We once again awoke to a calm sea and bright sunshine, the clocks had gone forward another hour last night meaning that as we arrived in Helsinki we were two hours in advance of the UK.
The city itself was a short shuttle bus journey from the ship and as we had not planned any organised tours we went off to explore the city on our own.
The first stop was the Market Square, here many brightly coloured stalls sold souvenirs ….
…fruit…
…and traditional Finnish foods, such as small fried fish like whitebait but from fresh water and of course, REINDEER.
This could be a good opportunity for a “Dead Deer” reference but I have to say that I was offered a free sample and it tasted delicious. Santa may be one reindeer short this Christmas!!
After the market we visited Helsinki’s two cathedrals, Uspenski Cathedral of Eastern Orthodox denomination and the Lutheran Cathedral. Can you spot which is which?
This gives a good view of the city from the Orthodox Cathedral, only spoiled by the two old codgers in the foreground.
The city of Helsinki is a nice compact place, the people are really helpful and friendly and all seem to speak really good English: a lovely city.
The sun stayed with us so we spent the late afternoon laying on the deck soaking up the rays, before changing ready for dinner.
Tomorrow we are in St Petersburg, (we loose another hour tonight) and we are having a canal trip in the evening. So expect a delay in tomorrow’s posting but I’ll be as prompt as I can!!
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