It's even sunny and hot in Finland!

Okay, I knew we'd booked a ferry overnight from Stockholm to Helsinki, but I sure didn't expect a cruise ship! But, cruise ship it was -- complete with 12 decks and a delicious buffet dinner at night and breakfast in the morning. Early-on we passed many of the beautiful islands that are part of Stockholm and enjoyed spending time up on the top deck. Our small "stateroom" was very comfortable, and we both slept well.

Since we arrived in Helsinki at 10:00 a.m. but couldn't check into our hotel until 4:00 that afternoon, we deposited our luggage at the train station and used our new "Helsinki cards" to take a 1 1/2 hour "free" bus tour of the city. One stop on the bus tour was the Temppeliaukio "Rock" Church that was literally constructed out of a huge granite rock in 1969.
Also on the bus tour we had another brief stop at the Jan Sibelius Monument where Nancy is pictured. One of the real benefits of the "Helsinki Card" is the opportunity to take any bus, electric tram or Metro train without cost. And then, of course there were other churches to see -- specifically the beautiful white Lutheran Cathedral (The Tuomiokirkko Church) and the onion-domed Finnish Orthodox Church, known locally as the Uspenski Cathedral. - rw