Day 12-  Helsinki Finland

Sunny but cool day

Helsinki Main Harbour - Market Square

Helsinki port proved to be a very low key day. The weather was sunny but cool and we planned a short tour of the harbour and waterways around the city. We enjoyed a quick breakfast in the Michelangelo dinning room where they served a sit down breakfast. It seemed quite civilized after many mornings in the buffet lines of the Horizon Cafe. Our 9:45 departure allowed us this luxury.

We took a bus to the ferry terminal, which was not really very far away, and boarded the ferry style cruise boat along with Bruce and Alison. In the one and half hours that we were out we saw many small islands and residences, military camps, industrial areas and recreational areas for the local residents. I had previously been unaware of the maritime nature of this city. The air was cooler than before and the breeze made if a bit worse for some of the tour. We stopped in the town square or Market Square where there is a permanent market. We walked through the market and acquired some gifts made by local folks. Freddi decided to take a walk to some local sites but 4 of us returned to the ship with the tour bus. The day seemed pretty anticlimactic aft our busy 2 days in St. Petersburg. In addition I had a few month end and new contract tasks that needed to be attended to. In the afternoon I worked on the computer and listened to some music. It was very relaxing and the time flew by.

Suana for a small cottage along the way......

That evening we had a group reservation at Sabatini's to celebrate Paul's significant birthday. He organized the evening but we, unbeknownst to him, organized the birthday cake. To our surprise the Creek people were in the same dining room. That made for an evening of hanky-panky where short intrusions happen in both directions. John confirmed the time of the final challenges for the CanAm games which were now scheduled for Saturday. The dinner was great with a feed of lobster and fine Italian appies as the treat of the day for me. Paul ordered the striped bass and much to his surprise it turned out to be a full fish cooked in a crusted pastry. It was delicious but it's head and tail caused some concern around the table. Later on we presented Paul with his cake and the manager cut it up into 21 pieces so we could share it with the Creek people. It was a very fun evening. Lucy went to the show and out for drinks with some of the gang. I crashed after dinner as I had been up early in the morning and found myself very tired at the end of the day. A good but low key day. Helsinki did not make a strong impression on me as we really did not get too involved in the culture of the city.