Our last full day in Finland. We can't leave Helsinki, because next morning we have an early flight. At the same time, we owe it to ourselves to see as much as possible because God knows when we'll be back. Of course, possibilities are endless, and you will always find something that suits your taste.
Somewhere between breakfast and packing, I was scrolling through touristic destinations within the area and instantly fell in love with Suomenlinna.
First of all, islands. Second of all, fortress. Nature and great distances to walk, but also lots of bathrooms and occasional museums. And it involves a ferry boat, which is always a plus in my book.
We began the morning by having an amazing breakfast that was kindly provided by our Couchsurfing hosts. It consisted of Karjalanpiirakka, which is a thin crust with the filling of rice. Fillings may vary from area to area as these delicious pastries are common in the surrounding countries as well.
It's creamy and soft on the inside and a little bit crunchy on the outside. Often served with egg butter.
Honestly, I can't even describe how good it was. Very simple, but super filling and has the power to warm up your soul. Comfort food for sure. If you ever get your hands on these, don't miss the opportunity to try them.
Another thing that we had that morning was a huge tantrum because packing is not only stressful, but also incredibly boring. In moments like this, one very important thing you need to do is listen to what they have to say. Ask why are they upset, hear them out and then reassure. When things are moving too fast kids can feel lost and unsure. It is crucial to explain to them what the plan is. Where are you going, what is going to happen next and why. Share all these details with them even if you are not sure they understand what it means.
Anyhow, the mood was quickly restored and she went back to being happy, curious and cheeky.
By the way, did I mention that riding a bus and some local trains is free for people with strollers as well as wheelchairs? First of all, it's nice not to awkwardly stumble through the narrow front door to pay, but it also shows the level of respect for people that might have trouble accessing places.
Immediately after arriving at the Railway Square I had a period related emergency, which is horrifying when you are 40 minutes away from the apartment and there are no public bathrooms anywhere. Long story short: I had a little freakout and then ended up having to register in a casino just to be able to use their bathroom. You can watch the vlog for more details.
Came upon Valon tuoja (Light brighter) while looking for some snacks and coffee. It's just Southwest of the Market Square. About three blocks away.
Bought the tickets to Suomenlinna and had some time to kill, so we went looking for the famous salmon soup (Soppakeittiö). It's looking rather simple, but make no mistake, it's delicious. I love northern food. It is always hot, creamy and filling. Reminds me a lot about my nan's cooking.
Just look at her hungry eyes.
And that's me standing next to the table because that's much safer. Yeah, I've been having periods for many years now and every time is still some sort of a fail.
Now let's get to the best part of the day.
One advice for anyone who wants to take the ferry: wear a jacket and put your hood on or - preferably - bring yourself a hat.
And don't bother with your hair. It'll look awful afterwards, that's just part of the experience.
There are a bunch of little islands next to Suomenlinna. Some of them literally have just one house and nothing else.
Living there must be something special, but at the same time much more challenging than living in the city.
The entrance to the fortress.
Suomenlinna stands on 6 islands and has a rich and interesting history.
It started off as a Swedish fortress by the name of Sveabodg under the rule of Augustin Ehrensvärd. His grave can be found right next to the pier. If you cross the bridge and go to the Ehrensvärd museum, it'll be right outside.
During the Finnish war, it was under Russian rule as Finland was part of Russia for a brief moment.
Then with Finnish independence after the Russian revolution, the fortress becomes the property of Finland and officially becomes "Suomenlinna" although the original name is still used in Swedish.
Islands become a prison camp during Finnish civil war and experience horrific starvation.
Finally, in 1973 it becomes civil administration area and 18 years later becomes UNESCO World Heritage site.
Today it's a popular tourist destination and a home to about 800 residents.
It is full of secret passages, dark tunnels and climbable things.
Overall, we spent half of the day there. We visited the museum of customs and an interesting exhibition (if you can even call it that). Head over to our YouTube channel if you want to know more about that.
We had a nice lunch on the windiest hill we could possibly find. Just some juice, tangerines and baked goods that we got between salmon soup and period emergencies.
We walked and ran to let some of the emotions out.
Climbed dangerous rocks to prove to ourselves that we're strong.
And felt a bit overwhelmed by the challenges.
Explored dark scary tunnels and were way too excited, because our average age is apparently 5.
Spent at least 3 hours trying to get to bad-ass sounding King's Gate only to find out that it's literally just a gate.
Decided that we've seen enough and jumped on a ferry.
Seriously, don't skip jackets.
That, unfortunately, was our last day in Finland. The next morning we had to grab our bags and fly away from that beautiful country.
Sofi slept through our first flight.
Explored Gatwick airport just enough to grab a bite of food...
... only to pass right out again.
But hey, who am I to complain?
We spent almost an entire day there, waiting for our next flight. And if you know us at all, when we get super stressed and super tired, we get weird. So after a hard day, the spirit was unnaturally cheery.
The little one spent almost half of the flight chatting with two sweet British girls and their mom.
Watched something. By the way, if your kid's head is too small for the headphones, stick a pair of socks in there and you're good.
And then, well...
If my child is good at something - it's sleeping.
That is finally the end of the 'crazy travelling' edition and I am definitely going to miss it. Until next time.
Somewhere between breakfast and packing, I was scrolling through touristic destinations within the area and instantly fell in love with Suomenlinna.
First of all, islands. Second of all, fortress. Nature and great distances to walk, but also lots of bathrooms and occasional museums. And it involves a ferry boat, which is always a plus in my book.
We began the morning by having an amazing breakfast that was kindly provided by our Couchsurfing hosts. It consisted of Karjalanpiirakka, which is a thin crust with the filling of rice. Fillings may vary from area to area as these delicious pastries are common in the surrounding countries as well.
It's creamy and soft on the inside and a little bit crunchy on the outside. Often served with egg butter.
Honestly, I can't even describe how good it was. Very simple, but super filling and has the power to warm up your soul. Comfort food for sure. If you ever get your hands on these, don't miss the opportunity to try them.
Another thing that we had that morning was a huge tantrum because packing is not only stressful, but also incredibly boring. In moments like this, one very important thing you need to do is listen to what they have to say. Ask why are they upset, hear them out and then reassure. When things are moving too fast kids can feel lost and unsure. It is crucial to explain to them what the plan is. Where are you going, what is going to happen next and why. Share all these details with them even if you are not sure they understand what it means.
Anyhow, the mood was quickly restored and she went back to being happy, curious and cheeky.
By the way, did I mention that riding a bus and some local trains is free for people with strollers as well as wheelchairs? First of all, it's nice not to awkwardly stumble through the narrow front door to pay, but it also shows the level of respect for people that might have trouble accessing places.
Immediately after arriving at the Railway Square I had a period related emergency, which is horrifying when you are 40 minutes away from the apartment and there are no public bathrooms anywhere. Long story short: I had a little freakout and then ended up having to register in a casino just to be able to use their bathroom. You can watch the vlog for more details.
Came upon Valon tuoja (Light brighter) while looking for some snacks and coffee. It's just Southwest of the Market Square. About three blocks away.
Bought the tickets to Suomenlinna and had some time to kill, so we went looking for the famous salmon soup (Soppakeittiö). It's looking rather simple, but make no mistake, it's delicious. I love northern food. It is always hot, creamy and filling. Reminds me a lot about my nan's cooking.
Just look at her hungry eyes.
And that's me standing next to the table because that's much safer. Yeah, I've been having periods for many years now and every time is still some sort of a fail.
Now let's get to the best part of the day.
One advice for anyone who wants to take the ferry: wear a jacket and put your hood on or - preferably - bring yourself a hat.
And don't bother with your hair. It'll look awful afterwards, that's just part of the experience.
There are a bunch of little islands next to Suomenlinna. Some of them literally have just one house and nothing else.
Living there must be something special, but at the same time much more challenging than living in the city.
The entrance to the fortress.
Suomenlinna stands on 6 islands and has a rich and interesting history.
It started off as a Swedish fortress by the name of Sveabodg under the rule of Augustin Ehrensvärd. His grave can be found right next to the pier. If you cross the bridge and go to the Ehrensvärd museum, it'll be right outside.
During the Finnish war, it was under Russian rule as Finland was part of Russia for a brief moment.
Then with Finnish independence after the Russian revolution, the fortress becomes the property of Finland and officially becomes "Suomenlinna" although the original name is still used in Swedish.
Islands become a prison camp during Finnish civil war and experience horrific starvation.
Finally, in 1973 it becomes civil administration area and 18 years later becomes UNESCO World Heritage site.
Today it's a popular tourist destination and a home to about 800 residents.
It is full of secret passages, dark tunnels and climbable things.
Overall, we spent half of the day there. We visited the museum of customs and an interesting exhibition (if you can even call it that). Head over to our YouTube channel if you want to know more about that.
We had a nice lunch on the windiest hill we could possibly find. Just some juice, tangerines and baked goods that we got between salmon soup and period emergencies.
We walked and ran to let some of the emotions out.
Climbed dangerous rocks to prove to ourselves that we're strong.
And felt a bit overwhelmed by the challenges.
Explored dark scary tunnels and were way too excited, because our average age is apparently 5.
Spent at least 3 hours trying to get to bad-ass sounding King's Gate only to find out that it's literally just a gate.
Decided that we've seen enough and jumped on a ferry.
Seriously, don't skip jackets.
That, unfortunately, was our last day in Finland. The next morning we had to grab our bags and fly away from that beautiful country.
Sofi slept through our first flight.
Explored Gatwick airport just enough to grab a bite of food...
... only to pass right out again.
But hey, who am I to complain?
We spent almost an entire day there, waiting for our next flight. And if you know us at all, when we get super stressed and super tired, we get weird. So after a hard day, the spirit was unnaturally cheery.
The little one spent almost half of the flight chatting with two sweet British girls and their mom.
Watched something. By the way, if your kid's head is too small for the headphones, stick a pair of socks in there and you're good.
And then, well...
If my child is good at something - it's sleeping.
That is finally the end of the 'crazy travelling' edition and I am definitely going to miss it. Until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment