We went downstairs to breakfast in the hotel restaurant at about 7:30am. To get there, we took the elevator down to level 1 which is one level below reception and is the street level for the harbour side of the building. Then we walked through the courtyard to the building next door and up a few flights of stairs.
Apparently this building was built just over 200 years ago as the house for a naval captain. Not so much a house - more like a mansion. It is now known as Restaurant Haven. It's elegant with many of the original features such as tall painted ceilings and original fireplaces.
It was a nice breakfast with plenty of choice. The waitress gave us a table with a view over the harbour. We went at the right time because it was getting crowded at 8:30.
The ground outside was wet from the overnight rain. Now there was just light drizzle and the temperature was a cool 9C. The forecast says it would improve by lunchtime.
We'd booked to go on a hop on hop off bus tour of Helsinki using a company called Panorama. It departs at 11am from a bus stop a couple of blocks from our hotel. The tour takes 1 hour 45 minutes and stops at one location which varies from day to day.
Today the tour would stop at the Rock Church which is built into the granite hillside. Suzy was very pleased to hear this because that destination was her preference.
Initially the bus took us along the coast so we could admire the marinas, boats, pleasure craft and the islands out to sea. Then it took us along various city streets pointing out places of interest.
The bus stopped at about 11:40 so we could walk a few blocks to the Rock Church. It's a functioning church with pews, a large organ and a bandstand. The walls are rock and the roof is a giant copper dome. We took photos at the ground level and from the balcony at the back of the church.
We had to be back on the bus by 12 noon to continue the tour.
We saw various parks and the site for the 1952 Olympics. The final destination was Market Square at the wharf and close to our hotel.
It was a good way to see the sights of Helsinki.
At the start of the tour, there were a few patches of blue sky and by the time it finished, there was plenty of blue sky. Although it was still cool (12C), it was much more pleasant.
Our hotel receptionist had suggested to us yesterday that we should catch the ferry to a nearby island called Suomenlinna. It leaves from the wharf area and we were just in time to get the 1pm ferry. The trip takes less than 15 minutes.
The island was a fortress built almost 300 years ago to defend the city from invaders. There are various buildings that were part of the fortress, a church, cafes and two museums.
We started by having lunch at the Cafe Silo. Then we strolled along various cobblestone roads to look at the buildings, bridges, trees and water views.
It was a very pleasant place to visit on a (fairly) sunny afternoon. I took lots of photos on the island and on the ferry there and back.
We caught the ferry back to the city at 3pm and had another look at the stalls on the wharf area and in the Market Hall.
For dinner, we'd booked at another restaurant close to the hotel on the wharf level. Goodwins is a steak restaurant and our booking was for 6:30pm.
Both the food menu and the wine menu are very extensive. At the restaurant next door last night, there wasn't much choice whereas tonight there was so much choice it was overwhelming.
In the end, I asked the waitress for a suggestion about the wine by pointing out that we like a shiraz. She came back with a Syrah wine from the Pays d'Oc region of France. It was perfect.
After much deliberation, I went for a ribeye steak and Suzy went for filet mignon. Both were excellent. The chips were great too - not the stringy French fries but genuine chucky traditional chips. The bread was great, he service for good, everything was good.
This was my kind of place. When I win Powerball (a major prize not just $8.67), I'll be back here every night. It wasn't cheap - but then again, nothing is cheap in this part of the world. Back home, if people complain about the cost of living, they should spend a few days in Scandinavia.
Although the forecast was for rain again tonight, it wasn't a problem. The lights in the wharf area were very attractive. What a great place!
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