North Sea Serenade – Day Four

Today we had a long morning to sleep in and Tom opted to do laundry.  I opted to take a nap—lazy me.  The ship did not dock until 11:30 AM but we keep changing time zones and for people already suffering from jet lag this is not helping.  So we got to Helsinki for the first shore excursion.  We drove to the Rock Church which is a church that was constructed by two brothers who were prohibited from building a church on their property because it would obstruct the rich folk’s view.  So they dynamited into the granite and built a church which is effectively underground.  It was a beautiful church.  And despite the number of people was surprisingly peaceful.  

We went to Sibelius Park which had an odd organ pipe like construction and a face that was allegedly brushed by an aluminum wind.  At the park they were playing a new sport in Finland which is effectively basketball played in a lake making it water polo while kayaking.  It was interesting to watch.  Then we drove to the Senate Square.  They were filming a movie and there were several young ladies dressed in traditional costumes so we hope the pictures turn out.  The guide kept referring to the square as the most important square in Finland but we are still not sure why.  

Then we came back to the ship – played trivia and won – and went to dinner where we met one of the sommeliers that we met on the last trip we took.  They must move around a lot.  So that is all for tonight and tomorrow is Russia, and we need to set the clocks ahead another hour!    These time changes are going to kill us, but they promise that this is the last time we turn the clocks ahead on this voyage.  So with the 11 hour time zone difference, we have effectively swapped day and night.