Helsinki Noob
Trying to spice up my flight to Korea, I booked a flight that had a stopover in Helsinki. Finnair, which I flew, allows passengers to take up to four days in their stopover location. I really wanted to stop by France to do some shopping for eggplants and also stay for a night in a cozy cottage, so I only had a day and a half in Helsinki. I booked an airbnb in Kaampi, which is a popular neighborhood due to its close proximity to many major attractions. To get to the city center, take the I or P trains — for public transport in Helsinki in addition to this train, the Helsinki SL transportation app is very useful.
Mini note on pulling out cash — there are two major branches of ATMs in Finland: Otto and Nosto. I have a visa card from the states and found that Otto did not work for me, but Nosto did.
I took the train from Helsinki After my 7 hour layover in Stockholm, I was already exhausted, but I was determined to maximize my value. I headed directly to the sauna, which is originally a Finnish concept. There are plenty in Helsinki to choose from — some of those options are:
- Kotiharjun Sauna/Sauna Arla: traditional wood fired saunas; former has the classic ‘sauna’ sign
- Loyly Sauna: fancy and modern; located on the coast so that you can dive into the ocean to cool off
- Sompasauna: unmanned, public, self-run sauna
For my second day, I had a packed itinerary just to knock out things that came with high recommendations, even though I kind of knew I wouldn’t love it, since the nordic countries are known for their art and architecture I had to confirm and experience it anyway.
Art and architecture:
- Kaampi Chapel: church with cool architecture. I walked around just the outside, and I thought it was cool enough.
- Temppeliaukion Church: circular church built in a rock. Went inside and it was cool, but not much more to experience than just seeing the photos of it.
- Amos Rex: modern art museum. The outside courtyard is iconic and open outside of business hours. Very modern. I always go to modern art museums to try to understand but I always leave confused.
- HAM museum: contemporary art museum, ditto.
- Kiasma: contemporary art museum, ditto.
- Ateneum (classics; temporarily closed as of June 2022)
- Eira neighborhood: this is a upperclass neighborhood with narrow windy roads and nice houses. Great for a stroll.
Grocery store & food:
my fav thing to do in a new country! Lidl is the cheapest grocery store (Aldi-like for America), and K-market/S-markets were all over the city.
- Leipäjuusto (Finnish “Squeaky Cheese”)
- Queen ice cream — vanilla ice cream with lingonberry (a popular fruit for jams and candies) syrup
- Chocolate — apparently the chocolate is good here
- Xylitol gum — americans dont really do this, but apparently the finnish are all about it
- Salmiakki — Black Liquorice Candy
- Karelian pastry — a rice base filling pie
Market Square: an outdoor fair that opens right by the coast with food stalls and souvenirs! I went right at opening and barely anything was open, so I ended up not having a great time since it was cold. Usually you’d be able to find many of the area’s specialties here, like Poronkäristys (Sauteed Reindeer). I went to a hotel breakfast buffet instead and loved that though.
Foraging in a national park:
foraging in Finland is legal! I found an airbnb experience that took you on a mushroom foraging and cooking trip in Sipoonkorpi National park (an hour northeast of helsinki) but ended up missing the 739 bus.
Alternatively, head to the more famous Nuuksio national park day trip: Buy sausages and take to the Nuuksio national park! After a nice hike, pick up some free firewood provided to grill them up in a communal fireplace. There is also a reindeer shelter here where you can pay to pet and feed reindeers!
