Pre-view of Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland: Luckily, my weather prediction from last night proved wrong. So wrong! We arrived in Helsinki early this morning under sunny skies (with the Crystal Symphony following) and we had perfect weather all day. There were a few dark clouds lurking about, but they never covered the sun for more than a few minutes. The Finns were out in sleeveless shirts!

As many of you may know, at the end of our cruise, DT and I are flying back to Helsinki for the World Track & Field Championships which will be held August 6-14. So today we didn't feel the need to visit every attraction, castle, church, monument and shop. We didn't even book a tour. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked into town, located our hotel, the Athletes Center and familiarized ourselves with the route to the Olympic Stadium, etc.

Helsinki is a lovely city, I can state this up-front. It is compact, walkable (though completely covered in every inch in cobblestone - no pavement - so choice of footwear is going to be crucial) and filled with fabulous shops, scores of outdoor cafes and stylish people. First, we walked up to an open-air antique market and had a look around on our way to the center of the city. We found the Athlete Hospitality Center, but it has not opened yet. Our hotel is just next to the main train station and we went in and checked on our reservations. It looks very nice, quite modern and they have a cozy cocktail lounge in the lobby. The town is decorated with "Welcome to Helsinki" banners with the World Athletes Games logo and I also noticed a few shops have their windows decorated already to commemorate the games. This is a big event for Helsinki! We are very excited about returning and watching the races.

Senate Square: A statue of Tsar Alexander II with
Engle's Lutheran Church in the background

The city, with its Russian and Swedish architecture has been used as backdrops in movies such as Reds and Gorky Park. But today, Hollywood could filmed a western in Helsinki. We found "Native Americans" performing in Esplanade Park!

Esplanade Park scene


Electronic Indian in Helsinki

Now, I am no expert on Native Americans, but these guys were not Native Americans. They are not even American. Dave and I think they are the same-old Central American musicians you see all over the world - with a new shtick. Or, Dave feels they could be out-of-work sports mascots, since it is no-longer PC to have a Native American-related sports team. I am not sure where they found the costumes, but the Finns were loving it.

The famous Stockmann's department store in Helsinki is a must-see. Of course, we went straight down to the basement to see the foods. This market is on two floors - and actually have an escalator ramp (instead of stairs) so you can take your shopping cart with you! The fish department was unbelievable - and every fish was labeled with its land of origin. The cheese section was probably the most impressive area and the bakery also fantastic.

We also walked through a fabulous outdoor produce market. I found this market with my nose - dill - oh, it was divine! It is berry season all over the Baltics and they are everywhere. Little strawberries, perfect raspberries, and blue berries fill every street corner. Another popular item is sugar peas. People are walking around with bags full, eating them like candy. This market also sells all sorts of handicrafts - much like our Saturday Market. I am sure we will return here.

Berries

We found a nice sidewalk cafe and enjoyed a light lunch in the sun. Oh, it felt so good to sit in the sun! Our waiter spoke to us in English, so I guess we looked like tourists. Then I noticed he spoke English to the Germans at the next table too, so truly English is the International language. The food was good, so we always know of one place we can go back to if we are starving in Helsinki. I am not kidding, I bet we walked past 20 McDonald's today - they are having a promotion for a hamburger for one Euro ($1.20). Is that a deal?

After exploring a bit more - oh, I can't wait to get into the kitchen shops - we headed back to the ship. Of course, since Dave was guiding us, we took the "long way". I swear, that man has no sense of direction.

Added later: After our long day and walking in Helsinki, we each had a nap and another shower before going down to the dining room. We had a great evening because we dined with our favorite dining companions: each other! Even though it was well-after 8 pm when we arrived at the dining room, the sun was blinding through the curtains and passengers were asking for the shades to be pulled down - it was so sunny and bright.

The menu tonight was extraordinary, as usual, in the dining room. We both decided on a Charlie Trotter vegetable terrine garnished with goat cream cheese and tomato-infused virgin olive oil. Wow. That take-out guy can really cook. Dave had another appetizer, crab cakes. For his entree, Dave had another Jacques Pepin signature dish, Coq au Vin. I had a vegetarian pasta - penne with gorgonzola and walnuts, always one of my favorites.

For the first time tonight we went to see the start of a show, but we didn't last long with the Broadway Show Tunes and went back to the Martini Bar to listen to Tonee Valentine. Tonee had been working all day on Jimmy Buffett's Lovely Cruise and wanted to play it for me. He asked me to sing it with him for the first time, while he played the piano. I did this. Don't even ask me where I get the nerve (I had only had one gin tonic) to do these things, but I did. I will not suggest "Tonee and Terry" hit the road any time soon. Later in the evening, when there were more people in the lounge he sang it again and totally nailed it. Lovely Cruise is the perfect song for any entertainer on a cruise ship.

Tonight, we arrived back at our room just past midnight. Here is a photo of the sky from our veranda:

Midnight in Scandinavia