Helsinki

So today is day 1 in Helsinki. The public transport network here is so well developed that we've left the car at the hotel.

Our first stop was the Olympic Stadium. Built in 1938, it hosted the Olympic Games in 1952. You could go up the tower and see what Helsinki looks like from above. We had great weather, providing a fantastic view. We were also able to check out the interior of the stadium.

Then it was off to Linnanmäki 😁 No vacation is complete without a bit of adrenaline, let's see what roller coasters the Finns have to offer. The great thing here, just like in Copenhagen: If you don’t want to ride anything, you don’t pay anything! This is a big plus for the less adventurous guardians of backpacks! There are plenty of seating areas outside the restaurants and enough cafés to leisurely spend the waiting time 😅.

But there are also, and this was the most important thing, really cool roller coasters, freefall towers, wheels, and more. A colorful fairground mix. There is also a lot for younger children. You can buy single-ride tickets, but after 5 rides it doesn’t really pay off anymore. It wasn't very busy, and the waiting times were between 0 and 15 minutes. Our favorite was the ride Taiga, really long ride, 2 catapults, helix, and pure adrenaline. The Freefall Tower Kingi at 75 m was also great, but the team only managed one fall before there were 'technical difficulties' and it was taken out of service. Raketi is the smaller freefall tower, but it starts as a catapult, also genius.

So a lot of adrenaline and it was definitely worth it. Best value for money!