Thursday July 25th - Helsinki

Awoke to a foggy morning in Helsinki, the berth at the port did not look very appetizing and our expectations of Helsinki were set low. Jill, Lynne, Phil and I caught a shuttle bus from the berth into the city center and we decided to make our first stop a visit to the Church of the Rock, but on the way we saw this statue, and decided to take a photo for Arlene. 

For Arlene

Then onto the Church of the Rock that is a church carved out of the solid granite and the walls left unadorned, the effect is quite magnificent. For those interested here is the wiki link; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temppeliaukio_Church

Entrance to the Rock Church

Church ceiling

Church interior

After the visit to the church we stopped for a coffee and looking at the map saw a large park with a lake nearby; well as it turned out it was not a park, but the main Helsinki cemetery!!

We then decided to find the main attractions of Helsinki, the Esplanade Park, Senate Square, Market Square, the Cathedral and Russian Orthodox Church. On the way we noticed that the infrastructure in Helsinki is definitely geared towards cyclists, they even have their own roads!

Dedicated road for cyclists

Esplanade Park

Lutheran Cathedral in Senate Square

Tram Junction

The Bridge of Love

Russian Orthodox Church

Happy cruisers, Jill, Lynne and Phil

Market Square

Given our low expectations, we really enjoyed our visit to Helsinki.