I was too tired to watch the entertainment last night so I retired to bed at 10:20. The ladies on the other hand did go and thoroughly enjoyed Pete Mathews the juggler. Had I not felt so exhausted I would have gone too as I remember seeing him on the Constellation a few years back and he was very good then.
This morning we awoke to brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies as we sailed into our next port which was Helsinki. The weather has been so changeable on this cruise but so far on the whole it has always remained warm. Our arrival was an hour early this morning and our berth was right next to and large area where there were lots of digger’s and lorry’s moving hardcore from one area to another. In fact the whole area next to the port seemed to be one large building site with lots of new apartment blocks going up around it.
After some breakfast in the Tuscan Grille we made our way off the ship to explore, the fact that the ship didn’t seem to be offering too much in the way of tours did suggest there might not be a great to see.
So willing to give Helsinki the chance to prove us wrong the sprightly and the less sprightly purchased some HoHo bus tickets just outside the terminal shed for €25 each and set off to explore.
Helsinki is a very busy little city but seems to lack much of historic interest with the exception of things built for the 1952 summer Olympics.
After ⅔ of a circuit we got off at Senate Square for a wander, having seen many churches and cathedrals over the last week we decided to give the inside of Helsinki Cathedral a miss.
We did walk up to the Uspenski Russian Orthodox Cathedral which sits on a slight incline in the hope of a view but even that failed to provide anything worthwhile, it is also shut on Monday’s!
One of the HoHo bus stops was at the Olympic Stadium but even that was closed for refurbishment. So if you take away the Olympic items and religious buildings there isn’t really a great deal on offer.
Last resort was to find somewhere for a beer & coffees which is what we did and found a nice little bar overlooking the north harbour.
Eventually we decided to head back to the ship but not before having a stroll through the market square which was full of stalls selling a combination, vegetables and Helsinki souvenirs and mementos. Bit of a strange mix it you are a local out for your greens.
Sadly, Helsinki provided little for me to photograph today and what I have posted is not far from all of it.
We found ourselves back on board at 2:20 with seemingly most of the ship too so after a spot of lunch headed back to the cabin for a quick nap. All still feeling a little tired after the last couple of days activities.