after suomenlinna, we wandered through the market square

and i bought a shot glass to add to my collection. we also walked over to the superseacat to buy our ticket to tallinn, which was 30 euros.

by this time, i was starving and would have eaten anything. we decided to head back to the roobert street to eat and sit on the sidewalk street with free wi-fi at the dtm bar. the dtm bar was having a dancing diva night with some drag queen hosting the event. while we were sitting there, they had scaffolding outside the entrance holding up a platform where they would dance and greet the crowd.

after spending a couple hours enjoying the street and adding content to the site, we decided to start walking around. i was falling asleep just sitting there.

we explored the shopping district and found our way back over to the lutheran cathedral, which was closed for viewing due to the concert happening in senate square. as we were walking behind the cathedral, we overheared an opera singer singing carmen.

we photographed some beautiful buildings behind the cathedral, and we turned a corner to enter senate square where numerous tents were set up for a beer garden and food vendors. the sound stage was set up with two big banners of a hippie chick and the words rock, rytmi, rakkaus, which means in finnish, rock, rhythm and peace. the square had a small gathering and people were sitting on the steps of the cathedral. we approached the stage where a band started playing. a female singer, who sounded much like dido, had a beautiful voice and the violins and violas sounded amazing. i recorded most of the song on my camera and posted it in the gallery here. it was such a great experience being in ths square and listening to the song. john and i are curious as to who was singing cause it was so good. she only sang one song and a jazz band started playing.

since we were going to meet katri later on and go out with her, we decided to drop off the bags at the hostel, which was very close to senate square. katri texted us and we went to the previous meeting spot near esplanade park. the park was also setup with a stage and food vendors. the flowers and statues where surrounded with metal fences in order to protect the landscape from the drunks that would later be in the park.

we met up with katri and walked to senate square where one of her friend was.

we met katri’s friend christina and they decided to find seats on the cathedral steps, which was very packed now. we had to climb over people to get to the top of the stairs where we found a place to sit.

when i first saw people sitting on the steps, i thought i wouldn’t sit on those stone stairs for anything. but, now, look where i am. regardless, it did provide a great view of the square and the concert, and it wasn’t as uncomfortable as i had initially thought.

katri and christina left to buy some food and beer. they were very generous to buy it without any compensation. when they returned, i inhaled the red curry with chicken. i was so hungry. the beer was a finnish lager and it was refreshing.

the concert was part of a city celebration of the arts. it just so happened that this year was the 40th anniversary of this festival, and famous finnish singers performed. during the entire concert, the tvs displayed events that were occurring during 1968 between singers. most of it was american culture such as martin luther king, vietnam, protests, etc. there was only one finnish event displayed. was nothing happening in finland in 1968?

the concert started and a funk band called Eternal Erection started playing. they sounded like a cover to george clinton and the parliament funkadelics. the lead singer was a fat guy in a white suit that reminded me of boss hog from the dukes of hazard. he only spoke and sung in english. they were decent, and after they finished, they screamed, we are eternal erection and we are huge!!

the rest of the concert was a stationary band with different singers performing. the majority of the songs were in english and even an american flag along with the finland flag was being waved. the songs were circa 1968, so we heard covers to the beatles, the who, tom jones, jimi hendrix, janis joplin, and many others.

despite the lights, sound, and energy, i was so exhausted that i was falling asleep on the stairs. i tried to stay awake but i was overcome with sleepiness. i didn’t want to completely fall asleep cause i imagined myself falling down the stairs. i was super close to walking back to the hostel, but being at the concert, sitting on the stairs overlooking a extremely packed senate square, seeing churches spires in the distance, and just knowing you are in finland at this great event kept me from leaving. also, the stairs are quite steep and filled with people, and i didn’t want to fall down them trying to walk down with my sleepiness.

after about an hour, the tiredness left me and i got a second wind, which is evident in the pictures cause i started taking pictures when i woke up.

the concert ended and most of the people had vacated the stairs. a guy was collecting the cans and bottles leftover by the people. katri commented that he receives 20 cents for one can, and it supports the recycling program in finland.

leaving the square was a push and shove contest, but we were soon out of the chaos and in search of a restroom. we found one at a cool bar called the groovy library. the place looked like a library with a huge global hanging from the ceiling. it was packed with people and i discovered what the guidebook meant by finnish people queueing up for the bar. there were several lines where people were waiting to order their drinks. it was a funny scene that would never happen in nyc.

we left to meet up with one of katri’s friends. the city was alive with people. it was so busy and the park was packed with a bunch of people drinking, laughing, and hanging out. after meeting up with katri’s friend, katri suggested heading up to a park next to the finlandia opera house where there was fire dancing.

like i said before, the city was alive and crazy. everyone was partying and having it large. it was amazing to see so many teenagers drunk on the sidewalk, and there wasn’t a presence of police anywhere, or at least, i didn’t see any. katri said they were dressed down and observing.

the park was filled with more people drinking and running around. the location was setup with lights and a stage playing music with some drunk kids dancing. according to the guide, the fire dancing happened over an hour ago, so we were bummed and decided to head over to a bar called storyville. storyville was packed and annoying so we went next door where a jazz band was playing. it was a huge place with a marble staircase and dark wood. the room upstairs was filled with people dancing to the music. we watched for a while and then headed out to find katri and her friend. they had ventured off somewhere.

after a few phone calls, we all met up at the bar downstairs and decided it was time to go home. we were all very tired.

we said our goodbyes to katri and her friends and rode the tram back to the eurohostel. katri was a wonderful hostess and we thoroughly enjoyed meet her and her friends.

tomorrow, we head to tallinn, estonia on the 10:30am superseacat boat. i can’t wait to see the old town.