26 June 2012  Day 4

Today was a land tour to Helsinki, Finland.  We left the ship and were on the bus again.
We first went to Porvoo, one of the six medieval towns and was founded in 1346. It is best known for its red brick buildings lining the river.

shop front

cobble stone alley way

view of red brick buildings

Porvoo Cathedral, both Anglican & Lutheran

view from the bridge, note dates: 1346 & 2012 in flowers

We then went to the Rock Church, official name is Temppeliaukio Church, It is a Luthern church built into the rock with natural light coming in through the glazed dome.

We next visited the Senate Square and viewe the Helsinki Evangelical Luthern Cathedral. Built as a tribute to the Grand Duke Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia. Built in 1830 to 1852.

Flower market

We returned to our ship and found a bunny on our bed to greet us back.

We had to change our clocks again and the ship headed for St. Petersburg, Russia.
It is getting hard to know what time it is and when to sleep and stay awake.  It is also a challenge with the White Nights, sun goes down after 12 midnight and is up again by 3 am.