Helsinki, Finland

We docked early in the port at Helsinki. The port is very near the city. We can see a large city park from our verandah.  The weather is gray and threatening once again. 

Sibelius Memorial

Following breakfast we opted for an Hop-on Hop-off tour of the city. We drove through a part of the city center, past a church carved out of the local rock, noticed many areas where there are huge boulders emerging from the earth, saw the Sibelius Monument, the stadium built for the Olympics to be held right as most of the world was to enter 

Olympic Stadium

into World War II. It was postponed until the war was ended. The main concert hall, the Swedish theater and the opera were included in our drive. 

We left the bus at Market Square and enjoyed a stroll through the stands selling a variety of vegetables. Upinski Cathedral became our first goal. It is not a long walk. The church is built on a hill 

The Upinski Cathedral

which is the dome of a rock. It appears to be floating. Once the climb is completed, one enters an awe-inspiring space Finland has two state churches, the Orthodox and the Lutheran. 

Iconostasis in the Upinski Cathedral

This reflects its history in being conquered by the Swedes and then by the 
Russians. There is a statue in the square in front of the Lutheran Cathedral depicting Alexander II, Czar of Russia, one of the most kind of the rulers of Finland. It was he who was assassinated at the site upon which 

Czar Alexander

the Church on the Spilled Blood is built. His statue seems to be a convenient perch for one of the sea gulls.

The Lutheran Cathedral

Our stroll took us to the Lutheran Cathedral which is a majestic neoclassical building. There is a monumental staircase leading to the doors. After I had reached the top I discovered the church was closed from 11:45 until 12:20. I arrived at 11:45. I visited the bookshop and found no pictures of the interior so I concluded rightly or wrongly that the interior was not worth my waiting to see it. Our conclusion was that people really had to want to go to church to make the climb necessary to arrive at either the Orthodox or Lutheran cathedrals.

Laying cobblestones

We had a glimpse of the labor intensive project it is to set cobblestones. This street was being repaired. Pouring new concrete or laying tar would be a piece of cake compared to fixing each stone in place. It is probably a more durable surface, however. Finland has a lot of rock, so they maintain several historic streets with their original surfaces.

It was time for lunch. Craig wanted to try reindeer so we found an elegant restaurant on the esplanade which included this viand on its menu. I opted for a salad with smoked salmon. We then returned to a bus stop and finished our tour of the city arriving back at the ship by 2:30. A few drops of rain began falling as we returned to the ship. Otherwise the day was gray but dry. We will set sail for Stockholm about 5 PM and will gain back another hour.