The first thing that we noticed was how clean everything was...apparently the streets are swept and cleaned every night. It was quite evident as we roamed the pretty streets and wandered in and out of the shops.
This beauty caught my eye on Helsinki Esplanadi.
I caught a glimpse of the St. Nicholas Church long before I could actually get close to it...........
But when I did get close------oh boy!!!!!!
We climbed the steps and went inside.......spectacular is a good word to describe the church's interior......
We were a bit distracted and eager to get back to the ship because it was our good fortune to be town for the Tall Ship Races.
It was indeed our lucky day.....look at the view we had of the 'Parade of Sails' from our balcony on the eighth deck of the ship. I hope you have time to check the link---it was so amazing to be looking down at that from our balcony---we had the best seat in the house for the entire show!!!!!!!
Look closely at all the crew on the railings right to the top of the ship. They were all dressed alike and we felt like we were watching something from Cirque du Soleil. What a spectacular performance by all the ships and their crews.
It was amazing to see so many beautiful ships. I still get goosebumps when I look at my photos, and the video in the link above gives an awesome summary of the parade. The organization of this event must closely parallel that which goes into the Olympics---it was breathtaking and magnificent.
Hope you enjoyed this glimpse of Helsinki.
Next stop --St. Petersburg, Russia----for two days!!!!
Cheers
: o)
