Day One Hundred Forty-Two - May 27

Great news, Janice's 10 days of quarantine are finally over. She will not need to take any more tests on the ship for Covid until we fly home although she does have a letter from the Dr that she may not need to test. Both of us are ready to explore again.

Our arrival time of 07:00 came but the weather is not cooperating as the high for the day was 13C or 59F with rain showers most of the day.

The ship was docked in a excellent position however the only thing we saw from our cabin was a construction site for a new office building plus a ferris wheel directly outside our stateroom balcony.

With Janice out of jail (as we called it on the ship), I started to move some of my clothes back into the stateroom and will bring the balance once today's exploring is over. We did not book any tours so will explore the town on our own.

Helsinki has a population of just over 1.2 million when you take in the surrounding areas. Its transportation system including trams, buses and a subway make getting around easy. However our mode of transportation was walking.

After a late breakfast we both journeyed out into the rain. A small market a few hundred meters from the ship greeted us where you could buy jewellry, souvenirs or partake in Finish cuisine.

Our map skills have not improved as we are in search of Temppeliaukio Church or better known as the Church of the Rock. Many people we asked knew where it was but had a hard time explaining its actual location. Finally after an hour or so of walking in the rain we found it. The church was built directly into the solid rock hence its name. Very interesting and was worth all the steps.

Our walk back into the city took considerably less time. The rain dampened our adventure a little but it was just good to have Janice back with me.

On our way back into the city we went by the Finnish Parliament Building distinguished by its fourteen marble columns. Its architectural style is considered "Nordic Classicism, Neoclassical Architecture".

The main entrance to the train station had huge Finnish Hockey Tshirts adourning the statues. Directly across from the train an advertisement for Ice Hockey World Championships is displayed with a certain ex Winnipeg Jet as one of the three hockey players. Made me proud!

The Senate Square was our last stop here where you can find the Helsinki Lutheran Church, Government Palace and University of Helsinki.

It was a short day because of the rain and I wanted to be back in time for Trivia.

The best part of today was going to the steakhouse Polo on board for a lovely belated anniversary dinner.

Insignia departed Helsinki at 18:00 for Mariehamn, Finland 190 nautical miles away.