A Weekend in Helsinki
While living in China my employer gave me a few weeks of vacation during the Chinese New Year festivities. I found a cheap flight to see some of Russia, and to no surprise I contemplated which other countries could be a reasonable weekend trip. Finland and Estonia were the winners.
St. Petersburg to Helsinki Train
After all, Helsinki was only a 3 hour train ride away! I had to do it, and mostly because I wanted to flirt with the idea of heading to the north of Finland and experiencing the Northern Lights. In order to improve your chances of seeing the lights, one must travel quite a distance to a place called Lapland in the middle of nowhere. Most would identify this area as the home of Santa Claus. Seriously.
But I had hoped to reach the most northern part of Finland, to see the home of the only indigenous culture within Europe, The Sami’s. Unfortunately that turned into a logistical and financial nightmare of an opportunity, and it was taken off the table.
Smoked Salmon | Market Square Helsinki
The highlight of the first day was the Market Square. We visited both before and after the ferry ride to the island. This place is a little piece of heaven for salmon lovers. Does it come as any surprise that I fit that stereotype? There really isn’t much that I don’t enjoy, choices usually just depend on the nutritional value. But seriously, any way you could ever imagine someone would prepare salmon, you’ll find it here.
Catch the Suomenlinna Ferry
There are numerous islands to be seen, but most offer more activity during the summer months. With that in mind, I still felt it was necessary to have a peek at the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. This collection of islands served as a fortress under three different countries: Sweden, Russia, and now Finland. To this day the island is still scattered with remnants of a battleground fortification. Large cannons, bunkers, and enemy lookouts. Military technology and strategy improved over time and thus its purpose was converted to serve as a prison after World War I.
The city of Helsinki greeted us with a midnight snowfall and a surprisingly eclectic group of people! It was a much different vibe than the one felt in Russia. Not to say that the Russians were unpleasant, only saying the Finnish just appeared to be more lively. There were people of many different shades, styles, and sizes. Population for the capital of Finland is around 600,000. The size of the city has enough to offer to keep its inhabitants stimulated, yet it’s small enough to maintain the eccentric feel of a community.
Food in Finland
Caviar was another pretty popular item. I still find it hard to understand what the catch is. For the price you pay and the lack of enjoyment, I just don’t find it that appealing. As I mentioned earlier, this city seems to be fairly international, so I was pleased to find some of my favorite Middle Eastern desserts, Baklava and Halva. I haven’t had halva since I was in Jerusalem like 7 years ago! They didn’t disappoint. Some other interesting finds were things like Cloudberry Jam and Licorice Popcorn, which was also delicious. One of many reasons to visit Helsinki!
