Last week I had visitors from home. It took me quite a while to convince them to travel all the way up North – I think it’s actually their premiere in a Nordic country. Convincing people of Helsinki is a piece of cake. Here’s my safe bets. Day one – the essentials (some).
I lohove food, good food is the best and most promising way to put a perpetual smile on my face, works also well with…
A short 20 minute busride from the centre lies Lammassaari, an island that is quite densely populated by summer houses (Mökkis), a bird-watching tower and a little forest path around the island. In this case though “the journey is the destination”, as the way to Lammassaari itself is a hidden path of wooden planks through the marshy swamplands that surround it. Always a little adventure, and you can visit the sheep as well. Wonderful year-round.
I am not a big fan of sand, yet I love the sea, sadly those two only rarely go without another. Hietaniemi beach is without a doubt Helsinki’s most popular and possibly most central beach, I thought of my favourite alternative spots by the sea that you should check out this summer. None of these are further away from the city centre than 20 minutes by public transport.
Stretching all the way from Munkkiniemi along the coastline of Espoo all the way to Saunalahti, the scenic road with mystical parts through birch woods, swampy forests and hidden bbq-places on rocks by the water, but leads also along luxurious residential areas and small harbours. Nature is at your doorstep, people, get out there. Everytime again I am amazed by how close everything actually is and yet how far from civilisation it seems at times. Somewhat seasonal, it’s a great way to explore the shoreline on foot, but especially by bike.
Summer is coming, and plans need to be made! Festivities around Helsinki are a good thing to start with, here I’m taking a look at my favourites to come.
The area of Kruunuvuori is a foresty area on the Laajasalo peninsula, on the south-eastern shore of Helsinki. The wooden villas that had already been built there all the way from the 1800s onwards were hence abandoned but not taken down, so during the last decades those beautiful houses had been left to decay in the woods. It’s a bit like visiting ghost town, however, at this point in time (2019), many of the houses have been burnt down, so this post is more a collection of impressions of what it used to be. City views and forest walks are still worth visiting though!
STREAT Helsinki 2014 was a delightful celebration of food – kicked off with the TALKS at Helsingin messukeskus on Friday, followed by the PARTY the same night and had it’s grand final at the EATS street food festival Saturday afternoon.
Finland has been my chosen home almost four years now. I love this country very much, and not only the city of Helsinki, but…