#THEN THEN THEN we went to a dessert place and got a bunch of mocktails and tasted each of ours and had a banana n cstrawberry chocolate

[postcards-fromafar]

Helsinki

Dan and I were very excited to be back in Europe again for this trip, exploring new territory (the Nordic countries) with friends we haven’t traveled with before! Dan had stumbled upon some super cheap flights for less than $400 a while back, so he and I jumped on them. Our long-time friends, Pat and Elizabeth were also on board, so the trip planning commenced!

We flew to and from Europe via Helsinki on this trip, and we had a 23 hour  layover (on purpose) on the way to Stockholm. We used this one, very jet lagged day to explore the city, meet up with Pat’s Finnish cousin, and indulge in an excellent meal.

Highlights

-Wandering around- We walked from our Airbnb down to the water and then wound our way back up through the downtown area. We saw churches, parks, and plenty of people hanging outside. It was a sunny, pleasant day, and I think the fresh air helped us stay awake! Pat’s cousin met up with us early in the day and was really helpful in showing us around and sharing some interesting tidbits about Finnish culture.

-Oodi- This is a new library in Helsinki that we spent some time checking out. It was super cool! They had lots of neat spaces to work, 3D printers, a video gaming room, and some lovely rocking chairs.  They also had a homemade device labeled “balloon catcher” that an employee was using (to little avail) to try to capture some stray balloons from the ceiling. Eventually her colleague took pity on her and used the pointy end to pop the balloon.

Eats

-Falafel and fries- Our first meal in Helsinki- very authentic! But in all honesty, this hit the spot after a long flight and not that much sleep.

-Affogato- Coffee is a must on the first day of international travel, and what better way to do it then to pour it over gelato? We stopped at a cute place by the water where “happiness” was a free add on to your dish.

-5 course meal at Demo- A Michelin star modern take on traditional Scandinavian food. Most memorable courses were the Anjou pigeon (with red chicory and eggplant risotto) and the dessert (cloudberry, white chocolate, rum marinated brioche). As a bonus, they provided us with two rounds of delicious bread and honey butter! They were also super accommodating for my dietary (pregnancy) needs and would cook things differently or provide alternate dishes as needed.

Drinks

-The bartender at Demo whipped me up a yummy mocktail with ginger so that I could feel like I was joining in on the drinking with dinner.

-Bryggeri Helsinki- We grabbed some craft brews at a local spot that had been recommended by a travel blog.

People

-Pat and Elizabeth- Dan went to high school with Pat, so their friendship goes way back. The only time we have traveled with them before was for a long weekend in Denver last fall for another friend’s wedding. It’s always a bit of question mark traveling with a friend or couple for the first time, but Pat and Elizabeth were excellent travel companions! We got along really well, have similar travel styles, and enjoyed each other’s company throughout. Hopefully we will have another trip together in the future!

-Pat’s cousin, Atte- One of Pat’s family members got into genealogy research and then went to visit in Finland, so they connected us to Atte’s parents. His parents live further outside Helsinki but Atte kindly offered to meet up with us since he lives just outside the city. He met up with us for the day, showed us around, and shared with us about his life and Finnish culture. It was lovely to meet a local on our first day (a family member at that!) and spend some time with him.

Observations and Insights

– Thanks to Atte, we learned some fun facts about Finnish culture:

– All the men have to serve a year of mandatory military service, which is unpaid (they get room and board). This is now more controversial and may change.

– A lot of people in Finland have a lake house/cabin and spend much of their summertime there.

– The Nordic version of Starbucks is called EspressoHouse, and it’s everywhere!

– There were a lot of college age students dressed in baggy jumpsuits covered in sponsorship patches. To our understanding, it’s some sort of graduation thing. We also saw a bunch of young teenage girls dressed in bizarre costumes running up and down the stairs while we were sightseeing. 

Bummers

-Lack of sleep- Classic first day of a trip problem. We were able to catch 3-4 hours of sleep on the plane and then powered through the rest of the day. We ended up out late so didn’t get to bed until around midnight, then had to wake up just after 5am for our connecting flight to Stockholm the next morning.

Tips

-You can buy a SIM card (Saunalahti 4G monthly card) at the airport at the Kioski shop in the arrivals hall. that will work in all of the Nordic countries for about $30.

-24 hours is a good amount of time to spend in Helsinki to get a good taste.

#helsinki #finland #europe