Helsinki, Finland

By Raige on Friday, October 13, 2017

Following our misadventures in cruising, we arrived in Helsinki on a rainy day and hopped on City Bikes (backpacks and all), cursing our way to the city center. Helsinki gave us an Eastern European vibe that we did not find in the other Scandinavian cities we visited. We could sense the heavy influence from neighboring “Mother” Russia (Saint Petersburg is only 3 hours away) as we rode through the city. We lucked out and got to see Helsinki’s oldest traditional event, the Baltic Herring Market, held annually at the Market Square. Fishermen from all over the Baltic were docked in the harbor, selling salted herring directly from their boats. Wet and hungry, we stopped at Old Market Hall for a quick bite to eat before dropping our bags off at the Airbnb.

Oysters, clams, and cockles (and herring)!

Our first order of business was to partake in Finland’s greatest tradition: the sauna. Fun fact: Finland is home to 3.3 million saunas – more saunas than cars. Our Airbnb host recommended the new eco-friendly sauna, Löyly, located on the city’s southern peninsula. We used both the traditional Finnish smoke sauna and the wood-heated sauna. Best of all, we followed the Finnish tradition of getting sufficiently hot and sweaty and swimming in the Baltic Sea! Ben was dying laughing at his own joke that he was “freezing [his] bal-tic off!”

Feeling refreshed, we biked over to the Soviet work camp… I mean… cultural center, The Cable Factory. Once an huge industrial complex, the space had been reimagined with museums, galleries, studios, and offices. Maybe we went on an off-day, but I wasn’t into it. I was mostly confused by the bizarre setup and communist-looking architecture. We then decided to check out Temppeliaukio Church due to Ariel’s intriguing description of “a really cool/weird underground church made of rock and wood.” Built directly into solid rock and covered with a wooden, copper-lined dome, the building is an incredibly unique piece of architecture that’s worth a visit.

Fully committed to our retired lifestyle, we went to a 5:00 PM dinner at bistro-style, Baskeri & Basso. The food was excellent and the wine was nearly as good (yes, we had a drink!). I knew Ben agreed because he hummed throughout the entire meal (a telltale sign that he really likes the food). It was our favorite meal in Helsinki, so we’d definitely recommend it if you’re in town (somehow, they’re only open Tuesday through Friday).

We started the next morning at Kaffa Roastery and headed out for a day of Finnish design. Our first stop was the Design Museum. It was super cool to see the evolution of design across fashion, furniture, technology, and everyday objects. Ben says it was his favorite museum of the trip so far. He was so overwhelmed with excitement that he left our backpack (holding all of our cash) in the museum bathroom… Thankfully, it was still there when he ran back to collect it (f*** up #3). The stress and anxiety were quickly forgotten when we ate the best pastry of our trip at Fleuriste, a hole-in-the-wall bakery recommended to us by our waitress at B&B. The rest of the day took us in and out of Finnish design shops (Lokal, Marimekko, Iittala), one cooler than the next!