Many times, the Gringos get asked what we do when we opt to stay on the cruise ship instead of touring. On July 24, 2022, it was an easy decision to stay aboard; not only was it rainy that day, but the best sommelier in Regent’s fleet, Georgiana, had arranged a special champagne and food pairing luncheon. We were still moored in Helsinki, and we feel like we know this city pretty well by now, so let’s taste some premium champagne!
Whenever I am drinking real French champagne, I think of a famous quote by Madame Bolaget, a pioneer French winemaker, “The champagne, I drink it when I’m happy, I drink it when I’m sad, I drink it when I’m alone; with friends, it is mandatory. Otherwise, I never touch the stuff, unless I’m thirsty.”
Georgiana (on the left) and the chef.
Our tasting was held in the Pacific Rim restaurant dining room, which is empty at lunchtime. We had an intimate group for the tasting, probably because it was competing with other excursions ashore in Helsinki. Nonetheless, two of our new friends aboard, Carol and Barry were present, along with their friends who are Pinot Noir growers in Oregon. The table was beautifully set, with proprietary glassware from each of the champagne producers we were tasting.
The menu
The meal started with with an amuse bouche consisting of a small disk of a blini, topped with Balik salmon and accented with an orb of Calamansi (Phillipine citrus) jelly. It was paired with Veuve Cliquot Yellow label. Yum!
Salmon Amuse Bouche with Veuve Cliquot
The second course was a salad of scallop carpaccio in a citrus caviar dressing. The wine paired with it was a vintage bottle of Dom Perignon.
Salmon Carpaccio with Dom Perignon
The starter course featured a single jumbo shrimp tempura in an incredible panko batter, with both a Yuzu mayo and a ponzu based tempura sauce. The sommelier paired that with a Ruinart Blanc de Blanc.
Shrimp tempura with Ruinart Blanc de Blanc.
For our fish course, the chef served a Chilean sea bass in a Cassis veal jus, with rutabaga purée. Amazingly, it was paired with a Ruinart Rosé sparkling wine. The pairing worked surprisingly well.
Chilean Sea Bass with Ruinart Rosé.
For the main course, there was a small portion of perfectly grilled filet mignon (cooked medium rare, of course) bedecked with a medallion of seared foie gras, and a parsnip mousseline. This course was paired with a Krug rosé champagne.
Oops! The worst food blogger in the world couldn’t wait for the filet!
Finally, the dessert course featured a deconstructed lemon merigue tart. Instead of the traditional tart shell, it was presented as a square of crispy pastry dough topped with piped dollops of baked meringue and lemon curd. I was skeptical that any champage could pair with the assertive flavors in this dish, but Georgiana again proved why she is the best! The wine pairing was the Krug Grand Cuvée champagne, and the match was perfect!
Deconstructed lemon meringue tart with Krug Grand Cuvée.
I could not think of a better way to end this magical trip. Tomorrow, we pull into Stockholm, and this will be our last post of the trip. But stay tuned, dear Readers, because with will return soon with an exploration of the Scottish islands and Highlands, and a little bit of Ireland and Wales thrown in!
We sailed into Helsinki, Finland early on the morning of July 23, 2022. Jim and I had seen most of the sights in the city, which is gorgeous, on a prior visit in 2019. So, our goal for the day was to visit the open air market which takes place daily at the appropriately named Market Square, and then try some of Helsinki’s great public transportation system to check out the food halls in search of some local products to take home for gifts. From where we are moored, we can see one of the electric trams which are a key feature of Helsinki’s metro system. Jim was nearly levitating, he was so excited.
Old Market Hall on left
While you’re metaphorically riding the shuttle with us, here’s a little history of Helsinki. The area was first inhabited after the last Ice Age, but a settlement didn’t really form here until the Iron Age (in Northern Europe, from about 500 B.C. to 800 A.D.). The area was inhabitated by Tavastians (historical Finnish peoples), and the area was used primarily for hunting and fishing. The early settlements were raided by Vikings. In 1550, King Gustav of Sweden established a trading port here, calling it Helsingbors. He intended it to be a rival to the Hanseatic trading port of Reval (modern day Tallinn). Despite his best efforts, the town didn’t flourish, and in 1710, nearly all the inhabitants were nearly wiped out by the plague. However, it remainined under Swedish control until the end of the Finnish War (1808-09) between Sweden and Russia, when Russia took control of the eastern third of Sweden’s territory and established the Grand Duchy of Finland (controlled entirely by Russia). Alexander I of Russian moved the capital from Turku (in western Finland) to Helsinki, and then the town started to take off. The Royal Academy of Turku was also moved to Helsinki after a great fire destroyed it in 1827, when it became the University of Helsinki. After the capital was moved, Helsinki continued to grow, and the Russians brought in German architect C.L. Engel to develop it in the neoclassical style like St. Petersburg. Several of Engel’s works can be seen in Senate Square, where the Cathedral of Helsinki crowns the whole square and it is visible from most parts of the city. The Swedish historical ties remained strong however, and as recently as 1910, half of the population of Helsinki was still speaking Swedish as thioer primary language.
After World War I, the collapse of the Russian Empire caused Finland to seek its independence, and they fought a civil war to do so. The “Reds” were the workers’ party, largely supported by Russia, while the “Whites” were the nationalists in the German sphere of influence. The Germans were advocating a plan for a German-led Finnish monarchy, but that plan fell apart after Germany’s defeat in World War I. Instead, Finland formed an independent democratic republic. The Finnish people were able to overcome the divisions caused by their civil war by social compromises based on a long-term culture of moderate politics and religion and the post-war economic recovery. They remained independent in the post war years. Today, the official languages of Finland are both Swedish and Finnish. After decades of neutrality, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just recently caused the Finnish people to apply for membership in Nato.
We took the ship’s shuttle over to Market Square and wandered around. We walked first into the old food hall for the harbor, but its old interior has been converted into a lot of shops and cafés, with no fresh food for sale any more (except bakery items).
In the stalls in the Market Square, there were some beautiful fruits and vegetables for sale. The berries were so pretty I wanted to buy them all. Cloudberries are in season now in far north of the Nordic countries. They look like small yellow raspberries, and they are very delicate, so they are always sold fresh in a liquid. One of my goals for the day is to find some preserved for jam to take home.
Those are fresh chanterelle mushrooms on the rightCloudberries in liquid in centerUspenski CathedralEsplanade Park
There are also a huge number of vendors selling craft items. This being Finland, there were no shortage of knitted woolen items for sale, but we get limited use for those in California where we live. Nonetheless, we were able to buy some gifts (including hand-carved telescoping campfire skewers for my camping obsessed daughter). Then we wandered on up into the main part of town and took in a few of the most famous landmarks. Helsinki is an amazingly clean and efficiently operated city. It was very pleasant to see all the flowers in bloom, and people out enjoying the sunshine, but I don’t like to think about how cold and gray it would be here in the winter!
Jim and I ended up walking all the way up to the main food hall I wanted to see. Once again, we walked through Senate Square, gazing at the Cathedral of Helsinki, the University of Helsinki, and the Government Palace.
University of HelsinkiSenate Square with the Cathedral of Helsinki on the left, and the Government Palace at the end.Helsinki Cathedral
We finally found our cloudberry jam in the food hall, and enjoyed seeing what else was on order. Jim let me explore to my heart’s content, and then it was his turn.
The farmer’s marketSign advertising that cloudberries were in stock
As you can see from the tram map, the tram system does a great job of covering the city. Jim figured out how to buy tickets for us (while you can just use your credit card to tap onto the tram, you can’t use an Amex card, and you can’t use one card to tap for two people, you can buy a ticket for two people). The route we took took us past some of the other notable landmarks, including the lovely Central Train station designed in the national romanticist style and opened in 1919. The two pairs of “stone men” are garbed for special occasions, and in this case, they are wearing the jerseys of the Finnish national soccer team for the World Cup finals. During Covid, the statues wore surgical masks.
The tram map. Our ship was moored in the slip at the bottom left.The train station with its “stone men”.
Once the tram returned us to the ship, rejoined our friends and a rousing game of trivia. Since we were in town for two days, including an overnight stay, we went to enjoy one of the incredibly large number of great restaurants in Helsinki. When I was making the reservations, I couldn’t believe how many Michelin-starred restaurants there are in this relatively small city! Nonetheless, we chose to go to a well-reviewed Italian restaurant called Ravintola Nerone. Our hopes were fulfilled, and we enjoyed our first dinner off the ship!
Vaya con Gringos 