Last weekend of November I went to Helsinki, Finland to visit some good friends of mine. I have already been to Helsinki twice before, but that was some years ago, visiting other friends that did not live in the capital. I was pretty stoked to get the chance to check out the city this time.
After a pretty bumpy ride that started with an announcement from the cockpit, letting everyone know that this was the captains virgin trip as a first pilot (seriously, why would they tell people that?!).
Anyways, I landed in Helsinki slightly sweatier than before. I guess all in all it was okay as it was pretty windy and cold when I got there. The NeXT day me and my friend Maija checked out the city center, which I thought, was very charming, but much smaller than I had expected.
We passed the Helsinki Cathedral as well, which is completely white and with several steps leading up to it. It is quite a spectacular sight as it rises above the city with its green domes. I also found a typical Finnish knife shop…
Apparently there is a rumor that all Finnish people carry a knife on them.. but I think its mostly a rumor.
I took a picture of this statue depicting 3 smiths because I noticed that one of the smiths were getting his Movember beard on.. I also hear that this statue is a common place to meet. Afterwards we went for lunch and I had the best falafel ever, in this small but really popular joint called Fafa´s.
We went sight-seeing for a bit and walked through the streets. Even though the sun was up and the sky was clear, it was freezing cold, and I had to go and buy 2 pairs of wool socks that I put over my normal socks just to keep warm in my pair of Vans that I so optimistically had brought along as my only pair of shoes.
Back home in Norway I am usually quite stubborn and refuse to change to my winter shoes until it is absolutely necessary. My logic is that once you change, it is like admitting defeat to winter.. well you know.. the small battles of life.
So equipped with layers of wool and warmer feet we trotted around the city until we decided to the local ALKO (the liquor shop equivalent to Vinmonopolet in Norway or Systembolaget in Sweden… the Danes are just not going to understand this concept ever!).
However, buying wine in Finland turned out more difficult than I had expected as I apparently look like a 12-year-old kid with my snowboard jacket and hat on, I was of course asked to show my ID at the counter. I showed her my Norwegian ID card that has my picture and birthdate. The lady stared at it for a good whole 7 minutes (not exaggerating). Then she asked if I had a Finnish ID card.
As I t bring my passport, I was not allowed to buy any wine. Luckily she sold it to my friend even though she So that is a thing to remember if you are going out in Helsinki as a foreigner, you should bring your passport if you wish to get your drunk face on. Personally I love to party hard whilst carrying on me important documents such as my passport, birth certificate, insurance policies or even my t actually have a will, just trying to prove a point here).
NO Finland.. just NO! It really makes going out as a tourist difficult if you, like me are a bit hesitant to bring this with you while getting hammered.. but then again, it could also be contributed to the fact that I as previously mentioned appeared in ALKO looking like a 12 year old.
After finally acquiring something to drink, we headed over to our other friends Elina and Ollis house. It was of course great to see them again and we made Pizza and drank our wine.. and then.. BAM BAM BAAAM! It was time to try the Finnish sauna! I personally have never been a big fan of sauna because the times I tried it in Denmark growing up, it was in the public swimming pools that only had electric saunas.
I sometimes ventured in there with my sister after our swimming lessons, only to discover huge women occupying the entire space on the two bottom stairs as if they were sunbathing in their own private garden. I remember finding this extremely awkward and uncomfortable also because we were then forced to be crammed together in the darkest and hottest top corner of the sauna like sardines. As the sauna was electric there was no “throwing water on the stones”. In fact I remember that there was a huge fence around the oven and you weren’t allowed to go near it.
All in all it meant that the air was just extremely hot and extremely dry, and I remember that breathing in felt like somebody just made you swallow a jar full of razor blades. So I guess my early childhood memories were a bit traumatized, however I was sure that the Finnish sauna would be much better, and also I was quite excited to beat other people with branches as my friends had told me was the costume.
At one point Elina told me that the sauna was not quite hot enough t care as long as I get to beat you guys with So off she went to find birch branches that she had in her freezer (as I write this sentence I realize how off that sounds to somebody who has not been initiated to the sauna culture of Finland). We went to the sauna, and it was something completely different than what I had been used to.
First of all, the air was not dry, it was quite humid and the heat was something totally different as well. There was a scent in the water so it felt refreshing when it was poured on the stones and the “beating yourself and others with branches” part was unexpectedly awesome. It felt pretty good and the leaves gave off a nice smell. Afterwards I felt completely relaxed and refreshed. Then we decided that it was time to go out and so we ventured into the surprisingly vibrant nightlife of Helsinki happy and feeling good.
The next day Maija took us to this little coffeeshop that she knew because she is such a hipster, although she will of course deny this to her dying day like a true hipster would (also she will probably roll her eyes when she reads this blog and find it mentioned here). The place was called The Brooklyn Café and we had a decent salmon sandwich. Afterwards we checked out the Temppeliaukio Church, which is built pretty much out of solid rock. It has a big dome and the underside of the dome is covered in copper. It was very cool to see as it was a very original church. Then we were done with the sightseeing for the day.
See, when I travel I like to see a little bit of sightseeing every now and then, but I definitely prefer experiencing places more like locals would, and less like a tourist. Later in the night we went to a punk concert with some other friends, where we drank jaloviina, which is a Finnish brandy that a lot of students drink because it is “cost efficient”. It tastes horrible for 2 sips but then it suddenly changes taste and become totally delicious. I really wonder how they do that!
After the concert we checked out more bars and danced our socks off. The next day was Sunday and time for me to go home. I had an awesome weekend in Helsinki though, and I am definitely coming back.
I think that a lot of Europeans don’t think of Helsinki as the most obvious place to travel as a tourist, and I actually truly think that is a shame because the city definitely has a lot to offer and it is a place somewhere you can have some good fun for sure.
I can also mention that I, for quite some time, have been planning a Finland road trip next summer. Since Finland is the land of a thousand lakes and you can camp wherever you want, me and my friends are going to do a trip from Helsinki going north via the eastern part of the country, up to Lapland and back down South in the west part of the country where we will stop in the bigger cities.
I get so stoked every time I think about it because I love to camp and I think that when the summers are good in the Nordic region, there are no places more beautiful and harmonic.