summerlicious in finland

FINLANDF i n l a n d, one of the northernmost countries in the world is a bit of an enigma when it comes to weather, which means that your travel experience can be anything between amazing and very dreadful. This summer it would be the former: just amazing as the country has been basking in a heatwave for over a month breaking 50 year high temperature records. This means lots of sun and fun of course  – so our week-long trip to the capital Helsinki and a remote lakeside cottage in Eastern Finland was just a blast!

10561045_1510833039149314_2140951783_nDuring this trip we spent slightly under a week in Finland visiting friends, and since I am from Finland I had no big sightseeing plans other than showing our au pair a little bit Helsinki. As the weather was gorgeous the top destinations – besides a walk in the city itself (with must-see stops at the Orthodox cathedral and – were the island of Suomenlinna Castle and a visit to the lovely indoor spa Flamingo near the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

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The boats to Suomenlinna are cheap ( under 3 Euros) as the line is operated as part of the city’s transportation network. These little ferry boats depart from the Kauppatori at the end of the Esplanadi street and are quite hard to miss. The ride lasts about 10 minutes and is very scenic with old boats, the new ferris wheel and other pretty sights by the route.

10576043_262225347312009_133234193_nSuomenlinna is Unesco World Heriatge site and is formed of a collection of six pretty islands with plenty of fortress ruins and existing ex-military buildings which now house cafes, stores and museums. it’s also a very popular picnic destinations as well as on hot days a pretty little sandy cove (above) becomes a must-visit places  – and that is what we did with all the children also…There site also offers outdoor showers and little dressing rooms for visitors.

Uspenski cathedral

For exploring the centre of Helsinki I’d recommend walking around, as well as taking the scenic tramline 2, which goes a little outside the city centre also. Tickets are easy to buy in advance or by using your mobile phone (but I haven’t actually checked yet whether mobile payments can be done with a non-Finnish phone number.

Happy Helsinki

 

My Helsinki tip besides just exploring on your own pace would be to try to visit the indoor spa Flamingo, which is a great experience if your own country doesn’t have them at all. The entrance isn’t exactly cheap, but one can get a 4-person family ticket for Eur 45 during the week, which isn’t a bad price.

There is plenty more to share from our trip to Finland next week when the focus moves into the very trendy simple living in a summer cottage by a lake in Eastern Finland…

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