf area to have another look at the ferries.
The hostel is really a cheap hotel with about 150 rooms. It is full of permanent students and travelers waiting for a ferry. They don't really look after it, so its noisy, smelly and smokey, and the kitchens dirty, but the one redeeming feature is the hot air hand dryers which play ambient bird noises when not being used.
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