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Day 9: June 4, 2019
Hyvää huomenta Suomi! Anna Maija and Kai were already waiting for us when we got off the ship into a sunny Helsinki, that was washed with the storm just to be brighter for our arrival. First stop was Senate Square, a masterpiece of Carl Ludvig Engel', that was comissioned by Russian to spruce up the Grand Ducky of Finland and its capital. It has to look like St. Petersburg! Helsingin tuomiokirkko, Helsinki's Lutheran cathedral was impressive, but it was the Rock Church that moved us the most. It has excellent acoustics due to its copper wire ceiling, but we had to leave just when someone started playing. There were more things to see. Sibelius monument by Eila Hiltunen from 1969 was too modern for some tastes, but the market square facing the harbour had enough of choices for everyone. Into hotel, for some free time, before a busy day tomorrow. Some were brave enough to face Helsinki's public transport on their own, and returned to the harbour for a river cruise. Others went out in the neighbourhood of Töölö, where our hotel was, to see how an average Helsinkian lives. The star of the dinner was fish muikku (vendance). “Muikku” is such a part of the Finnish culture that when someone takes a photo, it’s the go-to word to say when getting everyone to smile, just like saying, “cheese!”