So I rushed into the ferry. Would’ve wanted to take a picture in that area through which you enter the ship, but as I was in the mindset of rushing I decided to “sacrifice” that idea to be inside earlier. The first thing I wanted to do inside the ship was to find the luggage lockers to put my bags inside. And basically this was one of the reasons I felt the need to rush. I thought these lockers would get filled fast and I wanted to be able to use them.
After a few minutes of rushed searching, I didn’t find the luggage lockers, even asked an info person about it. Eventually I did find them. The system was pretty much the same as the ones from the Warsaw train station. That part was done.
The other reason I felt like I should rush is because I worried the “better” places to sit would be taken. And particularly the seats I had in mind were the ones at the deck. I wanted to certainly see the departure from there. A lot of people did have the same idea and it was for sure crowded at the departure time. But even so, it was still possible to find seats on the deck. Inside the ship, admittedly the seats near the windows were for a big part taken. But with a bit of walking around it was still possible to find one such seat which I used for most of the middle-late part of the journey.
Regarding my other concern, the luggage lockers, what I found is that there really wasn’t that much of a demand for them. I wasn’t the only one who used them but there wasn’t a big need to rush just to make it on time to use one of the lockers. All in all, both of my worries were more or less overblown. At least on this particular early morning ferry. Maybe at a different time it would’ve been different. And in hinsight, there probably isn’t a large need for a locker anyway, because you can do perfectly fine just by putting your stuff near where you sat, which is what I feel most people have been doing.
Anyways back to the moments of departure. I was there on the deck. At first settled on a seat near the right side glass. Eventually the ship got going. Made sure to stand up for that to get a better view. One could see Tallinn gradually become more and more distant. And that’s it really. Eventually could catch some glimpses of tiny islands.
Ofcourse, this was moving from one country to another. So I made sure to listen to some songs related to both Estonia and Finland. But definitely less compared to the previous trips between countries. Because there was less time and it was a ferry ride. Something I’m much less experienced with. But particular songs I listened to set a very happy mood. A very hyped mood. A mood of joy I’ll remember. I felt a lot of joy knowing I was coming to Finland.
I wanted to get a feel for the ferry, so after Tallinn pretty much went out of sight and the only visible scenery was just water more or less, I went to explore the ship in a more chill way. There really was a good amount of sitting space all through the ship, with the seats near windows being more popular than other seats. I didn’t really feel like getting any food because that was the plan for soon after the ferry arrives. And in terms of drinks I had what I bought the previous day in the Estonian Lidl. There were some stores but I didn’t step foot into those because I wasn’t really interested. Didn’t seem like there was a store with general items.
Eventually I found that inner seat near the window and sort of settled there. It was ofcourse less chilly inside than on the deck. Started making the decisions on where I’d go eat first, what public transport I’ll use, how would I get to the hotel from here and so on.
As the ferry ride was approaching the latter stages, I got the automated phone operator message about entering Finland. This has all now gotten more real. I was really in Finland. By the way the location on the phone was having some issues showing where exactly I was through the ride. I suppose that was to be expected.
After this point I bought my 3 day Helsinki public transport tickets and set them to start being valid a bit after I expected to be out of the ferry. And I more or less started to think about exiting the ferry. I took my luggage out of the locker and brought it back up the deck to be able to see the arrival into Helsinki. Maybe I could’ve done the luggage step after the arrival but I wanted to be all ready earlier.
Excitement as I could pretty much see Helsinki in the distance. A few things I could mention regarding the deck of the ship. I liked the stickers on the glasses, with sentences like “here for the vibes” and more I can’t recall. I also liked having the Estonian flag there but that’s presumably a regulation thing anyway. The “MyStar” letters, which is the name of that particular ship, served as a reminder that I could make an easy Oshi no Ko reference when referring to the ship.
As the ship entered the port, I made sure to stay seated and just have a look at the docking. And to let the people disperse a bit. As I left, this time I did take a picture of that inbetween area between the ship and land. Nothing special but for me these types of things were a novelty. Exiting the port it felt a bit like I was at an airport, even though at this point in time I still haven’t ever experienced an airport. It felt like a very modern port that’s for sure. All in all, the Tallink ferry I used was pretty much a great experience. I didn’t have any experience being in ships as large as that and travelling by ferry between countries. But I can’t really think of a complaint for this ferry. Everything seemed pretty high quality and well executed to me.
Now the first planned thing was to get from the port to the hotel in order to leave my luggage there and then go to a place to have breakfast in. Trams were just by the terminal and I managed to catch the one that I’d need. My ticket was valid by this point so all seemed ready for my first Helsinki public transport experience. A good thing is that once the ticket is valid there is no need to do anything other than show it if requested (and on busses you do show the valid ticket to the driver).
Had my first glimpses into the city through the tram ride and felt joy to be here. Observed the Finnish tram station names, things written in Finnish through the city. The tram itself actually felt like it was older than I perhaps expected, but it functioned perfectly fine and was well maintained so not that there was any problem with that.
By this point of the journey I’ve truly been through so many amazing places and experiences. But finding myself here felt extra special. I had a strong desire to visit the Nordic countries for a very long time. This was the moment when I was doing it for the first time. A long-term wish, desire coming true. Everything felt special in these moments, very real but also surreal.
Got off at the nearest station to the hotel and went to leave my bags. Only to end up being told by the extremely nice receptionist that my room was already ready and I could go use it now. I really wasn’t expecting that outcome. Got asked when I’d want to have breakfast the next day which I wasn’t sure about at that moment so I gave that information a bit later (and received a breakfast card). The directions on where my room was kinda went over my head which was probably visible and I asked again for the direction. I was able to find my way to the room.
Here I was then, in the room, already by lateish morning. I used the elevator since it was the 6th floor. The doors to the hallway were closed and not opening however, so I just failed opening it till a staff member did that for me. Realized I probably needed to scan my room card for this in the future. Similarly, there seemed to be a mechanism in the elevator itself that required scanning the card.
The room felt clean, cozy. Maybe not the most spacious due to the bed. Had to fiddle around a bit with the lights to turn them off within the bedroom, but couldn’t figure out how to turn off the bathroom ones manually. Having the lights on in the room at this time however, contributed to a cozy, warm feeling.
The bathroom itself felt deluxe for my standards. Among the provided things was a vanity set that I used and water glasses along a paper towel inviting to drink “the world’s best tapwater”, which I “took up the offer” of. The water was without doubt clean, without a hint of chemicals. I could imagine the title of the best tapwater being true, but it might be tight with Austrian tap water that I had the chance to try, or even rural Cr*atian water. But as far as capitals go I could definitely imagine it being true.
I had to check if one could watch Silent Witch!! on the TV in this room. Turns out, not really. Well, I could if I could figure out how to get Chromecast working, but I didn’t have success with that. The TV only seemed to allow playing external things via Chromecast which I never used before. Too bad about that. And this was a Friday, meaning the day of a new Silent Witch episode as well.
As I headed out to do my first bit of exploring, the first idea was to kinda just go towards the sea, since the hotel was located pretty close to it. I was walking around reading traffic signs in Finnish and Swedish. I just felt so much joy about the fact that I’m here. One of the first “notable” places I came across was the Kauppatori market. I could recall this building from the videos I was watching before the trip. Thought why not enter and walk around, even if I wasn’t planning on buying anything. It was nice, albeit busy. Saw a place was offering chia pudding but I didn’t get it. I had plans for breakfast at a different place.
The Kauppatori market is near the shore so I was just looking around, taking these moments in. The buildings with Finnish flags. A Swedish flag too on the Swedish embassy. Those brown green churches in the style that I associate with the Nordics. Great, slightly overcasty weather. I might repeat this a lot through this post but I was just feeling so happy.
Entered the place where I chose to have breakfast and enjoyed the cosy vibe of the interior. Had a banana latte as well as porridge with a croissant and nutella. Other than me, inside the place there was a man reading newspapers. Later on a lady with a dog came and had a bit of a chat with the waiter before leaving with a coffee to go. They talked in Finnish ofcourse. On the counter they had a “dog wall” with various dog pictures. I think I was told these dogs were from different guests.
Kept walking around full of joy, even more so after that. Went through a nice path near the river. Eventually stumbled upon an area that was essentially a building site. But I could walk across towards what looked like another market. And a giant building that seemed to include a supermarket. It was my opportunity to get some Salmiakki for the first time and potentially other Finnish snacks.
This particular store felt very vegan friendly, with nice labels on products, even a croissant option. When I reached the plant “dairy” section I was in awe with the amount of choices. And the prices were comparable, and depending on the product only slightly more expensive, or even cheaper than what I could recall from in Cr*atia. Some things such as Mutti tomato products were genuinely cheaper than Cr*atia.
I did get my Salmiakki bag. And a Jaffa drink. But it wasn’t before I almost purchased an alcoholic drink. An alcoholic drink was placed in the fridges near the checkout. I’m usually used to soft drinks being placed in such fridges so this being alcoholic caught me out, as it looked like it was a Finnish lemon flavoured fizzy drink. I found out it was alcoholic when the self checkout machine asked for ID identification and the cashier said something to me in Finnish that I assume meant that for alcoholic drinks I’d need to use the regular checkout. What I then decided was to put that drink back to the fridge and go get a different one, this time a non-alcoholic one. It looks like I succeeded because on take two the self checkout let me complete the process.
After that I went near the lake again, this time the other side. Very quickly after leaving the store I opened the Salmiakki bag and tasted it for the first time, which was an exciting moment because I knew there are mixed opinions on it. My first impressions felt more or less positive. I suppose licorice really was something I already experienced in Bal*an candies, but the taste of those is more on the sweet side. Here I needed to get used to the salt. At first I also felt some chewing gum vibes I suppose. But the more I took the more I felt accustomed to it and the more enjoyable it became. As the day went on I started eating them quicker.
There I was, walking around Helsinki and Finland, having the most Finnish candy I could think of. With a lake in front of me. Sat at the bench and enjoyed these moments. Then I proceeded to go in the direction of the train station.
Soon found myself walking on a path right along the train tracks. I had a good time looking as the trains went by, many of them in a lovely purple/white/gray color scheme. It was good to be here but I did want to cross the train tracks eventually to then head back towards the center.
Soon I was able to make a turn which led me towards a lovely park, including a pond and a fountain. Here I spent more time relaxing, taking in and enjoying the moments. I did also feel a need for a toilet use and I could find one in that park. It was an automated one that seemed to be well maintained. A common design I’d encounter through the city.
Sitting in the park I could notice, based on the sounds that there is an amusement park just by the park. I continued on towards the place where I could pass below the train tracks. That’s when I stumbled across what looked like an ongoing athletics event. I was thinking it could be cool to stay there to maybe see the start of a running race, but I opted not to in the end. I walked through the park to the side of the athletic field, kinda wasn’t sure if I could go there while that was going on. But it seemed to be fine, and I saw a couple of women running, presumably warming up for their events?
These were also the moments when I first came across a tram with a design of the LGBT flag. Once again, I was just so happy to be here. It was so refreshing, and encouraging even, to see progressive things like that, especially during these times in the world.
I was then enjoying a walk by another lake. By now I was hungry though and could use something to eat. I was heading towards the centre to get to a shopping centre where I’d find a place to eat. Along the way, very close to the train station, I walked by the Oodi library. Like through the entirety of the trip basically, I walked around with the Eurovision tote bag. I’m pretty sure I could hear some women say the words “Cha Cha Cha” in their conversation, so I presume I gave them a reminder of Eurovision.
So I was in the central area. Various high glassed buildings so slightly tricky to find the exact shopping centre I needed at first. When I found it, I didn’t know the floor of the restaurant but it turned out I needed to go up. Then I needed to order which took a bit of time before the people who arrived earlier ordered and then I needed to wait for my food to be made. It wasn’t exactly a restaurant, more like a takeout place with a bit of a sitting area. I got a salad with tofu, quinoa and other things as well as a smoothie. They were calling orders by numbers so I had to glance on the contents of the order to estimate if it would be my order before getting closer and checking if its the right number as well.
Then when the food was ready and I started eating it, I genuinely started wondering if this is a mistake. The food I was given looked and felt that much like chicken. Based on the menu it must’ve been tofu but like… Are we 100% sure? Was I being fooled? Because that was for sure the most “realistic” feeling vegan chicken meal I ever had. I was highly impressed.
In this same shopping centre I noticed a gender neutral bathroom (marked with symbol), which might’ve been my first time seeing that. And a random giraffe statue which was very Revue Starlight.
Went out, headed towards the train station. Obviously a popular place, I wasn’t the only person taking pictures. I went to have a bit of a look inside too. Then after that went towards the Railway square and sat at one of the benches. I was still essentially processing that I’m here and that I’m able to hear Finnish speakers around. It was still kinda surreal.
Then I decided it was time to try out the metro. I was sitting right in front of the central metro station. Without much thinking, I chose to just go off one station away and explore where that would take me. But the first station felt too close so I waited for the next one. That’s how I ended up going around the Lauttasaari island district. Or to be precise, I didn’t get off on the Lauttasaari metro station, but the one before it, and then I walked from that station to the Lauttasaari station.
And well, architecturally, in terms of seeing landmarks, it wasn’t a notable walk. But an enjoyable experience nonethless, as I walked around not really knowing what to expect. Stumbled across an interesting dotted looking designed building, and probably had a couple of people nearby wondering what was so interesting about that random building. As i walked across the bridge to Lauttasaari I opened the Tyrkisk peber salmiakki candies that I bought earlier. They actually weren’t as strong as I was having the impression they might be. Came across a shop called Aina which was an UMK reference. Came across progressive stickers and nice artwork. Then as I reached the metro station, I went to the K-market store, a different one to the one I went to earlier in the day. I was looking to potentially get a new razor, and definitely a toothpaste. I did get what I referred to internally as the “Nordic toothpaste”, because all of the declarations on the back were in Nordic languages only, giving a pretty good indication that it was sold only in the Nordics.
One of the things I got were croissants but while getting those I needed to ask some nearby kids about the meaning of the text on the machine since it wasn’t printing the barcode thing. They understood all and were able to answer in English. I needed to input the quantity. I also then went to the S-market store which was also nearby the same metro station. I believe I was also looking for a wooden spoon but couldn’t find it in either of the stores. I’m sure they sell those in Finland but I just couldn’t find one for whatever reason. I certainly wanted to be able to try a Dumle pudding but the hotel room didn’t provide cutlery since it has no kitchen.
I liked the red color of the metro trains. In the Kamppi station where I went off this time, I liked the metal carvings on the ceiling that showed directions for various cities, Finnish or international. Went around Kamppi. Nearby is the chapel of silence(!!). On this occasion I didn’t come across while it was open. Around this area there’s also a square with a hilly like structures that were inviting to climb on so I went ahead and climbed them because why not. And right next to the church is a Danish bank. Not that this mattered to anyone. By the chapel there’s a stairway with different posters that I observed.
I continued just going around, observing different progressive stickers/signs in various places, and ofcourse looking at nice buildings. Came across the Stockmann store but didn’t go into it through my time in Finland. I had the Latvian Stockmann experience but not the Stockmann experience in the country of origin.
Came across this really beautiful park that I now know was Esplanadi. Only passed through this time, chose to “leave” the rest of it for later. Very near the hotel there was this really beautiful (and more or less empty) square that seemed to be in preparation for some sort of an event. I loved that I had a bit of a “hidden gem”, just by the hotel.
I was back in the hotel after an incredible day. From the hotel room I had a nice view towards the city, including two brown/green church towers. By the time I was in bed and the night fell, it started to rain.
Day 16
I ended up choosing to do breakfast at 8:45am the both days. It was a decent variety of options. I ended up with a fruits/granola type of thing and a large portion of chia yogurt, probably too large but I managed to eat it in the end. And a bun with vegan cheese that I took for later in the day. There was oat milk provided for the coffee. Sadly I couldn’t eat any of the provided pastries (and they looked inviting). After all that chia pudding I felt vey full.
The idea was to go to Suomenlinna and take the HSL boat there. Waited in front of the gate thing for the boat. Ofcourse wasn’t sure if I needed to scan a ticket there and I couldn’t locate a place to scan it anyway and someone said to just get on (not in a rude way) so I did that. Very crowded boat but I managed to find a seat outside. It was a windy day,
Once I arrived to Suomenlinna I kinda just waited for the crowds to disperse a bit, before taking a right turn because it didn’t look like it was gonna be crowded there. And that was true, I had a very chill time walking around those parts. Quickly I came across reminders (signs) that this is a residental area, so I hoped me walking around wasn’t gonna disturb anybody. Came across some beautiful rock terrain.
Returned to the visitor centre and checked inside the building. Someone went into a discussion with the staff member about knowledge of different languages. The stickers even stated they speak gay.
From then on I went on the “main route” of the island. While stopping or slightly detouring to have a closer look at specific buildings that stood out, like the church or military museum. Or I went to check out some ruins from the inside.
Then I came near the shore. Strong winds, but I enjoyed it blowing hard into me, and I was amazed by what I saw. Along the overcasty skies, the mood felt like I was in a 2015 Marco Mengoni music video.
Then I continued walking around, seeing the bunkers, seeing the rectangular pond(?). Never seen anything like that scenery before, and to me it was absolutely stunning and breathtaking. It made me fully realize that I was truly in the Nordics right now. And that was a very positive realization.
There were benches in the area, although slightly off the main path. I had to use them to absorb that breathtaking scenery. I could hear some Japanese family excitedly commenting that this is “sugoi”. And it really was.
Wanted to explore as much as possible so I went around the different sides of the fortress. As I was checking out these ruins/fortifications from the inside, there was more often than not no light so I really wanted to make sure I wouldn’t have any incidents. It seemed like on one occasion there was a tour guide with children, perhaps in Estonian.
Eventually reached the customs museum that I took my time going around. It was cool seeing the ways things were being smuggled and what had to be smuggled. I then waited a bit for the returning boat inside the visitor’s centre building because I actually did need a bit of a break from feeling all that wind. Then the actual boat ride might’ve had the strongest wind I ever experienced. I put on the hood of the light jacket and it wasn’t really enough to be comfortable. I was hoping the city wasn’t gonna be as windy and well it wasn’t.
Then I went to the Senate square where unfortunately some of the buildings were being renovated, but the way they cover up the renovated buildings is a good way to handle it. And this is where I found the large Helsinki sign which is cool. I also thought this would be where I could get a tram towards the restaurant I planned to go to, but it turned out I needed to quickly walk a couple of minutes away to the actual stops with the same name.
I got on the tram which took me to the history museum area. And an event hall. I was looking for the restaurant, or rather cafe where I planned to eat. It wasn’t immediately clear at first where I needed to go to get to it, but I made it there. It’s within a lovely park right next to a museum building.
I got there hoping I’d be able to get something warm to eat. The place was crowded, but I managed to sit down at what seemed to be an empty table (albeit uncleaned but it was the only option for the moment). Eventually a really sweet staff member came to clean the table. I kinda just waited thinking I’d be served but I realized it might not work that way here, so I went to the counter and asked if there was anything for lunch. I ended up getting a couple of pies, one of them with mushrooms and potatoes, one of them being a Karelian pie with a vegan caviar. Oh and a simple salad with peas and a Finnish brand cola. Sure, not the most filling meal but considering I came there near the end of the opening time, it was reasonable. And the pies themselves were amazing. I got an extra one with the caviar after eating what I first got. These were the last ones they had available. I felt a bit bad about staying inside a few minutes after closing but I wasn’t the only person in that situation. The doors were actually already locked by the time I went out but I could unlock them from the inside.
This was basically right by the Oodi library. Some drops of rain were falling by the time I was done eating. It felt like a good moment to do a library visit. I wasn’t sure what to expect. One of the main draws for visiting from what I gathered was a view over the city. But I was interested to check out a library with different services to it like bars/restaurants and perhaps more.
Then as I went around, it became more and more clear there is a lot more to this place than just regular library things and cafe bars. The floor plan revealed various different things. I went around and discovered what is basically a public space for various creative activities, wOrk activities, services like printing, 3D printing and more. One could create their own tote bag. One could use computers, book rooms for audio or video editing, book studios and instruments and more. I was just amazed, in awe of the possibilities given by this place. I made sure to go around the book section of the building as well, which is separated into different areas, like areas for children or areas near the cafe bar. I went around the different book categories, even noticing LGBT books and eco shelves. In terms of manga or light novels the closest thing I could find was an anime related magazine.
The book floor of the library was a popular place, not the most quiet one. I probably would’ve had better luck in terms of quietness if I was in that dedicated “reading room” I passed by on the lower floor. Nonethless I could find a seat and there I just took out and went through the leaflet about the Oodi library that I took earlier while walking around. After that I went out to check out that view from the top of the building. It seemed to stop raining for the most part, but I was actually kinda cold stepping outside after being inside for a while. Then I went down towards the exit, going around a bit for the last time before leaving the library.
Then right by the library there is a music centre, with interesting sculptures in front of it. There was some sign welcoming people just wandering around it so I felt confident to go in and do exactly that. I enjoyed the classy feel of the building, and the batons with signatures of different conductors hanged by the concert hall. The hall was filling in before the start of an event. For the most part there wasn’t anyone hanging around in other parts of the building from what I saw.
Then in the vicinity of the music centre there is also a theatre. The elegant vibes are evident already from the stairs flowing with water. On the outside there is a cool sculpture of various body types with water flowing out of their “eyeballs”. The theatre building itself was closed. I continued on towards the parliament building and came across more different statues. A particular statue felt like it would look even better at night.
I was curious and got closer to the parliament building but I couldn’t really get much from peeking inside. I continued on exploring in the area around the Natural History Museum. Eventually went into a K-Market store as I wanted to get some Fazer chocolate products. The cashier person had a long chat with some kids. As I was looking at stuff I could hear a girl shout “mama, Bara Bada Bastu”, clearly a sign of the Eurovision tote bag once again invoking a reaction. I suppose she was a big fan of the Swedish 2025 entry and the Eurovision logo was a reminder. I just found it sweet anyone would even react positively to seeing a Eurovision reference, and for it to then be such a strong one as well… I love the Nordics.
Kept going around, catching interesting artworks, activist stickers, rainbow flags. Eventually I did something… Controversial? So sorry about that, but I went to a McDonald’s. I actually wanted to see how it would be in a Nordic country. I fully expected some cool plant based options as well. And I got them. There were various vegan burger options as well as vegan nuggets too. I got the nuggets, fries, the vegan burger. The ordering and receiving all went smooth. Eventually I realized I actually got more nuggets than I ordered, as I ordered 6 of them but got 9 of them. The food was pretty good and all in all it was a positive experience to be honest.
It was starting to get dark as I walked around eating that McDonald’s. I was in the Kamppi area through dusk. The parliament building and those sculptures were really close to Kamppi. I actually came back there to find those sculptures I thought would be better closer to the night, and yeah the lights bouncing off it does kinda make it better. And I also loved the railway station in the evening. Once again I went to a store, basically to get even more sweets to take… to Cr*atia later… It was my first time encountering and trying a Lakritsi stick. I bought like 10 of them that time, 3 of each flavour I saw (original, chocolate and lemon). They were really cheap actually.
Going near the Senate Square I could hear some fireworks in the distance. Had no clue what they might be for. I went on to a side street where I could actually get a nice view overlooking the square and could catch a bit of the fireworks in the distance. So I stood there and filmed them before they ended relatively quickly afterwards. A woman who found herself in the same place did a similar thing. Being back at the Senate Square meant I could see that Helsinki sign again, and this time it was lighted in purple which I liked.
Near Kauppatori, I thought the fireworks might’ve come from the vicinity of the ferris wheel but there wasn’t really a way to confirm that unless they started them again which they didn’t. Was aiming to go back to the hotel which should’ve been easy cause even the street of the hotel is named after it and I seemed to be in that street. But I found myself in the wrong direction. Which was fine. Idk what building it was but I passed by some building with the “helsinki” letters on it and it was lovely for whatever reason.
I made it back to the hotel and lined up a bunch of the sweets I had on a table. It included a nut mix due to tomorrow’s hiking-like plans.
Day 17
The day started with breakfast at the same time as the day before, and I had some similar things too. One thing I didn’t mention is that there was orange juice which I had both days. And some smoothies were on offer too but I didn’t get to them sadly, probably should’ve in hinsight. This time I chose to have porridge, which was labelled as “lactose-free”. This was a mistake because for whatever reason I sort of assumed it could mean it used a plant milk but really what this implies is that it’s animal milk without lactose.
It was what it was. I didn’t want the day to be ruined by that. The first bit of exploring of the day was aimed at the design district because I saw this was really close to the hotel and it sounded like there would be nice buildings around there. Which certainly proved correct for the area around the design museum, a beautiful tiny park with flowers in front of a sculpture, and indeed a well-looking design museum building. Right next to it there was a bench area with uniquely designed tables and signs that reminded of some tech related thing (USBs? lol), all of which almost made it seem like there was some event happening there. But most likely it’s like that all the time.
Very close was a brown green church with two towers, pretty sure it is the one I had a nice view of from the hotel room. Basically nobody else was around it. Very near there is another church with the same color scheme but a much simpler architecture. And nearby there is a park which was busy, particularly with families with children.
Then I continued onto a street where I saw what seemed to be the Italian embassy. Even the signs on it confirm that. Alongside it an Egyptian embassy too. But when you try to locate the Italian embassy on maps, it takes you to a different location, while the building that looks like the embassy isn’t tagged as anything? I suppose they moved it to the other location and kinda just left the “old” one there?
I came across some random reddish/black building which looked really nice and kinda gave Riga vibes. Then came across another building, more orangey whose shape resembled that one building in the very centre of Riga.
Found myself at a busy market square. Then shortly afterwards came across a hotel building that resembled something that could come out of the old town in Tallinn. Eventually I was near the Dutch embassy building being really impressed and taking a bunch of pictures of it. Before going around Esplanadi and taking the time to fully appreciate it.
Came back near the centre and Kamppi. The Silent church was once again closed (Sunday). In this area there was apparantly something called “Silent Footprints” which it turns out were tiles in the pavement with footprints of various animals including a squirrel. I couldn’t find the squirrel one.
The ideas for today included going to the Seurasaari open-air museum and perhaps end the day doing the Lammassaari Nature Boardwalk. By now it was midday so inside of me I knew this is most likely too ambitious, at least for the latter. But in any case there was certainly enough time for the former, and the best way to get there seemed to be by using an HSL bus.
Finding the place where the bus departs was a bit confusing at first cause I was under an impression it would depart somewhere outside in the Kamppi area but I couldn’t find where that would be. Then I realized the “main” Kamppi building is actually also a bus station and I might need to go inside of it to find that bus, which I did. Other than being a bus station there were ofcourse a bunch of stores and places to find food inside. I looked a bit into the offerings of a place selling smoothies but didn’t get one in the end.
I walked around a bit since I had some time. Then made my way to the platform I needed. The exit to the platforms was closed until a bit of time before departure when it opened. I thought that was well done because I could see this system making it easier in situations when you aren’t sure if you need to wait at a specific platform because by it not opening up by a specific time, you’d know it’s probably the wrong platform.
Got on the bus, showed the valid ticket in the app. Sat near the back. Someone nearby seemed to have a private tour guide. I observed as the bus went through parts I didn’t get to, like the Sibelius monument. I’m sure I came across it at some point when looking into things to see and do in Helsinki but honestly I basically forgot about that one until seeing it at that moment.
The bus arrived right by the first of two bridges towards Seurasaari. I enjoyed going through the bridges and observing the views from them. I got the ticket for the open-air museum. What it turned out is that a very good part of the museum buildings are visible and available to see from the outside without any tickets but to get inside of them you do need a ticket which is checked by the people working at each such accessible building.
One of the first things that happened is that I came across a woman feeding some birds which were flying extremely close to her, in ways that I haven’t really seen before. Then she gave me some food to feed them with as well and they flew similarly to my hands as well and that felt like a unique and sweet moment.
Started going around the island. There were signs indicating where each area that is only accessible with a ticket started. There were direction signs towards different buildings. I was given a map so I could also do my best to track how many buildings I went through and what did I miss.
I enjoyed going around (and inside) the various buildings. I liked how it was in a way going through different parts of Finland that the buildings were from. The buildings I could go inside were really well preserved and presented.
The windmills were really eye catching for me. The wooden houses in that foresty scenery just made for something really relaxing. Even an old phone boot was there. Reading the signs one could come across references to hazelnuts and squirrels of the island.
There was a barbeque area where there were I suppose food stands as well. Very near, a place that seems to be dedicated for theatre performances, and some group was actually doing a performance that I observed for a few minutes before heading further on. Other than the museum buildings, this was a place of soothing nature that I enjoyed going around. Found myself seated near the shore on a rock reflecting on the day and what was to come.
As I started heading back, I noticed movement near the tree. Could it be? A squirrel!! She goes from the tree on the right, crosses the path and jumps onto a tree on the left side. And I was lucky enough to even catch pictures of it happening. Such a joyful moment. I’m grateful to nature for making that simple moment of joy happen.
Monica Everett?!
I did my best to go around the entirety of the island basically, and go through the museum contents fully. It was past 5pm by the time I was back near the centre, and the hunger was affecting me. I went ahead and walked towards a vegan food stand where I eventually got a tortilla with falafel. There wasn’t a menu in English so I didn’t really know the full extent of what I could get. I enjoyed the food but the wait for it was a bit long.
I wanted to have the day end walking in nature. What I chose to do was head to the Kaivopuisto park. This did offer a lovely walk and views towards the nearby islands. Found a bench where I spent time reflecting. Emails about boarding passes and plane luggage started arriving. I was already able to pay for the hotel stay at this point which is what I did. The inevitable emotions were getting harder to tone down. The time that I’ve been dreading for a while but could ignore thoughts about and enjoy the present moments instead, was now undeniably here.
The deck chairs on the shore with the “Moet” champagne letters behind, reminded of F1 and how I started this wonderful journey by fulfilling a life-long wish of attending F1. And that was only the start, and it was now over 2 weeks ago.
Came across a bridge that looked a lot like the bridges of Seurasaari. Walked to the end of that bridge and had some more moments of looking towards the sea. Saw zebra designed trams. Earlier in the day a pink tram and a tram with the word “Lumo” which is a Eurovision reference. I appreciate the variety in the designs.
Headed for one last store visit where I basically got some stuff to have for dinner and for (very) early tomorrow. Something I thought would really work well considering the hours I’ll need to operate in was an Oatly chocolate drink.
Back in the hotel, I did the packing. I turned on the TV during that and what I found airing was a Finnish version of “pawn stars”, something I haven’t really watched since I was a child. Can’t say I understood it all but it was nice to be hearing some more Finnish.
I was mostly done with the packing. Now we were at the point of fighting tears. The hotel room had a guest diary where people left some diary entries. I thought it was a really nice idea. I made sure to leave my own entry as well.
I had to set an alarm clock at 2 something AM (2:45 I believe). A very early bus would be taking me to the airport from the centre.
