My husband Gavin and I like to get away in the autumn/winter and we have had many excellent city breaks in European cities. In October we went to Helsinki, a slightly unusual destination, perhaps, but less than three hours flying time from London and in the Euro zone. We live in Hertfordshire, so took the train into Kings Cross and then to St Pancras. There we picked up the Brighton train which deposited us at Gatwick relatively painlessly. I had booked the EasyJet flights back in April, before I joined the Finn-Guild, the Finnish language and cultural organisation. I booked the hotel through their offshoot, Guild Travel, and got an excellent deal at the Soskos Hotel Vaakuna. Had I known, I could have booked the whole package through them which might have been preferable in the post-ash environment.
I did my homework via the Rough Guide to Helsinki and Lonely Planet Guide to Helsinki, so plenty of activities were planned. The first evening, we went to a restaurant (www.ravintolakaarna.fi) where we had a light meal of Nordic tapas. I enjoyed venison and smoked reindeer, and my husband’s plate featured smoked salmon and the popular local fish vendace. It was the first, but not the last, time we were to meet Finland’s draconian alcohol pricing. Every drink is measured scrupulously and priced eye-wateringly. 5 or 6 euros for 400cl of beer and 7, 8, 9 or more euros for 12 cl of wine was about standard. Alcohol other than the weakest beer can only be bought in the attractively named Alko, which makes you feel like one. We saw plenty of youngsters on Saturday night ‘pre-loading’ with off-licence cans before having to pay even higher prices in clubs etc. Behaviour a little boisterous, nothing terrible, but police well in evidence.
Our first full day was Sunday which meant that there was a dearth of places to visit, but we struck lucky with Kiasma where the building is as much a work of art as the contents. Ironically, the top floor contained an exhibition by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin which quite frankly brought to mind the phrase ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. I tried out my limited Finnish buying stamps and postcards at the GPO then we made our way to Stockmann, the John Lewis of Finland, whose Helsinki branch is the biggest department store in the Nordic countries. After a delicious lunch, we bought tickets for an orchestral concert that afternoon at the Finlandia-talo Hall, one of many architectural masterpieces by Alvar Aalto. This was a great idea for a dark rainy Sunday afternoon. It was fascinating to see how seriously the Finnish audience took the concert (well, it was the Sibelius Violin Concerto, in his native land). Banks and banks of cloakrooms catered for every member of the audience who were all in Sunday best.
That evening, we ate at a superb restaurant where my husband had a mixed seafood fry-up and I had calf’s liver, bacon etc. By mistake we ordered starters, ‘small’ portions of salmon soup. Gavin commented that he had had less salmon in a main course. The soup would have been sufficient as a meal in itself. Of course, I am so greedy that I ate most of my main course as well.
Monday was fine enough for some serious sightseeing. We headed for the Senate Square, the classical heart of the city, with its harmonious ensemble of historic buildings. The elegant Lutheran Cathedral dominates the square. I very much liked its severe interior, although some might find it bare. By chance, there was an exhibition of life-size bears (the Buddy Bear project) designed to portray the national characteristics of the different countries. I was very taken by the cigar-chomping Cuban bear! As this was a great exhibition for children, there were various groups of pre-schoolers in evidence. Every child wore a high-visibility vest, making them look like groups of miniature council workers. Full marks for child safety!
We walked down to the harbour which was not at its liveliest on a dreich October morning, past the summer high season and not yet into pre-Christmas. But we admired the massive ferries, waiting to set off for Sweden and Estonia, and browsed among the market stalls. The fish was so fresh that it was virtually still flapping, lingonberries were sold by the litre, and the refreshment tent advertised that the temperature inside was a good 18C. I was drawn magnetically to the stalls selling fur items, many of which were of excellent quality – Finnish ladies as well as tourists were shopping. Of course, fur is a contentious issue. It would take a brave person to wear real fur in London, especially some of the less tasteful items featuring the deceased animal’s face. Whatever your views, it is hard to argue with the necessity of wearing the warmest possible clothing in the winter temperatures that the Nordic countries achieve.
From above, the Church in the Rock (above) looks as though a flying saucer has crash-landed and buried itself in the hillside. Inside, it is an impressive and atmospheric combination of natural and manmade materials, very conducive to spiritual thoughts apart from the coach parties who troop through regularly.
That evening, we ate at the very entertaining Zetor. I had one of the most typical Finnish dishes, sautéed reindeer with mashed potatoes and lingonberries. I could wax lyrical about these little bubbles of deliciousness, which pop in your mouth to add a fruity tang to your meal.
Then it was off to some dancing. My goodness, the Finns take their dancing (like most things) seriously. Gavin and I were a bit rusty and felt intimidated by our lack of prowess, so we practised at the side before daring to step onto the dance floor. I bet all you Strictly fans did not know that the Finnish tango is a recognised variant of the dance.
Our last full day featured a ferry trip out to Suomenlinna, the Fortress of Finland. I predicted correctly that this series of small islands guarding the sea entrance to Helsinki, with its fortifications and gun emplacements, would appeal to my husband. The ferry left from the main harbour. With serendipitous timing, the President of Finland stepped out of the presidential palace right in front of us to bid farewell to an official guest, to the accompaniment of an army band and an honour guard from the navy. I told Gavin I had arranged it all specially, but he did not believe me.
We spent a pleasant couple of hours on a bright and brisk day clambering around the islands, with spectacular views back towards Helsinki and out towards Estonia, a close neighbour and now an EU partner. On our return, we visited the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, whose gold-edged domes face the more sober cupola of its Lutheran counterpart. As you would expect from the biggest Russian Orthodox church outside Russia in Western Europe, the interior decoration was sumptuous.
Our evening’s entertainment was an ice hockey match at the Hartwall Areena. Ice hockey is massive in Finland - only Canada has a higher proportion of professional players per head of population. The biggest Helsinki team is the Jokers and we went to see their league match, having bought tickets online back in the UK. It was also their anniversary, and they lined up all the teams for a salute. What a spectacle! I don’t have a sporty bone in my body, but I couldn’t help being thrilled by the speed and excitement of the play. Dry ice, cheerleaders, pounding music, the Rocky theme every time the Jokers scored, fanatical supporters – it was a great finale to our stay.
Our flight home the next day was not until late in the evening so, after checking out at noon, we pleasantly filled in time at the Botanical Gardens and the harbour (I just had to stroke those furs one more time) with lunch at Kappeli . ‘Soup of the day’ with rye bread and butter was more of a big meat and potatoes dinner in a tasty broth. Just the ticket for a winter’s day. We admired the sailing ships in the old harbour and warmed ourselves up with coffee and buns at Cafe Esplanad (www.esplanad.fi). All too soon it was time to make our way to the airport which we did easily by local bus. Packed in our suitcases were my culinary trophies: various berry jams, smoked reindeer, smoked salmon trout and hot-smoked salmon, rye-bread rolls, xylitol chewing gum and strong Finnish coffee.
So what else caught my attention? Heavy double doors in every public building; the superb English of almost everyone; separate bills (Gavin was startled when the waiter asked if we were paying together); no-one crossing at red lights even if there was no traffic; Moomins.
So, fascinating from start to…well, you guessed it!
First published in VISA 94 (Dec 2010)
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