I wake up and go to the gym at 6:00. Back shortly after 7 for shower and then we are off to breakfast. Our excursion today is a walking tour of the city leaving at 9:15. We go out at 8:15 to check if we can find some wifi in the shops near the dock. Not strong enough to stay connected. The bus arrives a bit early so we climb in and it surprise, surprise, it has wifi. We are surfing and sending messages back home. No one is there to chat as it is around 3 am in NB, 2 am in Ontario. It's 11pm in BC, but still a little late. Shirley's news feed informs us that Tim Conway has passed away. Such a great comedian.
The tour gets started with our guide introducing herself and giving us a description of the tour. Our first stop is The Senate Square. We will not see the bus again until the end of the tour, so in about 3 1/2 hours.
Shots from the bus
Lutheran Church. The majority of churchgoers are of Lutheran faith.
The Senate
The statue is of Tzar Alexander the Second. Finland was part of Russia until 1917, so for more than 100 years. The Finnish People liked Alexander the 1st and 2nd as they accepted them to lead their own lives and didn't impose too many rules and regulations. Finland gained their independence during the Russian revolution.
She informs us that the Finnish language is very unique. Only Estonian is similar. Finnish people also speak Swedish as it is the second official language of the country.
As we continue to walk she describes what we are seeing. She also relates some interesting facts about her country. (cost of living, social system, pensions, education, etc)
Park area
The train station
New modern library
Beautiful homes with water view.
We saw a lot of police presence in the area. We were told that there were important EU meetings being held in this white building and the police were guarding it closely
Break for a danish and coffee, tea, or water- included in tour
We stop at a Rock Church. The only one of it's kind. Very cool.
Walking inside the church
A service had just finished
Rock formation outside of the church
Ceiling inside the church
The organ inside of the church
We have about 15 minutes before catching our bus so our guide shows two stores were we can shop for 10 minutes.. everyone dashes across the street. We do buy some souvenirs, even me... It's a short walk to the bus and we are back at the ship at 1pm. It's a quick visit to this city as we are setting sail at 1:30 to go back to Copenhagen for early Sunday morning.
A description of the construction of the church
Me and my Viking buddy
Shirley and her Reindeer buddy
When we get back we go to the buffet to grab a quick bite to eat then it's off to the Art Auction. They are serving Champagne and Shirley is really enjoying it, if you know what I mean.. The server keeps coming back for more... I have a couple of glasses as well. Then we go to the Schooner room to participate in a general trivia game. We sit at the bar and answer as many questions by ourselves. We'd missed half of the game already. Back at our rooms at 4 to spruce up and have a change of clothing. It is formal night in the dining room, but not overly formal. Black pants and a top.
Another great dinner with our waiters.
See that glow. Champagne and now wine. Plus she's having lamb again..
Three of us are having garlic shrimp
Guess who is eating this meal
There's an anniversary on board so Shirley tries the cake. The rest of us order dessert from the menu.
There's another contest in the Centrum. Three passengers will make an original Martini and they will be judged at the end. Meanwhile the host of the event is asking drink questions. If you know the answer, you run up and give your response. Well Shirley ran up three times, only to be denied the prize, a bottle of Champagne. She knew the last answer, but got a bit tongue tied when she got to the mike and said Bloody Russian instead of White Russian. Bloody had been a part of the first answer. It was so funny.
The real bartender making the first drink
Shirley, giving her answer
After Shirley's embarrassing display in front of hundreds of people, Ha, we walked through the shops and made our way to the Tropical Theater for the evening show. It was called "Stage to Screen".
Show was too boring for Shirley...
Can't get enough of these wonderful sunsets.
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