We met for a final farewell outside the hotel, though most of us were going on to Helsinki. The Finand group got on a bus that took us on a lengthy ride to the other side of Stockholm for the Silja Symphony cruise ship. Bodhi had anointed Karen to be in charge of getting tickets, which she did, and after a short wait we boarded the ship. It was a large ship, but after a little exploring we found our staterooms, which were on an upper deck, and they were quite comfortable. We left the dock at the scheduled time, I explored the stores on a lower level, and as Bodhi had suggested we watch the islands as we exited the archipelago, I went to the open upper deck and did just that. After an hour or so, we were still passing islands, though smaller and less congested that when we started, but there seemed to be no end in sight and it was getting a little chilly, so I decamped to my cabin for a while before going down to an enormous and delicious buffet for dinner. I was stuffed by the end of it, and after walking it off a little on the observation deck, retired to my room and packed it in.
When I got up the next morning we were approaching Helsinki, and I grabbed a quick breakfast before packing my things and waiting for the ship to moor. Once we were tied up, we disembarked and met on land where a taxi had been arranged to take our luggage to Hotel Haven. We walked from the ship to the hotel along the bay—only a short distance—and checked in. Once settled in, I began my walking tour, starting Kauppatori, an open air market at the head of the bay. From there I walked to the Lutheran cathedral, perched on a hill overlooking everything. Attractive inside, but as a Protestant church ie was less ornate than some of the Catholic churches elsewhere in Europe. From there it was on the the railroad station where I picked up my transit pass. A short walk to Mannerheimintie (the main street) got me to a tram stop where I took one to see the church in the rock. Not much to see from the outside, and there were lines waiting to get in, so I just did a circumnavigation and headed back to the tram, which brougnt me back to Mannerheimintie at Oopperatalo, the opera house. Wasn’t able to get inside, but the architecture was worth seeing. I walked south down Mannheimintie, passing a park, Finlandia Hall, the National Museum, Musiikkitalo, the Parliament building, the Museum of Contempory Art, and the Mannerheim statue, coming at last to the tram stop whence I got a tram back to Kauppatori. There was a band concert in progress, which I stayed for a while to listen, then returned to the hotel to relax a little. For dinner I took trams back to Carelia Restaurant near the opera house. An average meal. After dinner I caught a tram south, then walked to the train station and got on the metro for a stop and back to try it our. Clean and modern like the rest of Europe. From there it was back to the hotel by tram and the end of a busy day.
The last day in Helsinki started with a boat ride to Suomenlinna, a fortified island at the entrance to the harbor. I paid for a ride to the southern end of the island and walked back to the northern tip, where I was able to use my transit pass for the boat ride back. It was interesting to see the old fortifications and the town that had grown up to support the garrison. Rather than lunching on the island, I went back to Kauppatori and had lunch there as I had the previous day. In the afternoon I finally found a ATM in a bank on Aleksanterinkatu where I was able to get some more cash. Apparently paying by plastic is a big thing in Finland. My wallet again flush, I then went to the Ateneumin taidemuseo, the main art museum. It was interesting, but by no means as large as the one in Stockholm, nor was the collection as extensive, and dealt to a large extent, and understandably, with Finnish art and history. I then returned to the hotel for a rest, and later walked to supper at Strindberg Restaurant facing Esplanade Park. This proved to be a very fine restaurant. After finishing, I walked back to the hotel and tried to get some sleep, as my pickup in the morning was for 0300. (Ugh!)
Final thoughts. Helsinki was a delight, but even though it was on the expensive side, at least compared to Sweden, it’s a place I’d like to see again. The time I had there was all too short, and really didn’t allow me to see many of the things I would have liked to see. Three cheers for the Finns.