Day 8 - March 26, 2014

It is hard to believe that we are on to Day 8 already.  It has gone by very quickly.  I think it is because everyone has been so busy trying to fit as much as they can.

Today began with a buffet breakfast for the group on the ship.  It was not attended by everyone as some people grabbed a little more sleep, but most of the group started their day this way.  We were scheduled to land in Helsinki at 10:00, but with the strong winds were delayed almost an hour.  We had a pair of tour guides (with our Helsinki buses) waiting for us, and they advised that it is extremely rare for a ferry to arrive late.  This did affect our group plans a little as we had hoped to take the buses out to the Town of Porvoo, but were now short of time and needed to adjust our itinerary.  The adjustment that we made was for a more comprehensive tour of the City of Helsinki.  We saw many interesting sites including the stone Temppeliaukio Church, a monument to the Finnish composer Sibelius, many diplomatic buildings, the Helsinki Cathedral and the Uspenski Cathedral.  I could try to explain the significance of each of these, but rather I would encourage our blog readers to google them.  Very cool.

We were able to get a few team pictures taken.  The pace today was noticeably slower and it was nice.  At about 2:00pm we were able to check in to our hotel.  Everyone then scattered to start shopping or grab a bite to eat.  The group is planning several outings for tomorrow.  Shopping, Estonia, Porvoo, and the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress seem to be the top destinations.

My observations for Day 8:

• It is hard to find regular bottled water (still water) rather than carbonated water when you really, really need it.
• The trip was a little rough last night, and our group from the prairies doesn't necessarily have our sea legs yet.  
• The last couple of days have been windy and a little chilly, but we are aware of the winter storms at home and are thankful to be here.  I do expect the sidewalk to be shoveled when we get home though.
• Everyone is already looking forward to meeting their billets and playing ringette again.  The trip has been great - but lets play!