jpalbny

Meeting Rachel and George for dinner in LT tonight! I finally remembered to use the website that only works onboard, to check reservations, excursions, and restaurant menus! Here's tonight's LT menu, to whet all of our appetites. Can I hold off another 45 minutes? I hope the post works. It's a series of screenshots from one big screenshot.

Or just take a SS cruise. So far 2 out of 3 and I've only been on board for a day!

Monday, June 5th. "Ulko" island (Ulko-Tammio). We slept soundly... Until 3:30! Then I was awake for a few hours. Napped again and woke up around 8:00. A coffee and a pastry in Panorama. Looks cold and cloudy! Zodiacs have been going for a while for the guided hikes, but we're heading out later to just have a wander on our own We grabbed a zodiac around 9:00. Choppy ride over, directly into the wind. Cool, about 48 degrees F. Some spray. Brr! Welcome to summer in the Nordics. Glad for those SS parkas! But the welcome on the island was warm. Someone playing accordion on the pier. Fresh blueberry juice with ginger. We wandered off to look at a big gun... We saw a map with a 3km hiking trail. So, off we went. Rachel and George joined us. Beautiful coastline! Silver Wind made an occasional appearance. The bright orange lichens reminded me of the Bay of Fire. From here you might be able to rock-hop to the offshore islet. George thought about it. We watched. We bushwhacked from the coast back towards the trail. On the way we saw this circular bunker which had been blasted out of the bedrock. Now nature is reclaiming the space. So many rocks. The "rapakivi" granite here crumbles easily. At least that's how Google tranlated the sign written in Finnish. There is a birding tower that you can climb. Not this one...this is a military tower. Climb it and you won't leave the island any time soon. The weather had been improving all morning. Nice sunshine, and inland there was a bit of a wind break so it started to feel warm. We followed signs to a tunnel and walked through. One of the tour guides was walking through in the other direction. He growled at us like a bear. Chris wasn't fooled! Fairly large. And a railing to guide you, if your flashlight goes out. Back to the dock where they had some snacks waiting for us. Grilled Finnish sausage, and salmon cooked on a plank. Delicious! The zodiac ride back was beautiful. Riding with the wind was much smoother. The sun, Wind, and clouds made a nice picture. Lunch in LT then a rest before our informal CC M&G at 16:00.

June 4th. Dinner. At the safety drill, we met LAexNY. Then we had the briefing, where the EL introduced some crew. Daddyo recognized us and introduced himself. Slowly meeting the CC contingent on board. After the briefing we got ready for dinner and went about 19:45. We had a table for two in the back of the MDR. Menu looked good. The first and last pages will change every night. The 2nd and 3rd will change every few days. Chris had mushroom soup which was delicious. I had foie gras. Mercifully small portion. Mains were Wiener Schnitzel and Lemongrass Beef. Both very flavorful. Chris had churros for dessert and I had the "around the world" cheeses. All very young. Included wines were a Grüner Veltliner and a Douro red blend. Both tasty. I got some Port wine with my cheeses. A G&T for a nightcap in the bar. Then, we tried to fall asleep before sunset. Sailaway at 21:30.

Wasn't it Bill Murray in Groundhog Day?

Helsinki. Boarding! We walked to the train station and just missed one train to Helsinki so we had to wait five minutes. Soon we were at Central Station and grabbed the 3 tram from there. We rode to the last stop and walked to Kaivopuisto Park. We found the "ravine" which was just a set of stairs to climb up to the observatory. A tight squeeze. Good thing it was before the cruise. After 2 weeks of the SS diet, we might not have fit. From the observatory we got a glimpse of Silver Wind (picture from a previous post). We then walked downhill to a glacial erratic. And a random monument. That was all from Chris's list, so we set course back to the hotel. On the way we passed the observatory again. A beautiful walk through Kaivopuisto Park. We could see Suomenlinna from here. Lots of geese. My app said they were Barnacle Geese. More cute statuary along the way. We dallied too long on the way back to the tram so we missed it by less a minute. So we had to walk to the hotel. We needed the steps I guess! We arrived about 11:15 and packed up. Down to the lobby at noon to check out and catch the bus to the ship. A nice easy transfer, on a bus that was much better than the picture I posted earlier. When we arrived there was a short wait until we could alight, to avoid overcrowding. But we were on board shortly. Once on board we were directed to the bar and then the theater to complete the process. We met Rachel and George for a nice relaxed lunch in LT. It was great to catch up! As we finished, the suites were ready just after 14:00. So we sat out on our veranda and enjoyed the scenery. With champagne. And chocolate. Life is good. Watched the safety video and unpacked. So glad to be on board! Safety drill at 16:30 then a briefing at 18:15 before dinner.

We also visited the Haaga Rhododendron Park this morning. This is the time for it! So many beautiful blooms! We wandered the boardwalks and enjoyed the flowers. Nearby, a huge grove of azaleas. Loved how they grew under and among the trees. After a few more pics we went back to the train station to get back to town. We wanted to try to find a "ravine" in Kaivopuisto Park, in the south of the city.

Silver Wind from Kaivopuisto Observatory!

Sunday June 4th. Morning in Helsinki. Slept well and awake by 7:30 for breakfast. Tasty buffet at the hotel, included with the SS package. After breakfast, my tour guide had big plans for the morning. There were a few parks a bit out of town that we'd missed in November. And they would probably be better in the summer anyway. So we walked to the train station and caught a bus to Strömberginkoski. Yes. Chris had found another waterfall to chase! A few different permutations. You could climb to the top, so of course we did. Looks like the devil's bathtub? Upstream, another little falls. Back to the bus stop for our next destination! The weather is mostly sunny and quite pleasant. Weather app says 56F but in the bright sun it feels warmer.

Yes! We saw it yesterday as well.

Saturday June 3, Helsinki We got to the hotel just after 6PM and cleaned up for dinner. We were ready by 7 so went out for a wander. First the harbor area but no sign of Silver Wind. Near the harbor, we saw the SS transfer bus. Just kidding! (I hope) We went to dinner 15 minutes early and started right in. We had made a reservation at Kapelli, an elegant old building on the Esplanade. The menu was interesting. Prosecco for an aperitif, and wine to go with our mains. Starting to look like a SS cruise! We had a cold roast beef appetizer to start. Chris had Arctic char and I had reindeer. Hopefully not one of Santa's. A circuitous stroll home in the twilight. So different from our last visit. We were in bed asleep by 9:30.

Nah, 55 minutes at CDG is a walk in the park. Some day I'll tell you about the 15 minute connection in Belgrade when we had to fly Air Serbia! We arrived in Helsinki at 16:55 and went straight for the train station. I bought tickets on my phone app as we walked. Arrived at the station and caught the 17:15 train with a minute to spare. A relaxing ride to the Helsinki Central Station then a pleasant slow walk to Hotel Kämp. We arrived and were checking in just after 6PM. Dinner at 20:00 so hopefully we'll have time for a wander first.

Now that we've actually boarded for the second leg, I'm comfortable posting that we made the connection. A 4h50 connection should be no problem, right? Well.. We were scheduled to leave BOS at 6:55PM. That got pushed to 8:30 because the incoming plane was late, so we boarded around 7:30. And then we sat at the gate for about 3 hours, while the storms delayed baggage loading and refueling. Finally we pushed back at 10:30, and were airborne at 10:58. ETA was now 11:30, and the flight to Helsinki was scheduled for 12:45. Doable, but more stressful than needed! The flight was uneventful and we touched down at 11:28. Boarding in 40 minutes... Ten minutes to taxi to the gate. We were #3/4 off the plane, one advantage of being in the last row of business. We didn't run, but walked briskly. Of course we'd landed way out in 2E, Terminal M... So a good long walk to the train, then 2 stops to 2E, Terminal K. Then security, minimal wait. Immigration was quick too. Another walk to cross over to 2F and we were at the gate two minutes before boarding time! A new record for CDG, 30 minutes from gate to gate! And none of the priority lines had been open. And again, I'm really glad that we didn't have to check bags. These tight connections are pesky. Of course, this flight is now a little delayed but hopefully not another 3h saga! We ended up waiting about 15 minutes to board, and we haven't pushed back yet for the 12:45 departure, but the door just closed (12:53). Let's hope we leave soon, so we can have a minute to relax before our 8PM dinner reservation!

They have on one of our two cruises.

It is a bit of a cluster here at Logan. The DL app still insists that we're leaving at 8:00. So we got up and started walking out of the lounge at 7... Only to see that the monitors said ETD 8:50! Back to our seats. The Delta app stubbornly remained at 8:00... Finally at about 7:25 we got a notification that the flight was boarding. We walked to the gate to hear an announcement... "We've closed the jet way because of lightning strikes." A brief delay and we were on board sipping sparkling wine by 7:35. The new DL One suites are pretty nice. Since we had to change flights just a few weeks ago, we're in the last row (7) but we have seats together. So all is good.

So glad to hear from everyone that you're enroute! We are at the AF lounge at Logan. The DL "skyclub" is a temporary pit on the other side of Terminal E, and the VA clubhouse (which we really like) is closed for renovation today! We went to the DL club and it was icky. So we walked all the way here to the AF lounge to find out that they weren't accepting Priority Pass, but they were happy to let us in with our DL One boarding passes. Much nicer than the SkyClub. We got everything done around the house this morning by 11:30, and met my cousin for lunch in Framingham at 2:00. Since I knew that our inbound plane was running 90 minutes late, we took our time and didn't rush. After lunch she drove us right to Terminal E where the person ahead of us was checking in about $1000 of extra baggage! It took forever so they called another agent over to check us in. No fuss for us...no baggage to check! Just a swipe of the passport. No line at TSA PreCheck so we were lounge hunting shortly thereafter. Our inbound plane arrived at 6:01 and departure is rescheduled for 8:00 instead of 6:55. No worries, as we had a 5h layover in CDG so 4 is better. Hope everyone's flights are smooth and we'll see you tomorrow!

Thanks for the preview of the hotel, LAexNY! We are also looking at a 5h connection, but in CDG. Let's hope that it passes by quickly. We were on the Kiel Canal almost 5 years ago - and we were on Silver Wind, but pre-conversion. A nice sunny day with beautiful scenery. Glasses were indeed raised but I can't vouch for how many... Now time to get some last-minute stuff done around the house. I have to do a water change in the fish tank, then grab some extra fish food from the pet store. Would be nice to take a walk before we sit in the plane for hours. And we might jump in the pool for a minute since it's warmed up to over 80 degrees. Sounds like I'd better get moving! We should leave between 10:30 and 11:00 for the Massport garage in Framingham. We have a lunch reservation at 1:00 (my cousin lives nearby and is meeting us) but if we're running later we'll just push that back an hour. Then she'll drop us at Logan and we're off!

It is! In reality it will be more "expedition lite" but we're definitely going to places off the beaten path and there should be a nice mixture of tours. I'm really looking forward to a break from the hot weather, as it's been over 90 degrees here in Albany the past few days. Thanks to @Balian65 for the update on the current leg. I don't expect a super smooth operation on these types of expeditions as they are more akin to "repositioning" cruises. The ships just don't visit here enough to have the experience down pat. It seems like the naturalists are exploring the area along with us and I've always had fun with that. The stops look very interesting nonetheless. Well, we did some preliminary packing last night and we have too much stuff. So the choice is, to check a bag or to bring fewer things. We'll probably try the latter first. We haven't checked a bag (unless we're bringing wine home from a trip) since Covid. Between the casual dress for an expedition, and free laundry, we don't really need that much. Hopefully LAexNY is safely arrived and settled in, enjoying Helsinki and those long summer nights that never end! We can check in online in about 50 minutes. Or less. Who's counting?

They have coffee and pastries in the main bar until fairly late in the morning. I just looked at one of my daily schedules from the last cruise and it says they're open until 10AM. That should give you some time to fuel up. If you look at the first page of my review from the Corsica trip on Le Bellot (link in my signature) I have a picture of some of the offerings from that venue.

That looks like the view from the Park Hyatt! We stayed there 5 years ago. Have thoroughly enjoyed your trip report and I am very sad to see that it's over. Thankfully it has tided me over until our trip which starts very soon! Safe travels home.

I second that! Thanks for whetting our appetites, and anything you can share about this trip will be very much appreciated.

That is a great hotel! We've stayed there twice and it's our favorite. And yes, it's across the street from the docks. If we were connecting to/from a cruise in QC we'd definitely stay there, and walk.

The hired help...

Two more sleeps to go until we fly out to Helsinki! Then, 12 nights cruising to small ports and islands. Starting in the Gulf of Bothnia, then we head down through the Baltic Sea, and the Kiel Canal to end in Hamburg. Silver Wind is currently sailing the reverse itinerary from ours, and I've enjoyed the pictures that I've seen so far from that voyage. Lots of activity on our roll call here, and we are looking forward to meeting everyone on board! With all the camaraderie and daylight, I wonder if we will ever sleep? We were lucky enough to visit Helsinki for a few days in November. Not much daylight, and even some snow showers, but it was charming and we can't wait to see it again. This time we expect to see much more warmth and daylight. We fly out of Boston Friday evening and arrive in Helsinki Saturday afternoon. We made a dinner reservation for Saturday night at Kappeli, the old restaurant in the middle of the Esplanade. It looked pretty on our last visit so we'll see how the food is. Now we really have to get packing! We unexpectedly took the long weekend off and went to Puerto Rico, so we are a bit behind. Usually we start thinking about packing the weekend before we leave. I guess we should start tonight. Bon voyage and safe travels to all - see you in Helsinki!

Chef Pia is a gem. I'm still carrying an extra stone for (from) her.