Hello again,

I am still in Helsinki but we're leaving on the boat to Estonia in the morning. Last night the tour started and we went to tea together at a restaurant that had a tractor theme, literally there are several real tractors inside the place! The group is good and everyone gets along well. I've been shifted to a new room, just across the hall from the old one. I have a couch in this one but it is in poorer condition, the door frames are rotting, there's a massive crack down one wall, the paint is peeling and there are holes in the plaster. No big deal but it's hard to understand why a room in a modern city would be like this. Apparently this is the most luxurious accom. for the whole trip, so it's all part of the fun.

This morning we caught a boat out to the 'Gibraltor of the North' which is what they call the Suomenlinna Fortress at the entrance to Helsinki. It was built by the Swedes to keep the Russians out, and after successfully defending a Russian attack they surrendered the fort to them anyway. Following the Finnish Civil War quite a lot of people were imprisoned there and some were executed. It is quite windswept and cold but the defenses are quite well preserved. Apparently there is a tunnel under the ocean back to the city from the islands.

I had a funny encounter with a mad Lithuanian tourist yesterday, he was dressed in cowboy boots and hat and wanted me to take his picture while he held up his national flag in front of a large ferry, there were shades of Borat for sure. The city is very nice and looks so much better when the sun is shining. There is an amazing Lutheran Church nearby, it's one of the most breathtaking building I've ever seen. The statues on the top are made from zinc.

Here are a few more photos from around the city, quite a few...