9. Helsinki.

The weather forecast for Helsinki had not been great for some time and upon opening the curtains we saw that the sky was an ominous, dreary grey. Undeterred, we found our umbrellas and headed out, jumping onto the local bus just outside the terminal and with the intention of getting into the central station in the middle of the city. Having been to Helsinki a couple of times before, we knew where we were going...or at least we thought we did. Just one more stop and we would be there....but the bus turned in a different direction and before we knew it we were heading out into the country. 

By now, the rain was falling steadily and we thought we would just wait and see what happened....at least we were staying dry and getting a nice view of the Finnish countryside. Twenty minutes passed, then thirty...surely we would soon be at the end of the route and be turning around and heading back into the city. An hour later we pulled into a small town and shopping outlets and thankfully turned back in the right direction. Slight panic over!

Once safely returned to the city centre and to where we had originally intended to be there was little option other than wander around a few shops otherwise we would have been soaked. We found a small restaurant and microbrewery where we had eaten on a previous visit and stopped for lunch and a tasting board of five of their local brews to cheer up damp spirits. Well, that was our excuse.

After lunch the rain turned to a drizzle and we had a quick look around the open air market and stopped for a couple of photo opportunities at Senate Square and along Esplanadi before walking back to the ship. We didn't want to take the chance of missing the proper bus stop a second time!

For those first time visitors to Helsinki, it must have been a very disappointing....at least we could tell them that on a nice day the capital is a really lovely place to see and there is lots to explore. One of the local shopkeepers told us that it was the coldest summer in 100 years...maybe it is one of the wettest too.

Needless to say that by late afternoon and the ship was ready to sail away, the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining brightly.