Helsinki hustle

After making our way from Helsinki’s airport in a prepaid taxi with a Spanish and Finnish speaking Ecuadorian taxi driver who ‘admitted’ to struggling with English (like we speak three languages), we landed at out hotel with enough energy left to stretch the legs and find some dinner.

Trying to fight off jet lag before dinner, our walk took us down Keskukatu to the impressive, Saarinen-designed Central Railway Station – evoking Russian grandeur in its ostentatious façade. We were actually looking for the Temppeliaukio Church, carved from rock in the late 1960s. Put it down to the jet lag, but we weren’t navigating well with our city map and the Finnish place names, ending up at the railway station instead. Deciding to stroll from the railway station through the open park section of the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden (where people lay on the grass soaking up the Sunday afternoon summer warmth, playing frisbee or tennis, walking their dogs, or strolling at a leisurely pace in groups), on to Unionkatu towards the blindingly shiny white monument to religion that is Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral (Helsingin Tuomiokirkko), and the tourist precinct of Senate Square (Senaatintori).


Saarinen-designed Central Railway Station


Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral (Helsingin Tuomiokirkko), and the tourist precinct of Senate Square (Senaatintori)

Tourists pile into the square from the back to back buses parked along Aleksandersgatan, and from the side streets of the restored Tori Quarters, streets that gave us our first hint there’s a French influence in some of the architecture (I stress “some”, as it’s really a dog’s breakfast of styles, including neoclassicism, Byzantine-Russian, art nouveau and more). These cobble-stoned side streets of restaurants and shops join Senate Square and Market Square (Kauppatori), and appear to be designed to funnel the tourist mobs flooding into the city from the cruise liners. Lines of orange and white tents set up for food (orange) and retail (white), offer Helskinki souvenirs, reindeer hides, fur hats, Nordic knits, amber jewellery, Marimekko rip-offs and the like, aligning prices with the desire of many to not explore too much further than the waterfront.


Cruise liner docked with sky wheel in the background


The restored Tori Quarters, home to shops and restaurants

Heading back into the Citycenter from Market Square, the Esplanade (Eteläesplanadi), runs for three blocks, and again, is reminiscent of Parisian parks with its fenced off grass, park benches, entertainers and restaurants, all designed around the past-time of people watching. It’s a cacophony of languages – the cruise liners delivering American, Canadian, Australian and various Asian speaking visitors, along with other Scandinavian and Western European languages, Russian, and the sing-song of Finnish with its unpronounceable words.


The Esplanade (Eteläesplanadi)

We were lagging by this stage, so we headed back to the gastropub we’d spotted in Kauppakeskus Citycenter at the start of our wanderings for a drink and meal.

Slightly taken back by the Euro exchange rate and the price of alcohol and food, it was a relatively small dinner of chicken wings (with an amazing Roquefort sauce) and a tasty house-specialty burger, a Finnish IPA and cider for just short of A$70. On our way back to the hotel we stopped in at an Aldi-type supermarket to buy some of Finland’s iconic chocolate, Karl Fazer, and decided this might be our best food sourcing option for the remainder of the stay.


Cam at Stone's, the gastropub we ate on the first night

On first impressions, Helsinki is a bizarre mix of cultures all trying to express themselves alongside each other in a ‘tired’ fashion. Day 2 and more foot slogging through a different part of the city, reinforced this idea, but it also revealed the friendliness, openness and charm of this Nordic city with its rich history under Swedish, Russian and self rule. There’s a definite laid-back air to everything – the people, the fashion, the traffic - that even the return to the working week didn’t seem to alter.

On the morning of Day 2, we finally found the Temppeliaukio Church, after some more poor navigating…it was me this time. It’s a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighbourhood, designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, opened in 1969. By the time we walked to the end of Fredrikinkatu, the tourists were massing. The tour buses parked just down the street from the site should have been a give-away; several big tour groups were queuing for tickets by the time we arrived. The church was certainly impressive for the fact it was built in the crater of a man-made rock explosion and typically Nordic design elements are evident in its materials. However, the staff member who made announcements every 10 minutes for visitors to respect the space and be quiet, complete with a “shoosh” in three languages, undermined the impact.

A greater highlight was the Santa souvenir shop across the road, full of Christmas decorations and reindeer antler bottle top openers.


Typically Nordic design elements inside Temppeliaukio Church


Tourists outside Temppeliaukio Church, looking down Fredrikinkatu


Smooching Santa in Helsinki

Wandering back down Fredrikinkatu towards the Citycenter, we were keen to call into the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), but found it isn’t open on Mondays. Looking for Wi-Fi to find a better map to operate from, we ducked into the Kamppi Shopping Centre and a little shopping in the signature Finnish textiles and fashion house, Marimekko. A long-time fan of the brand, I couldn’t leave without something…or maybe more than I’d planned to buy at this stage in the trip.

Coming out the other side of Kamppi we stumbled on to the back of Amos Rex, a relatively new, underground art museum in Lasipalatsi, Mannerheimintie, that you can’t help but see at street level due to its unusual sculptural form. With a queue for tickets prior to opening at 11am, we settled in for fika (morning or afternoon tea) at a café around the corner. The Finns love their coffee and it is good coffee. The pricey entry to Amos Rex of EUR30 for two was soon forgotten as we entered an incredible space for contemporary art. We spent almost two hours working our way through only two exhibitions, one of them permanent works from the collection, including works by Bonnard and Vlaminck. The main show was a competition between Nordic artists - Ars Fennica - the winner selected by people’s choice. I even shocked myself by voting for a painter over a digital media or installation artist – but it was tough competition. The works were varied and immersive.


Unusual sculptural form of the roof of Amos Rex


Interior of Amos Rex and one room of the Ars Fennica show


Amos Rex ticked off the Helsinki 'must do' list

Wandering back down Eteläesplanadi, as full of people as it was on Sunday afternoon, to the Market Square for a look through the Old Market Hall with its smorgasbord of reindeer, smoked salmon, elk, bear, pastries and more, priced accordingly for the shoulder-to-shoulder jostle of cruise ship tourists. A look was enough. We wandered through the stalls at the markets – buying a punnet of fresh Finnish raspberries and blueberries, chatting to one of several stall holders selling pelts and leather goods, buying some Finnish wool and hand-made ceramics, and finishing off our city stroll with a gelato from a mobile stall on the Eteläesplanadi, while watching the start of a very listenable live performance by electro-folk band Okra Playground.


Old Market Hall offerings


Market Square berries


Live performance by electro-folk band Okra Playground

Exhausted and slightly sunburnt, we’re satisfied we’ve done what we could with our short time in Helsinki, our last night will be spent getting ready to head to Denmark tomorrow, with a supermarket dinner of bread rolls, smoked salmon, soft cheese and fresh beetroot hommus…and those berries for dessert.

Would I return to Helsinki and Finland? Absolutely, but maybe not in peak tourist season. The city has grown on me the longer I’ve been here and I’d love to explore the country further afield, and see more of the indigenous Sámi culture.

Next stop: Copenhagen, Denmark