A few weeks ago we went on a Baltic adventure. I’m going to do a few posts of our days ashore, along with lots of photos. Our fourth port was Helsinki, in Finland.
We were still sailing when we woke but we were docked in Helsinki by the time we left our cabin for breakfast at 7.30am. We ate in Islands and after nipping back to our cabin to pick up the backpack and jackets, we headed down to deck one to leave the ship.
Getting on and off the ship was really well-organized. They had tables on the gangway deck where you could buy water or snacks to take with you, if you’d forgotten to pick them up beforehand. As you left the ship, your ship card was scanned and then you just walked down the gangway to the port. There was always someone there to point you to your tour bus, shuttle bus etc.
When rejoining the ship, you just sterilised your hands, got scanned back on and put your bag and any metal items from your pockets into the x-ray machine. No queues or delays. It was all very efficient.
Our plan for the day was a ship’s tour to Seurasaari. We could have done another DIY as it’s very walkable, but we wanted to go a bit further afield and get a bit of fresh air rather than another city tour. Plus, we only had 5 hours in port so didn’t want to be constantly checking the time and worrying about getting back.
Our tour started off by driving us to Senate square where we had 30 minutes to have a wander round and take photos. We had a look at the square and then walked down a cobbled street to the dock front where we looked round the outdoor market. There were some lovely Finnish handicrafts for sale but we weren’t tempted by anything.

Once back on the coach, we were driven to the dock to catch a boat to Seurasaari, which translates as Courting island. 
It was a nice boat, and we opted to sit upstairs on the open deck so we could take photos and enjoy the breeze. Below were tables where you could sit and have a drink, out of the sun and wind.

It was a 45 minute trip and although the sun was shining, it wasn’t as warm as we’d thought. It was quite windy and once we were out on the open water it got too chilly so we went inside. We did stay on deck for about 30 minutes though and took some nice photos. We went past our ship at one point. I did love that ship.
This was our view of Seurasaari as we docked. It looked very pretty and peaceful.
We took some photos of our boat as we walked down the jetty.
Then we had a lovely walk through the woods, looking at the old buildings which had been transported to the island and rebuilt to form a museum. Our guide was informative and interesting, and we enjoyed the walk a lot. It wasn’t too chilly and it was sheltered in the trees. It was really pleasant.

There was a little gift shop, which had some lovely things in it. They were quite pricey though so we didn’t get any souvenirs, although I was quite tempted by this.
Our visit to the island ended at a long bridge, which we walked over to meet our coach on the other side. On the way over the bridge, we stopped to take photos and admire the view. We saw lots of birds, so took photos of those too. It was very scenic but very breezy. At least the sun was shining though so it still felt like a nice day.

We were next driven to the Rock church (Temppeliaukio), where we had time to look around inside with instructions to be back at the coach by 13.10. It was quite impressive in its way, but I think we were slightly underwhelmed as our guide had been really enthusiastic about it and we’d expected something more.

We had time to visit a souvenir shop which was nearby and I got a couple of postcards as I didn’t think we’d have time to go to the one at the port. We also had a photo-op outside it.
From there we drove back to the ship, via the design district which our guide talked us through and we arrived back at 1.30, which was our onboard time. A couple of people went to go via the gift shop but were quickly detoured back to the ship by the crew as they were waiting to prepare the ship for sailing. It’s a fair way to our next port, and we needed to be away by 2pm.
We were getting quite hungry when we got back so opted to go for lunch at the sit down restaurant, 47°. We had a lovely meal in there and the portion sizes were just right for us. Small enough that we could eat three courses and not feel stuffed.
I had Crab cakes, Fajitas and almond cake with ice-cream. Stephen had White bean soup, Bacon-wrapped chicken and a Mille Feuille.

We picked up coffees from the coffee port on the way back to our cabin and Stephen had his afternoon nap while I read my book. We had the curtains open so I could watch Finland disappearing into the distance. We’d definitely have a balcony cabin if (when) we cruise again. The inside cabin last time was fine, but this is so much nicer. It’s lovely to be able to sit out there and relax, or even watch the world go by from inside. I’ve been propping the door open a bit when we’ve been in the cabin in the afternoon to let some fresh air in and so we can hear the water. It’s very relaxing.
We went to Gallery 47° for dinner, which is the restaurant upstairs from 47º and which serves Italian food. I had chicken pâté followed by swordfish. I’ve never had swordfish before and it was lovely. Stephen had calamari followed by a beef dish. All the meals were beautifully presented and tasted delicious.
From there we went to the 8.30 show in the Broadway lounge. We’d really been looking forward to this one, called Radio Gaga. It was all eighties songs covered by the show team and it was excellent. The singers were really good and there was a brilliant mix of songs.
We’d had a good day but it suffered a bit in comparison to Alla tours in Russia. Our Alla tour was only 14 people and today there were 36 but it seemed like a lot more. It felt really crowded everywhere we went. In Russia, we were using headsets so we heard every word that Anna said, even while we were wandering off to take photos. On Seurasaari, unless you were right behind the guide, you couldn’t really hear him and if you wanted to know what he was saying, you had to pay close attention to him and not to the surroundings. Don’t get me wrong, we did enjoy it, but after the two fantastic days in SPB, it was never going to compare well.
Next up is Latvia!