It was about six in the morning and the sun was already bright in the sky. We were still out in the Baltic when the pilot boat dropped off our guide who would take us into Helsinki. Shortly afterwards we passed the little island where he was stationed. Then came the walls of Soumenlinna, an ancient fortress that guards the entrance to the harbor. Little did I know when I took these pictures that later that morning we would be walking across the little bridge shown below.

We passed the commercial harbor shown in the heading above and continued towards the city center. Now we could see the two cathedrals near the horizon and more clearly as we entered and turned around to dock. We were lucky to be so close to the market area, visible near the end of the harbor. It would be an easy stroll.

As we walked to the open market area, we came across this covered market, right next to the dock. It had fresh produce, meats, wonderful sandwiches, a cafe and an assortment of things-in-a-jar. Some of us bought snacks, some just drooled, and I bought a reindeer sausage to take home. Notice that they even take credit cards such as Visa, Master Card and A.X.

The open market has a lot to offer. There are stalls with fresh produce, knickknacks such as hats and souvenirs, as well as places to have a snack. All of the vendors knew some English; we could joke, but not barter with them. After all, we only bought a souvenir plate and ceramic bell (Sharon's collection). We would come back later for a light lunch.

We continued to the Uspenski Cathedral, a few hundred yards away. This magnificent church, with its golden crowned spires, is located on top of a knoll overlooking the harbor. To walk there requires climbing some steep steps. The church was built around 1865 in the Russian Orthodox style. It is now the seat of the Archdiocese of the Helsinki Orthodox Church.
This is contrary to what the flyer of the Regatta published.
The interior was beautiful with numerous icons and niches for prayer. There are gold layered motives, while the windows at the dome reflect sunlight as it pours in on days like we had today.

Six of us took the ferry across to the Soumenlinna Fortress. We were among many Finish people who came here for a day of relaxation, learning about their history and have some fun at the little beach (especially when the weather is as nice as what we experienced). So did these cuties with their typical Finish head scarf. Too bad only their mom (who said Ok when asked about taken this photo) spoke English.

We signed up for an English spoken tour of the fortress. While waiting, Sharon pointed out where we were on this photographic map. That's when I recognized the little bridge that I had seen when our ship entered the harbor. Soumenlinna really consists of a couple of islands that were selected by the Swedes as far back as 1550 as a defensive position and a trade center that could compete with Tallinn in the Baltic trade. Later it served as a major support center for the wars against Russia; hence the series of walls and ramparts we saw.

Our tour guide was enthusiastic, informative and had a nice command of English, but he knew too much (or at least wanted to express it that way). He told us about the geology, history, and people who lived on these islands, and we learned a lot. But we also wanted to get on and see the rest. This was supposed have been a one hour tour, but after more than an hour we were still not where I had seen the main defensive walls along the shore. Sorry, but I would suggest that you see the islands on your own and use the nice map provided. The blue line is the suggested route; we only got to the little lake shown in the green area.

That's when my troubles started. I was not very well prepared for Helsinki. I had not done my homework about this city. But also I was using a borrowed camera. Mine had to be repaired two weeks before we left on this cruise and the loaner I got (free, thanks to the nice man at the camera repair place in Oakland) was not what I was used to. I had no battery charger and I cannot thank our fellow passenger Richard enough for letting me borrow his for several day. However, due to my ignorance, several of my pictures turned out over-exposed.

When we returned from Soumenlinna, we stopped at the market place for a snack lunch. It was time for a ride on the 3T tram and visit the Rock Church. Here I screwed up again. When we got on the tram, I thought we were going in a counter-clockwise direction and that we had to go all the way around to finally get off near the Rock Church. That, of course, was wrong as some nice locals told us. So, we ended up near the train station and walked to this famous church. It was impressive. The round interior is hewn out of solid granite and the roof is a giant coil of copper with slanted windows to let in the light.

We took the 3B tram back to Senate Square where we climbed the tall steps to see the inside of the Cathedral. As we stood on top, we could barely see the stack of the Regatta to the left and the street that we would take to get back to the ship straight in front of us. It was an easy walk to our home away from home.

Our plans for St Petersburg would improve. We would be there for three days with a private guide to show us around. Our first day was to be at Peterhof.