Hello Helsinki!
Change of plans. The shore excursion we picked and paid for would have taken us to Suomenlinna Island Fortress and ended at Market Square in Helsinki. Unfortunately, not enough people signed up for this excursion so it was cancelled. Our money was cheerfully refunded. We were encouraged to pick another excursion. At this point some shore excursions were already full. We did find another we thought would work for us and purchased it as our second choice. It turned out to be great. It was called "Discover Helsinki".
Again we boarded a bus that drove us to our first stop, Sibelius Monument. These pictures are of the drive to the park.
This is Finlandia. It is a huge building that houses meeting space of small meetings to conferences. It also has venues for cultural arts performances.
This is the tower that the Olympic torch was on when they were held in Helsinki.
And we were at the park where Sibelius Monument is located. Sibelius is a famous composer. The monument is in a lovely wooded park.
Back on the bus for the ride to the Church of the Rock. This picture shows street sign on a building. They are in Finnish on the top and Swedish on the bottom.
The Church of the Rock is a Lutheran church. It opened in 1969 so it was the newest of all the churches we visited on this trip. It was built by excavating into the rock. It has excellent acoustics and is therefore also used for concerts. It is about 1/4 the size of the original plans.We hiked up a small hill to get to it and saw the back of it first.
We would go back down the hill, board the bus and drive through the city to Helsinki Cathedral. Our tour guide told us Helsinki is not as old as the other places we have visited. So the buildings will be a little different in architecture.
Helsinki Cathedral is the main Lutheran Cathedral for Helsinki. The church was built between 1830-1852. It was a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was known as St. Nicholas Church until Finland gained its independence in 1917. We told the organ was particularly beautiful. As good fortune would have it, at the end of our walk through the cathedral, the organist started to play just as I was taking pictures of the organ pipes. And, as further good fortune would have it, a vocalist started to sing with her playing. It was absolutely lovely and I got some of this on video. Helsinki Cathedral sits on the top of a hill and its white surface and green dome could be seen from the Breakaway. In front of the cathedral and down the steps in Senate Square which is cobblestone. In the center is a statue of Alexander II. Claude and I mused that he had a pigeon on his head. We lived in Maryland for 20 years and Claude worked in Washington, DC. Across from the White House was Farragut Park with a statue and the pigeons loved to sit on his head all the time as well. It is a worldwide thing for pigeons.
We would walk to Market Square from here. This is a little more down the hill and by the waterfront. When we got to the bottom of the hill and across the street from Market Square, I paused to take pictures of the entire area while Claude used the Post Office facilities. The first four pictures are of the Market Square area starting on my right side and panning around back to the Post Office which was behind me on my left. While in the Post Office, Claude found this interesting piece of artwork seen in the last picture.
We were given a time to hike back up the hill and meet our bus at Senate Square. Then we were set free to explore and shop at Market Square. Claude and I made our way to our right to see Amanda of the Sea or Havis Amanda.
One comment here about public transportation. Every one of these countries has lots of trams, buses and bicycles. These people really use public transportation.
After shopping at Market Square where we found some really nice things, we hiked back up the hill to Helsinki Cathedral and found our bus waiting for our return.
Time to return to the Breakaway.
We were very happy. This was a morning tour and one place we wanted to try on the ship is only open at lunch time. Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. We ate at one of these restaurants in Las Vegas and in Key West. Loved it both times. We were back in time to put our purchases in our stateroom and then hike up to the top deck where there were tables aplenty. We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the open air as the sides of this restaurant are open to the sea. So very nice.
Then we had quiet time to read and enjoy our balcony. We really made great use of the balcony. Claude was sitting across from me and decided he would take a selfie of the two of us with our Kindles on the balcony. I was very amused at his gyrations to get this accomplished. He did get one with his ear and across to me. This will suffice to remind me of that fun moment.
We also enjoyed watching one of those huge ferries exit all the buses and tractor trailers and cars that fill its belly to cross the Baltic Sea to other countries. The we watched as it filled up with all those things for the ride back across the Baltic Sea. As any ship leaves the harbor, they stir up water from the bottom with their propellers. The seagulls know there is a feast awaiting them when a ship leave and the come en masse to enjoy their yummy edibles. All the little white things you see in the second picture are seagulls.
As the Breakaway prepared to leave, the seagulls swarmed the aft of the ship.
As the Breakaway sailed away from Finland, I took these two pictures. The second is a pilot boat. when the channel has to be executed just so, a harbor captain comes aboard the Breakaway. He knows every little thing in that harbor. He will ride along side the Breakaway captain until we have cleared the island and potential hazards. This red boat will then come up close to the Breakaway and match its speed. The harbor captain will do to the disembarking deck on the Breakaway and jump into the harbor boat and be taken back to shore. I do believe that is one of the most dangerous things that happens when departing. Can't even imagine jumping into the boat as both vessels are moving in the water. The first time Claude and I were really aware of this happening was in Sitka, Alaska.
Dinner that night was in the Garden Cafe on Deck 15. It was Asian night. A huge ice sculpture of a dragon was the decoration at the buffet.
After dinner that evening we found this penguin on our bed. Cute. He looks like the godfather penguin to me.
Rest now for Stockholm, Sweden tomorrow. Last port of call.
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