Sat April 26, 2025
Hi Gang! We made it to almost Russia… I mean Helsinki, Finland! And dang is it C-C-C-COLD!! Is this Siberia or what?? I thought it was supposed to be Spring! It was 34 (feels like 27!) when we left at 8:30 AM for our 5 hour excursion. So glad I brought a warm hat and gloves! It actually snowed a little bit while we were on our excursion. Crazy!
Our tour was called “Fortress Island” and it took us to both Suomenlinna Island via boat and the city of Helsinki via bus.
We started with a panoramic tour of the city. We saw all the major sites but didn’t get out at any. Our tour ended at Market Square where we boarded our waterbus to Suomenlinna Island otherwise known as Fortress Island. It was built in the 18th century but named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991 as a unique monument of military architecture.
The island is home to less than 1,000 year round residents. We toured the island and learned all about the history of the fort there. We then returned via waterbus to Market Square where we had free time to browse around. We got lots of great pics on the boat. We then took the bus back to the ship.
Once back onboard we grabbed a quick lunch then took the shuttle back to town. We walked around town and visited both the Lutheran Cathedral, with the prominent green dome, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral. The Uspenski was built in 1868 for the Russian military when Finland belonged to Russia (Uspenski is Russian for the Assumption of Mary). The rich imagery of the Cathedral’s interior is a stark contrast to the sober Lutheran Cathedral. On the outside, the uppermost onion dome on the Uspenski represents the sacred heart of Jesus, while the 12 smaller domes represents his apostles.
We then had fun shopping at the huge open air market with all its stalls. Lots of good deals to be had, especially if you need reindeer jerky! Lol. We then got the shuttle bus back to the ship and chilled before getting ready for dinner. I’ll do another update after dinner. Happy Saturday to all!
The Wandering Italian 