Today, our departure time from the ship was set for 11:30 a.m. to see the sights of Helsinki. The ship was still sailing through calm waters into port when we got up and dressed. We ate breakfast about 10 a.m. in the buffet, among a huge crowd of people. We ended up sitting outside since there were no more inside tables. It was sunny and in the 60s, pleasant weather. On the outdoor deck, we were greeted by a throng of aggressive seagulls continuously flying around, looking for bits of food. As soon as people would leave a table, the gulls would land to eat any food remaining on the plates.
Sometime before 11:30, we joined our 2400 other shipmates to leave the vessel. Most of them got into waiting tour buses, while we walked a ways to the nearest street to catch a city bus. The bus took us through the middle of town and beyond. We got off near the Rock Church, a circular church that was constructed by blasting it out of solid rock in 1969. We paid a small admission to go inside and look in the sanctuary. Underneath the church is a bomb shelter that holds 6000 people.
Then we went on Rick Steves’ walking tour of the city, seeing the Finlandia concert hall, the Esplanade shopping area, and the waterfront. We also stopped near the downtown central square for a coffee break in a coffee shop that was on the 2nd floor between a hotel and department store.
On the waterfront, we saw several different sightseeing and ferry boats, as well as the city hall, Swedish embassy, and the presidential palace.
We took two buses to return to the cruise terminal about 4:30. We had wanted to eat an early dinner then, since we hadn’t eaten lunch, but only one very small cafe was open on the ship and it had a huge line and no remaining tables. So we waited until 6:00 to get into the Windjammer buffet. We were the first ones and it never got really crowded. Most people probably went to the formal dinner that was scheduled in the regular dining room, but we hadn’t brought the formal clothes for that. So we enjoyed eating inside, with the ship just then pulling away from the pier.
Later, Gary and Halie went to a musical show featuring Broadway music, while the rest of us hung out in the cabins. We wanted to go to bed for an early start in the morning to see St Petersburg.
Lori's Travels 