This is a story about one of the most beautiful places I've visited yet. It kicked off our 'tradition' of exploring Europe little by little every time we fly to see my family, stole our heart and left us speechless.
And did all of that in under 3 days.
We left off in St. Petersburg, where we had to dial down our excitement because the little one wasn't feeling very well. Luckily, she recovered just in time for us to catch the train to Helsinki.
You might have noticed by now that I struggle with anxiety when it comes to public places, social events and especially transport. Of course, not every time is awful. Life is dynamic and some days we feel stronger than others, but it doesn't change the fact that I've had some very negative experiences with cars, trains, planes, and subways.
Not ideal for someone, who is fascinated by other languages and cultures.
One way I cope with my fears is through my daughter. She is the opposite of me.
Children are extraordinary. It almost seems like they are able to see just a bit more than there is and appreciate 'now' to its full capacity.
If you try to catch a glimpse of this wisdom you might discover that the stressful train is a priceless experience, scary border patrol officers are kind, attentive and have the coolest uniform and people that give you panic attacks are full of lessons and perspectives.
We stayed with a Finnish/Russian family of Couchsurfers that took us in and taught us so much about Finnish life and culture. They had two beautiful children that had more personality and character than many adults that I know.
My husband and I love hosting foreigners in our home and always prefer staying with someone instead of booking a hotel room. First of all, it gives you a glimpse at an authentic local life that you wouldn't have seen if you stuck to touristic routes. Second of all, meeting people of different cultures and backgrounds really opens your mind. One conversation, one discussion, one story and you are a changed man. And, most importantly, those brief unique encounters have produced some of the most fulfilling friendships.
If you are curious, these guys have their own travelling blog that I strongly recommend you to check out. It's @twoandtwotravel and you can find them both on Instagram and Facebook.
The best thing you can do after a long ride or flight is going for a walk. You are probably too tired to see anything of importance, but it's nice to stretch your legs and get familiar with the landscape.
Immediately you can see that Finland cares about its nature. Parks are big, neat and looked after.
I mean, how often do you find parks that randomly have stunning horses living in them? Our daughter was amazed.
Children's playgrounds are also very thought through. First of all, you can find one without fail no matter where you are. They are all clean, fun and have fences around, so you don't have to worry about your kid accidentally running to the busy traffic.
On the second day, we got up bright and early to go see the center of Helsinki. We started off in a Railway Square.
Someone might have gotten unreasonably excited about the bus.
One of the reasons I instantly fell in love with that place was how it combined the green, the old and the new. It's got a lot of nature, beautiful historical architecture and business centers.
Seriously, you can't complain. Finland can't disappoint.
Found a river (Kaisaniemenlahti), found coffee for 1 euro and a bunch of snacks and had lunch.
I would really encourage everyone to skip on fancy restaurants, go to a little local shop, buy something fun and eat it wherever you can. I swear, it is so much more fun!
And then the little one peed in the bushes, which probably violated a bunch of laws and I'm sorry for that, but seriously no public bathrooms? It took us ages to find one. Sooo... We'll try not to do that again, but if the kid's got to go, I'd rather let her pee in a bush than in her pants.
After lunch, we went to wander around. Every street looks like a postcard or one of those standard backgrounds for your desktop.
Does anyone else's partner does this annoying thing? I swear the amount of pictures my husband ruined this way is countless.
Look how "sorry" he is.
She is going to pass out in one, two, three...
Helsinki Cathedral is absolutely glorious.
So is the statue of Alexander II.
I just noticed that the lady on the tram smiled to us as we were taking pictures. And I know it's not much, but for some reason, I'm really sad I didn't notice at the time and couldn't return it. Such simple gesture and yet powerful enough to make my day nearly 4 months later.
That's on Katariinankatu by the way. That little street leads to Market Square - another popular attraction.
Beware of the seagulls though. They are so fat they could take someone down.
There are a couple of things to do on the square apart from navigating your way between seagulls.
First of all, they've got a little market full of handcrafted souvenirs. Anything from wooden boards to knitted sweaters and animal fur. Everything is very rustic, very good quality and most likely one of a kind. I'm not sure if it's a year-round thing or if it's seasonal, but if you are looking for something original that screams 'Finland!' I strongly recommend you to check it out.
Secondly, a bunch of ferry boats leave the bay almost every 20 minutes to all sorts of touristic destinations. We got to visit one of the islands, so if you're curious about that, tune in next Thursday.
Finally, let's address the obvious. There is a Ferris-wheel!
What else do you want from life?
As soon as it caught my eye, I knew that the only thing that's gonna stop me from going there would be an astronomical price. Thankfully, it wasn't. So we went.
Now, before I tell you what happened next, let me clarify: I am not afraid of heights (I'm actually the opposite of that) and I'm not claustrophobic. But for some reason, the fact that it makes 3 turns and I kind of expected just 1 made me so uncomfortable that my anxiety went through the roof.
Here is me trying not to think about panic. Never works, by the way.
The first turn was amazing. By the second one, I was anxious. By the time they let us out I was having a panic attack. I literally made 10 steps and had to sit on the floor to let it pass. The staff let me catch my breath and then very politely asked me to move somewhere more private. I think I started to scare some of the customers.
It was so stupid to have it like this. Not in the buss, not in a crowded market, but somewhere I actually enjoy being. That feeling like I've failed myself was even greater than the embarrassment.
But never beat yourself up too much. The second you are strong enough to get up, do it. Move. Look around. See that the world is just the same. Still beautiful and full of things you need to do and places you need to see.
We kept walking and stumbled upon the Uspenski Cathedral. And funny enough they were just beginning the service. Priests all dressed up for a ceremony, angelic choir, stunned people.
I am not religious and I wasn't raised like that, but churches fascinate me. There is something in their grand architecture and art inside that is very soothing.
It truly touched me. To the tears (I'm a sucker for choirs). And it completely redeemed the evening.
That concludes our first full day in Helsinki.
I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe found it helpful. Next Thursday I'll be talking about Suomenlinna island. If that's something you are interested in reading, be sure to check it.
And have a lovely day!
And did all of that in under 3 days.
We left off in St. Petersburg, where we had to dial down our excitement because the little one wasn't feeling very well. Luckily, she recovered just in time for us to catch the train to Helsinki.
You might have noticed by now that I struggle with anxiety when it comes to public places, social events and especially transport. Of course, not every time is awful. Life is dynamic and some days we feel stronger than others, but it doesn't change the fact that I've had some very negative experiences with cars, trains, planes, and subways.
Not ideal for someone, who is fascinated by other languages and cultures.
One way I cope with my fears is through my daughter. She is the opposite of me.
Children are extraordinary. It almost seems like they are able to see just a bit more than there is and appreciate 'now' to its full capacity.
If you try to catch a glimpse of this wisdom you might discover that the stressful train is a priceless experience, scary border patrol officers are kind, attentive and have the coolest uniform and people that give you panic attacks are full of lessons and perspectives.
We stayed with a Finnish/Russian family of Couchsurfers that took us in and taught us so much about Finnish life and culture. They had two beautiful children that had more personality and character than many adults that I know.
My husband and I love hosting foreigners in our home and always prefer staying with someone instead of booking a hotel room. First of all, it gives you a glimpse at an authentic local life that you wouldn't have seen if you stuck to touristic routes. Second of all, meeting people of different cultures and backgrounds really opens your mind. One conversation, one discussion, one story and you are a changed man. And, most importantly, those brief unique encounters have produced some of the most fulfilling friendships.
If you are curious, these guys have their own travelling blog that I strongly recommend you to check out. It's @twoandtwotravel and you can find them both on Instagram and Facebook.
The best thing you can do after a long ride or flight is going for a walk. You are probably too tired to see anything of importance, but it's nice to stretch your legs and get familiar with the landscape.
Immediately you can see that Finland cares about its nature. Parks are big, neat and looked after.
I mean, how often do you find parks that randomly have stunning horses living in them? Our daughter was amazed.
Children's playgrounds are also very thought through. First of all, you can find one without fail no matter where you are. They are all clean, fun and have fences around, so you don't have to worry about your kid accidentally running to the busy traffic.
On the second day, we got up bright and early to go see the center of Helsinki. We started off in a Railway Square.
Someone might have gotten unreasonably excited about the bus.
One of the reasons I instantly fell in love with that place was how it combined the green, the old and the new. It's got a lot of nature, beautiful historical architecture and business centers.
Seriously, you can't complain. Finland can't disappoint.
Found a river (Kaisaniemenlahti), found coffee for 1 euro and a bunch of snacks and had lunch.
I would really encourage everyone to skip on fancy restaurants, go to a little local shop, buy something fun and eat it wherever you can. I swear, it is so much more fun!
And then the little one peed in the bushes, which probably violated a bunch of laws and I'm sorry for that, but seriously no public bathrooms? It took us ages to find one. Sooo... We'll try not to do that again, but if the kid's got to go, I'd rather let her pee in a bush than in her pants.
After lunch, we went to wander around. Every street looks like a postcard or one of those standard backgrounds for your desktop.
Does anyone else's partner does this annoying thing? I swear the amount of pictures my husband ruined this way is countless.
Look how "sorry" he is.
She is going to pass out in one, two, three...
Helsinki Cathedral is absolutely glorious.
So is the statue of Alexander II.
I just noticed that the lady on the tram smiled to us as we were taking pictures. And I know it's not much, but for some reason, I'm really sad I didn't notice at the time and couldn't return it. Such simple gesture and yet powerful enough to make my day nearly 4 months later.
That's on Katariinankatu by the way. That little street leads to Market Square - another popular attraction.
Beware of the seagulls though. They are so fat they could take someone down.
There are a couple of things to do on the square apart from navigating your way between seagulls.
First of all, they've got a little market full of handcrafted souvenirs. Anything from wooden boards to knitted sweaters and animal fur. Everything is very rustic, very good quality and most likely one of a kind. I'm not sure if it's a year-round thing or if it's seasonal, but if you are looking for something original that screams 'Finland!' I strongly recommend you to check it out.
Secondly, a bunch of ferry boats leave the bay almost every 20 minutes to all sorts of touristic destinations. We got to visit one of the islands, so if you're curious about that, tune in next Thursday.
Finally, let's address the obvious. There is a Ferris-wheel!
What else do you want from life?
As soon as it caught my eye, I knew that the only thing that's gonna stop me from going there would be an astronomical price. Thankfully, it wasn't. So we went.
Now, before I tell you what happened next, let me clarify: I am not afraid of heights (I'm actually the opposite of that) and I'm not claustrophobic. But for some reason, the fact that it makes 3 turns and I kind of expected just 1 made me so uncomfortable that my anxiety went through the roof.
Here is me trying not to think about panic. Never works, by the way.
The first turn was amazing. By the second one, I was anxious. By the time they let us out I was having a panic attack. I literally made 10 steps and had to sit on the floor to let it pass. The staff let me catch my breath and then very politely asked me to move somewhere more private. I think I started to scare some of the customers.
It was so stupid to have it like this. Not in the buss, not in a crowded market, but somewhere I actually enjoy being. That feeling like I've failed myself was even greater than the embarrassment.
But never beat yourself up too much. The second you are strong enough to get up, do it. Move. Look around. See that the world is just the same. Still beautiful and full of things you need to do and places you need to see.
We kept walking and stumbled upon the Uspenski Cathedral. And funny enough they were just beginning the service. Priests all dressed up for a ceremony, angelic choir, stunned people.
I am not religious and I wasn't raised like that, but churches fascinate me. There is something in their grand architecture and art inside that is very soothing.
It truly touched me. To the tears (I'm a sucker for choirs). And it completely redeemed the evening.
That concludes our first full day in Helsinki.
I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe found it helpful. Next Thursday I'll be talking about Suomenlinna island. If that's something you are interested in reading, be sure to check it.
And have a lovely day!
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