We overslept this morning thanks to a one hour time change and had to eat breakfast in the cafeteria instead of the restaurant. We had just muscled our way to a table in time to hear the Cruise director announce that we would be docking in Helsinki an hour and a half early. Woo hoo! More time to play! We finished up and headed out to catch the shuttle bus downtown. We had arranged to meet a friend around 1 so we had plenty of time to wander about the city like real tourists before that happened. We wandered through the Market Square stalls (where I managed to lose my charity shop cardigan from my last trip to Scotland… grrr) and then up to the Cathedral – a beautiful but incredibly sparse building that reminded me of the severe Protestant churches we saw in Zurich.
Then it was time for some errands. We were looking for insoles for a pair of Frank’s shoes (he forgot to pack his orthotics) and nail clippers. We were also on the hunt for a Finnish national football jersey for my nephew. Multiple sporting goods stores were investigated and all we could find were English Premier League jerseys and Finnish basketball jerseys. And hockey equipment. Boy did we see hockey equipment.
We met Tuomas just after 1pm and wandered off to get lunch at a “traditional” (I don’t know if it deserves to be in quotes but just in case…) Finnish restaurant. I had pyttipanna which seems to me to be the Finnish version of hash – sausage, potatoes, and a fried egg on top. Frank had reindeer because it’s an animal he hadn’t eaten yet. And we had draft beer. Gluten free draft beer! Heaven!!! We chatted and caught up and ate and drank, then set out to see some sights.First stop, the top of the Torni hotel. Up twelve stories in the lift and then a spiral staircase to the 14th floor and we go to see wonderful views all over the city.
Then a slightly longer trek to the famous Temppeliaukio Church or Church in the Rock. On the way, we stopped at the Kamppi Chapel – an amazing wooden church that looks like a basket and is in the middle of a square in the city. The inside is plain and serene. No services are held there; it is just a place in the city for people to come and pray. It was the perfect place to light a candle for my mom (I’m sure she gets tired of just the Anglican candles).
Contrast the quiet serenity of the chapel with the tourist zoo that is the Church in the Rock. There were at least 3 tour groups from our ship alone in the church. As amazing as it is, URL it was impossible to be serene here. There were several signs admonishing silence but the noise level was tremendous. However it is a sight and a box that I wanted Frank to have checked.
We walked back across Helsinki through the screaming sunshine – who needs a cardigan? – and caught the ferry to Suomenlinna Sveaborg and the maritime fortress. Tuomas had been regaling us with some Finnish history – which seemed to boil down to “do the dirty work for Sweden” – throughout the day and continued as we walked all over the small set of islands which are a UNESCO world heritage site. The wind had picked up and it seemed fitting to have strong breezes blowing across the rocks at the edge of the island. 
I was a bit paranoid about getting back to the ship in time (did it say the last bus was 6:30 or 16:30?) but we made it in plenty of time. We said our goodbyes to our fabulous tour guide and promised to do the same when he’s in our neck of the woods next year. We even made it in time for dinner. A quick dip in the jacuzzi and a glass of rose to watch the sun set took all our remaining energy after covering 21,793 steps today. Now off to get some rest before taking on Tallinn tomorrow!
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