Helsinki

July 26th
Helsinki, Finland

Yet again, I was looking forward to a fun day in Helsinki with my friends from my last ship, Tytti and Henna, and yet again, had one. We met up at the shuttle drop off point around 10:30 where we proceeded through the park, onto a ferry, and to a fortified island where they had planned to have a picnic. After picking up some strawberries and fish on the way, we made it to the island and found an area to sit down and eat. I had brought my computer, so while we dined on homemade salad, bread, strawberries and fish, I told stories about some of the places I’ve more recently been and showed pictures. It was a gorgeous day for a picnic and nice to go somewhere new. Following the picnic, Henna pretended she could give us a tour of the fortress and we walked around getting made up facts about the war and soldiers. When we’d finally had enough “touring,” we crossed back over on the ferry to the main land where I bought everyone ice cream and we hung out in the park. The last part of the day was then spent at the grocery store where my friends picked a collection of breads and other snacks for me to buy and bring back to the ship with me as a reminder of Helsinki and the culture. I finally caught a shuttle back to the ship just before 4:00 and thus finished my day in the usual way.
I guess the day wasn’t all that exciting as far as stories are concerned because most of it all is just catching up with old friends and enjoying each other’s company, but as I’ve said before, these are some of my favorite port days. It’s just really great to be in a place as far away as Finland, have friends their that you can meet up with, and have a fantastic day just hanging out in a park having a picnic. Again, it’s not the most exciting story, but it certainly does give justification to being away from home for so long. It’s hard to say whether or not I’ll run into them again, maybe on another ship months or years from now, maybe if they ever come to Chicago, but I’m glad I was able to have the opportunity to share the day with them. Days like these are more meaningful than any tour I could ever go on. Thanks!