Finland II - Helsinki!

Wednesday morning Kelly, Mirva, and I packed up and headed out.  The three of us caught the 10:40 bus into Helsinki and arrived just after one.  On our evening walk the day prior we had purchased various noms for the bus ride, so we had sandwiches, apples, crackers, and 10€ worth of smågodis(smal candies)! I was attempting to introduce Mirva and Kelly to these delectable treats, but their enthusiasm was minor at best!  Sacrilege!  I didn’t even pick out any salty licorice.  I picked lots of chocolates and sweet gummies. 

From the Helsinki bus station we walked to the central train station and dropped all of our luggage, or rather stored it in lockers.  We then were off to explore Helsinki.  Mirva took us to the main marketplace where she and Kelly scavenged for souvenirs.  We also sat at a really wonderful crepe place in the middle of the market place.  Kelly and Mirva both had sweet crepes.  Kelly had apple rhubarb, and Mirva had strawberry jam, sugar, and whipped cream.  I had chicken and Brie.  It could have been a whole lunch. It was huge.  There was pretty much an entire salad in this crepe.  It was delicious though. 

From the market place we walked along a park and stopped into various different Finish design stores.  Mostly there were a lot of bold prints and glass.  Everything you think of when you think of Finish design.  We also went into the Marimekko store.  Of course.  Afterwards we sat in a park and chilled until her cousin came to meet us. 

Mirva’s cousin is a petite Finish brunette with a typical flair for fashion.  She met us wearing a bright pink shirt with Minnie Mouse on it in sequins .  In the sunshine it was almost blinding.  We saw the white church, and then went with her to the beach in Helsinki where we met up with her boyfriend who was playing beach volleyball.  

In the morning we headed back into Helsinki, and first to the marketplace. The plan was to purchase all of the souvenirs the two wanted, and then pick up some noms, go to the island Suominlinna and have a picnic.  Unfortunately it was raining and gray.  We dodged downpours in and out while at the market place, and given the rain decided for lunch in a café instead of a picnic.  I should note that Helsinki was apparently not built for rain.  See if you can tell where the street ends and the sidewalk begins.  Civil engineering fail.  After some indecisiveness we ended up at the Fazer café.  Fazer is the famous Finish maker of the Geisha chocolates.  I had a very Scandinavian salmon sandwich on rye bread.  Kelly and Mirva had similar entres.  Mirva then ordered the most decadent hot chocolate I have every seen, Kelly got an ice cream Sundae, and I got  a Mocha  and a slice of chocolate cake.  It was delicious all around.  My moch had almost an inch of syrup at the bottom.  And Kelly’s sundae had all sorts of chocolately goodness.  After lunch Kelly and Mirva purchased chocolates from the attached store.

It was continuing to pour, so we opted for shopping instead of Suominlinna.  

The evening was taken up with a beer festival.  We met up with some of Ana’s friends from work/school, and tried a bunch or Finish beer.  It was actually a lot of fun.  I tried a lot of really dark beers, which I like, but I’m not sure if I would drink all the time. 

Friday morning the plan was to bring Kelly to the airport, or rather walk her to the bus stop, and then Mirva and I would head into downtown Helsinki.  The bus stop was quite close to Anna’s flat.  We walked to the station she had showed us, but upon arrival we discovered that the bus which she indicated was not, in fact, coming to that bus stop.  After some brief panic/argument/discussion/phone calls, Anna came to the stop and determined that the bus would not in fact come to the one which we were at, but one on a highway overpass about 50m away which was perpendicular to the road we were on.  A few mad maneuvers in her car later we were at the bus stop on the overpass.  But, the bus was either late, or we had missed it.  As Ana was pulling up to drive Kelly to the airport the bus pulled up as well – it was just late.  Mirva and I hopped on the train and headed into town.

Our first stop after dropping the luggage was breakfast.  Having been so pleased with the Fazer café the day before, we headed back.  I had chocolate tea and a pastry, though I can’t remember for the life of me what kind of pastry it was.  The tea smelled much more like chocolate than it actually tasted, but it was still quite good.  We sat talking for ages, and then moved to the park nearby to sit and talk some more, and of course, people watch. 

Next was the White Church.  We had stopped by before to look at the outside, but now we took a look at the inside.  It wasn’t actually much to look at.  Its white.  Very Lutheran.  We actually had to wait about 15 minutes or so to get in because its apparently not open during lunch hours.  While waiting a military band assembled itself, and was just starting to play when we came outside again.  They were decent, and there was some rifle twirling as well.  For lunch we headed to the market place again.  On the way I stopped and picked up some postcards (they were 10 for a euro!) We had been hoping for Crepes, but it was not to be.  Instead Mirva had a sausage and I had some freshly caught Salmon with rice.  It was possibly the most delicious salmon I have ever had.  We then purchased some raspberries and spent some more time sitting by the harbor-side watching the boats.  Two little girls playing violins were there, and while they were okay they certainly didn’t rival some of the other street musicians we had heard, but they were adorable, and that counts for much. 

It was coming close to 2 so Mirva and I stepped over to the bus station which is also a four story mall.  On the way we walked through a small French market offering all kinds of cheeses, meats, spices, nuts, and candies.  In the mall we stepped into the grocery store to purchase meat pastries for dinner and then we headed to the service point so Mirva could buy her ticket.  We then went back to the train station to collect our luggage.  

We did finally get our luggage, and we said our goodbyes.  Mirva seemed almost convinced that I was going to get lost on my way to the port, but it was really quite easy, and much more conveniently located than the one in Stockholm.  I boarded ferry without issue, and found my Cabin.  I spent most of the evening reading War and Peace, and watching the scenery pass by.  Unfortunately the view from Helsinki is not as beautiful as the one from Stockholm.  Its pretty much just the Baltic and several other large ferries and ships passing each other. 

Later I spent some time writing post cards and I eventually went into the casino to see the band.  They played mostly old hits, much like the pianist in the shopping area.  Much of the dancing was pretty awkward, but one or two of the couple were really quite good.  I enjoyed watching one couple in particular which had a penchant not so much for turns, but for footwork.  I wish I had had a dancing partner!