Day 4

Today we began again with a leisurely breakfast at the Torni Restaurant. After Alan finished his nap, we covered him with sunblock and started our journey to find the sea. As we began walking, we felt droplets and it started to rain full force! We almost gave up, but soon the rain let up.

As we made our way toward the coast, we saw many old, ornate buildings including the Lutheran Cathedral and the Bank of Finland. We even heard some worshippers singing hymns in (we think) Russian, through the open doors of a church we passed.

We finally reached the coast. There were many sailboats, tour boats, and ferries to be seen. The rain had been coming off and on, so we decided to take a gamble and visit the island fort called Suomenlinna. We rode a ferry to get there - a short distance, maybe 10 minutes. When we arrived, it began to rain steadily. We darted between the old buildings and archways, trying to stay dry (and keep Alan dry!) while looking for a place to go inside. Pretty soon Alan was crying his hardest and we were getting soaked. Finally we stepped into the Visitors' Center. It took 10-15 minutes to calm Alan down, but eventually he fell asleep like a limp rag in my arms. When we walked back outside, the sun's rays were greeting us warmly. What strange weather!

We made our way to the Restaurant/Brewery and had an AMAZING lunch buffet. It's a good thing it tasted so good, because our bill was 62 Euros! (About $80) Meals seem to be quite expensive here.

We explored the Naval Training Academy on the island until the skies began to look threatening again. We couldn't tell if our ferry ticket was "round trip" (since it was printed in Finnish) so we had to ask a clerk at one of the shops. (It was!)

We ferried back to Helsinki, where it was pouring rain. With Dan holding Alan close, we made our way through the streets, hugging the walls of the tall buildings. It even hailed for a couple minutes! But we made it eventually. It was an adventure.

We were so tired when we got to our hotel room that we all 3 fell asleep in one bed. We slept until 9 pm - only to discover that not many restaurants were open for dinner at that time on a Sunday. We did eventually find a Pizza Hut in the mall.

Then we came back and called our mothers to say Happy Mother's Day, and went to bed.