Things I didn’t know about Finland:
1. They only gained independence in 1917.
2. They invented the Sauna (I thought it was the Swedes :S)
3. They are crazy about karaoke (the largest ‘consumers’ of this in the world per capita.
4. They don’t have a very big population.
Helsinki was a whirlwind of seasons during our short two and a half day visit. Autumn was in full force, with beautiful colours on the trees throughout the city. Our first day was warm and spring like and then it swiftly turned to winter on day two with cold winds and rain. Luckily, no snow and ice that their winters usually hold!
Finns love nature and Helsinki is full of parks and green areas for running and cycling. It would have been great to stay a little longer to really explore outside of the city and experience the countryside that the Finnish people cherish so much.
Helsinki highlights included a stroll around Töölönlahti Bay and Finlandia Park, a free walking tour and a visit to Suomenlinna sea fortress.
Our walking tour was led by Leo from Green Cap Tours and was really great! He’s a research fellow at the University of Helsinki and he gave us a great introduction to the history of both Finland and Helsinki. We were a varied group of Australians, Germans, an American and a Spaniard.
Later that day, in the rain and wind, we hopped on a ferry to Suomenlinna. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site that consists of six islands and is an inhabited sea fortress. It was initially built by the Swedes in the 18th century to protect against Russian invasion. However it was captured by Russia in the Finnish War and was considered an important stronghold by the Russians. This led to it being attacked and bombarded by the allied forces, but it eventually became part of independent Finland in 1917. Whilst looking out into the cold sea, with crashing waves and freezing wind and rain beating down, we could have been transported back to South Shields or West Cork!! The weather didn’t stop the kids who had taken the ferry over to catch some rare Pokemon!
Leg one of the journey is now complete, as tomorrow we travel to Russia for our Trans-Siberian adventure!!
Travel in Trainers 