Blogs from Uusimaa, Finland, Europe - page 9

Two long layovers in Helsinki. First layover was about 8 hours, from early in the morning until late afternoon. It was actually the perfect amount of time. We caught a bus downtown, grabbed some coffee and pastry at a cute little cafe on the Esplanadi. Then over to the market by the sea. It was a smaller market, but they were selling some unusual things. Lots of furs. I keep saying that I think I could be a member of PETA because I hate the idea of killing animals, but I also keep discovering that I really like some horrible things.... like fur and foie gras. I didn't end up buying any fur, but I REALLY wanted to. It was so beautiful! Also, lots of reindeer stuff for sale. Oh yes, and everyone is BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, ... read more

GettingThere: Getting to Helsinki was a treat in itself. Our friends left us straight after disembarkation from Viking Truvor because their plans for the 'Baltics' started then. They were booked to take the fast train to Helsinki. Because CS and PP like the aquatic/nautical theme in most things we had explored the passage by ferry instead. Initial advice seemed to suggest that the only ferry service was dodgy, the ships old and unattractive and on the whole not the way to go. CS decided to dig a bit deeper and we ultimately booked a passage on the St Peter Line's Princess Maria. Leaving St P at 7pm and arriving in Helsinki 8am the following morning, Commodore cabin and caviar and champagne breakfast thrown in for a most reasonable tariff did not sound all bad. In the ... read more

Wow, the last week has been a bit epic. It’s hard to believe that one week ago (Thurs) we were frantically rushing around looking for Dave’s passport as he’d left it somewhere after hiring a van on Monday. Not an experience we want to repeat anytime soon I assure you. I’m sitting here on the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn which as you can imagine is fairly huge and full of people heading over to Tallinn for cheap booze. Not that I blame them, Finland is ridiculously expensive. So, to follow Dave’s previous entry, we had just boarded the plane to Helsinki, albeit 9 hours earlier than expected. And we found snow! Helsinki had it everywhere although as the warmer weather seemed to be following us, it also was melting relatively fast. The lovely people at ... read more

Now sitting at Helsinki airport after our 23 hr stopover on our whirlwind circumnavigation of Europe. Budapest to Istanbul via Helsinki and London. It's'confused a few including me. It was very interesting flying over Poland and Latvia, you could see the fields and towns quite easily. Anyway, driving out of the airport at Helsinki you could easily think you were in New Zealand, overcast, cloudy, the trees and vegetation look the same and the cars even look the same. Until you read a sign..... We had a hotel right in the middle of the city so we did a bit of a look around. It is quite chilly and everybody is wearing coats so it feels like winter to me but its very light until late. The shops are full of serious winter clothes. Very stylish ... read more

September 2011 Helsinki, Finland was the second stop on our 11 day Scandinavian/St. Petersburg cruise aboard the Emerald Princess. Our tour of Helsinki began at 10:30 A.M. when we boarded the tour bus. We were driven to Senate Square where the Helsinki Cathedral was located. We had one hour to explore the downtown area. We walked to the local "farmer's market" and craft fair. Many of the craft booths had women knitting caps and scarves. In hindsite I wish we would have tried the fried fish that were being offered at many booths. From the market we walked down Esplande, a tree-lined park-like street bordered by stores, and then back to Senate Square. Next came a photo stop at the Church of the Rock-Temppeleaukio. Because of its location, it was very crowded with cars, tour buses, ... read more