Today we signed up for a tour of Porvoo a medieval village located on the mouth of the Provoo River on the Baltic Sea. The town has a population of about 700. On our way to Porvoo we drove through Helsinki. With it’s 640,000 inhabitants, the city comprises 20% of Finland’s population. The country itself is bilingual with both Swedish and Finish taught in the school. 70% of the population is Lutheran. About 99% of the students attend public schools which are free; for many years Finland’s school were considered to be first in the world. The country has a national army; all boys must serve 6-8 months in the military or in civil service. Taxes in Finland range from 0-48% on a graduated scale based on income. For that the people get free education including free tuition to college and graduate schools, a graduated scale for child care up to the age of 6, free health care, and infrastructure.
I loved the little town of Porvoo. Situated along the Porvoo River, the wooden houses and the boats along the river looked so peaceful. I tried to take pictures and keep up with our tour guide, which was no easy feat. I think the pictures will explain what I mean.
In the town square, we had some time to browse the shops. I had fun in the chocolate shop which had free samples of their many different selections. They were all yummy! Next we went to a cafe for coffee and runeberg cake. The dessert is named after Finland’s famous poet, Johan Ludwig Runeberg. Legend has it that this was his favorite cake made by his wife. The cake and coffee were a great combination and Frank gladly finished my leftovers.
Going back to Helsinki for a tour of the city, we stopped at the square with the immense Helsinki Cathedral. While we were admiring the church, I noticed a lady taking her male companion’s picture in front of the church. I offered to take their picture. In doing so, she thanked me then took our picture. She spoke limited English, but shared that she and her brother were from Russia. When I explained that we were from the USA, she smiled brightly and gave me a big hug. “We friends. Governments no, but we want peace.” They left. A little while later, the two returned and we took pictures that included us together. We hugged again. It was a brief, but warm exchange between travelers from countries of very opposing ideologies. 
We also passed by the colorful market and the Presidential Palace before retuning to our ship. We were leaving port by 2:00 pm.
That evening we headed for the ship’s gormet specialty restaurant, the Chef’s Table. We didn’t know what to expect, but I was pretty sure that Frank was going to hate it. I was right! I didn’t care for the food either. I did like the palate cleanser which was like an iced sorbet and the dessert which reminded me of tarimusu.
All in all, we had a great time exploring in Finland today. More adventutures await us tomorrow as our ship sails on to St. Petersburg, Russia.
WOW, all those Lutherans, I would have felt at home there!! Very nice Russian people too. When you travel abroad you find people just like us who want to be our friends!! Great blog with lots of info. Thanks for letting me come along on your trip!! Beautiful ship too!