Finland Russia Baltic Day 15

Trafalgar Tours - Day 15 - October 17, 2008 - Friday - Helsinki, Finland

Our last day in the Baltic States was gray but not raining. The temperature was 51 degrees and the humidity was 84%. The morning was free so we slept in until 7:30 and then had breakfast.

Today we were feeling adventurous so we left the hotel without a map and turned left. I knew eventually we would make it to the sea, but along the way Gennie asked a few kind souls for directions to the port.

In an unscientific poll, 2 out of 3 people spoke English and of those respondents who spoke English, all said we were going in the correct direction!

After about 30 minutes of brisk walking we sighted the port of Tallinn and saw the huge ferries that would take us to Finland this afternoon. We made several stops on our trek to take photos and to walked into a few shops.

The gigantic department store, Stockmann’s, close to our hotel was having a huge sale. Even with sales and the conversions to Estonian currency, the liquor here was still more expensive than it is in Colorado.

But hundreds of people were in the liquor section stocking up for the winter! Xavier told us that many Finns ride the ferry to Tallinn, buy cases of alcohol, and do a little shopping before going back to the higher prices and exorbitant taxes in Finland.

We returned to the hotel about 11:45 because we had to check out by noon. I set up the computer in the lobby and caught up on the political news while Gennie read her book.

Xavier gathered our group and at 1:15 we were off to the port and to board our ship for the sea-crossing to Helsinki in Finland. The ship was the SuperStar and had 9 levels. Five levels were for autos, buses, and trucks and the top were lounges, restaurants, and seating for the passengers.

The two hour voyage was very easy. The sea was very calm so we had smooth sailing. It was cold, windy, and raining but we went up to the observation deck just to get some air. We took a few photos of our last views of the Baltic States.

We landed at the Port of Helsinki at 4:00 sharp! Our city guide Christina met us right at the terminal. Nikolai drove the bus out of the lower level of the ship and was waiting for us in the parking area.

Our tour of the city of Helsinki took us past the ship yard, universities, museums, designer shops, and government buildings. Highlights were Finlandia Hall, the Senate, and Olympic Village, home of the 1952 summer games.

We made several stops and were amazed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church built into a granite hillside in 1969. We reached our hotel at 6:15. Xavier gave us the mileage of our whole tour, 3,830 Kilometers!

Yesterday we had a quiz of 20 questions about what we had learned on the trip. I managed to get the most correct, having the same right answers as Inga from Australia, so there was a tie for first place.

Being the diplomatic Tour Director he is, Xavier awarded us each a bottle of champagne. I shared it with the group before dinner tonight as this was such a great group to travel with. It is also now very difficult to bring liquids on international flights.

At 7:30 we got together with Xavier, Nikolai, and fellow travelers for a Farewell Dinner.

Our wake up call comes at 4:30 so we said goodbye to our new friends and travel companions. Many are going home as we are, but some are combining additional trips and will be continuing their journeys.

Accommodations: Scandic Grand MarinaHotel - - - Meal: B, D

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Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.

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