The bus tour took us around the city and port of Helsinki on a sunny Sunday morning, where our guide Prijza pointed out the icebreakers being built in the shipyard. She would have you think that all icebreakers are built in Finland, although we learned later that the Swedes would have something to say about that. Stopped at the plaza in front of the big Lutheran cathedral on the top of hill as bells chimed 10. Took pictures of the church and of the statue of Tsar Alexander II in the square, the guy who rescued Finland from Sweden. Jill and Mark climbed the very steep 45 steps to the church, but didn't find any views from there worthy of a picture, as the square is surrounded by stodgy government buildings.

This big white Lutheran Cathedral is a noted Helsinki landmark.

In the plaza in front of the cathedral stands the statue of Tsar Alexander II. Considering the history of Russo-Finnish relations, the Finns erecting a statue to the Russian Tsar who saved them from Sweden tells you a lot about the Finns' relationship with the Swedes!

The red pedestal of the statue is itself bedecked with statues on four sides . . .

. . . while flowers bloom in beds around the base.

Mark and Jill wave from the front of the church after climbing the tall steps.

Government buildings line the square in front of the cathedral.

The bus continued north out of town to Winter Wonderland, essentially a warehouse-sized freezer. The gals in the outfitting room sized us up, and we donned heavy winter overalls, boots and gloves, somewhat reminiscent of the gumby suits we wore to ride the ocean zodiac in Sitka, but without the balaclava. (They had hoods/hats available; we didn't need them.) Once suited up, we lumbered into the vast freezer section, which was covered in rough snow dotted with ice sculptures, igloos, benches and tables. There were some purple, blue, and green lighting embedded in the ice, and some lights above the dog track, but the rest of the interior was dark, befitting a Scandanavian winter. We were the first tour group to arrive that day, so had the place to ourselves for a while. Tried lying down on the ice bed in the igloo, which was comfortable, but awkward to get in and out of while bundled up. Signed up for the dog sled ride, which was two laps around an indoor track. Mark and Jill shared one sled, and Lauri took the next one after learning the ride wouldn't aggravate her back. The dogs were raring to go, yipping and whining with anticipation. Once loosed on the track they acheived a brisk speed, the sled sliding and bumping around a bit, especially on the turns.

Mark tries out an ice bed inside the igloo. Not the most comfortable resting spot, but he said he's slept on worse.

Lauri sits in an ice chair carved to look like a one-person sleigh.

Tried the push sled, essentially a chair mounted on rails, but they were hard to control, having no steering mechanism. Also, the rails were very narrow, making it difficult for the "driver" to stay aboard after pushing the sled to speed. Had a small drink of vodka at an ice bar in glasses made of ice. The first shot was free, the second cost 9 Euros. Uh, no. However, the juice was free, so we had a few shots of that, and then disposed of the glasses by sliding them into the circular cut-out at the far end of the table. After seeing everything and taking several pictures, we exited the freezer section, and once back in the equipment room couldn't get the suits off fast enough. Good timing, as more tours began arriving at the facility. With everyone aboard, the bus left early and headed back to town. (One of the advantages of having a small tour group: more flexibility in the schedule.)

Lauri straps in for her dog sled ride, two laps around the snow track.

Sitting at an ice table, Mark raises an ice glass of fruit juice. (We'd already downed the vodka.) Kippis!

Jill toasts the camera. The bar is visible behind her, as well as some of the roof structure for the large warehouse-sized building.

Parked a few blocks downhill of Rock Church, hiked up the street to the church, and had to wait for the big crowd to clear out, as services had just ended for the day. Not much to look at from the outside, the church interior is carved out of granite, with a shallow copper dome serving as a roof, surrounded by a skylight with separate panes radiating out from the center like a sunburst. Very striking. We strolled through the circular nave dug out of the rock, then climbed the stairs to the small choir loft at the rear overlooking the main pews, taking lots of pictures as we went. Said a short prayer in the rear loft, and figured that counted as attendance, as it was a Sunday. Strolled down the street toward the bus, stopping in at several small souvenir shops along the way.

Mark takes pictures as we enter the Rock Church

The roof of the church consists of a central copper disk, with beams radiating outward to merge with the rock.

Behind the altar, shadows of the beams create a mirror image on the rock face below the windows.

A large copper disk lies at the center of the sunburst, its perimeter dotted with small light fixtures.

The choir loft and crying room can be seen at the rear of the church, overlooking the main congregation.

This view from the choir loft shows the altar, roof, and the center and right sets of pews.

Mark poses next to the outside 'wall,' bore holes from the original excavation still visible as vertical scars in the rock.

Jill tries on various hats at the souvenir store.

Prijza point out more cultural and architectural landmarks on the drive back to city center. Saw more Olympic rings as we passed the stadium. We opted to be dropped off in town rather than return to ship. Our guide instructed us where to catch the shuttle bus, and told us where the Starbucks was located. Exited across the street from the huge Stockman department store, and easily found Starbucks from there. Good thing: they had a Helsinki mug for Jill to buy for her collection. Bad thing: they didn't accept Starbucks gift cards. We each bought a drink anyway, after standing in a long line, then walked downhill along the esplanade to the big open-air market near the harbor that we'd passed earlier in the day. Lots of stuff being sold from tables under tents: jewelry, furs, t-shirts, souvenirs, knitted and fleece goods, jewelry, glassware, art. Not to mention jewelry. Also many of the tents were selling fresh produce, primarily peas, berries, and a few vegetables.

The bus dropped us off in downtown Helsinki, across from the huge Stockmann department store.

We peruse the open-air market next to the harbor.

Several food stalls in the market offered fresh produce and something to eat.

Scattered among these purveyors were about 10-12 food stalls, most selling the same thing: salmon, potatoes, smelt, reindeer meatballs, sausages. We were getting hungry by then, and the combination of smells was tantalizing. We looked at the offerings from each food stall, and tried samples of fried smelt, and eventually selected the tent that was griddling entire sides of salmon rather than thin steaks. We each got the same thing, the fish combo, a paper plate loaded with salmon, smelt, potatoes, mixed vegetables, fried onion rings and calamari. And a local beer. We found seats nearby, plastic stools at a folding table, somewhat rickety on the sloping and uneven asphalt, but we managed. The food was very tasty, and (relatively) inexpensive. The weather had turned more cloudy over the morning and early afternoon, and we felt some rain sprinkles as we finished lunch, as our seats were only partially covered by the canopy, but it never really started raining. We left the harbor and casually made our way back up the street toward the shuttle stop, poking into a few stores along the way, looking at a lot of merchandise but not buying.

This building that we passed on our walk to the shuttle bus was typical of many in that part of the capital.

The weather had turned overcast and even started to sprinkle as we made our way back up the broad esplanade to catch our ride back to the ship.

Timed it so we didn't have long to wait for our ride. Caught the same shuttle bus back to the ship as our concierge Jason and our excursion manager Vincent (although it wasn't easy recognizing them as they were out of uniform). We had plenty of time to shower and change before our spa appointments. Jill and Mark had a hot stone and bamboo massage (respectively) at 5:15, Lauri's hot stone massage was a half hour later. We planned to tag up at the Atrium bar after spa sessions.

Mark and Jill headed downstairs, but again, the Atrium Bar was not staffed, and we wondered why the daily program would show it open in the evenings if it weren't so. Besides, it was interfering with our plan (nay, requirement) to have a drink in every bar. Discouraged, we went back to the room to rest up before dinner. Which is why Lauri didn't find us at the Atrium Bar when she arrived, so she decided to go bar hopping instead. Starting at the Silk Den, she tried whatever pink drink was being offered that day. From there to the Lido Bar, followed by the Ocean and Pinnacle Bars, a different pink concoction in each one as she work her way downward through the ship.

We met up with the whole table at dinner, the first time that had happened since formal night (Wednesday). Clouds and mist had turned to rain and lightning, and we saw flashes and heard thunder while seated in the dining room. Lauri went to bed immediately after dinner (surprise, surprise), but Jill and I met up in the Piano Bar, just in time (again) for the break between sets. We hung around until second set, but gave up on that a couple songs later, when the chatter in the bar got loud enough that we couldn't hear what Jimmy, the pianist, was saying. I think the problem is that he plays to his groupies, the same few people who occupy the seats around the piano, and ignores the rest of the people sitting elsewhere in the bar, who, finding themselves excluded from the show, turn their attention to something else. I took a turn around deck before turning in. It had stopped raining, and the ship was (for once) booking along at good speed.