2013 0803 – Helsinki: Awakened about 7:15 … was light out well after midnight and light this morning from earlier that 4:00 AM, when I awakened. Breakfast in the suite, which we will do daily. I went up to Deck 10 to take pictures of our approach to Helsinki. We docked about 10:30 and were lucky enough to be right at the heart of the city next to Market Square. Otherwise, we could have been from one to four miles away.
We have a book, Baltic Cruising, in the Thomas Cook line. While we have some Kindle stuff from Rick Steves, we found an actual book was much more helpful to cart around. They had a walking tour that they said would take 1.5 hours without stops. Well, with a very few stops, it took us four hours.
We started by the waterfront walking through the stalls in the open-air market in the square. Then up the street to the Uspenski Cathedral – Russian Orthodox, red-brick, cupolas, gorgeous inside and out. Then back downhill to the street and along the harbour of Halkolaituri with its wooden boats. Back toward the square and then up Aleksanterinkatu to Senatintori, a square that is dominated by the white Lutheran Cathedral. And while the Uspenski is ornate, this cathedral is plain with the focus on where the clergy speaks to the congregants. From there, we walked farther toward the Atheneum Museum … didn’t go in … and on to the RR station, through it (and it’s lovely), and away from the centre on a very long walk through Kaisaniemi Park and around a lake (Toolonlahti) before heading back to the main part of town, the Esplanade for window shopping, all the stalls in Market Square, and back to the ship very weary. The park was nice (albeit tiring) since there were no crowds. Just families enjoying a Saturday stroll or picnic. In town, it’s wall-to-wall tourists with several cruise ships all in at the same time.
The architecture here is wonderful. From Russian inspired to modern, it’s all here. We saw a good deal of the city and its buildings due to our walk. Really great. And the produce stalls in Market Square have really fresh berries and veggies as well as a fish stall or two. Lots of berries of all kinds this time of year.
Got back around 3:00 and collapsed until tea time at 4:00. All I had eaten since breakfast was a mango ice cream cone along the lake late in the afternoon, so both of us were hungry for the tea sandwiches, scones, and other goodies. Then we returned to the suite where Marian napped before dinner.
About 7:30, we went to the Grand Dining Room. It was jammed with people, but it holds 300 or so. Food and service were spot on. Executive Chef stopped by and also one of the dining room captains, who is from Portugal. Got a good story about his upbringing in an agricultural area of his country. And back to the suite. Sun set later as we lose another hour heading to Russia. Was still quite light at midnight.
We have a book, Baltic Cruising, in the Thomas Cook line. While we have some Kindle stuff from Rick Steves, we found an actual book was much more helpful to cart around. They had a walking tour that they said would take 1.5 hours without stops. Well, with a very few stops, it took us four hours.
We started by the waterfront walking through the stalls in the open-air market in the square. Then up the street to the Uspenski Cathedral – Russian Orthodox, red-brick, cupolas, gorgeous inside and out. Then back downhill to the street and along the harbour of Halkolaituri with its wooden boats. Back toward the square and then up Aleksanterinkatu to Senatintori, a square that is dominated by the white Lutheran Cathedral. And while the Uspenski is ornate, this cathedral is plain with the focus on where the clergy speaks to the congregants. From there, we walked farther toward the Atheneum Museum … didn’t go in … and on to the RR station, through it (and it’s lovely), and away from the centre on a very long walk through Kaisaniemi Park and around a lake (Toolonlahti) before heading back to the main part of town, the Esplanade for window shopping, all the stalls in Market Square, and back to the ship very weary. The park was nice (albeit tiring) since there were no crowds. Just families enjoying a Saturday stroll or picnic. In town, it’s wall-to-wall tourists with several cruise ships all in at the same time.
The architecture here is wonderful. From Russian inspired to modern, it’s all here. We saw a good deal of the city and its buildings due to our walk. Really great. And the produce stalls in Market Square have really fresh berries and veggies as well as a fish stall or two. Lots of berries of all kinds this time of year.
Got back around 3:00 and collapsed until tea time at 4:00. All I had eaten since breakfast was a mango ice cream cone along the lake late in the afternoon, so both of us were hungry for the tea sandwiches, scones, and other goodies. Then we returned to the suite where Marian napped before dinner.
About 7:30, we went to the Grand Dining Room. It was jammed with people, but it holds 300 or so. Food and service were spot on. Executive Chef stopped by and also one of the dining room captains, who is from Portugal. Got a good story about his upbringing in an agricultural area of his country. And back to the suite. Sun set later as we lose another hour heading to Russia. Was still quite light at midnight.
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