Greetings everyone. Today we are in Helsinki, Finland. We have been having trouble catching up on the blog because we have been so busy with port days.
We are doing well. We had two fantastic days yesterday and the day before in St Petersburg, Russia. The two sunny days in a row was rare because they normally only have 65 sunny days a year in St Petersburg, at least that is what our guides had told us. The tour was great with the company we used was called Best Guides. It was just two long and tiring days because the tours started at 8:00 AM both days and ended at 6:00 PM the first day and at 5:30 PM the next day.
Tram Number 7
It was a little bit foggy this morning when we woke up in port in Helsinki and we were not able to get going as quickly as we had planned because we were just so tired from the two previous days in St Petersburg. We had set a wake up call for 6:00 AM, but we struggled to get up by 6:30 AM and get our showers and get ready to go. However we were only about 35 minutes late getting off the ship after they opened up the gangways at 7:00 AM.
We could see the tram station from our balcony and pre-purchased our 24 hour Transportation tickets on our cell phone before we left wi-fi coverage on the ship. We had downloaded the Helsinki Transportation app before we left home and had entered in all of the information, such as our credit card for payment, and it literally took three clicks within the app and we had our electronic 24 hour tickets purchased.
Tram Stop Near The Helsinki Cathedral
We needed to board tram number 7 for the ride into town, and did not have to wait long since the trams run every 10 minutes. Then it took about 10 more minutes for us to get to our stop at the Market Square, which is conveniently located next to several of the sights we wanted to see today, including the market and the Helsinki Cathedral.
Unfortunately, nothing was open yet, so we decided to take the ferry over to an island called Suomenlinna, which was an old military fort. There are quite a few people who live on the island now, and it is also a world Heritage site, but most of the island is dedicated to the preservation the remnants of the old fort and military facilities, built in the 1750’s.
Suomenlinna Island
It was a nice place to walk around, but the fog never really lifted, and it was mostly cloudy skies for pictures. We walked all the way to the end of the island, which is where the old fort is located. We stopped along the way and took photos with the tripod so that we could both be in them. It was a nice view, but still a little foggy and overcast. We were at Suomenlinna for about 2.5 hours, and then took the ferry back to Helsinki.
Uspenski Cathedral – Eastern Orthodox Church
We departed the ferry back at the Market Square, and then walked to the nearby Uspenski Cathedral, an Eastern Orthodox Church, which sits on a hill near the market. It was fairly crowded there, but we eventually got inside and were able to take some photos, unlike the Orthodox church we visited yesterday in St. Petersburg, where no photos were allowed. It was nice inside, certainly not extravagant, but still pretty. From there, we walked to the nearby Tram 2 stop for the ride to the Temppeliaukio Church, also known as the Rock Church, about 15 minutes away by Tram
The Temppeliaukio Church
It was about a 12 minute tram ride over to the Rock Church, a church carved out of solid rock. We barely made it into the church, they were closing early for a private celebration, and we were only able to be inside for about 15 minutes, which was long enough to see everything. It was nice, but not as impressive as we had thought it would be, some of the walls were actually built up with stone near the roofline, so it was less “carved out” than we had anticipated. It is one of the more famous sights here, but nothing we will ever need to see again. We were just glad we had beaten the unexpected closure time because we would not have had sufficient time to get there visit it later with an all aboard time of 3:30 PM today. There was a steady stream of tour buses still arriving, and they were all being turned away, due to the apparently not so well communicated special event closure time.
The Market
We took the tram back to the Market Square to look through the many tents and temporary enclosures set up by the vendors. There were several vendors cooking food, which seemed to be all fish dishes, most of it smoked, and not something we eat. There were also quite a few fruit and vegetable vendors, and the rest, probably more than half of the vendors there, were selling various types of Finnish souvenirs, and of course, we purchased one small item.
We then headed to the Helsinki Cathedral, a Lutheran Church Church at the top of a very steep and long set of stairs. We opted to only photograph it from the outside after reading in our guide book that it was not decorated inside, but really plain.
Afterward, we took the Tram back to the ship, arriving back at about 2:00 PM and ready for some lunch. However, first, we (well really Stephanie) had to look through all of the shops inside the port terminal. Finally, we made it back to the cabin and dropped of our gear before heading to a late lunch. We ate lunch at the the outdoor grill, both having cheeseburgers and fries. We visited with one of our favorite bartenders, Nemo, at the Mermaid bar while we were eating there, enjoying a couple of very cold beers.
Leaving Helsinki
Since we were back on the ship a little early, we decided to do some laundry, hoping to beat the crowds that we had seen in the laundry the first time. We needed some whites washed just to try and stay ahead of the dirty clothes piles. We headed to Vines Wine Bar while the laundry was washing, and then also while it was drying. Well, I stayed at Vines and Stephanie handled the wash. The laundromat is just too small inside for both of us to go together……
We watched the ship leave Helsinki from the upper pool deck. By this time, there was a little more sunshine, but it was still cool outside. It had been a nice day in Helsinki, but we wish it had been a little sunnier and warmer earlier in the day.
After the sail away, we headed to the buffet for some dinner, and afterward, headed up to the Crooner’s Bar for a couple of refreshments before turning in for the night.
Have you entered anything on Russia? Couldn’t find it. Mom