I arrived into Helsinki to a cool, cloudy day. It takes me an hour or so to get from the airport to my accommodation. I am staying in an apartment with a lady called Johanna. She is a very nice person and gives me a tour of the apartment. After unpacking i find the nearest supermarket to buy some supplies for the week. Then the rest of the evening is spent talking to Johanna.

Oh to be woken by sunlight streaming into the room, much better than being woken by rain. Johanna has suggested i take a walk to this little island called Seurasaari. Turns out it is an open air museum with loads of really old buildings dating back hundreds of years. Its such a pretty little place. After this its a walk into the city, about 5ks, but i dont get all the way. My legs are tired, its getting late, so i opt to take the tram back. So far from what i have seen, Helsinki is nice and clean and rather quiet. Its like half the people have left town. Turns out they have. Johanna tells me that over the summer break, a lot of people head out to their cottages.
Tonight i got to meet one of Johannas friends, Helena. I am treated to strawberries and ice cream and then we exchange travel stories. Plus a get to hear all about Russia and the problems Putin is creating for Finland. Does not sound good.

Back to being woken by the rain. The day starts off cool and wet, but ends with a nice warm spell and plenty of sunshine. My day is spent wandering the city streets, malls and lanes. Also head down to the harbor to see the markets and cruise ships. The market area are buzzing with activity and there are plenty of people here. A visit to Viking Lines to buy a ferry ticket to Tallinn, Estonia. Much cheaper than flying.
While i was talking to Johanna the other night i mentioned that i was trying to get a visa to Russia, but was unable to get one in Amsterdam. She told me about visiting St Petersburg without the need for a visa. After looking into this i found out that there is only one company that allows you to do this. It is St Peters Line, a Russian cruise ship company that allows cruise passengers to visit St Petersburg for a maximum of 72 hours. So i head into their office in Helsinki and book a return ticket. I get to spend 2 nights on the ship and a full day in St Petersburg. There are no other options to stay longer, so this will do. So finally i will get to visit Russia.

Today will be cloudy and cool, but no rain i hope. Helena has offered to show me around Helsinki today. Helena is a language teacher and can speak 4 languages, Russian, English, Finnish and Swedish. We take the tram into the city around midday and spend the rest of the day seeing the not so touristy parts of town. We must have covered 10 ks or more, as it not until 7pm that i arrive back at the apartment, just as it starts to rain. It was a very enjoyable day. Tonight i am alone as Johanna has also headed off to here cottage for 2 weeks, so i will not see her again.

As the ship isn't leaving till 6pm, i try and sleep in, but that doesnt work. After backing my back with some essentials i head in the city to wander around then head to the terminal. You can board the ship from 3pm, so a little after that i make my way on board to see what i have got myself into. The ship is certainly no luxury cruise liner, far from it. My cabin is just a little bigger than a shoe box. but its only for sleeping so i dont mind. We set sail at 6.30pm and wont arrive till 9.30am.

Everyone is keen to get off the ship and explore St Petersburg, but after disembarking we hit a wall at the passport control. It takes them about 5 minutes to process each person, and as they only have a few windows open its nearly an hour before i am on a bus to the city centre. Now i was a little, no very concerned at passport control. The lady officer scrutinized my passport for sometime, then got on the phone and made a call. After a minute another officer comes into her booth and looks at my passport, flicking through the pages an dreading whats written in the middle pages. He then calls another person to look at it as well. I have no idea what the problem was, as they did stamp it and let me through.

Once the bus drops us off i a have a plan to see all the main sights by foot. I have nearly 7 hours to see them all. I could not have asked for a better day. Its nice and sunny and about 22 degrees. The bus drops us off in front of Issacs Cathedral, a stunning building. I head off to see Yusupov Palace. As there is so many other wonderful sights i get off track a lot and just start wandering in all directions taking in some incredible sights. I loved the Spilled Blood Cathedral. Nevsky Prospect is the main boulevard, and is wide and 7ks long. Its lined with stunning looking buildings and of course most western shops. I came across a lovely park where an orchestra was playing for free, so i had a rest there and did some people watching.
Palace square is huge, and so is the Winter Palace. I was running out of time but i needed to see inside the palace, as from the pictures i have seen it must see it. It costs about $12 for a ticket, but it was worth double that. It was utterly stunning. I managed to scoot through the palace in an hour, before my taking a walk though Alexander gardens then back to Issacs cathedral and board the last bus back to the boat.
I needed a toilet break so i walked into a hotel and found the toilet, As the hotel was very upmarket, i wandered around and found a sign to the billiard room. Once at the room, which is shut , is a plaque listing some of the people that have played in this room. Putin and Gorbachev were just a few. I had a security guard try and make me feel very unwanted, but i chose to ignore him after he spoke to me i turned away and walked to ask the reception girls if hey had and ATM so i could take out some rubles to spend. He left me alone after that. As i was walking out the main door i said goodbye to him, and he chose to ignore me. Nasty russian man.
Turns out the hotel is probably the most famous hotel in St Petersburg. Boy do i know where to find the most exclusive toilets. The name of the hotel is the Belmond Grand hotel Europe.

Nothing is cheap, or expensive here, about the same prices at home for food anyway. I had lunch at Subway. I ordered the lunch special, a 6" sub, a bowl of borsch soup and a cup of tea. All for $5.

What an incredible city. I must come back and spend more time here. I think a week would still not be enough to really explore all that is here to see. I am ever so happy to have visited, and very sad to be leaving. Never felt this way about any other city i have been to. Maybe i have some Russian blood in me after all and it wants me to stay.

Getting back on board doesnt take long and we set depart at 6.30pm and will arrive at 8am in Helsinki. The weather in Helsinki is cool and raining. What a change from yesterday. So after i get back to the apartment and do some washing of clothes i meet up with Helena for another sightseeing tour of the city. Helena has certainly shown me some really cool places in Helsinki. By mid afternoon the sun is out and people are smiling again. Helena asks me back to her place for tea and to meet her son. We have lasagne and salad for tea. Would have to be one of the best lasagne i have eaten, especially when i got to watch how quickly and easy Helena made it. After tea we all sit around talking until i realise i need to get home to pack. So we say our goodbyes and i make the short walk home.

Helsinki is a nice compact city, very clean. One thing i found here is that most people are not friendly. When i was out walking in the forest i would say hello to people, but never ever received a reply. Nearly 90% of the people here are taught english and swedish in school, so it was not that they didnt understand me. So the next stop is Tallinn, Estonia. Just about to board the ferry for the 70k journey across the Baltic sea