Helsinki

We had a very nice day in Helsinki. Our tour did not leave until 3 hours after we arrived in port so we had a nice quiet and relaxing morning. I was on desk to watch them back the 950' long cruise ship into our berth - quite the parallel parking job!

We visited the Kalavala jewelry factory, which produces very unique jewelry with Finnish touch, followed by the famous Rock Church (a true underground church, carved 40' into bedrock), and the Senate Square with the Lutheran Cathedral.

Overall our tour went quite well and Mary picked out a nice Kalavala necklace. We got back on time which is more than can be said for the dozen busses that pulled in between 5:20 and 5:30, our scheduled departure time. Busses are supposed to have everyone back on board 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time so we'll sail for St. Petersburg a little late tonight.

Tonight was German night in the buffet so I had a nice helping of bratwurst, kielbasa, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes with Beck's beer. Delicious! They also had apple dumpling with vanilla sauce and amoretto pudding for dessert.

So it was a very good day.