Finland - June 2016

Helsinki

A full collection of photos from this trip can be found in the Helsinki Photo Album

The Guinness

Molly Malone's provided a good venue to have a Guinness in Helsinki.  A bit of research and message exchange before mt trip  confirmed that they served Guinness so I had confidently arrived in Helsinki without my 'emergency can'.  It's always a relief therefore to walk up to the bar, order a pint, and find that it hadn't run out the night before.

Enjoying a pint in Molly Malone's, Helsinki

An hour before at my hostel, I had met Ben who had flown in from Australia that day, but nevertheless readily agreed to be my official photographer for the evening.  I explained to Carl the barman what I was up to and he quickly understood.  That's probably because he was from Manchester and not Helsinki .  Thanks to Carl's selection of random straws my next destination is going to be Bucharest.

A trip to Romania is on the cards next thanks to Carl

It was the midst of the European Football Championships and Iceland were busy punching above their weight on TV but drinking too much Guinness on an empty stomach is not necessarily a good idea so we headed out in search of food.

Giving my official photographer a break.

The Sights

I liked Helsinki I must admit.  For a European capitol city its seems relatively small, easy to wander around with wide roads and lots of green spaces and a lot of sea font to walk along.  It probably has got museums and alike but I just found it pleasure to explore the city.  After all it never seemed to get dark.

The Polka Dot trees exhibition by the artist Kusama

Transport

I flew with Finnair from Manchester to Helsinki Airport from where there is an easy and affordable train into the centre of town. I went out of town one day for a geocaching trip and again used the trains which ran regularly even on a Sunday.

Helsinki train station

To get around Helsinki I either walked or used the trams.  I made good use of the day 8 Euro transport day ticket on a couple of days

The oldest tram in Helsinki

Geocaching

I don't always mention my geocaching adventures in this blog but on this trip it played a major part so a shame to leave it our.  There was one specific cache I was aiming to find and it was called Sun Gear.  It was hidden in a forest about 30 minutes north of Helsinki and significant in that its the oldest cache in Finland and one I needed to find to complete my Jasmer challenge.  The Jasmer challenge is based on finding a geocache that has been hidden in every month since the hobby started back in 2000.  I had just one gap to fill, September 2000, and there are only two such caches in Europe, one in Denmark and this one.

After getting the train to Savio I still had a 30 minute walk to the edge of the forest and then about a 15 minute walk through the trees to the place the cache was hidden.  Fortunately it was an easy find. The mosquitoes didn't seem to like me being there so after taking a few photos I beat a hasty retreat.

Geocaching also kept me very occupied in Helsinki itself and took me to lots of pretty corners of the city that I probably wouldn't have discovered with just a conventional guidebook.  The Helsinki Geopoly series comes highly recommended.

Accommodation

I chose to stay in Eurohostel which is just a little way out of the centre on Katajannoka to the east.  It's next to a tram stop so easy access to the centre.  Most of the rooms seemed to be two-bedded as opposed to the normal large dorms.  May be it was once an office block of some sort.  The facilities were good and although the breakfasts were a bit pricey at 9.50 Euros they were of hotel standard and good quality.

The clean and functional bedrooms in Eurohostel

The only time Eurohostel almost broke my heart was when I was quietly watching Wales defeat Russia in the European football championships.  On the verge of probably ales's greatest ever win I was asked to vacate the kitchen where I was watching the match as it was being locked up.  I was almost in tears.  Luckily I persuaded some people watching the England match in the reception area that the Wales match was more important.

Food

As I was traveling alone on this trip I relied on the very adequate breakfasts in the hostel and mainly street food from then on.  The stalls selling hot food in Market Square provided most of my meals although beware of the dive bombing birds if you eat here.  I saw one man loose his ice cream in one swoop.

Frying time in Market Square.

Lasting Memories

Of a city by the sea.  You are never far from the sea in Helsinki and is a great place for exploring on foot.

'happiness' ... is walking along the seafront in Helsinki ..... but nicer again later in the day when the sun came out

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