Batlic Cruise Next Stop Helsinki, Finland

I've been recapping my Baltic Cruise on the blog for the past few weeks and

I'm having so much fun going back through all of the photos.

Today I'm going to share some from our third stop on the the cruise.

The day before in St. Petersburg was pretty full, so we took things pretty easy in Helsinki.

We headed straight to the Market Square. 

Helsinki is the largest city in Finland and the capital.  Its perched on the shores of the Gulf of Finland by the Baltic Sea.  It was founded in 1550 by King Gustav of Sweden and is the northernmost European Capital. 

As you can tell from that blue sky, we had perfect weather the day we visited.

But, this is not the norm.  In the heart of winter, Helsinki will go more than 50 days with no sunlight at all and will see over 100 consecutive days of snow.  They experience cold and wet weather much of the year.

(I will never complain again about London winters.  Much.)

  
During our travels, I collect Christmas ornaments.  I try to find something that will remind me specifically of that place, so I bypass the Santas and Snowmen.  I'm particularly happy with the "ornament" we found in Finland.  It's actually a little Kuksa Cup which is a traditional Scandinavian drinking cup carved out of birch.  It's a beautiful piece of folk art and I can't wait to hang it on my tree this year.

I've mentioned that the meals on the cruise ship were okay but not fantastic.  Helsinki is where I had the best meal of the entire trip.  Just looking at this picture is making my mouth water.  That salmon was so good I almost cried.  Matthew was brave and had the Reindeer Delight with meatballs, sausage and potatoes.  He loved the reindeer meat.  We so enjoyed this simple but fabulous food.  Not to mention how nice all of the people were as we strolled through the market.

 
The city of Helsinki is spread out over 300 different islands all connected by bridges and ferries.  So the perfect way to experience this aquatic city was with a sightseeing boat trip around some of the islands.  For less than 20 euros each, we purchased tickets on sight and boarded right from the market square.   Everything was explained with a recorded commentary in both Finnish, Swedish and English.  It's a beautiful city.

Passing by these huge icebreakers reminded us that in the winter most of these waterways will have turned to ice as the Gulf of Finland freezes.  The entire Baltic Sea has even frozen over before, most recently in the 80's. 

Many of the islands are dotted with these adorable little summer cottages.  The boat trip was such a nice, relaxing way to see the city.  I just love being on the water.  Visiting all of these gorgeous cities on the Batlic Sea, made me realize that I need to retire close to large body of water.

I would love to hear from someone who has experienced Helsinki in the winter.

Have you visited Helsinki?   How did you spend your time?

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