Saturday, September 30, 2023
I thought I had set my alarm correctly. I didn’t. Just suddenly woke up with a start. We had a room service breakfast delivery at 7:00 and I was glad I was up before he arrived.
I looked outside and it was very foggy, and it was already raining. Not only would we be wearing all of our rain gear, I was bringing the large orange HAL golf umbrella that was in our closet.
The HAL tour title: A STROLL THROUGH HELSINKI
Tour description: Helsinki’s tree-lined avenues, graceful parks, and distinctive architecture make the city a wonderful venue for walking.
The coach will take you from the pier to Senate Square, where the Lutheran Church stands near the Senate Building, and the University boasts a neo-Classical style. Along the way you will see the formidable buildings that dominate Helsinki’s skyline — the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Finlandia Hall, the National Museum and Parliament House.
Begin your walking tour past the central railway station, Eliel Saarinen, to the National Theater and Sanoma Talo.
A cup of coffee or tea will be served with a pastry snack at a local cafe.
Walk up to the Töölö residential area and through Hesperia Park. Visit the famous Rock Church — a modern-day structure built, amazingly, entirely into bedrock and quarried stone. Your walking tour ends here and you will return to the pier by coach.
Notes: Guests who wish to stay in town to shop or explore on their own are welcome to do so, but must return to the ship on their own. Use of an audio headset (included) will enhance your tour experience. The walk covers approximately four miles. Wear comfortable walking shoes. It is a 400-yard walk uphill from the coach parking to the Rock Church. In the event that a special function is being held here, an inside visit will not be possible. Minimum age is 7 years.
We boarded the bus for our ride to the Senate Square. Once we exited the bus, the skies decided to open up and the wind started whipping. My umbrella turned inside out. I got it back together and held it like a shield in front of me against the blowing rain.
Our guide Christine was a very tiny woman so she had to hold the “follow me” sign as high as she could so we could spot her in the crowd. She didn’t have an umbrella.
We had ear pieces so we could hear her but with the wind blowing, I didn’t catch everything she said.
We walked through Esplanadi Park and she told us about Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a Finnish-Swedish author, national poet, and priest.
As we continued to walk, the rain eventually stopped, and the sun came out. It actually got warm for a while. Then the sun went back in, the wind picked up again, and it was chilly again. Just so unpredictable.
We walked through the Helsinki Central Station to get out of the rain for a bit.
We walked past the Ateneum Art Museum (one of three museums that form the Finnish National Gallery), the Helsinki Music Centre (home of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra), and the Natural History Museum (I liked the waving bear).
We had a coffee break at a visitor center/cafe next to the Equestrian Statue of Marshal Mannerheim.
We finished our tour at the Rock Church. It was beautiful inside, and it was going to close early because there was an evening wedding scheduled. We had about 30 minutes before we were to catch the bus back to the ship. We walked over to some of the small stores nearby and I bought a Christmas ornament. We sat on a park bench and people-watched until it was time to go.
I have to say that the rain today dampened my enthusiasm for this tour. Christine did the best she could to make it fun and informative, but I was glad when it was over. However, people I talked with who went to Helsinki after the rain stopped said they had a wonderful time.
Once we were back to the ship, I was happy to see that we had a note letting us know the clocks would be moved back one hour tonight.
I got a bag of laundry ready to send out – free laundry is my favorite Mariner perk that we have earned.
We sat on the balcony and watched all the boats – including some jet skis that kept chasing one of the car ferries and a couple of synchronized wind surfers.
Tonight, we decided to eat in the Lido again and go see the comedian at the World Stage. I thought he was very funny.
Afterwards, we spent some time in the Casino before calling it a night.
Travel Trivia
Finland
Finland is one of the best places to spot the Northern Lights.
Finnish law states that anyone living in or visiting Finland has the right to roam the countryside, forage mushrooms and berries, and enjoy the recreational use of natural areas, even on privately owned land.
Drinking eight cups of coffee per day would not be considered unusual in Finland.
Estimates put the number of saunas in Finland at around three million.
The games of Angry Birds, Snake, and Clash of Clans all originated in Finland.
The annual milk consumption per person in Finland is approximately 34 gallons.
Wife-carrying is a competition in which men have to carry their female teammate (traditionally their wives) and race against other competitors through a special obstacle track and the one who finishes first is declared the winner. The sport was first introduced in Sonkajärvi, Finland. Today, Sonkajärvi serves as the venue for the Wife Carrying World Championships. The winner receives a prize of beer worth the weight of his wife.
The longest known palindromic word is the 19-lettered saippuakivikauppias, which in Finnish means a lye (caustic soda) dealer.
Finland celebrates “The Day of Failure” on the 13th of October each year. The first such day was held in 2010 by Finnish university students. It soon became very popular and attracted big names in Finnish society. Today, many famous politicians, artists, media personalities, and others support the Day for Failure and share their own stories of failure and how they overcame the problems. The day is celebrated to allow people to open up about their problems in life and gather encouragement from society and others who have suffered similar fates but still managed to persevere.
Finland is home to one of the largest number of Heavy Metal bands, with 53 per 100 000 people.
Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki holds the distinction of being the northernmost capital city in Europe.
Helsinki includes the mainland located on the Gulf of Finland, but also covers 300 islands that are interconnected with many bridges.
The local government heats the granite slabs from underground during winter making the boulevards and sidewalks in central Helsinki completely snow-free.
Helsinki is also called ‘the white city of the north’ because of the number of white buildings that are built from the local light-colored granite.
The red squirrel is the symbol of the city of Helsinki, Finland.
You can find canned bear meat at the markets of Helsinki.
Helsinki has the highest cellphone-to-resident ratios in the world. Cell phone maker, Nokia, is based in Finland.