Helsinki Finland

Great weather again today and we are taking the Winterland Ice Bar and Helsinki Highlights excursion.

When you arrive, there are HOHO buses right there that you can take and a souvenir/gift shop terminal  with duty free tax free souvies. 

But I decided to try the ice bar and vodka shots for something different. I know there is one in Sweden and that is more of a bar setting which I know I would of enjoyed but this was touted and the "worlds largest ice bar". It wasn't as big as I thought it might be and I think it's more of a place to bring your kids. It's in a warehouse setting and I would of designed it a little bit different. Because it's dark maybe a dark sky with twinkling lights like you were outside instead of open beamed warehouse. Also I would of liked piped in music because it was a little quiet. 

 When you walk in you suit up in their heavy duty overalls, boots and slim gloves before you go in the ice bar for your shot of vodka in a crystal clear ice shot glass. They have a tobogganing   area and you can take a kick sled for a spin which I did for a short couple minutes. There are various ice sculptures and igloos. They also had a husky dog sled ride that would do 2 laps for 20 euros each. The ride was only a few minutes so we passed. If you have kids this is a place for them and they will offer (I think it was Cranberry) juice instead of vodka. We were there for maybe 45 minutes and if you want more of a bar setting this is not for you.

 One more stop at the Temppeliauko Rock church becuase it is literraly built from solid rock. We got let off for  about a 5 minute walk from the bus. There isn't much walking around the church and it won't take you long to view the church. When we were there someone was playing the piano and it has great acoustics. When you leave there is a cute souvenir shop right across the street to the right. A big selection of very unique gifts. I found  these little music boxes that you wind and play everything from "Imagine" to " let it be" . We had the option of staying in town and taking a shuttle back but that would of only given us 2 hours. So we went back to the ship and went through the cruise terminal gift shops.

Suited Up

Our shot of Vodka

The Rock Church

If I were to do it again I would take the HOHO bus since it is right outside the pier and the town is right there. 

Back to the ship for formal night and lobster.

#Helsinki #Finland #Icewinterland #RockChurch 

Church of the Spilled Blood.

I could hardly wait to see the church.  Beautiful on the outside and inside.

#St.Petetsburg #Russia #churchofthespilledblood

St. Petersburg Day 1

We took a 2 day tour with TJ's tours in St. Petersburg and covered a lot of ground. I didn't know what to expect before I got there, but this ended up being our favorite of the Baltic cities. Up early in the morning we went to the St. Petersburg Palace Square before anyone was there. And then off to the subway. Down the steepest escalator I have ever been on.  It was unbelievably clean, no graffiti and no rats.

The St Petersburg’s Palace Square is one of the major landmarks of Russia. The Palace Square is also considered as one of Eur-Asia’s beautiful and unique squares. The Palace Square is built on the southern side of the city between in 1754-1762, a new building was added to the square in 1819-1829 by Carlo Rossi.

St. Petersburg Palace Square

Interesting Facts about the Subway.

With the typical platform lying 187 feet below ground, St. Petersburg boasts the deepest subway system in the world. Admiralteyskaya is 282 feet deep. For some perspective, this is about a fifth of the height of the Empire State Building. And it is almost a hundred feet lower than New York City’s deepest subway station.

Down to the Subway
The station looks brand new. The walls are made of spotless, faux marble panels and shiny gold mosaics, which tell Petersburg history. One shows Peter the Great opening the Admiralty building in 1704. This building was the former headquarters of the Russian Navy.

Schwerin town and lunch.

After the castle visit we wandered around the town and stopped off for lunch at a cute little restaurant. When in Germany you have to have the beer.  

Lunch Time. 

Little dog sticking his head out.