First Day in Helsinki
We arrived in Helsinki around 10 am this morning. It's still quite chilly; I've been wearing a sweater and shell all day. We haven't done much to see the city yet. When we arrived at our hotel, we were feeling pretty fatigued.
We decided to walk the nearby Pohjoisesplanadi esplanade, a street of shopping with a park alongside. Our first stop was the Stockmann department store, which is quite huge. We ended up making lots of small purchases. I got a music magazine. Then we looked at men's dress shirts and Margo found one she liked for me. It was the house brand and fairly inexpensive (for once) so I got it. Margo had been considering buying a pair of comfortable shoes, so shoes and socks came next. Finally on the way out Margo bought some magazines also.
It's also nice to handle euros again. In Norway, Denmark and Sweden it was kronor, and the currency was unique in each country. Unfortunately, we had to be careful to spend or convert all of the currency we'd get as we moved from country to country. Margo tells me Estonia has its own kronor also ...
We didn't want to haul so much along for the rest of our walk, so we went back to our room to drop things off and continue our walk. Only, Sarah got comfortable on the bed, and we thought maybe we'd take a rest first. Sarah ended up staying in bed all afternoon, mostly in a long nap.
I went out to take in the esplanade, looking in shop windows and later settling down at the Cafe Kappeli, which is large and old and has lots of glass and is quite lovely, but I didn't have my camera so I'll get a picture later.
Margo then took a walk through the nearby neighbourhood and the esplanade, getting this picture of the sculptures in the park alongside:
Later, with Sarah still sleeping, I took a walk (with the camera this time) to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. I found little I enjoyed, but the building was quite new and an interesting design. This is the main interior space.
Along my walk, I got a few pictures of streets. The architecture and planning here are interesting in a way I can't quite describe. I know a few things. Helsinki is about the only European capitol to have a post-Medieval street layout. There's also a Soviet influence in that there are large plazas and some massive buildings, and of course there's a very Russian look to some of the cathedrals, which I plan to get pictures of tomorrow. Yet there's also the traditional European look of small building fronts right next to each other, plus lots of exciting glass-and-steel modern architecture. I've also noticed that some of the major streets are paved in stone.
I think the place names are especially difficult to pronounce. Here are some examples from a street map to try out on your tongue: Punavuorenkatu. Eteläesplanadi. Jääkärink. Tarkk'ampujank. Kaivopuistonpaasi.
For dinner we visited Zetor, featuring Finnish country cuisine presented with a very cheeky menu. There are tractors inside as decor; they also claim the interior was designed by one of the Leningrad Cowboys. Margo and I both tried a glass of sahti beer, apparently the world's oldest commercially brewed beer. It was quite strong and seemed like something I'd brew, but before it had time to ferment: flat, and very malty. Margo thought it smelt like ripe banana. At any rate, she hardly touched hers. I mostly finished mine but could only sip at it, though I did feel quite fuzzy when I'd finished.
In another odd coincidence, Margo and I decided to order the same entree, the Finnish Hash, a grilled collection of diced potatoes, sausage, bacon, onion, with a fried egg on top and with beetroot and pickles. Sarah had a kids' chicken breast with salad.
I was quite tired when we returned, and still feeling the effects of my red wine bender last night, so I fell asleep early. I'm only now writing this in the middle of the night. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the city tomorrow.
We decided to walk the nearby Pohjoisesplanadi esplanade, a street of shopping with a park alongside. Our first stop was the Stockmann department store, which is quite huge. We ended up making lots of small purchases. I got a music magazine. Then we looked at men's dress shirts and Margo found one she liked for me. It was the house brand and fairly inexpensive (for once) so I got it. Margo had been considering buying a pair of comfortable shoes, so shoes and socks came next. Finally on the way out Margo bought some magazines also.
It's also nice to handle euros again. In Norway, Denmark and Sweden it was kronor, and the currency was unique in each country. Unfortunately, we had to be careful to spend or convert all of the currency we'd get as we moved from country to country. Margo tells me Estonia has its own kronor also ...
We didn't want to haul so much along for the rest of our walk, so we went back to our room to drop things off and continue our walk. Only, Sarah got comfortable on the bed, and we thought maybe we'd take a rest first. Sarah ended up staying in bed all afternoon, mostly in a long nap.
I went out to take in the esplanade, looking in shop windows and later settling down at the Cafe Kappeli, which is large and old and has lots of glass and is quite lovely, but I didn't have my camera so I'll get a picture later.
Margo then took a walk through the nearby neighbourhood and the esplanade, getting this picture of the sculptures in the park alongside:
Later, with Sarah still sleeping, I took a walk (with the camera this time) to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. I found little I enjoyed, but the building was quite new and an interesting design. This is the main interior space.
Along my walk, I got a few pictures of streets. The architecture and planning here are interesting in a way I can't quite describe. I know a few things. Helsinki is about the only European capitol to have a post-Medieval street layout. There's also a Soviet influence in that there are large plazas and some massive buildings, and of course there's a very Russian look to some of the cathedrals, which I plan to get pictures of tomorrow. Yet there's also the traditional European look of small building fronts right next to each other, plus lots of exciting glass-and-steel modern architecture. I've also noticed that some of the major streets are paved in stone.
I think the place names are especially difficult to pronounce. Here are some examples from a street map to try out on your tongue: Punavuorenkatu. Eteläesplanadi. Jääkärink. Tarkk'ampujank. Kaivopuistonpaasi.
For dinner we visited Zetor, featuring Finnish country cuisine presented with a very cheeky menu. There are tractors inside as decor; they also claim the interior was designed by one of the Leningrad Cowboys. Margo and I both tried a glass of sahti beer, apparently the world's oldest commercially brewed beer. It was quite strong and seemed like something I'd brew, but before it had time to ferment: flat, and very malty. Margo thought it smelt like ripe banana. At any rate, she hardly touched hers. I mostly finished mine but could only sip at it, though I did feel quite fuzzy when I'd finished.
In another odd coincidence, Margo and I decided to order the same entree, the Finnish Hash, a grilled collection of diced potatoes, sausage, bacon, onion, with a fried egg on top and with beetroot and pickles. Sarah had a kids' chicken breast with salad.
I was quite tired when we returned, and still feeling the effects of my red wine bender last night, so I fell asleep early. I'm only now writing this in the middle of the night. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the city tomorrow.
posted by Michael Nelson at 1:19 pm
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