A Day in Helsinki

I only have 3 days left in Finland. I'm not particularly happy about this, nor am I ready to leave. I know that I have an amazing summer ahead of me, but it feels really strange to leave my life in Finland behind. Unlike my Humboldt County life, which will be pretty much the same when I get back, this whole exchange experience will just disappear when I leave. The people I've met here and the experiences I've had can never be recreated or duplicated. I'm leaving Finland with a lot of sadness, but I'm not going to let it overshadow the fantastic time I have had and will have this summer. I can't wait to Hannah again, and I think Ireland will be amazing too. Although I'm leaving Finland, the blogging isn't over. I'll try to post as often as possible while I'm traveling, so you can know what I'm up to this summer.

But since I'm still in Finland, I should write about that. I went to Helsinki on Friday and had a wonderful time, and even better tour guides.

I arrived in Helsinki around 10AM and met my friend Vappu, who is part of the Finnish-Exchange Student group that I went to Stockholm with. We went to a record store (she was shocked to learn how cheap CDs are in the States, even if they don't seem cheap to us) and then had some breakfast. I had a huge omelet that kept me full until late afternoon, and apparently we were sitting right next to a Finnish movie star. Of course, I have no idea who he is, but Vappu seemed a little excited. Afterward, we rode the 3T tram in a circle around the city, and she pointed out all kinds of interesting things and filled me in on some Helsinki history and folklore. We exited by a nice park near the train station, and then we looked at some of the shops nearby. My favorite was the American and British food store. Too funny! Everything was really expensive, but they had root beer, so I had to splurge on a can. By this time it was nearly 2PM and I needed to return to train station to meet Nina, a Finnish woman my mother knows.

Nina offered to show me around Helsinki, and I accepted. Her son and husband joined us for part of the afternoon as well. Our first stop was the Sibelius Monument, which is in a nice park by the water. Of course, everything in Helsinki is by the water, so I guess I mean, you could see the water from this park. There were also lots of tourist buses at the monument, which was kind of strange for me, since I'm not really used to seeing tourists in Finland.







After the Sibelius Monument, Nina's husband Timo gave me a short tour of the city by car and we went to the Temppeliaukio Kirkko, or Rock Church. Which doesn't host heavy metal concerts as you might guess, instead it is an actual church built into rock, and slightly below the ground in places.





The ceiling is a giant circle made of copper. There were also tons of tourists here too, but I'm still happy I went. It's a very unusual looking church.

We then went on another short driving tour, and then to a cafe by the water. We had originally planned on going to Suomenlinna, which is an island close to Helsinki, but it was too windy, so we just looked at it from across the water. When we had finished our coffee and snacks, Timo dropped Nina and I off at a nearby park, and we began to explore the city on foot.


I saw old men playing chess with giant pieces!


And really beautiful tulips too!


We also visited the Cathedral of Helsinki, and the Helsinki University Library, which is across the street. The library was very impressive, it was like the perfect old-looking library. It looked like a place you could film a movie inside of. There were wooden bookcases, spiral staircases, and elaborate murals all over the ceilings. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside.

Nearby, there was a cute craft bazaar that we looked in for a little while, and we continued our shopping trip on one of the city's main shopping streets. On our way I had another celebrity sighting when Nina pointed to Ilkka Kanerva, the former Finnish foreign minister, sitting at a cafe across the street from where we were standing. Mr. Kanerva was recently involved in a high-profile sex scandal, so even I had heard of him. Both Nina and I had a good laugh over this "celebrity sighting." We both couldn't believe that he was sitting outside of the cafe, in one of the most visible places in all of Helsinki. To each their own, I guess.

I ended up buying a couple last minute presents for myself, including a Marimekko coin purse, a Moomin book, and a book of Finnish recipes adapted for American kitchens. If any of you would like to try some of my favorite Finnish dishes when I return to the US, just let me know! I'm planning on making a ton of Karelian pies and freezing them. They're amazing.

Eventually, Nina's son called and she had to return home. We walked to the bus station and went our separate ways. I felt very fortunate to see Helsinki through the perspective of locals, and it was also really nice to talk about the differences and similarities between Finland and Davis with Nina. Good times!