Helsinki

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We arrived in Helsinki and headed to Market Square. I bought a key chain which I will hang on my Christmas tree as an ornament. The market has food booths and booths selling a variety of items. From the square we took a water bus to Suomenlinna. There is a fort on the island. The fort was founded in 1748. Construction began when Finland was still part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Finland was part of Sweden for 600 years. Then Russia took control of Finland. In 1918 Finland gained their independencE. We got off the water bus and headed to the information center where we signed up for a English walking tour. Our guide is a college age girl who grew up on the small island and her parents still live here. Our tour took us all over the island, mostly looking at the fort. There are also museums on the island but since we are only in Helsinki for a day we skipped these. The trails are cobblestones so it is not a good place to visit if you are disabled or have a hard time walking on the uneven stones. We ate lunch on the island then took the water bus back to Helsinki.

Helsinki is a walkable city so that is what we did. The downtown has lots of expensive shops like Louis Vuitton and lots of outdoor restaurants. Since it is cold most of the year the locals like to get out and enjoy the sun when they can. We visited the Helsinki Cathedral and Senate Square. The Cathedral has lots of steps to reach the entrance. A bride and groom were on the steps having their pictures taken. The Cathedral is large but plain inside. We also visited the Uspenski Cathedral, this is a Russian style church. The Cathedral looks large, maybe because it is on a hill but is small inside but with very high ceiling, unlike the Helsinki Cathedral it is opulent inside with lots of paintings and gold decorations.

Our ship is not docked at the city center so we take a shuttle back to the ship.

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