Monday 20th May Helsinki Finland

 We’re not sure how slow the ship sailed last night but when we awoke this morning, we had just docked in the port of Helsinki. Rob had said that the journey from Tallinn to Helsinki via the sea was not really a long one. Anyway after another hearty breakfast we set off for our next on shore excursion, Seurasaari Island, Finnish Traditions and Helsinki highlights. The first part of this excursion was a sight-seeing tour on the bus to see Helsinki’s landmarks, including the Senate Square, various cathedrals, beautiful old buildings dating back to the 19th century and of course Helsinki’s Olympic stadium from the 1952 Olympics. Finland has a population of around 5.1 million people but the population growth is slow with most families only having 1.3 children per couple. I had a little difficulty hearing what our guide told us, re the political history of Finland but I think that for 600 years, it was ruled by Sweden, then it became Finland and then in the early 1800’s it was taken over by Russia. In 1917, Finland became an independent democracy. Touring through the Baltic cities, we have seen many Ukrainian flags and blue and yellow flowers in support of the Ukraine and Helsinki was no exception.  Helsinki has a large ship-building industry and we saw three large ice-breaker new ships in the port. Our tour took us to Seurasaari Island, where we left the bus and went for a stroll around the island. The forest on the island was quite beautiful and in amongst the trees were 87 old Finnish buildings brought from all over the country. We enjoyed exploring the island and all the buildings along with a complimentary cinnamon scroll and coffee. On our return trip, Rob x2, Trudy and myself hopped off the bus so we could visit the local markets set up on the wharf. Here we could purchase a myriad of souvenirs as well as food. We did a little shopping and then walked to the nearby shuttle bus for the return trip to the ship. Again we were blessed with the most beautiful weather.  


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