HE L S INK I
FINNISH FOCAL POINT Helsinki may lie on the northern fringes of Europe, but thanks to Finnair’s successful expansion into Asia, the city has become a popular hub for travellers between Western Europe and Asia. Since 2016, Finnair has partnered with Visit Finland in tempting travellers to break their journey – if only for a few days – with a Stopover Programme that offers a range of interesting activities bundled neatly into a short space of time, and at no extra cost to their air ticket. Tough I’m intrigued by the chance to fly into the Arctic
Circle and perhaps see the Northern Lights on a three-day trip, I choose a shorter two-night/2.5-day option that encompasses highlights in and around Helsinki itself, as well as a day trip to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, just a two-hour ferry ride to the south. Landing at Helsinki Airport very early in the morning, I take the easy and efficient train into the city (lines I or P; €5/US$5.8), arriving at Central Railway Station 30 minutes later and walking to the stylish Hotel Lilla Roberts (
lillaroberts.com) to drop my bags, before heading straight down to Market Square and the harbour. I wander past the city’s famous Allas Sea Pool, a spa
complex with large swimming pools of different temperature (from a constant 27˚C to mind-numbingly cold) on pontoons that jut out into the sea, as well as saunas, cafés and outdoor decking offering panoramic views over the city. On a small knoll nearby stands the impressive Uspenski Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox creation of gilded onion domes that’s one of the largest in Western Europe, with an interior that’s just as colourfully decorated as any you’d find in Russia. A short walk away, the inside of Helsinki Cathedral
is plainer by comparison, notable for a statue of Martin Luther gazing seriously down on visitors. The cathedral towers over the broad slope of Senate Square, which is bordered by atmospheric streets and alleys that remind me somewhat of Vienna – though Helsinki was in fact modelled on Paris and St Petersburg. I walk up Aleksanterinkatu, passing the grand
Kansallissali building that houses the Sibelius Finland Experience multimedia show as in turn rattling trams pass me, then turn back down Esplanade Park. This long expanse of green boasts a 200-year history; once the domain of wealthy merchants and their families, who promenaded up and down its paths enjoying the colourful flowerbeds, green lawns and statues of famous local luminaries, today it plays host to office workers grabbing lunch and soaking up the sun. The bar inside Hotel Kamp on its northern side was where independence was fomented early in the 20th century, while at its eastern end Café Kappeli was a musicians’ hangout for centuries. Back on the waterfront the old Market Hall houses
traditional shop stalls selling salmon gravlax and other tasty foodstuffs. “Hey!” says one shop owner when I stop to browse, which is Finnish for “hello!” (To the amusement of many tourists, goodbye is “hey hey”.) I’ve stopped because a jar has caught my eye – it’s labelled “bear grease/ tar soap” and I’m sorely tempted to buy it, but eventually decide the price is too high for what, for me, would be a mere novelty – I doubt whether my wife would use it…
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Allas Sea Pool juts out into Helsinki’s main harbour front; Esplanade Park; Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral
HOPPING AROUND In order to see as much of the city as I can during my brief stay I buy a 24-hour myHelsinki Card (€48/US$56;
helsinkicard.com) that gives free travel on public transport and access to regular Hop-on Hop-off buses making a circuit of the city’s major attractions. Helsinki has the highest concentration of early 1900s Art Nouveau buildings in Europe, and a top-deck drive through districts filled with Art Nouveau and Art Deco architectural highlights is a great start to the tour. I hop off just down the road from the Temppeliaukio
Rock Church, an architecturally unique place of worship built directly into a solid rock hillock, with an incredible copper ceiling dome comprising 22 kilometres of wound copper tape. My next stop brings me to the Sibelius Park and Monument in a lovely green park by the sea. Its curious design comprises 600 hollow pipes of gleaming silver metal that create a humming noise when the wind is right. It looks like a dozen church organs have had their pipes mashed together. Small birds flit in and out of them, occasionally with an insect held greedily in their beaks. Soon after I arrive a Chinese package tour group descends, taking a thousand pictures within the space of minutes, then as quickly as they arrived they are gone, and peace returns. The bus curls round onto the city’s main thoroughfare,
Mannerheimvagen, and I jump off between Finlandia Hall, created by the legendary architect Alvar Aalto, and the grey stone edifice of the National Museum of Finland. The national symbol is a bear, and a large grey- stone statue of one sits by the stairs up to the museum’s entrance. Inside, the various exhibitions lead you through the story of Swedish and Russian domination, the struggle for independence, and elements of modern-day Finland, throughout which the uniquely Finnish concept of sisu – meaning “guts”, “grit” or “hardiness” – shines, highlighting the courage and resilience needed for people to survive in the harsh climate and conditions of this northern land.
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